|
12:06:04 |
Webmama_Tina |
ok today we have rachel gathercole as
our guest speaker! rachel, why don't you
introduce yourself and tell us a little
about your background and expertise and
such...don't forget to promote any
websites or books you might have! :) |
|
12:06:12 |
Webmama_Tina |
and let me know when you are ready to
take your first question |
|
12:06:19 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Okay, thanks! |
|
12:06:28 |
Webmama_Tina |
and mamas...you can start throwing out
your question marks to get in line for
talking to rachel. :) |
|
12:06:36 |
Webmama_Tina |
i expect we'll get more people in here
soon |
|
12:08:01 |
avocado123 |
hello |
|
12:08:14 |
Webmama_Tina |
hi avocado123 , glad you made it! we're
just getting started1 |
|
12:08:18 |
Webmama_Tina |
Welcome to this week's Mothering
Sponsored chat! This is a moderated
chat. Please make sure you read and
fully understand the Moderated Chat
Instructions before participating in
this chat. Instructions can be found
here: http://www.mommychats.com/modrules.htm
...A Friendly Reminder: Please do not
post unless it is your turn to ask a
question. If you have a question, please
post a single ?" and you'll be added to
the queue. Have your question ready when
your name is called." |
|
12:09:24 |
avocado123 |
? |
|
12:09:44 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Sorry, bear with me, please. I'm having
a little technical problem. Will only
take a second. |
|
12:09:52 |
Webmama_Tina |
no worries :) |
|
12:09:56 |
Webmama_Tina |
i can certainly relate |
|
12:09:57 |
Webmama_Tina |
:) |
|
12:11:02 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I am the mother of three wonderful
children who have never been to school,
I have been homeschooling for 10 years,
and am the author of a number of
articles on homeschooling, parenting,
and children, including the Mothering
article Homeschooling's True Colors."" |
|
12:11:24 |
kitkatsmama |
am i here? |
|
12:11:29 |
Webmama_Tina |
yes you are! |
|
12:11:31 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I am also the author of a forthcoming
book on homeschool socialization, to be
released early in 2007. |
|
12:11:46 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I grew up in great public schools, loved
school, went on to attend and graduate
from the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, and am now very happy to be
homeschooling my kids. |
|
12:11:53 |
kitkatsmama |
whoo hoo- i was poting my questions in
the wrong room (oops!) |
|
12:12:12 |
Webmama_Tina |
welcome kitkatsmama ! |
|
12:12:15 |
Webmama_Tina |
Welcome to this week's Mothering
Sponsored chat! This is a moderated
chat. Please make sure you read and
fully understand the Moderated Chat
Instructions before participating in
this chat. Instructions can be found
here:
http://www.mommychats.com/modrules.htm
...A Friendly Reminder: Please do not
post unless it is your turn to ask a
question. If you have a question, please
post a single ?" and you'll be added to
the queue. Have your question ready when
your name is called." |
|
12:12:21 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
When my first child was born I had never
even heard of homeschooling. Everything
I know about homeschooling I have
learned “on the job” and through
research and extensive interviewing I
have done since having children. |
|
12:12:27 |
kitkatsmama |
thanks. |
|
12:12:28 |
kitkatsmama |
? |
|
12:13:05 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Looking forward to chatting with you
all! Ready for questions. :) |
|
12:13:08 |
Webmama_Tina |
upcoming chatters: avocado123,
kitkatsmama |
|
12:13:13 |
Webmama_Tina |
you're up first avocado! |
|
12:13:25 |
avocado123 |
i've read john holt. my husband and his
bro were homeschooled for several years.
it made a huge impact, i believe, in so
many ways, all positive and lifelong. |
|
12:13:37 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Glad to hear it. |
|
12:13:40 |
avocado123 |
i'm not enamored of the local schools,
crowding, violence, worksheets, lugging
texts, so many kids so little ability to
tailor the program to each kid's pace
and abilities, etc. so i want to
homeschool (our kids are now 3.5 and
1.5) BUT |
|
12:14:19 |
avocado123 |
i don't believe all the socialization
arguments i've read on homeschooling
sources because i've met several groups
of homeschoolers in several different
cities. in all cases, the kids did not
have the social skills their schooled
peers did. and |
|
12:14:39 |
avocado123 |
in many cases, they were kids who
impressed me as being under their age
level in maturity and social interaction
skills, as well as some were plain
unpleasant. and i love kids. growing up, |
|
12:15:50 |
avocado123 |
i was the teen who wante dto work with
the tougher kids and always found the
diamond in the rough |
|
12:16:05 |
avocado123 |
but these homeschooled kids i've met
have really done the opposite, they were
the kind of kids i didn't see as role
models for our kids and i didn't want
our kids hanging out with them |
|
12:16:08 |
mascontay3 |
hello all |
|
12:16:12 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Are there specific social skills you are
referring to that you saw them as
lacking? |
|
12:16:31 |
Webmama_Tina |
hi mascontay3 ! glad you could make it! |
|
12:16:32 |
avocado123 |
well, communication |
|
12:16:36 |
Webmama_Tina |
Welcome to this week's Mothering
Sponsored chat! This is a moderated
chat. Please make sure you read and
fully understand the Moderated Chat
Instructions before participating in
this chat. Instructions can be found
here:
http://www.mommychats.com/modrules.htm
...A Friendly Reminder: Please do not
post unless it is your turn to ask a
question. If you have a question, please
post a single ?" and you'll be added to
the queue. Have your question ready when
your name is called." |
|
12:16:51 |
avocado123 |
their learning skills were subpar (i was
invited to an intercultural day) and
they presented what they learned |
|
12:17:06 |
avocado123 |
also the way they interacted amongst
themselves wasn't heartening |
|
12:17:10 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Hmm. Well, I am sorry to hear that that
is your experience with homeschooled
kids. I can understand your concern
then regarding possibly homeschooling
your own kids. |
|
12:17:47 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
In general, research seems to indicate,
and my experience would agree, that
homeschoolers do well socially, and |
|
12:18:19 |
avocado123 |
at nursery school our son now spends
hours socializing with other kids. he
comes home and has just me and a
sibling. don't get out much and i'm
pregnant with our third and expect to be
nesting for a good while longer. |
|
12:18:51 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I wonder why your experience seems not
to match that. Of course, |
|
12:19:07 |
avocado123 |
i;ve met homeschoolers in four different
cities |
|
12:19:17 |
avocado123 |
there is only one left that i haven't
checked out 1.5 hours away |
|
12:19:24 |
avocado123 |
but how could that possibly be our main
socializing? |
|
12:19:47 |
avocado123 |
at nursery school there is daily
interaction with the same kids....but if
we rely on h omeschoolers who don't live
in our city it's hard to build on those
relationships |
|
12:19:48 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Well, I can suggest a couple things. |
|
12:20:28 |
Mrs.Peanut |
Do your children play with the
'schooled' children who live on your
street? That is socializing, too. |
|
12:21:30 |
avocado123 |
it is to a certain extent but our
neighbors kids have social get togethers
for famlies in the school and the kids
walk home together and study together |
|
12:22:02 |
avocado123 |
trying to nab other kids and their busy
lives is tough cuz they go to activities
and it's like intruding on their
schedules |
|
12:22:04 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
One thing is that every family is
different and your goals for your
children's social experience may not
match those of the types of groups you
have been to. There are different types
of groups, and some are easier to find
than others; I am just speculating that
this could be one part of the
situation. One possibility. . . |
|
12:22:24 |
avocado123 |
Rachel, i agree with that....but the
women were soooo nice! |
|
12:22:29 |
avocado123 |
i was just appalled by their kids |
|
12:22:41 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
would be for you to start a group for
like-minded people, because if you are
having a hard time finding a group that
matches your needs, then I'm sure others
in the area are as well. |
|
12:23:00 |
avocado123 |
i don't know of homeschoolers in our
city of 70,000 |
|
12:23:21 |
avocado123 |
that's why i want to fit into a group
that meets in another city and draws on
folks from all around |
|
12:23:44 |
avocado123 |
one group basically told us to go away
until our kids were school age cuz they
want peers for their kids. that is the
closest one to us |
|
12:24:02 |
avocado123 |
again, how does that count as
socialization, if it's just once every
other week? it's far from daily
relationships |
|
12:24:18 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
There are probably others out there, and
they don't know about you, either. :)
Ultimately, you have to do what's right
for your family. |
|
12:24:20 |
avocado123 |
i don't mean to monopolize this....i
just have these thoughts churninga round
for so long and noone to sound them off |
|
12:24:47 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I understand. Maybe more ideas will
come out later. Good luck with this! |
|
12:24:56 |
MommaCrystal |
? |
|
12:25:17 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Next question? |
|
12:25:34 |
kitkatsmama |
can you recommend a good refernce book
for getting started? katherine will be
four, and attended preschool two
mornings a week this past year- she had
a WONDERFUL teacher who could see her
potential, but was somewhat bound by the
curriculum. |
|
12:26:12 |
kitkatsmama |
so, k was a bit bored by the end of the
year. i'm looking for a loose reference
guide to point me in the right direction |
|
12:26:31 |
Webmama_Tina |
upcoming chatters: MommaCrystal (after
kitkatsmama ) |
|
12:26:41 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Well, the right direction" depends on
what you have in mind in terms of what
approach you would like to take. . ." |
|
12:27:04 |
kitkatsmama |
i think we do some things now that are
helpful- cooking, looking for letter
recognition in signs, and then seeing
how many words we can think of that
begin with that letter |
|
12:27:18 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
There are many different ways of
homeschooling. |
|
12:27:53 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
There is a book called Take A Deep
Breath. . .You Can Do This!" which you
might find helpful." |
|
12:28:12 |
kitkatsmama |
well, that's just it, i need to know
what the approaches are, first... i've
heard of 'unschooling', but haven't
looked much into what it actually is- i
just know that for the $1800 preschool
would cost next fall, she could be doing
so many more things |
|
12:28:36 |
kitkatsmama |
(please excuse my awful typing, i'm
typing over a sleeping babe) |
|
12:29:17 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
That leap" into homeschooling is often
the hardest part. I also would
recommend any book by John Holt; "What
Do I Do Monday?" "How Children Learn"
etc. Any of these will give you ideas
and help you get started, I think." |
|
12:29:29 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Hope that helps. Next question? |
|
12:29:36 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I |
|
12:29:39 |
Webmama_Tina |
MommaCrystal, you're up |
|
12:29:42 |
MommaCrystal |
I would like to hear about specific peer
reviewed research articles that discuss
the social skills of children who are
home schooled. |
|
12:29:58 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Good question! |
|
12:30:16 |
MommaCrystal |
Or really any resources. And who is the
author of the Take A Deep Breath book |
|
12:30:42 |
MommaCrystal |
Other books. Plus when will yours be
available? :) |
|
12:31:12 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
There have been a number of studies, and
whether they are all peer-reviewed I
unfortunately cannot say at the moment
(though I agree that is important). . . |
|
12:31:18 |
kitkatsmama |
thank you for the resources |
|
12:31:31 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
You're welcome! |
|
12:33:26 |
Webmama_Tina |
avocado123 i'm PM'ing you |
|
12:34:28 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
There have been studies of the
self-esteem of children in different
schooling environments, studies of
amounts of problem behavior,"
self-concept, etc. Some of these have
been in the form of dissertations, etc.,
and others have been articles. It would
be difficult for me to cite titles,
authors, etc., here (though I do go into
them in more detail in my book). You
can also look in the book "But What
About Socialization? A Review of the
Literature" which sums up lots of
studies." |
|
12:35:02 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
I'm sorry, I can't remember who the
author of that book is, but the
publisher is Mapletree Publishing
Company. |
|
12:35:18 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
My book will be released probably early
in 2007. Thanks for asking! :) |
|
12:35:21 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
Next question? |
|
12:35:43 |
Webmama_Tina |
no one else in queue....mamas? |
|
12:35:45 |
MommaCrystal |
Thank you that was helpful. |
|
12:35:58 |
MommaCrystal |
? |
|
12:36:18 |
Webmama_Tina |
i have that book....take a deep
breath... |
|
12:36:24 |
Webmama_Tina |
i'll go look up the author |
|
12:36:30 |
Rachel_Gathercole |
To avocado 123 I have another thought. .
. |
|
12:36:38 |
avocado123 |
okay |
|
12:37:01 |
Webmama_Tina |
go ahead with your question mommacrystal |
|
12:37:21 |
Webmama_Tina |
ok the book is homeschooling: take a
deep breath--you can do this" by terri
lynn bittner" |
|
12:37:24 |
Webmama_Tina |
excellent book! |
|
12:37:47 |
MommaCrystal |
Since we have the chance to chat... can
you talk about the kinds of social
experiences you gave your children? |
|
12:37:58 |
MommaCrystal |
What worked, what didn't? Did you tap
into public school? |
|
12:38:22 |
MommaCrystal |
How much is too much... or too little,
at least as your experience went or
|
