Homeschooling

As many of you know, Matt and I have been considering homeschool as an option for Nora Lee's education. Over the last few years I have done a lot of research about educational options such as available public schools, private schools, and homeschooling. Although it's true that the public schools are not great near us and the private schools cost between $10,000-$25,000 a year per child (yes, you are reading those figures correctly) that is not ultimately what is causing Matt and I to choose homeschooling for our family. The main reason is that Matt and I are really excited to play an intimate role in Nora Lee's development and education. We are lucky enough to have a lifestyle that allows us to both be home a lot of the time and homeschooling offers us the freedom to focus on Nora Lee as an individual.

In the last few months Nora Lee and I have been exploring the homeschooling communities in Los Angeles and discovering all there is to do! There is a huge community here and we are still getting to know everyone. The biggest community is taking a break for the summer and then starts up again in September. Another smaller group still meets throughout the summer. One main activity of this group is a "park day" which happens every Thursday from 12-5pm. It is led by a passionate homeschooling mom who creates lessons and activities for each afternoon. Last time we went, the kids were raising silk worms. The worms were just beginning to create cocoons so the kids got to hold the worms and watch other worms spinning their cocoons. The kids will get to experience the worms through the entire process and then will be dyeing and using the silk cocoons in an art project. This is the second year of the project so the kids have documented the process from eggs, to worms, to cocoons, to moths. I also really liked how the older kids got to teach the younger ones. Nora Lee was in heaven having a 9 year old girl help her make a friendship bracelet!


This park day also gives the kids an opportunity to run around and play with each other. The ratio of kids to adults is usually 1:1 or 1:2 which is really nice. This group also goes camping together and really allows the kids to form long relationships. I went to a homeschooling informational evening last month and got to hear from parents of homeschooled young adults. They shared what worked, what didn't work, and what their kids are doing now. Many of the kids formed friendships that started as toddlers and lasted through adulthood. They also shared that families can be as social as they choose to be. If desired, they can do activities with other homeschooling families every day of the week. We are close friends with a family with three children who are just beginning to homeschool. Their son is three weeks older than Nora Lee and we have been spending lots of time together. Nora Lee also has regular weekly play dates with several friends.

Many homeschooled kids do extracurricular activities such as theater, dance, sports, girl scouts, etc. Many of them also begin taking classes at junior colleges around age 13 or 14 to begin specializing in subjects they want to excel in such as higher maths and sciences.

There are so many different approaches to homeschooling. Right now, the one that feels best to Matt and I is to use a homeschool curriculum called Oak Meadow. We will purchase a curriculum each year that has lessons day by day. It also has the options of long distance learning with an instructor for subjects where we would like more support such as calculus, foreign languages, or for high school AP courses.

If you are interested in knowing more about the curriculum you can check out the following links:

Here is the specific link for the Oak Meadow curriculum for first grade. It gives a thorough overview of the year and sample lessons.

http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/overviews/1ov.pdf

Here is fifth grade :

http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/overviews/5ov.pdf

They have this info for every year, so explore as you like!

This link gives info about high school and preparation for university education:

http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/highschool.php

We are excited and will keep you updated about our journey!