How do I start homeschooling my 5th grader and 10th grader?

Question

I live in California. How long before I can pull them out of public school? Do they have to finish the year? If I could transfer them today how long until I would be ready to teach them myself? Supplies etc.

Answer 1

grade 10... do www.virtualhighschool.com they can do courses at their own pace so that they your grade 10 wont have to fail.

Grade 5 you can pull out no, and just teach, its not like they are getting credits or anything!

Answer 2

I'm including as a source a link to the HomeSchool Association of California, which should provide you with a wealth of information about your state's laws and regulations.  I've also included the California Homeschool Network (which has a nice how to get started pamplet) and the HSLDA's laws about California.

I believe it is possible under California law to remove your child from school mid-year/mid-semester, but how you get started is up to you.  If you opt for a virtual school type arrangement, you'll need to know when the virtual school starts.

To prepare yourself for homeschooling, research the different styles of homeschooling.  Do you want to follow a set curriculum step-by-step or do you want to unschool and come up with schooling as you go?  If you want a purchased curriculum, you'll need to budget for a new or used set of books for that curriculum.  If unschooling, sit down with your kids and work out what subjects are going to be covered and then get online and find books/sites/etc that fit your needs.  As for how long it takes, that varies by your own level of need for planning.  

There's a lot of detail it would be hard to answer here - feel free to email me me via my profile and I'll be happy to answer more questions for you and/or help you get started.

Answer 3

Whenever you are ready to home school them, you should take them out. You can take them out of public school whenever, they don't have to finish the year.

It all depends on what program you use before you are ready to teach them..make sure you are ready before you take them out of public school though.

Make sure to check out hslda.com for laws and regulations in your area.

Answer 4

You are ready now! The will to do it is all you need. I'm in KY. I pulled my kid out of school over Thanksgiving break two years ago. I've never felt better about a decision than I do this one. You may end up backtracking or moving ahead further than you think. You'd be surprised how off the mark public school can be when it comes to what your kids should be learning. So, don't run out and buy a curriculum right away. Make the kids a part of all your decisions. Ask them how they feel about what they are studying and what they want to do at home. Don't forget to give them time to make the switch. Allow some downtime. Unschool a while. Just keep the TV and video games off and leave books, games and magazines around. You read to. Tell them when you see something you want to share. Go to the library every week. That example will go a long way.

As far as supplies go, the library is you life line. What they don't have, they can borrow through inter library loan.

Good luck and bright blessings!

Answer 5

Hi, I'm a 10th grader homeschooled. for advise on how to do this visit www.k12.com This is the school that I am in. Your kids will enjoy this if they enjoy interactive online learning! I even get to do labs for Biology with real chemecals and stuff!

Also since you live in California like me, go to www.caliva.org

Hope this helps,

Bethany B

Answer 6

If I'm not mistaken California REQUIRES the program be accredited, which means you have to spend some $$$ and get some real books or software to do the job.

Calvert, Abeka, Penn Foster, etc.