Taking 14 yr old son out of school....help!
Shannon
My (youngest) son turned 14 in February and is in grade 8 in a
Christian school. Although he's getting a decent enough education, he
seems to be very bored with school.
Recently, I've been introducing the thought of home schooling. (he has
no clue about unschooling yet, although, that's where this is leading)
He's showing an interest for grade nine and says he might try it for
one semester. I'm hoping he'll like it so much, he'll keep going.
Is 14 too late of an age to start homeschooling or unschooling?
Will I be able to keep him occupied enough at home so he's not bored
here too?
Has anyone else here started a child this old?
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
PS - I home schooled my oldest daughter and second son years ago but
really didn't know what I was doing. They went back to public school,
something I'll always regret but can't change now. So, having LUke at
home will be a dream come true for me. I just don't know where to
begin.
Christian school. Although he's getting a decent enough education, he
seems to be very bored with school.
Recently, I've been introducing the thought of home schooling. (he has
no clue about unschooling yet, although, that's where this is leading)
He's showing an interest for grade nine and says he might try it for
one semester. I'm hoping he'll like it so much, he'll keep going.
Is 14 too late of an age to start homeschooling or unschooling?
Will I be able to keep him occupied enough at home so he's not bored
here too?
Has anyone else here started a child this old?
Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
PS - I home schooled my oldest daughter and second son years ago but
really didn't know what I was doing. They went back to public school,
something I'll always regret but can't change now. So, having LUke at
home will be a dream come true for me. I just don't know where to
begin.
Pampered Chef Michelle
On 4/9/06, Shannon <loonsongcreations@...> wrote:
school was doing him no good. He was bored and hated going. He quit and
worked his way through educating himself. A few years the next child down
did the same thing. And then the next year the next child. Now all the
kids are homeschooled and as they become older they are more unschooled than
homeschooled. The second child (the 2nd and 3rd are also gymnastics coaches
for my daughter) is really into art. She is a beautiful artist. She loves
the freedom of being able to create whenever she wants without someone
telling her to pay attention when she doodles on her schoolwork.
It's never too late to start unschooling! I'm doing it now for myself and
I'm in my 40's!
--
Michelle
Independent Kitchen Consultant #413652
The Pampered Chef
850-474-0817
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/michellelr
Ask me how you can save 60% on some of our most favorite products!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>My daugher's gymnastics coach as 6 children. The oldest at 14 decided that
>
> Is 14 too late of an age to start homeschooling or unschooling?
> Will I be able to keep him occupied enough at home so he's not bored
> here too?
school was doing him no good. He was bored and hated going. He quit and
worked his way through educating himself. A few years the next child down
did the same thing. And then the next year the next child. Now all the
kids are homeschooled and as they become older they are more unschooled than
homeschooled. The second child (the 2nd and 3rd are also gymnastics coaches
for my daughter) is really into art. She is a beautiful artist. She loves
the freedom of being able to create whenever she wants without someone
telling her to pay attention when she doodles on her schoolwork.
It's never too late to start unschooling! I'm doing it now for myself and
I'm in my 40's!
--
Michelle
Independent Kitchen Consultant #413652
The Pampered Chef
850-474-0817
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/michellelr
Ask me how you can save 60% on some of our most favorite products!
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
jlh44music
>> Is 14 too late of an age to start homeschooling or unschooling?Will I be able to keep him occupied enough at home so he's not bored
here too? Has anyone else here started a child this old?>>
My dd is 13 (finished 6th grade last June), this is our first year at
home, we're still deschooling and still getting the hang of
unschooling. We're in MA, a state that requires reporting, so I have
to turn things she does into "educationese" (which is tough this first
year!, but I'll work it out somehow!). Unschooling is child-led
learning, let him choose the things he's interested in, I bet he won't
be bored at all! It's never too late!
What state are you in?
Jann
trektheory
I didn't start that old, but my son is 14, too, and I wish, wish,
WISH I had started homeschooling sooner. (We started after 5th
grade.) It is never too late -- I know someone locally who started
hsing this year, and her son is 14, also.
Bored kids especially can benefit. I know all those years in brick
and mortar school (most of it was in private, half a year was
public) taught my son some bad habits, how not to concentrate on the
task at hand (if he did, he would be done too soon, then have to be
bored, or "rewarded" with more work of their choosing....) There is
nothing that says, if you want, that you even have to wait until the
end of the year. (Nothing says you can't, either.)
My biggest suggestion is to try to get connected with other
homeschooling teens and tweens in your area. I think one of the
biggest draws can be friends. If there is a social structure out of
school, he may be more inclined to continue homeschooling.
If there is a ready-made teen homeschool group, great, join it!
(And you can generally join these before you start hsing -- a great
way to get support from people in the same stage of child-rearing.
Those with 10 yr olds don't really understand the issues of a 14 yr
old as well as those with teens!) If there isn't -- join whatever
groups there are in the area (not a bad idea, anyway), and start a
group of your own. When we moved to our current location, there was
none, so I started one. A lot of people have made connections that
hadn't previously. I think part of why there are as few older
homeschoolers in this area is due to the lack of activities geared
for older kids. (A field trip geared to elementary kids tends to be
ho-hum to teens!) The activities can run the gamut from a park day
(yes, older kids do actually enjoy running around a playground on
occasion!) to game days, to discussion groups, whatever they want.
To be honest, the "schooly" part of our day is the least of it -- my
son has FINALLY (after nearly 4 yrs) rediscovered his focus, as well
as discovering (and acknowledging -- I knew for years he is a
morning person, but he only acknowledged it about 3-4 weeks ago) his
best time of day, the time he thinks best, etc. Self-discovery is
important, and takes time. But now we have the freedom to do what
we are interested in doing! Make sure your son has plenty of time
for HIS interests!
You may be surprised at how your relationship with him changes. You
will find yourself having conversations with him that you never
thought you would, about any variety of topics, and you may discover
he can come up with solutions to some of your own problems that you
wouldn't have come up with. It is really neat to see how your child
is developing and growing!
All the best, Linda
--- In [email protected], "Shannon"
<loonsongcreations@...> wrote:
WISH I had started homeschooling sooner. (We started after 5th
grade.) It is never too late -- I know someone locally who started
hsing this year, and her son is 14, also.
Bored kids especially can benefit. I know all those years in brick
and mortar school (most of it was in private, half a year was
public) taught my son some bad habits, how not to concentrate on the
task at hand (if he did, he would be done too soon, then have to be
bored, or "rewarded" with more work of their choosing....) There is
nothing that says, if you want, that you even have to wait until the
end of the year. (Nothing says you can't, either.)
My biggest suggestion is to try to get connected with other
homeschooling teens and tweens in your area. I think one of the
biggest draws can be friends. If there is a social structure out of
school, he may be more inclined to continue homeschooling.
If there is a ready-made teen homeschool group, great, join it!
(And you can generally join these before you start hsing -- a great
way to get support from people in the same stage of child-rearing.
Those with 10 yr olds don't really understand the issues of a 14 yr
old as well as those with teens!) If there isn't -- join whatever
groups there are in the area (not a bad idea, anyway), and start a
group of your own. When we moved to our current location, there was
none, so I started one. A lot of people have made connections that
hadn't previously. I think part of why there are as few older
homeschoolers in this area is due to the lack of activities geared
for older kids. (A field trip geared to elementary kids tends to be
ho-hum to teens!) The activities can run the gamut from a park day
(yes, older kids do actually enjoy running around a playground on
occasion!) to game days, to discussion groups, whatever they want.
To be honest, the "schooly" part of our day is the least of it -- my
son has FINALLY (after nearly 4 yrs) rediscovered his focus, as well
as discovering (and acknowledging -- I knew for years he is a
morning person, but he only acknowledged it about 3-4 weeks ago) his
best time of day, the time he thinks best, etc. Self-discovery is
important, and takes time. But now we have the freedom to do what
we are interested in doing! Make sure your son has plenty of time
for HIS interests!
You may be surprised at how your relationship with him changes. You
will find yourself having conversations with him that you never
thought you would, about any variety of topics, and you may discover
he can come up with solutions to some of your own problems that you
wouldn't have come up with. It is really neat to see how your child
is developing and growing!
All the best, Linda
--- In [email protected], "Shannon"
<loonsongcreations@...> wrote:
>education, he
> My (youngest) son turned 14 in February and is in grade 8 in a
> Christian school. Although he's getting a decent enough
> seems to be very bored with school.has
> Recently, I've been introducing the thought of home schooling. (he
> no clue about unschooling yet, although, that's where this isleading)
> He's showing an interest for grade nine and says he might try itfor
> one semester. I'm hoping he'll like it so much, he'll keep going.bored
> Is 14 too late of an age to start homeschooling or unschooling?
> Will I be able to keep him occupied enough at home so he's not
> here too?but
> Has anyone else here started a child this old?
> Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
> PS - I home schooled my oldest daughter and second son years ago
> really didn't know what I was doing. They went back to publicschool,
> something I'll always regret but can't change now. So, having LUkeat
> home will be a dream come true for me. I just don't know where to
> begin.
>