Deciding between homeschool and Catholic school

[Catholic4]

I have a 3 year old 2 year old and a 7 month baby. We are starting to think about possibly putting the older two in preschool at our parish next fall. They are very social kids who like structure and I feel like they would enjoy it… however I was homeschooled 4th grade through 12. Schools were very much looked down upon in my family. They aren’t discouraging me from sending them necessarily… they just think children are really better off at home. I am worried I won’t be able to keep up with teaching them and giving them the structure that we all as a family like. I felt like there was a lack of structure for me when I was being homeschooled and I hated it. I don’t want my kids fo feel the same way. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[pianistclare]

My advice is to wait and put them in the best situation for them, not you.
Go to the parish school at this juncture,
But don’t assume your public school, or your charter school, or any other school Catholic or not, is terrible because it’s traditional school.
Do your homework. Talk to parents and administrators of all, and then decide You have time.

 

[Allegra]

This is my opinion on parents telling people how to raise their children.

This is my opinion on preschool.

I work in a school with a pre-school and I personally don’t think that typical children need or even really benefit from pre-school. I say typical, because some children have early intervention needs, learning needs, therapy needs, etc. I have seen a lot of preschool environments that are really not age appropriate for the kids they are serving. I’ve also seen a lot of kids show up for kindy already burned out because by the age of five they have put in more hours in a grueling academic environment than the average undergraduate. Academically, there is not a noticeable long-term benefit to preschool as compared to a home environment where parents are conscientiously educating their toddler at home. Studies show that preschooled kids tend to be reported to have better classroom behavior in kindy, but even that advantage fades before 2nd grade and you can’t make choices about a whole year of your child’s life based on what makes their future kindy teacher’s life easier the first week of school.

All that aside, this isn’t your parent’s business. Your going to do what’s best for your own family and it doesn’t have to be the same way they did it or the way they approve of. It doesn’t make sense to make this decision based on how it makes your parents feel any more than how it makes the kindy teacher feel.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

I have a 3 year old 2 year old and a 7 month baby. We are starting to think about possibly putting the older two in preschool at our parish next fall. They are very social kids who like structure and I feel like they would enjoy it… however I was homeschooled 4th grade through 12. Schools were very much looked down upon in my family. They aren’t discouraging me from sending them necessarily… they just think children are really better off at home. I am worried I won’t be able to keep up with teaching them and giving them the structure that we all as a family like. I felt like there was a lack of structure for me when I was being homeschooled and I hated it. I don’t want my kids fo feel the same way. Any advice would be appreciated!

What do you need to do?

Take it kid by kid

Year by year

situation by situation.

My friend with 5 has sent each of her children to all-day kindergarten so that they have a chance to see what a classroom and structured education is like. Her middle child who has special needs participates now as a middle schooler in a half-day “dual-school” program at a private school. Her older two are in highschool (homeschooled). One is enrolled in a traditional correspondence, while the other participates in a public online school. Her youngest two are slowly building subject matter knowledge and other skills to come from their Mason/Montessori/Unschool background and move into structured learning.

To be quite honest, while I believe in a Mason/Montessori type schooling for 3rd grade and under, I think that Middle and High School students often benefit from classical type curriculums like Mother of Divine Grace and Seton which are rigorous preparation for the current Carnegie college system.