Why do you homeschool?
There is no "main answer" to this question. Home-based education is natural for our family. It works for us, and we prefer it to any other educational scenario.
What method do you use?
In a nutshell: (Literature-based) Eclectic.
We're constantly learning and adapting. Our goal is to give our kids a "Great Books" education. How do we get there? Using books like The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and The Core by Leigh A. Bortins, I have tried to build a classical curriculum for covering the Trivium. We are also inspired by Charlotte Mason's natural and gentle approach, and we are working on incorporating more CM-inspired "living books" into next year's curriculum.*
What is your schedule like?
Although we are not legally required to follow any kind of set schedule, we have a fairly traditional "school-at-home" schedule. Our days begin sometime around 9
A.M. and we finish sometime in the afternoon. We have a year-round schedule, schooling for six weeks followed by one break week. We have two week vacations at the end of December and May, and another in the middle of August. Summer is light, with three to four days each week. All of this works out to 180-190 school days per year.
How long are you going to homeschool them?
I don't know, really. I imagine we will homeschool through junior high/ logic stage at least. After that, who knows? The kids will be teenagers then, and I really couldn't begin to speculate about that stage in our lives.
What about socialization?
Before I began school, I had "never met a stranger." I'm an extrovert. I could make friends with anyone, anywhere. School didn't change this in me. One of my kids is less like I was as a child. Four years of public school didn't change this. My other kid is more like I was. School didn't affect that one either.
Home educated children interact with individuals of all ages and homeschool groups consist of various grades coming together. In jobs I've had, I might work with one or two other people who are my age, but for the most part I've worked with people from completely different generations. It's very important to us that our kids interact regularly with people from all generations so that they will be prepared for adult life.
*Links:
More about the Great Books
More about "living books"
More about Classical Education
More about Charlotte Mason education
