Also, is it just me or does NarniaWeb attract people from huge families where 10+ is the norm? (because here in Australia, a large family is one with 3, 4 or possibly 5 kids).

I was wondering that myself... I wonder is it easier to go through homeschooling if you have a large family. I'm (sort of) the youngest of three. I have 2 half brothers (though frankly I just call them brothers ) and there's 6 yrs between each of us so I spent most of my older years as the only kid at home. And both my parents work... they have to to support the house, so I'd say for me public schooling worked for the best anyways. And as I said I don't regret it at all, but if you have a really big family and one of the parents is staying home I could see how homeschooling would work better for that.

Also I'd have to agree with Ithy, but I think the difference is that the parents you've mentioned try too hard Honestly my dad and I have a great relationship, but that's mostly because we're into the same stuff so it just kind of naturally happened, but he's still an authority figure... I'd say if anything I respect him more because of it. But I've seen what you are talking about too, and I think the problem is that by looking for it so hard they don't allow it to grow naturally (does that make sense?)

More questions from a person who doesn't know anything Do you guys participate in a lot of activities with other homeschoolers, or other kids in general? And if so what kinds of activities? Also do any of you have friends or family who went to public or private school? How were your experiences similar or different?

*joins the conversation *

Well first off, I've essentially been homeschooled since 5th grade... before that, I was in a private school, and I've also had 1 year of public high school... there are many, many things I could go over, many pros and cons I could list for each and every one of those... but I shall save that rant for another day . I did, however, want to answer Wolfie's last question:

Do you guys participate in a lot of activities with other homeschoolers, or other kids in general? And if so what kinds of activities? Also do any of you have friends or family who went to public or private school? How were your experiences similar or different?

In my many years of homeschooling, I never attended any special events, with the exception of two conferences that I didn't even want to attend . But this is because I was always a bit of a loner, not because I didn't have the opportunities. In fact, almost every other homeschooler I've talked to has found it strange that I never got involved with any groups or anything. There are many ways homeschoolers can get together, participate in a variety of activities. So I certainly wouldn't consider that
a con. And I still took part in many other activities during this time... Boy Scouts, baseball, etc. and that was no different than it would have been if I had been in a public school, save for feeling a bit "out of the loop"... but as I said, that was my fault.

My cousin (who is 3 years older than I) was homeschooled from 7th grade (I think I'm right...) through high school. I don't think he necessarily enjoyed it... but there is no denying that it worked out extremely well for him. I also have 2 other cousins who were homeschooled for a time. Overall, everyone I know who has done it has liked it to an extent.

Anyway, I know I'll have more to add at a later time . Hope I answered a question or two.

About homeschooling and large families: It seems to me that it's largely a personal thing/belief. I myself am the youngest of just two. I think the ratio of large-family-homeschoolers and small-family-homeschoolers I know is roughly equal. Though, it is definitely true that some homeschoolers tend to have larger than average families.

On parents being friends... my parents always made it clear that we were not peers, but they were still very connected with us. I guess it largely depends on individuals and how one defines friendship. On a different note, I would argue that friends are not restricted to peers - many people whom I consider my friends (I'm not necessarily talking about authority figures here) are much older than I am, but I still respect our age difference and know that I am to respect them as my elders... so our relationship is not the same as a friend of the same age as me, but we are friend nonetheless. (Many of my Narniaweb friends are in this category.)

Do you guys participate in a lot of activities with other homeschoolers, or other kids in general? And if so what kinds of activities? Also do any of you have friends or family who went to public or private school? How were your experiences similar or different?

Most homeschooled kids attend co-op, where they hang out with other homeschooled kids. We didn't do co-op. We knew homeschoolers from church and so we would go with them to some outings occasionally...maybe biennially? I had friends from church and a park district that we attended. To be honest, most of my friends are public/private schooled in RL. Narniweb was the first time I became good friends with other homeschoolers, for the most part. I know other homeschoolers in RL, but only a small percent of them were good friends.

So at church there was the homeschooling group and, of course, youth group where there were mostly public schoolers, a few private schoolers, and some homeschoolers. The group I hung out with was largely public schooled.

Then there was the park district, where I met probably 80% public schoolers, 15% private schoolers, and 5% homeschoolers. The homeschoolers there, though, were mostly not Christians, which brings us to another entirely different "homeschooling culture," if you will.

The homeschooling and even every schooling culture are very varied and different. Socialization really, really depends on the person, I think.

The activities were things like youth group, knitting, writing and acting, and piano. If I can sum up who we spent time with when we did these things, I think I'd say that my parents wanted us to have a healthy exposure to different people with different schooling backgrounds, worldviews, ages, and walks of life.

As for differences... my friends' schooling backgrounds are very varied. Most, I would say, are public school. As for my family, we're the only ones in our family who homeschool, for probably 15 generations back, to my knowledge. (because maybe in the Middle Ages they had governesses or something or the kids learned their parents' profession. xD)

The differences are definitely there, but are hard to pinpoint. It's truly hard in every aspect to speak generally, because people are different. You see, we were never wholly and completely part of the pop homeschool culture, so I can't speak about the differences as if they're generally for everyone. I can only speak for myself.

The differences that I can say, with me and most of my my public schooling friends, are that a) I am closer to my parents and sibling. (I'm only speaking for those I know; there are definitely, definitely different public schoolers who have great relationships with their parents, too.) b) Maybe it's been a bit harder for me to apply for colleges and such because I have to provide more qualifications, compared to my public schooled friends, who had many things pre-prepared for them. (I mean, we had our transcript and everything, but when we went to colleges, we went as individuals, not as an organized group, so things tended to be a bit more specialized and complicated.) c) Additionally, in some respects, I was kept from being prematurely and unhealthily exposed to things like peer pressure that some of my friends faced early on.

Another difference is also worldview. But this goes for all my friends. Like I said, it's really dependent on who the person is when speaking about differences. I hope that helped some.

To be honest, I think that regardless of schooling, it's what contribution one's parents make. That, to me, is the pivotal aspect. Everything else, though extremely effective, is secondary.

Friends are peers. You can be friendly with children but you can't be their friend if you wish for them to be accountable to you.

I can definitely see where you're coming from, W4J. I teach dance classes with little kids for a job and there is a line that I often have to draw between being the children's friend and having fun with them and being in charge and making sure the children respect me. My sister works as a kindergarten teacher in the public schools and she's experienced the same.

Sometimes a child is so out of control and so rebellious that you can't possibly be their friend, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be striving for that in the relationship. I think being someone's friend ultimately helps make them more accountable to you. I've definitely witnessed this in my relationships with my elders and pastors at church. The stronger my friendship and trust is with the authority figures in my life, the more accountable I am to them.

I agree with Ithilwen. You can be someone's friend and still have authority and responsibility over them. Take my older siblings, for instance. There were many scenarios in our past when our parents would be out of the house and my older sisters would be in charge of the rest of us. Just because my sisters suddenly had authority over me didn't mean we were no longer friends. We always had fun together, even when I had to obey them.

The same goes for my parents. The friendship I have with my parents never compromises the respect I have for their authority. If anything, our friendship is based on their authority over me and the fact that I want to honor them.

I wonder is it easier to go through homeschooling if you have a large family.

I don't know if it's easier or not, but it's definitely very enjoyable. I don't think home schooling is ever easy no matter how many children you have, but I've definitely noticed that parents who plan to home school their children also tend to want to have more children to home school. There are definitely exceptions, of course. Ultimately, like Bella said, it's really the contribution that the parents want to make.

Do you guys participate in a lot of activities with other homeschoolers, or other kids in general? And if so what kinds of activities? Also do any of you have friends or family who went to public or private school? How were your experiences similar or different?

My siblings and I always participated in a lot of activities with mostly home schoolers, but other kids in general as well. We grew up in a church populated mostly by home schooled families, so our closest friends were always other home schoolers.

I participated in gymnastics classes for a few years when I was really young as well as children's community choir and Irish Step Dance lessons. All of these activities were occupied by mostly public schooled children, but home schoolers as well. I still take dance lessons and I now accompany the children's choir. Haha. With my home school group, I participated in P.E. classes as well as Ceilidh dance lessons and drama club. And throughout high school, I took Algebra, Geometry, Chemistry, and Biology with a home school co-op of a few other home schooled kids. I also took a lot of other high school courses, such as Logic, Rhetoric, and Latin online...though I'm not sure if that counts as activities.

I have a lot of cousins who were public or private schooled their entire life and practically all of my friends from college went to public school. I feel like there aren't a lot of major differences between our experiences, except that I think public schooled kids made a lot more friends than home schoolers, but home schooled kids have a lot more really close friends. I'm not sure if this is just me or if other home schoolers feel similarly.

I know from my own experience that I definitely made a lot less friends growing up, but I became really, really close friends with the small family of home schoolers that I grew up with.

Well, my mom and I have been best friends since the beginning, and she was also an authority figure. And I never used our friendship to try to take advantage of her in any way (nor would it have worked if I tried). I'm not sure where you got the idea that friends and authority figures are somehow opposed. It's never been my experience, and I've seen many examples proving the opposite. The parents I've seen who were both friends and authority figures to their children all ended up much more successful than the parents I've seen who were authority figures alone.

For those of you who are choosing to homeschool, what methods do you think you'll go with? Text-book curriculum? Online stuff, or education games? Or some other method?

~Riella

I'm with you on this, Ithy; I'm the oldest of six and both my mom and my dad have always been both my friends and (when I was younger) my authorities. I'm convinced that a relationship with a child is far more effective than being their boss.

As for the second part of your question, I really think it depends on the kid. I did best using text books and going at my own pace. My sister did best with text books and a rigorous schedule, and my brother liked cyber school best. Basically, I know I want them at home, but what particular method is something I'll let them choose.

Also, is it just me or does NarniaWeb attract people from huge families where 10+ is the norm? (because here in Australia, a large family is one with 3, 4 or possibly 5 kids).

It seems so from my perspective. Although in my family, it's just me (besides my half-sister).

I think there is tension between private and public school students. I have many friends who went to private schools but other than those i generally don't get on with private school students because they look down on you wearing their ugly uniforms. I went to public schools my whole schooling life, none of my experiences were bad.

I don't know about that. When I went to private school, we had no uniforms and there really was no dress code. Sometimes kids would show up in shocking outfits and the teachers said nothing (this was a Christian school, mind you). When I went to public school, the dress code was way too strict and I hated it - only blue or white shirts with no writing, patterns, logos, or pictures; only dark blue jeans; only black or white shoes. The only time I ever experienced such a thing was in confirmation class, a public school boy was trying to scare me and my friend, telling us "horror stories" about public school.

For those of you who are choosing to homeschool, what methods do you think you'll go with? Text-book curriculum? Online stuff, or education games? Or some other method?

Probably the same curriculum I used. I found it extremely excellent in many respects, especially Math, Science, and some History. The Bible electives like NT and OT Survey were excellent, and there were also Wisdom and Principles stories that really blessed me. I don't agree 100% with everything in the curriculum, but the stuff I like outweighs that substantially, so I'd reccomend it.

As far as uniforms... For my memory of all the schools I've attended prior to being homeschooled, public and private, I've had to wear uniform, with the exception being casual days. To be honest, I like uniforms. They enforce discipline, I think, and eliminate the "so...what should I wear today?" problem and often take the focus off of things of secondary importance to the actual purpose of education. (However, I'm not necessarily saying that those who don't wear uniform don't perform better. Just clarifying. )
What's more is that when we started homeschooling and until jr. high/high-school, we had to wear uniforms. Maroon sweaters, white shirts, and plaid skirts with stockings, or white shirts, blue or black pants, and a tie. That's usually my answer to the "Do you do school in your pajamas?!?!" thing.
Now, though, I do my work in every-day clothes...because, uh... it's what I do? (and because I can't stand to be in my pajamas all day unless I'm sick or lazy.)

Also, is it just me or does NarniaWeb attract people from huge families where 10+ is the norm? (because here in Australia, a large family is one with 3, 4 or possibly 5 kids).

It seems so from my perspective. Although in my family, it's just me (besides my half-sister).

I think there is tension between private and public school students. I have many friends who went to private schools but other than those i generally don't get on with private school students because they look down on you wearing their ugly uniforms. I went to public schools my whole schooling life, none of my experiences were bad.

I don't know about that. When I went to private school, we had no uniforms and there really was no dress code. Sometimes kids would show up in shocking outfits and the teachers said nothing (this was a Christian school, mind you). When I went to public school, the dress code was way too strict and I hated it - only blue or white shirts with no writing, patterns, logos, or pictures; only dark blue jeans; only black or white shoes. The only time I ever experienced such a thing was in confirmation class, a public school boy was trying to scare me and my friend, telling us "horror stories" about public school.

My comment was aimed at the Australian schooling system of which 98% of private schools have uniforms of which 90% are ugly or just look uncomfortable. Public schools usually consist of polo shirts, and other clothing items that are more comfortable and less formal.

Yes, you are right, Ilovefauns. The difficulty in Australia, where free universal education was actually part of the constitution, is there is an ongoing discussion about state and federal funding involved, in NSW at any rate. Don't forget that Sir Henry Parkes, a NSW leader, helped to frame that very constitution. Uniforms are highly regarded by and large, as they stop the sort of snobbishness some students use to discriminate against other pupils.

I agree with you that public school uniforms can be more comfortable than private ones. I suspect that is because the private schools are generally supporting a conservative and more 'upperclass' Hyacinth Bucket point of view to justify their higher fees. My own daughter, who attended the local high school, campaigned for herself and colleagues to wear shorts to school to save embarrassment, and actually won. I've also heard from Catholic friends that public schools permit their students to do whatever they like, an impression I have been happy to contradict. My experience of public schools is that nothing of the sort happens.

I'd really like to know how much it costs an American family with, say, four or five children, or, more dramatically still, up to ten children, to attend a public school. Does such a cost justify homeschooling out of necessity? Do parents get rebates on fees for younger children, the way they do in Australia's Catholic system? And who is in charge of state education?

I went to a public high school, in lower highschool it cost around 280 dollars but in upper school it was closer to 400. In primary school it was only about 80.

I didn't mind wearing the uniform. As someone else said you didn't have to decide what to wear each day. A very expensive private school close to were i live has a range of underwear yes underwear and hair ties that students must wear.

I didn't mind wearing the uniform. As someone else said you didn't have to decide what to wear each day.

That's what I've heard from pretty much everyone I know who went to private school, but then I think a lot of my private-schooled friends got tired of the uniforms eventually. I think you kind of experience the same being home schooled. I got to decide what I wore every day, but since I was home for the most part of my week, I never really worried about what I wore.

To be honest, a lot of the time I would just stay in my pajamas all day while I was home schooled. And I seriously miss doing that now. I'm a music education major in college and musicians feel the need to dress professionally practically all the time and it's really frustrating having to think about what I wear every day. Somedays I just give up and go to class in sweats and a t-shirt.

I remember back in primary school when I use to be good at sport and got into the inter-school athletics team. We would have to compete against private schools, there was always a divide, the public school students from different schools would always communicate with each other and the same with the private but not often would it be private/ public. It was probably a silly reason why they didn't, parental influence etc.

I have something fun to share with you all. This is a video from our home schooler's Celtic music group. http://youtu.be/yL0TJxdioJA We get together ever so often and have jam sessions like this. It's loads of fun. So far we've managed to get fiddles, guitars, mandolins, penny whistles, a bordhan, and even a harp into our group. I just recently inherited my father's accordion and I'm hoping to add that to our collaboration as well. Our group keeps getting bigger and bigger and better and better-sounding and it's really fun to watch/hear us progress. Even though I'm not home schooled anymore, I still get together with these folks and it's loads of fun. Enjoy!