Seeking Homeschooling Group in Sandy/Draper Area

I think you are AWESOME for homeschooling. I am hoping to do it with my son (he's my first and only six months old), and I'm already getting flack, so i feel your pain a little bit. Because I'm not doing it yet, I don't have much advice, but I'm thankful to see there are resources around. I just wanted to tell you I think you are doing a fantastic job by doing this. Kids need to be taught in a healthy environment, especially pre-teen. I was homeschooled until 5th grade (as were my 6 other siblings), and one of my best memories is when we went to the zoo and my mom taught us about the different animals while we were there looking at them. I'll never forget that giraffes have purple tongues. haha. with that, the SL library gives out community cards on the first of the month (have to have a library card), and you can get into discovery gateway, the natural history museum, the UMFA and red butte garden. I wasn't sure if you knew about this, but it gets in 4 people total for free, and you can get 1 card every six months (i believe you have to go to each activity within the month you get it). So, you could get one at the beginning of the year, and one at the end of your school year and have free field trips! yay! good luck!

I'm not a homeschooling mom, but I haven't ruled out the idea completely. I think homeschooling provides some amazing opportunities for children to have educational experiences that aren't available in a classroom setting. Also, I've heard that homeschooled children usually score higher on tests. Your decision is brave--in that you are facing a social stigma related to some serious misconceptions about homeschool parents and children. I don't know about Draper, but I live in Lehi, and our community center has homeschool programs during the school year. You could look into that in your area. Also, I just wanted to say that I have a friend who does the K12 program and she is very, very pleased with it. Good luck! I hope you and your kids have a great year!

Hi J.,

It was good talking to you the other night on the phone. I'm glad to see you on this site. I hope you get more responses. I just wanted to say that when I talk with moms who are interested in homeschooling, I tell them my decision is not up for discussion with those who oppose it. I will be happy to answer people's questions when they ask, but I have learned to give very little information unless they are genuinely interested and want to know what I am doing in a positive way.

As for homeschooling, it is a wonderful way to help your kids with what they need in a way that no one else can. It's nice to be able to be flexible and do it when we can. Sometimes I take the kid's lessons in the car while we do errands and they get most of it done before we get home. Using K12 is a great way to get started and not have to worry about making up your own curriculum. I like knowing that all of the bases are covered. Then I can add my own lessons when I want to.

Good luck with everything and please give me a call whenever you need it.

W.

I think homeschooling is a great idea, personally. So good for you! As a single mom, I won't be able to do it, but I try to spend a great deal of time with my son doing learning activities. A really great learning website is www.starfall.com. My son is 2 1/2 and we've been playing on that website for over a year. It has different levels of reading. My son could identify many letters of the alphabet at one year old. You can order books and other stuff from their website. It's geared for homeschooling.

I heard that pbs has a great kid learning website, but I don't know the address for it, sorry.

As for what other people think...... we'll I have no ideas really there. When I do something that people don't approve of (like not circumcising my son) I tell them "Well, I'm his mom and I'm doing what I think is best" and leave it at that. People need to be more polite and more open minded.

A simple and free social idea: Take your kids to South Towne Mall. They have a Dino play area, which is always full of kids. Your kids can play while you sit there and relax.

There is a Sandy/Draper area homeschooling group-they have a board at yahoo that you can get to here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sandy_Homeschool/

I used to live in Sandy, but have since moved down to Ut County, so I am not part of the group, but have continued to check into the postings because they are such a great resource! They are a wonderful group that has great activities-both educational and just social gatherings.

Good Luck with homeschooling-it has been a wonderful experience for our family, even though we too have faced much criticism. It has absolutely been worth it! We are also giving k12 a try this year, hopefully it will be a good thing!

I homeschooled my 7 yr old last year, 2nd grade, I want to do it more, but we have a special needs child that is seeing lots of different doctors, and often. It was my first year. I will do it again as we get things under control with other child. The first year was hard because I was not sure about my ability to work with her. It got beter. we enjoyed it alot.