Any parents experienced in homeschooling their children?

Question

I'm not impressed with the changes at my daughter's elementary school. So I am seriously considering what would be the best educational path for her: public school, charter school, private school....or should I homeschool her?

I don't know anything about homeschooling, but I have had experience with tutoring kids. What's the daily curriculum like? What kind of textbooks to use? How is the academic curriculum different from the schools?

I simply would like to provide my daughter a more accelerated academic program than what her public elementary school offers.

Answer 1

The choices in curriculum and type of schooling are almost as varied as how many kinds of kids there are!

The daily schedule will be really different depending on what method you choose and what needs doing in your household.  Some people use a School-at-home method that is very structured... all the way to the opposite end of unschoolers who are very unstructured. Some of the curriculum is the same as the schools while others are drastically different.

To keep from being overwhelmed with so many options narrow it down my what appeals to your daughter and yourself the most. If she a very visual learner, then you should avoid educational choices that are primarily auditory. etc. If you are looking at being her primary teacher and you are really uncomfortable with a method, then she will be stressed by that as well. So look at the types of learners, then the approaches that are common. when you put those two together it becomes easier to distinguish what types of curriculum are NOT for you and you can read reviews and get samples of the rest to decide.

My advice is to consider what you want to accomplish, why the current situation is not ideal,  and then find a method that accomplishes what you need in a way that appeals to your daughter. If you look first at what she both needs and enjoys then the method of getting there will be easier to choose. If you begin with wondering about which books and what the schedule will be like, it will be overwhelming.

Answer 2

You want the best for your daughter and I congradulate you. The first step is always the scariest when it comes to homeschooling and with all the info (some right, some wrong, some good,some bad) it can seem a little overwhelming.

First go to the recommended website www.hslda.org (Homeschool Legal Defense Assoc.) and find the rules for your state.

  **** Alabama requires a Umbrella School (a school or organization that you pay to hold records, make transcripts, send  work to child, grade and issue grades); Florida is easy as you simply send a 'Letter of Intent', keep a portfolio and submit to a yearly review; Virginia is 2 ways...claim Religious exempt or submit the same as Fl.*****

How fast or slow your daughter goes is up to the 2 of you since she is not on a time restriction in her learning with homeschool. Also you can be creative on what you use and where you get it from. There are loads of material online that you can download for free ( I just found Mythology cards that can be printed out and then played similar to Go Fish), you can get really good stuff from the Library, and you can get other books from Amazon.com at a fraction of their normal price (they have a used section).

My daughter is now in 4th grade and we have been at this for 5 yrs...we use McGuffey Readers, McGuffey Speller, Ray's Arithmatic, hands on science, the internet, Jumpstart, Cluefinders, Living History, Dig kits ( look in the Dollar Tree for Dino Eggs and Walmart in toys), Field Trips, Flat Traveling, learning French and German, HomeEc, cooking, Keepers at Home (like Girl Scouts but God based), etc.

The limits on her learning is your reluctance to try something that is NOT the norm.

As to DAILY curriculum, that is up to you. Understand that some states DO require xxxxamount of hours for certain subjects or time spent daily (some not all).

Also there is a Homeschool ID card that you can both get (student and educator) from Homeschoolid.com and you can sign up at Bookstores and other places for Teacher Discounts or get into certain places 1/2 price (or free) or discounted (you just have to call around).

Good luck to the both of you as you start this wonderous journey.

Answer 3

First step is to look at the laws in your state. http://www.hslda.org has all you need regarding the legal stuff.

The next step is up to you to decide. You need to determine what kind of learner your child is. Is she a visual or auditory? Hands on? Christian or Secular? Does she like to read?

We use Sonlight for our kids. It is a Christian literature based program that focuses on history. All the books for the cores are on what ever history you are studing for the year (World or American). We also use Math U See because my kids learn better hands on. For science we are useing Apologia (christian based but does teach evolution from a christian prospective).

You choose the curricuclum that is the beauty of home school. You can go as fast as you want or as slow as you need all depending on the childs needs. The curriculum is different in that you choose where it comes from. You don't have to use textbooks you can use other sources.

The daily curiculum for us is pretty simple we open the lesson plan to what week and day we are on and do what it says to do. Sonlight prepares the lesson plans for you. All you do is add a math.

Answer 4

Really, the only place she can truly move at her own pace is homeschool.  You can probably cover everything in your state's "grade level expectations" (benchmarks? foundations? or whatever your state calls it) in a couple of months or so (if that's what you choose to do), and spend the rest of the year pursuing her own interests.  You can choose how, when, and where to do your own schooling.  You may find yourself spending a lot of time at the library!

Most people who have never homeschooled before prefer to get a pre-packaged set of materials at first, simply to help them get their feet under them.  At least for reading, language arts, and math, so they won't feel like they're "missing something".  If you choose to do that, I'd like to suggest Christian Light Education.  Very simple, but very academically sound.  You'll want to give a diagnostic test first, just to make sure of the correct level for language arts and math.  The lessons are very well laid out, and the child can work more and more independently the higher up they go.  The website is www.clp.org  -- request a catalog first, maybe along with the diagnostic tests, because their website is right now pretty much just an order form until the new one is up and running.  Even if you don't use the diagnostic, you can see what it covers.  Tests are level 100 through level 400, and level 500 through level 800, which you choose according to your child's current grade level.  For example, if she's going into third grade, you'd give the level 100 and 200, and if she's advanced and has passed these well, go onto the 300.  You generally start two grade levels below the child's current grade, so if she's fifth grade, you'd have to start at 300, for example.

Answer 5

First, find out your state's requirements. After that, please yourself! Have a look here: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/meth... If you read something that makes you jump up and down and yell "That's what an education should look like!!!" you'll know which direction to pursue. I would also suggest you read "The Well Trained Mind" by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. You can use any kind of curriculum you like, any textbooks or none. The curriculum doesn't have to follow the state school's curriculum. I'm suggesting The Well Trained Mind since you are looking for a strongly academic program. They explain their education theory, and provide guidelines for time to be spent on each subject and suggestions for what resources to use. Few people follow their suggestions it to the letter, even the authors don't! It's a good place to start though. If you like the look of it, sign up to their message board. You can get lots of advice.

Should you homeschool your daughter? Well, it depends if you want to! If you do, it's a good choice. If you don't really want to, it's not a good choice. If you choose to homeschool, get involved in your homeschooling group if there is one suitable, and join an online group. Talking to real people helps keep us sane and reasonable in our expectations :)

Answer 6

Im sure you will get oodles of help here.

I have homeschooled my kids for 6 years.  I hated the public school options here, so out they went.

What you do day to day can be what you WANT to do.  Gear your child's learning to her best WAY of learning (videos?  reading?  hands on?  repetitive practice? etc) and her INTERESTS.  My kids love computers so they learn a lot on them.  My kids learn well from videos, so we watched a lot of stuff on 'how stuff works' and science channel and Magic Schoolbus etc.

I could go on forever, but you can write me if you have questions.

What grade?  I loved the book Well Trained Mind.  Check some of my other posts from today :)  It's a BIG book but there are some great ideas in there.

Answer 7

Hi there,

You might want to read- Genius Denied. It's a fabulous book about Gifted Education from public to homeschool and all the challenges/needs of gifted children.

The second book I would recommend is called- So you're thinking about homeschooling.

Both books should be available at the library or through Amazon.

Warm Regards,

Jana

http://www.summerhouseliving.com

http://www.purehomeschooling.com

Answer 8

maybe all did I'm not sure

Answer 9

I think the challenge that new homeschoolers face is getting over the established idea of what education looks like.

The public school system and teaching style is so ingrained in our mind that it takes awhile to relax and figure out the best style of learning for our child(ren).   We have freedom in our state to create our own curriculum and in my opinion, that's where the success originates.   We are able to teach or guide our children based on their goals, learning style, aptitude and interests.  You can also keep the 'love of learning' alive by keeping it fun and interesting.  

Do a search online or review the questions and answers here in Y!A.    Find a local support group.   Most homeschool families love to help those who are starting on the adventure.

Answer 10

I would recommend seeing if there's a Yahoo Group or an online website for a homeschooling group in your area. Just do a search for homeschooling yourcity (or closest city). With summer here, there may very well be park days you can attend and be able to sit down and chat, or in a group, you can chat back and forth rather than just collect answers.

The daily curriculum is what YOU choose to make it. You can buy something prepackaged or you can simply choose it on your own. You choose the texts. You decide the academic curriculum. You can make it as diverse or as challenging or as focused on her interests as you wish it to be. You are, in essence, the headmaster and head teacher of your own private school when you homeschool.

Homeschooling, other than perhaps a few alternative schools, is probably the ideal way to allow a child to really go their pace academically. There are so many time robbers in school and it can only go so fast because EVERYBODY is expected to succeed--those who can go faster aren't really allowed to, so they aren't getting the education they deserve. At home, you can set aside 3-4 hours and accomplish more in that time than would be done in school, all the while having half the day to pursue interests, go out and do things, have fun.