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I thought it might be fun to have a thread on the benefits of homeschooling for McD families, or just the benefits of homeschooling in general, lol.

I have 5 children, ages 16, 12, 9, 6, and almost 3, and we've always homeschooled. We've lived in the USA, France, and India. I love the flexibility homeschooling has offered us, and I don't think our lives would be as happy without this freedom.

Even though our kids know that most people don't eat like we do, our way of eating just seems normal to them. I hope they will continue it throughout their lives, though that certainly will be up to them.

Okay, I was just asked if this really has anything to do with the McD diet, lol. I think it's easier for kids to follow the McD diet if they don't get a lot of peer pressure to eat the SAD diet, and homeschooling certainly puts limits on peer pressure. I also think that they are more likely to follow a healthy diet if everyone around them is eating similarly, and when you're living in a family that is eating McD, that is pretty healthy peer support for good eating.

And, as was mentioned in the other thread on schools (the inspiration for this thread), it's easier to teach kids the truth about healthy eating when you're not battling a school system that believes in SAD.

We didn't get into homeschooling for diet reasons (we got into it so our kids could learn at their own pace), but we have really appreciated how much easier it has made our eating choices.

We are a homeschool family as well. I have 7 kids. They are 21, 18, 14,12,10,10,and 6. I love homeschooling and have homeschooled my kids all the way through. I do love the fact that I can control their food. They do learn healthy ways of eating. The only problem I have is with church and their dad who likes to get junk food on occasion. My kids eat what I cook. My 21yr. old has chosen her own way of eating,but at least knows that fruits and veggies are good for you. Hopefully one day she will get back to eating this way. My 18yr. old has realized how awful she feels when she eats junkfood and often asks for something healthy to eat. Even though my husband likes his junk food, he will ask if I will make him a green smoothie. This year I am going to work on having them help cook more. They get more into eating healthy when they are the ones that are cooking it.
Kathy

We've always homeschooled too! And my pre-teen has always eaten a plant-based diet, although I didn't get serious about the no-added oils until about 3 years ago. The one "processed food" with oil that he still eats is Prego pasta sauce, and I just saw a post in Recipes (I think) where Prego now makes an oil-free sauce! Can't wait to get some for him!

We're gluten-free too, and at this age it seems like all gatherings include pizza. We always send him with a homemade one of his own. Ditto for birthdays and cake. He's always eaten this way and always homeschooled so its all "normal" to him. His friends are used to it by now too.

We definitely love homeschooling too!

Our 2 childlren were both born at home and schooled at home.

They were raised vegetarian but not vegan. I had read Ornish's Reversing Heart Disease, and was convinced that this was the way to go but he allows skim milk and egg whites so I wasn't too strict in that regard. I had some, but not a lot, of dairy and eggs. It wasn't a part of every meal but we weren't strict about it.

The girls kind of led me to veganism. Now I am a comitted McDougaller and vegan but the girls have backed off a bit. One eats anything free, "freegan", the other says she is not a vegan but eats mostly vegan food and has eaten in all the vegan restaurants in Boston where she lives.

The other eats a lot of fried food that she prepares herself in our kitchen. No low-fat ethic here. She gets a lot of her food from dumpster-diving at Trader Joes and other big boxes. As long as it is free she'll eat it.

I give them a few years of experimentation to find their own way.

I loved homeschooling for some of the same reasons given. It allowed us the freedom to pursue real interests. I taught them how to read using Sing, Spell, Read, and Write which we all loved. We did the Miquon math series. But most of our "education" was simply living, interspersed with a lot was talking.

I had thought that we would miss most of teenage rebellion, but it hit big time when my older daughter was 12, not even yet a teen. She wouldn't, literally, walk down the same side of the street with me.

When she was 14, she decided to go to school, and, the day she was setting off on this huge unknown adventure, she screamed at me at how I had wasted 8 years of her life with home schooling.

That is the bad news. The good news is that the rebellion didn't last. She lasted a year and a half in High school then quit, asking me to come with her to see the guidance counselor. She would do all the talking, but she would like me there for support.

It was the first time I was in the school with her. It was quite an experience. Kids and teachers, none of whom I had ever met, were coming up to us to ask were she had been (she hadn't been in 2 weeks and the truent officers were gearing up after her). They were so sorry when she told them that she was quitting. It was very moving.

A few months later we set off on a 23-day car camping trip from the northeast to Charlotte, NC, Florida, Fort Benning, Georgia for the annual protest at the School of the Americas, Houston, Nashville and Cleveland were some of the major stops. We were visiting some of my relatives, her internet pals, and her friends from the year's session at Grace Llewellan's Not-Back-To-School-Camp.

We had passed from the depths of teenage rebellion to being pals in a matter of months.

The girls are now 23 and 21 and live somewhat independently. One works as a bicycle mechanic, and other is a licensed massage therapist.

I agree that diet and other lifestyle choices, that may not be the usual conventional ways, are best done in a homeschooling environment. I do not think that the kind of peer pressure that kids get in school is healthy. It kind of brings everybody to the lowest common denominator. One of the things I particularly liked about homeschooling was the way our girls had friends of different ages, neither looking down on younger kids, or being looked down upon by older homeschooled kids, as is so common in our age-segregated classrooms.

I am now 73. Parenting did not come easy to me at age 50 when the first was born. I also feel that much of the rebellion would have been avoided by more skilled parenting. But don't be too surprised if some of it comes up at some point.

I know this was an older post, but since we homeschool too, I thought I'd jump in!

My kids are 8 and 10. We have always homeschooled. We're not vegetarian or vegan (at least not yet!) but we do pay close attention to nutrition... seasonal foods, local foods, nutrient density, etc. We're starting a gradual transition to a more McDougall friendly diet, although the kids will likely still enjoy the farm fresh eggs, raw milk, and little bits of free-range, grass-fed/pastured meat that we use.

Homeschooling has been a blessing to us. We love the flexibility, the opportunity to expand on their interests, go on spur-of-the-moment field trips, spend all day reading and creating art, and to have schooling be a part of life. I think being able to give them a solid nutritional foundation is great too - no USDA food pyramids, or heavily animal-product based food groups, no dreadful school lunches, and so forth.

For me it was a good challenge to ask vegetarian food in school.I live in Portugal for 14 years .And here people ask "vegetarian? and what do you eat than?And do vegetarians also go to the toilet ?and more of this.It did bring some people to think about there food habits and so I helped whit some sensibilitation .My kids wanted to go to school And now I am happy the did. ...Leen

I was a pioneer homeschooling mom back in the 1980's when homeschooling was first becoming popular. I have four grown children and homeschooled my two youngest sons. My boys did fine. One is a Navy Officer now and the other one is an Aerospace engineer for Boeing Aerospace Company. I wish now that I had been into healthly eating back then. Not that I ever let them eat junk food (I never bought candy or cookies or Kool-Aid), but I didn't know a lot about plant-based eating then. Nonetheless they are both tall (my youngest is 6 ft. 5 in.), slim and healthy. However, I doubt that my Navy son eats very healthy when he's on a long sea deployment (fresh food runs out after the first month and they have to eat a lot of packaged and canned foods). My other son was single until about 2 years ago and ate a lot of fast food, but thankfully he is eating more healthy now. I think the McDougall program would be wonderful as a nutrition course for homeschoolers. My oldest son and his wife are homeschooling their kids. He is an artist and he and his wife write things for homeschoolers. Perhaps he and I can get together and colaborate on a plant-based nutrition book for kids.

Thanks, Gramma Jackie, for helping to pave the way for the rest of us!

Ah, we are newbies and I didn't mention that all my kids from 33 to 4 were and are home educated. We don't 'do school'. lol My eldest is working in field research biology, in case there are those on here wondering about the success of home educated students and what happens after primary school. They succeed at anything they put their minds to just like anyone else. Oh, and I am now helping to home educate my grandboys as well.

I also have another about to graduate college and one is finishing up her first year. They are living at home still and then the other three are two teens 15 and 13 and then a pre-teen 11 year old.

Ha, and all on a mainly vegetarian diet and trying to prep to go with the McDougall ideology go figure. lol Gotta love a challenge!

I so understand, it was so much harder to do back then. Hey, perhaps we know each other somehow? lol

[One is a Navy Officer now and the other one is an Aerospace engineer for Boeing Aerospace Company.[/quote]

Congratulations!! I love hearing how others are doing after their home education.


[I think the McDougall program would be wonderful as a nutrition course for homeschoolers. My oldest son and his wife are homeschooling their kids. He is an artist and he and his wife write things for homeschoolers. Perhaps he and I can get together and colaborate on a plant-based nutrition book for kids.[/quote]



I do most to all the cooking and all the shopping and no one ever complains about the food so I will just shift what is served. We work very cooperatively. Today we are working on a modified Day 1, yeah that new, and then so on and so forth. Haven't heard a peep actually no one has noticed or will because it just isn't that different. lol We have been working toward this direction for some time now.


I am going to use the McDougal videos and Forks over Knives, using the adult programs and vids and stopping for discussion time and note taking. Usually it is easier to get mine to understand the choice differences from a science and and historical standpoint. Seeing the trail that others have forged helps them to comprehend the depth of the problem as well.

Anyway, nice to meet you.