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MrsKey
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We all know the stereotypical vision of home educators teaching a bunch of pajama clad students. I can't count the number of times over the past 7 years my daughter or I have been asked, "So do you go to school in your pajamas?"
The honest answer is, "Sometimes we do." I mean we don't generally take sick days - we school through illnesses often and on those days we do a light school day on the couch in our pajamas. The more typical day does not generally see us schooling in our pjs.
But today I had a conversation with another home educator who is considering using school uniforms for her kids.
Now I only have one child and she's 11. So getting her out of bed, dressed and ready for schooling isn't really the issue for me that it is for other home schooling moms. But I was curious what others do about getting kids dressed and ready to go.
In the conversation Our Lady of Victory School was mentioned and the following bit from their website was referenced:
Quote:
Do you require a specific dress code?
We recommend you dress your child in clothing which is distinctive enough that he will soon come to identify with school. Modesty, proper attire, and neatness will always characterize the students of OLVS. It is our philosophy that if a child is dressed appropriately for school, he will react better to the learning climate necessary for success. A basic part of this mental attitude comes from how a child is dressed. If a child is dressed in play clothes for school, he will naturally play at school and not learn at the proper mental level. It is very important to have your child develop the feeling that he is in school and that he must study hard in order to learn the material to which he is exposed. We want to impress upon you that your child should prepare for school just as if he were going down the street to the nearest parochial school. |
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What do you think? Does having your children dressed in "school clothes" versus "play clothes" make a discernible difference? Is it the clothing? The atmosphere? Discipline?
Just pondering. :D Particularly because this isn't really as much of an issue when you have one child but I could see how it could possibly simplify the daily routine if you had several.
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Carole
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Elizabeth
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I guess this really depends on how you see home education. I detest the use of the word "school" with regard to what we do. We don't "do school." Can you really "do school?" I avoid the use of the term "homeschooling" as much as I can. I don't bring school home and I don't want to bring school home. I want something entirely different. Learning is an integral, all-day-long, all together, process we undertake at home--and sometimes out in the world. I'd not consider "school uniforms" or something distinctive because I don't want my child to "develop the feeling that he is in school and that he must study hard in order to learn the material to which he is exposed."
The routine is important. We get dressed right after breakfast (at least we usually get dressed). My children alternate outside play with inside concentration so I tend to buy clothes which lend themselves well to indoor and outdoor activity. But business-like clothes that make them commit to serious work? Not here. I go for comfortable clothes that don't distract, that are easy to clean, and, frankly, that look nice--because I have to see them all day  .
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MrsKey
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I guess this really depends on how you see home education. I detest the use of the word "school" with regard to what we do. We don't "do school." Can you really "do school?" I avoid the use of the term "homeschooling" as much as I can. I don't bring school home and I don't want to bring school home. I want something entirely different. Learning is an integral, all-day-long, all together, process we undertake at home--and sometimes out in the world. I'd not consider "school uniforms" or something distinctive because I don't want my child to "develop the feeling that he is in school and that he must study hard in order to learn the material to which he is exposed." |
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I lean toward this philosophy as well. I mean we have some definite time set aside for learning certain things. For instance when it comes to mathematics my daughter does much better if we have a quiet, uninterrupted 30 - 45 minutes of "class" time.
But I don't want her to think that math only happens during that 30-minute block of time.
Nor do I want her to think that learning only happens "in school" (whatever that means) and only when one is dressed a certain way or at a specific time.
Elizabeth wrote:
| I go for comfortable clothes that don't distract, that are easy to clean, and, frankly, that look nice--because I have to see them all day . |
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How true! 
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Carole
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Maria B.
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Elizabeth wrote:
| I guess this really depends on how you see home education. I detest the use of the word "school" with regard to what we do. We don't "do school." Can you really "do school?" I avoid the use of the term "homeschooling" as much as I can. I don't bring school home and I don't want to bring school home. I want something entirely different. Learning is an integral, all-day-long, all together, process we undertake at home--and sometimes out in the world. I'd not consider "school uniforms" or something distinctive because I don't want my child to "develop the feeling that he is in school and that he must study hard in order to learn the material to which he is exposed." |
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Ditto! Homeschooling is a lifestyle. We dress the way we dress everyday. My younger kids have a routine in the morning that requires dressing for the day. My older kids sometimes can be found in their pajamas doing their school work. It is part of the beauty of homeschooling.
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Matilda
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The only situation that might make me consider any sort of "uniform" was if I lived in a state that was unfriendly to home education (  that's for you Elizabeth!). If I felt that the stares and looks and questions and probings were too much to deal with, I might consider a "uniform" for our "out and about" time.
A friend of mine use to have her girls wear generic uniforms purchased at major department stores if they had a trip to the dentist in the middle of the day to create the appearance that they were on leave from a private school to any nosy neighbors. She also tries not to be out during school hours in general to eliminate unwanted confrontations. Others might want to be boldly obvious that they don't attend an institutional school. It really depends on what you feel you can handle.
At home, my kids typically wear their play clothes. I might ask them to put on something nice if we are going out in public, but they don't wear uniforms. We haven't ever schooled in our pajamas that I can think of although it is possible. 
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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Matilda
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P.S. Have any of you seen some of the t-shirts for sale at Cafe Press for homeschoolers? Some are a bit "in your face" but some are really darling!
Click here to see them but be warned that some of their merchandise can be crude.
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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Waltzing Matilda
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Veronica's Veil
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Our Children wear uniforms! Dh requires that they learn to dress for the part, no matter what part they are "playing" that day. He stresses heavily that since we have only boys, in training to be Men and many Men must wear uniforms or at least follow a strict dresscode in life/jobs that this will only help our boys to embrace those requirements as Adults.
That said, however, we do not refer to them as "School Uniforms" but simply "Uniforms" which consist of a polo (we have 5 different colors)with Khaki or Navy Pants/Shorts and on Saturdays they wear what we call "Work Uniforms" which consists of Matching T-Shirts (they choose) and Jeans or jean shorts. As Saturdays are our "Work days" where we do our heavy, dirty or outside chores. For Sundays, we enforce a strict dress code for Mass (Shirt, tie, pressed pants or suit) but after Mass all is hung up or put into the laundry and they are free to put on whatever they want!
We also do NOT have ANY "Uniforms" on the weeks we are off of "School" So that they have the opportunity to choose their clothing more freely, etc...
I cannot sing the praises of Uniforms in our home loudly enough, and I know I will probably be flamed for these comments, I am sorry if this offends anyone, it is not my intent. Uniforms makes dressing in the morning very smooth and simple. It speaks volumes to the people we see at Daily Mass, who are NOT familiar (or supportive generally)of/with homeschooling. My Oldest Ds (10.5) who, in the past was diagnosed with ADHD, says that the Uniforms REALLY help him concentrate. If I slack and don't have a uniform clean for the day, he complains that it is too hard to focus on his work. When we have to go out during school hours, no one asks why they are out of school like they used to before we had uniforms. When we go on field trips or play days at the park I can quickly and easily spot my children out of the crowd because they are in matching uniforms. I could go on and on, but don't worry I won't! lol
Anyway, I just wanted to share the other side of things from someone who has tried it, this is our 3rd year of Uniforms and our 5th year of Homeschooling. Uniforms have been a huge blessing to us, but I also see how for some families it would be a torture rather than a blessing! Isn't it wonderful, how God has made all the families so different? Like brushstrokes of an Impressionist Painting, standing back and seeing them ALL TOGETHER...ah beautiful!!! 
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JenniferS
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Ditto what everyone else has said. We have a routine that requires getting dressed in the morning, but we wear nice, comfortable clothes.
When we first started homeschooling, a friend wanted to know if we would use uniforms so the kids would "know it was school time." My answer was,"No." We were pulling our kids from school because we knew they needed(we wanted) something different. Besides we rely on some really great hand me downs from relatives for most of the kids, so uniforms would be an added expense that wouldn't fit too well in the budget anyway. I'd much rather buy books!
Jen
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Elizabeth
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Veronica's Veil wrote:
I cannot sing the praises of Uniforms in our home loudly enough, and I know I will probably be flamed for these comments, I am sorry if this offends anyone, it is not my intent. |
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I assure you that you most definitely will not be flamed. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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MrsKey
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Veronica's Veil,
May I ask how many children you have?
And thank you for sharing your view point. I really was interested in hearing from people who do it both ways. With just one child my mornings are probably much more simple and easy than most of you so hearing from everyone how you do things is both beneficial and interesting!
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Matilda
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Veronica,
I think you have presented the "other side" of this discussion very well. You have certainly given me some things to think about. Thank you for your point of view!
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Charlotte (Matilda)
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with bookend boys and a double girl sandwich
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Veronica's Veil
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Elizabeth, Thank you so much! I cannot tell you what an inspiration you are to me! I truly Thank God that He led me to your book and this forum...I am also thankful that you responded to His call for you to share your wisdom with us...and the same goes for ALL the Moms here...I learn from you, ALL of you, each and every day!
MrsKey, I am sorry I should have mentioned I have 2 children. I realize that, especially in large families, uniforms could be daunting and stressful rather than a blessing! I know that with having 5+ children ensuring that they all have clean and well fitting clothes is task enough and I truly admire those Moms! We are still praying for more blessings, but for now at least, God has seen 2 as what is best for us and I am SO THANKFUL to have them!  You may wonder how chaotic could it be with 2 children to get dressed in the morning? lol Well, we have a VERY small home, our boys share a room, our oldest is VERY hyper and has trouble focusing on things...if we don't lay out clothes each night for the Morning...he simply DOESN'T get dressed at all  Until I give him some guidance! Knowing that I have to lay out a "Uniform" has somehow made me more consistent with laying out clothes at all each night...maybe the idea of "order", I don't know. I would also like to add that doing uniforms is probably easier for us because we have boys. When I think of trying to outfit girls in uniforms, my head spins...I think I have been in boyland too long,
Thank you for letting me share
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Betsy
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Veronica's Veil wrote:
| Our Children wear uniforms! |
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I have a few questions....
1. Do you ever receive any flack as being too rigid, etc. from this decision?
2. How do the Khaki's hold up throughout the year. I have thought of this but had possibly considered nice jeans instead. In the past my littles have blown out the knees in Khaki's pretty fast.
3. Where do you shop. I have wanted to do this, but it always seems a bit cost prohibitive up front. Sometimes it's nice to be able to shop consignment/garage sales. Plus, I can't hand clothes down because my oldest is smaller than my next oldest and he tends to destroy clothes.
Thanks for posting...
Betsy
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folklaur
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I have wondered about using uniforms all the time. When my oldest - who is now 17 - was in like 7 grade or so - she asked for a uniform. So I got her some of the "Catholic Plaid" skorts from french toast and polos to match. She had many people ( only some who already knew her) tell her how nice and put-together she looked.
She doesn't do that now that she attends Band at the local public high school.
I have considered it with the younger two - ages 8 and 5. My Aspie son would love the predictibility of it, I am sure. I wonder if it creates the same sense of "defined space" that having desks does (another thing i had never wanted or planned on but they love just the same!)
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Veronica's Veil
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[QUOTE=Betsy]
I have a few questions....
1. Do you ever receive any flack as being too rigid, etc. from this decision?
2. How do the Khaki's hold up throughout the year. I have thought of this but had possibly considered nice jeans instead. In the past my littles have blown out the knees in Khaki's pretty fast.
3. Where do you shop. I have wanted to do this, but it always seems a bit cost prohibitive up front. Sometimes it's nice to be able to shop consignment/garage sales. Plus, I can't hand clothes down because my oldest is smaller than my next oldest and he tends to destroy clothes.
Thanks for posting...
Betsy
1) In our homeschool Group there are approx. 30 families, I have received 1 comment that was to affect of being to rigid and restrictive and 12 comments that they love the idea. There are now 4 other families who are outfitting in uniforms for this coming year. So I would say overall the response is favorable but there can be some negative.
2) I try to buy the pants with the double re-inforced knees. My younger boy was 5 when we started uniforms and he did really wear out the knees, even the re-inforced ones  that is how we started wearing shorts for any of the months which were not too cold. I could definitely see doing jeans though. For us it is more about the matching, etc...it could be ANY kind of uniform, this is just what we came up with at the start and have stuck with it.
3) I buy at least half of them at the Thrift Store! For the pieces I cannot find there I watch the sales at Sears or Meijer's and buy then...Sears clearances theirs out seasonally and I buy a size ahead when I can find them. Another peice of advice if anyone considers it, DON'T waste your money on WHITE shirts, lol...when we started we had a couple of white ones and they were stained within hours. They look adoreable on, but they will NOT last...at least with our boys. The biggest reason we have 5 different colors is for the ease of finding them matching for CHEAP...I am not stuck with 1 or 2 colors I have to find consistently. Right now we have Red, Navy, Dark Green, Orange, & Light Blue. Often the Polo's are different brands, etc... but as long as the color is the same, it works! We almost never get to hand anything down either, my oldest is VERY rough on clothes. Which is another reason I shop cheaply, for us it doesn't pay to buy brand new in the hopes of handing it down.
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MrsKey
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Veronica's Veil wrote:
I would also like to add that doing uniforms is probably easier for us because we have boys. When I think of trying to outfit girls in uniforms, my head spins...I think I have been in boyland too long,
Thank you for letting me share |
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I looked at one uniform site (French Toast) and I'll be honest ... I think it looks like a blessing for me in one way. They have skirts of a decent length for a reasonable cost and my daughter loves the blouses with Peter Pan collars.
It might save me weeks of looking for a decent length skirt for dd. :D
And if it cuts out the "I'll be out in a minute I'm trying to decide what to wear." routine of a pre-teen fashion queen it might be a good idea.
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LisaR
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We have done nothing, a "dress code" of polo shirts any color and any pants but sweats, and a "uniform" of navy polos and khaki uniform pants. We are going back to "uniform" this year and I am thrilled!
To be honest, i used to get the Polos from LL Bean or Lands End, but realized the ones from Target or Walmart actually held up just as well. The uniform pants from Wal Mart are 11.88 and a few pairs are on my 3rd son now. A friend also mentioned that if you check with your local Old Navy, they will exchange holey uniform pants as long as the size does not change.
What spurned my to make this decision is that my oldest ds is going to Catholic HS. It was a JOY to shop for him- two shirt choices, two pants choices, a tie, and we were done. I think that for my boys, dressing for school helps get them in the mindset (even though like Elizabeth, I DETEST the "school at home" mentality in general.) as opposed to dressing as if to practice Soccer.
Each boy has 2 new navy polos and 2 uniform pants. We do at least 2 loads of laundry per day so realistically this will probably be enough, we have a few other backup polos anyway....
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PS we have a daily Mass schedule, but dressing this way also enables up to "pop in" to noon Mass without looking scraggly, and people totally leave us alone when we are out and about (in fact they give us a wide berth) thinking I've picked the kids up sick from school or something...
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
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Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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Veronica's Veil, just working backwards, but I really like what your dh said about "looking the part" . Interestingly, when ds is not decked out in his favorite replica soccer jersey, the soccer ball stays outside and my mirrors/clocks/photos are not being knocked off the wall and shattered...
Reminds me of fly lady telling us moms to be "dressed" for the day.
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Lisa
dh Tim '92
Joseph 17
Paul 14
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Maria Gianna 5
Isaac Vincent 9/21/10! and...
many little saints in heaven!
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I'm thinking it depends entirely on the family. Being in pjs can leave some just too relaxed to get down to business or not getting dressed as part of the morning routine can become a sticking point later in the day if you have to leave the house without a lot of lead time (read: don't have time to wait for people to get showered and dressed). For my dc, some of them like to shower mid-morning as a study break. It's not like they don't get dressed, buy they do it when it's convenient for them. But let me add, this happens with teens who use it as a transition between subjects they work on with me and their time to work on their own. I am generally up and dressed at the very start of my day.
Peace,
Nancy
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Dressing for school
