Home Schooling Where to begin?

[333]

Peace,

I am gearing up to start homeschooling my youngest perhaps by next year, and would greatly appreciate any direction as to how and where to get started.

Thanks

333

[WileyCoyote]

Well, to be strictly honest, I cheated. I went to Calvert Schools and bought their yearly program. The reason I did this was because it was an accredited program - and our school district and State were highly restrictive about what would be considered 'home schooling' vs 'fanaticism' or 'child neglect'. Once they saw the program, the asst superintendent stated on the record that it was better than their own (which of course it was). I had little trouble getting 'permission' from the school board - which saved me a LOT of time and trouble.

There are several wonderful things about Calvert. The main one is that they provide EVERYTHING you need for the school year - even paper and pencils and pens, as well as extracurricular books and even crayons for art, as well as teachers' manuals with the tests and answers. The second is that they have a generic religious component that you can use or easily pass over if you are so inclined. The third is that they are all about the 'old fashioned' way of teaching - remember multiplication tables by rote and timed? The fourth is that they provide a lot of extracurricular and intracurricular education - my sixth grader learned about architecture and myths, and we all learned conversational French. The fifth is that they have a teacher-supervisory component available (I paid for it the first year to get my feet wet) where the teacher evaluates and helps grade the students.

Many programs out there are religion-based but not as enthusiastic about whole-child education as I like. Calvert also does not have the hypersensitive and politically correct garbage cluttering up their books as so many private and public schools do - they base everything in real facts, not feel-good garbage.

They are expensive but very worth it, to me.

[annabella1]

The best place to start is to find out what the laws are in your state that have to do with homeschooling. I home schooled my youngest from 6th grade to first year in college. We were living in Arkansas at the time and all that was required was to register with the school board (It was kind of a questionnaire to fill out) and for him to take a test when he was at the 10th grade level. The laws have probably changed by now that's why you should check for the most recent laws in your state. You could probably find them by googleing "Home School Laws In your state."

[calliel]

Ditto finding out and understanding the home school laws in your state. Gotta know them. Make sure your spouse is with you. I don't know how home school can work if one spouse doubts what the other is doing.

ideas: Go to your library and check out books on how to homeschool - everyone has their own ideas so be prepared for that. Just read and let it flow through your head. See what you like and what doesn't sound like 'your thing'. Garner ideas from all of them. If you don't have this kind of book in your library, look for a used book store - Homeschooling families frequent them often and trade their books. If bad comes to worse, check on amazon.com and buy some used there. I don't have any to recommend for you - pick the ones that look good to you.

You should also consider looking for a homeschool group in your area. There are co-ops, etc. Get to know some of the people involved and see what/how they do school. They can also point you to curriculum fairs and home school conferences where you can learn about homeschooling and look at the many different kinds of curriculum available. You can get a headache trying to remember them all.

I started slowly with just a couple of subjects. Then we added in more as we got going but I started with a 1st grader this time around - lots of time to teach it all. (years ago, I pulled 4 of my kids out of school - two in HS - what a nerve wracking time for me!) I have purchased a lot of curriculum that I haven't liked. I have some that I love. I try not to bemoan the waste and save it for the next curriculum fair. Each family is different, each child is different. Give yourself plenty of slack and time to get rolling. There are good days and bad days. Expect them. Don't get over critical of yourself.

I try to decide what I think I need - as far as curriculum and then find one that matches that -rather than looking them all over and making do. Here are some questions I would ask about various curriculum
Hands on - or workbook format?
scripted (they tell you exactly what to say when) or not?
Time intensive or easy to use?
Takes a lot of organizational skills, or not?
Does it take a lot of extra supplies? (extra expense)?

You may also want to look at several of the Packaged curriculums ( entire school year in one box) so to speak. They are pricey, but it is all there for you. I do a lot of Internet searching for curriculum items, but try to look at it before I buy. This isn't always possible.

You will want to decide if you are a traditionalist or if you are "free form" . Do you envision keeping all your subjects separated or unit study format -where you cover all the subjects with a monthly/weekly theme or topic.

Maybe you have gone through all of this. I home schooled for 2 years then took a break. I have only been doing it again for a bit over a year. Our son is 11 yrs younger than the nearest sibling. It has been a process of learning for both of us. I am still not satisfied with our English/Grammar program. I love Saxon Math. I dislike most of the science curriculums out there. We need to add spelling and reading comprehension. We are a work in progress. I think I am more successful this time around because I am giving myself time to develop our schooling methods.

Also, look for extras in your community that you can attend that are so vital for a real education. We attend a class at the Memphis zoo one day a month. It is all day, they get to pet animals that are brought into their classrooms and they visit some in their habitats. They fed the giraffes (from upstairs so they were eyeball to eyeball and got a good view of just how long those tongues are!) they fed hippos, seals, penguins and chickens. We love those classes. We also go to our local YMCA for classes two days a week - swimming, gym, spanish and art. I teach sewing for the older girls. The classes are run by the homeschool group, the YMCA provides the facilities and the equipment/lifeguards. It is a wonderful time. Museums/aquariums have free days for home schoolers - we have to drive an hour or so, but it is well worth it. We also have a 4H group that is for home school students. Look and you will probably find things going on in your area too. This will give you a base of other moms that can help you by sharing their experiences.

Good luck. I am sure many others will have information for you.

[WileyCoyote]

Our State museum (an hour and a half drive away) loves homeschoolers. They are so much better behaved than the busloads of public and even private schooled children who come in and destroy everything without supervision and/or thought. The State museum has a lot of hands-on things for children, and they are constantly being repaired.

We went to the Museum one time on Martin Luther King day. There was literally no one there - even though the museum was open, no school that day meant no schools visiting. We wandered around, and met a very nice security guard who walked us thru and told us the backstories behind the displays. The best one was - the backdrops painted behind many of the displays was done by one artist. He didn't sign his work in the conventional way - he would hide leprechauns in the backgrounds, and you would have to find them. In the space exploration background, a leprechaun was leaning against the space module with his helmet off and beside him, looking at the Earth, and so forth! Way Kewl!

Our local weatherman helped us build a weather station in the backyard and we reported to him on weather conditions... he had made a downloadable DVD for students' computers who were interested in such things.

There are resources everywhere, and once you start exploring you'll be surprised at the fun you and your children will have!

[333]

Peace,

Thank you everyone, I have started researching the laws for New York, they seem simple enough and very few parameters and restrictions. Dealing with what ever local school superintendent seems to be the worst chance of red tape.

Unfortunately there are not very many support groups with in range, but gobs of support info and of course for mentionable fees one can join the national home school association and the support of their entire staff/ lawyers and resources.

I tasted both public and private school growing up, the private school was far superior except for the religious doctrine shoved down your throat, so.... again thank you all and will be discussing this more as I dig in to it.

333