Desperately Seeking Home School Answers and Advice!?

Question

My name is Linda. I am currently seeking answers & advice about homeschooling in S.C. I feel like my brain is fried through all the reading and research I have done. I thought, who better to ask but other homeschool moms. My son is 11 & has LD & I plan to start homeschooling him this fall- 6th grade. I have pretty much settled on option 3 under the state requirements (180 d/yr, operate under association w/ at least 50 members,semi annual progress report, maintain evidence of regular subjects taught, activities, portfolio of child's work. My state requires reading, writing, math, science, & ss w/ literature & composition added in 7-12th grades. I have gotten different answers from the same association. Some make things sound complicated & others do not. Is it possible to homeschool without purchasing a curriculum? What's the best way to prepare lesson plans, unit studies, curriculum, etc. Can I use internet & library resources for everything? My son is delayed in reading & math

Answer 1

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/SC/default...

This is where we found help for our son, we too have an 11 yr old son, this is his 3rd yr homeschooling. He too has LD's, he's severly dyslexic, & the public shools, & board of education here in our county, told us that "Dyslexia DOSNT EXSITS"!

We are able to pick & chose his circculum, & what we teach him. we get our stuff off of the web, the libraries, & look around for different text book companies, like "A Bekka", "Scott Foresman", theres more, if you need more info, dont hesitate to email me, I also have other homeschool moms that can help you out too, other then on here. I found alot of help also on myspace too, just type in homeschool moms, thats how I met my firends that have helped me out so much, we pass off alot of material, free websites, & free schooling projects for the children to do too.

Answer 2

Without knowing what options your state offers, it's difficult to really help.

We don't buy set curriculum, we what works with our kids.  Some have A Beka, some Saxon, some Math-U-See ... and that's just 3 of the different math curricula we have in our home.  We have kids from elementary through high school.  We have found that because they each have different learning styles, they all require varying teaching/learning tools/materials.

We don't have a set lesson plan as we are doing both unschooling and home schooling ... sounds like your option is to do school at home (basically bringing the school into your home and following what they do).  Not a bad option if that's what works for your family.  What we are doing is what works for ours.  

Our kids have learned about the Mayan, Aztec, Greek and Roman both history and mythology because they were interested ... not because it's part of what a school says they need.  I have a child very advanced in math - a good 4 levels ahead of my oldest - so I have math work at that level.  However this same child is a good 2 levels behind in reading/language arts.  Can't stand to sit there and do it.  But I know from the level of books this child is reading that the ability is there.  It's my job to bring that child up to speed in that area ... and we have done so by using the rest of the subjects and incorporating language arts into them (and vice versa).

We use the internet ( www.enchantedlearning.com ), library, thrift store (you'd be surprised just how many schools toss out books they deem "no good"), and of course curriculum fairs (where other home schoolers sell their used books/supplies).  There's also ebay, amazon and the like for buying used books.  And if you choose to buy new, find stores in your area (what you might consider a store where teachers shop, they usually have books and things for home schoolers.  They'll also have lesson planner books if you find you need one.)

Http://www.rainbowresource.com is an excellent place to buy anything you could ever dream of (and then some!  Caution, it's a BIG catalog, so be prepared).  Their prices are reasonable and their selection just amazing!

Hope this has helped - best wishes

Answer 3

Can't help you personally, but this is an excellent site specific to South Carolina. I've used their forms for keeping track of things like field trips (just for my own records). Very handy!

http://www.chasesc.com/countysupport.htm...

Answer 4

It is different for every family that does it, and often even for every individual child. As stated above, some people do online school which means you have teachers you corespond with over the internet. The online school sends you your materials and you complete the work and get a grade, just like regular school, only done on the computer from home or the library or the road if you travel a lot.

Some people homeschool through a private school or school of corespondance that sends them their books and materials for assignments, labs, projects, etc through the mail. With this type of home schooling, you usually send a report to the base school at set intervals.

Some people attend charter schools that let them go in to school once or twice a week, collect work, turn in work, and get help if they need it, though this isn't really what most consider to be homeschooling. Neither is online school to some people.

Some people take full responsibility for their own/their child's education by doing more traditional homeschooling. The parents and children choose their own curriculumk, text books, work books, lab equipment, videos, software, and any other materials they wish to use. They also choose their own subjects based on the child's individual interests and goals, for example, if the child wishes to go on to university, they will study the important core subjects that universities look for on transcripts as well as a variety of electives based on individual interests, needs, and goals. I personally am interested in robotics, animation, creative writing, and music, so this year I've been studying Programming and Robotics with various books and robotics/electronics kits for labs, 3D Animation with computer software, and creative writing with a textbook and books frokm the library. I also takek music lessons in the community and I am a member of a band. In this form of homeschooling, the state may require that you take a yearly standardized test to show that you are performing at or above grade level. In the states that are a bit more strict about homeschooling, your parents may need to send in a quarterly report, just like a report card in a way. Your parents may also give you tests at home if you all agree that this is what will be best for you, but it isn't required.You may also get grades like you do in school, or you may be on a Pass/Fail system, or you may have a totally unique grading system, or no grades at all. I take tests, but not for grades. When I take a test in a subject it is only to determine how far along I've come in that subject. The "grade" is never final because I homeschool to learn, not to just get by with a passing grade. If, for example, I took a test on a chapter I did in Algebra and I didn't do well on a few questions, instead of just going on to the next chapter, I go back and review the stuff I didn't get right on the test and then take the test again before moving on. For me, all tests are for is to tell me when I can move on to something more challenging. For me, and many others, tests aren't always in the same format as they are in public school. Sometimes in certain subjects, I'm tested by being given an extensive project or presentation to do to show my understanding of the topic cover, or asked to write a paper on it, or give a mock lesson on it as if I were the teacher. You know you truly understand something when you can accurately and confidently teach it to someone else. Often my mother, adult friends, or friends closer to my age who are in college or who have already mastered te subject will act as audience durring presentations or re-teaching activities, checking me if I don't seem to understand something. I only do this for certain subjects and topics though.

Homeschoolers sometimes do a lot of the things you may do in public school, but sometimes they do more as well. Many homeschoolers do a lot of hands-on activities like labs in science. This year, I am taking Chemistry, and I have all the same lab equipment you would use in a public high school chemistry class, just on a smaller scale, and with lab instructions specific to homeschooling (not requiring large groups of students, or very-hard-to-obtain chemicals). It was the same in Biology and in Physical Science. I have homeschooled friends who take thier science classes in a co-op group (kind of a homeschool class where parents and community volunteers act as teachers for each subject), and still other homeschool friends who take all of their highschool science classes (and some other classes) at the local community college as duel-enrollment students (just like regular highschool duel enrollment).

Homeschoolers don't miss out on the social aspects of school either. They certainly do not spend all of their time inside the house. Homeschoolers spend a lot of their time is spent out in the community, learning and experiencing life in the real world instead of in a house or in a classroom alone. Many homeschoolers take classes offered in the community such as art classes at an art studio or museum, musical instrument or voice lessons as well as band or chorus classes for homeschoolers at local music stores or schools, fencing lessons, swimming lessons, horseback riding lessons, classes and programs offered through local childrens museums, science museums, or history museums, classes or programs offered through the library, community/youth center, YMCA, or other Parks and Rec programs, dance class, and so on. Naturally, these are great opportnities for homeschoolers to interact with others of all ages, homeschoolers and public schoolers alike. There are also clubs outside of the regular public schools such as riding clubs, clubs offered through libraries and community centers, drama clubs at local theaters, boy scouts, girl scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, youth group for those who are into the church scene, OM, academic teams, community sports, individual sports like martial arts, tennis, fencing, swimming, etc, and much much more. Many cities or counties also have homeschool organizations or co-ops where, as stated above, homeschoolers can take classes with other homeschoolers as well as go on frequent feild trips (though any homeschool parent or group of parents can arrange a feild trip when they want to), join clubs sponsored by the group (as many as can be thought of and started by the members), work on a yearbook or newspaper staff, attend dances or holiday parties (most groups have something along the lines of a Not-Back-To-School party each fall where the homeschoolers may go to a theme park or some other sort of outing) volunteer service projects, prom and graduation ceremonies for older students, outings on weekends, park days where younger kids meet up to spend an afternoon playing and pic-nicking in the park (uwsually weekly or monthly) and so on. Some even participate in private school sports competitions as well as regional and state science fairs and spelling/geography bee. There is no lack of social interaction.

The last form of homeschooling I can think of is unschooling. In this kind of home education, there is no structured school day, no tests (unless the child wants them), no grades. All of the learning and "school work" is directed by the child. This is usually best when started at an early age so that the child's natural desire to learn remains in tact and the child doesn't just become lazy or unmotivated. I am what I like to call a homeschool/unschooler because my schooling is all self-directed, but I still choose to do the book work and testing along with the creative hands-on stuff because I feel it is in my own, individual best interest.

I hope this answers your questions

If you want, I can edit my answer to add in a list of materials we're using this year and have used in the past that were EXCELLENT for us. We bought some things, but we did save TONS in 9th grade especially by using the library and internet for most things.

Answer 5

OK - I'm trying to pick out the questions in your long explanation...

Some make things sound complicated & others do not.

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Not a question - but you can make it easy or make it complicated.  Easy is better!  New homeschoolers often try to duplicate PS at home and learn after an exhausting year to relax a bit.  Our first year I did lesson plans for every day and every subject.  I created grading rubrics for every assignment. I tracked along with the state curriculum standards.  

You are teaching 1 child - not a classroom full.  Lesson plan = Discuss the day's (or week's) goals and let the kid loose to tackle it.  You will be surprised!

Is it possible to homeschool without purchasing a curriculum?

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Yes.  We do not purchase a single packaged curriculum.  We pick and choose for each subject from all the great variety of resources available.  Lots of people do this.  Others are really happy with one "brand" of curriculum and just use the one.

What's the best way to prepare lesson plans, unit studies, curriculum, etc.

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See comment 1 above.  Don't make things more complicated than they really need to be.

Can I use internet & library resources for everything?

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I've heard of people who do so.  That would not work for us for a variety of reasons.  But I do think it is possible.

Well, there's my 3 cents (inflation).