No place like home for schooling

Bridgewater mother of four Shannon Micciantuono pulled her two oldest children out of school in the first and second grade, and has been homeschooling them ever since.

A West Bridgewater resident at the time she pulled her son and daughter - now ages 11 and 10, respectively - out of the public schools, she said she felt the pace of learning was too slow.

Now, she has begun homeschooling her 6-year-old and plans to do the same with her 10-month-old infant one day. She says the biggest benefit is being a part of her children's youth.

"It is such a short amount of time and then they are off and running with their own lives," Micciantuono said. "Most parents are involved with their kids, but I have really gotten to see the world through their eyes, and it keeps me aware of living in the moment."

As most parents deal with the backpacks, lunch bags, school bus commutes and other common back-to-school routines, it's a different mindset for families who choose to homeschool their children.

According to several parents who have undertaken the job, reasons for the choice are as diverse as the families themselves, spanning quality time at home, religion, and curriculum choice, to creativity, schedule convenience, and reduced peer pressure.

Micciantuono says she asks her children every year whether they'd prefer to stay home or go start attending a public school. So far, they've chosen to stay home.

"The most difficult thing about homeschooling is that I do not get to see many of my friends all the time because they are in the public schools, but the good thing about homeschooling is that I can do things like the New England Aquarium School," said 11-year-old J.R. Micciantuono. "Homeschoolers are a lot more mature and I like that better because they are not so rowdy and annoying like when I was in public school."

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"I have seen a ton of kids being homeschooled, and they are very smart," said 10-year-old Emily Micciantuono. "The best part of homeschooling is many more opportunities."

'Daunting dilemma'

"When you first go into it, it's kind of a daunting dilemma that you're going against the tide," said Veronica Ferragamo, an Easton mother of four who has been homeschooling her children for 15 years.

She opted to pull her oldest son out of public elementary school to avoid bullying, but soon found the rewards far outweighed the challenges.

"It affects the whole family and I think of it as a lifestyle choice, not an educational choice. My kids get along and care for each other," she said.

West Bridgewater mom Gina Crowley cites many benefits to home-educating three out of her four children at different phases.

"Getting to really know your child and helping them with their strengths and weaknesses … and being in total control of their curriculum are the most rewarding," said Crowley. She added that the option also enables her to accommodate their learning styles.

Surprising for some is the fact that many parents do not ascribe to the all-or-nothing approach to homeschooling.

Many acknowledge that while each child's needs may differ, so too can the decision to attend public school or conduct education at home. Crowley says her son Reed was homeschooled for grades 3 and 4 but made an easy transition to public school for fifth grade.

"Homeschool is wonderful when they're little, if you can do it," said Barbara Vogel, an Easton mother of two sons who homeschooled them for 10 years before they returned to public school this year for the latter part of high school.

"My feeling as a homeschooler is that they were better off to be protected in the early years socially," said Vogel, "but once they get into eighth or ninth grade, the whole social thing of being with their peers becomes so much more important."

Group support

Homeschool parents admit many people question whether their children are adequately socialized at home, as well as how well they prepare for college and the "real world."

One source of help for socializing kids are collaboratives, or loosely organized groups of parents who can join in on each other's study programs and field trips. Collaboratives span from religious-based to nature-driven to the more creative and unconventional.

"We work together with other parents," said Ferragamo, who has joined homeschool collaboratives in the past, but now uses informal support since she's been homeschooling for several years. She said she will reconnect with such groups when her youngest son, 5-year-old Sam, begins homeschooling soon.

"The groups are all very different in their dynamics, so you have to find the one that's right for you," said Ferragamo.

"As far as the socialization issue, my kids have different groups of friends from all walks of life with no pressures of who is cool or not," said Micciantuono. "They have their neighborhood friends, homeschool friends, sports friends, hobby groups, and church friends … We are constantly on the go and learning and meeting people all the time."

And as for preparing kids for college, many parents attempt to test their kids the same way they would be in school.

Ferragamo said she administers standardized tests to her 15-year-old son Matthew and 16-year-old daughter Patria every year to ensure her children are on track or even ahead of the curve with the public school curriculum.

"I buy the California Achievement test and/or the Iowa Assessment and I follow it to the book" said Ferragamo.

Challenges

"The greatest challenge for me as a homeschool mom is time management," said Crowley. "Trying to fit in all the day's chores and responsibilities along with teaching can be at times difficult… when you have four children with four different sets of activities and sport schedules, you have to be good at time management even if you're not a homeschool mom."

"You do lose 'me time' as a mom," Ferragamo admits. Also, she said, "your house suffers a little bit."

"My homeschooling experience has been very positive," said Crowley, who will be homeschooling third-grader Marina while her son Landon attends kindergarten.

Barbara Vogel cited increased challenges with curriculum, difficulty obtaining teachers' editions (especially since eBay stopped selling the manuals), and lesson complexity once her sons reached the high school years.

"Just the challenge of teaching these subjects … I'm not a physics teacher," said Vogel, who admitted that it's difficult to answer the teens' questions on the more complex subject matter.

Many homeschool parents receive compliments on their children's manners and courtesy toward each other. Vogel credits their manners to working in small groups with other home-educated boys and girls whose ages can span a wide range.

Ferragamo agreed, saying that families can model their values and social courtesy all the time since education happens in the home environment.

"I think it's a wonderful choice," said Ferragamo. "It's worked well for us."