How do you homeschool?

Question

My 6-year old is in kindergarten at a public school. He is working at nearly a 3rd grade level, and I am thinking about homeschooling him next year instead of sending him to 1st grade. My husband is on board with the idea, however, his only concern is the cost.

I am a certified teacher by trade, and am very confident in being able to teach reading and writing without a formal curriculum. I am also comfortable with math, however, would like something with a basic guide for knowing what order to teach things in. I could do it, but figure it would be easier if there was already something out there.

My biggest concern is science and social studies. I don't want to have to buy an expensive curriculum. For those of you who homeschool, do you just choose a science or social studies topic you think your child would be interested in and find things online to help you teach, or do you follow a purchased curriculum? How do you know you're not leaving any topics out?

Answer 1

I want to answer just the last line of your question: How do you know you're not leaving any topics out?

Teach the child how to learn.  If you leave something out, it is easily learned later when it is needed.  In public school, the state dictates what is learned in each grade level.  Who knows if the state has dictated what the child really needs to learn at that grade level?  In homeschool, you decide.  

We have homeschool friends who do not force their children to learn to read.   One of the older children did not learn to read until she was 8 years old. She came home from a friend's home one day and said "Ok Mommy, teach me to read." She learned to read well within a matter of days. She is now a young adult in college.  She is an avid reader and learner.  She also makes good grades in college.

There is so much for our children to learn.  It is hard to decide what to include and what to exclude.  You need to trust yourself.  You will know your child and will be able to create a curriculum that will be of interest and will be useful.

Answer 2

I think the public school method I learned under was not a bad concept.

They centered on INWARD OUT.

You started social studies with the local area (city or county) from day one.  In my system it was CHicago.

Then you go to US history.  From scratch.  From Columbus, Amerigo, to Plymouth and through the revolutionary war all to way to modern era (up to the millenium or the 60s)

Then you go to world history and you have some choices from there.  You can take it region by region or do a comparison.

This gets you into Middle School area where your Micro History.  You start getting into things like the Feudal System, the Mercantile System, the rise the the Capitalistic economy we know today, the start of the industrial revolution.  The social reforms, socialism and communism.

Then you get into the High School levels of the 20th century with Facism, Nazism, Communism, the 2nd world war, the rise of Communism, the Domino Theory the Asian wars incuding Korean War, French Vietnam and then American Vietnam and right up to today with Iraq.

Then you get into civics and I'd go further than most schools do and cover both the American System and the Parlimentary systems of Canada, England, France, Israel.

The modern Tribal and Royalty systems in use.

As for science, buy him one or two science prennts for birthdays or christmas or whatever.

I got a chemistry set at age 8, meterology at age 9 or 10, microscope.  Telescope at age 11.  An astronomy book or two.  An electronics kit from Radio Shack at 12.

As you get furhter into high school Edmunds Scinetific has some neat things, some cheap.

Bags of lenses and prisms for $10 each

A complete optical bench with lenses and light source for $50

Physics toys.  The Annemometer, that thing that turns by light in the vaccum bottle.

The balls that demonstration Newtons laws of the conservation of motion.

That plus text books with the Algebra and Trig formuals you have to solve.

YOu can start out with cheap books from Sams Club

I understand Sams Club has lots of swfit stuff to help teach 6-9 year olds.

And it's cheap.

I would also stress geography and you can use computers for that.

There are geophry tests out there.

US maps and yu have to pick the state by name.

I get about 70% on that

On the world map I only get about 25%, my knowledge of the Baltic is horrible!

Couldn't find Massedonia or Boznia if my life depended on it!

There are also free web sites like HOW THINGS WORK

That are good for teaching 8 year olds and up abouth everything in science and technology.

There is the History channle, discovery channel, science and PBS

Answer 3

The companies have a catalog for you to choose from. It's really not that expensive the main cost is the books. So you'll probably end up spending $300 max a year. Probably less for him. Usually the curriculum varies by your county and state because different school systems have different mandatory classes

Answer 4

There are many different ways of homeschooling; you can go with a boxed curriculum, or you can put one together yourself.

Many schools have a scope and sequence that you can access for free, online; you can then put together a curriculum for your son.  At this age, you could do nearly everything for free with resources from the library and online lesson plans.  

You can also get the Core Knowledge "What Your __ Grader Needs to Know" and use it as a spine, or you could get a copy of The Checklist (http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/checkl... ) and use it to plan out your child's studies.  

Chances are, there will be things you'll miss; there always are.  Schools don't cover everything either - they pick and choose, and try to cover the major things.  Through homeschooling, however, you'll find that you can study on a deeper level with your child and make sure that he has mastery of what he's studying.  Because classroom logistics and lesson plans (already turned in to administration) are not at stake, you can take things at his speed.

I've found the following has worked best for my son.  Everyone does it differently, but this is to give you a look at what we do:

Reading curriculum - the library.  I tried several reading books, and he hated every one of them.  He couldn't stand reading just excerpts and doing workbook pages - he wanted to read the whole book and discuss it.  He's now in 5th grade, and I find activities online for comprehension, grammar, and extension projects to round it out.

Language Arts - We use Shurley Grammar for language arts, and IEW for writing.  We started both of these in 3rd-4th grade, and my son (who previously balked at writing his own name on his paper) really enjoys them.  LA may never be his favorite subject, but he's learning a lot and is fairly happy with what he's doing.  We also use lapbooks as hands-on references for grammar, writing, and spelling.  As far as spelling, we use http://spellingtime.com/.  It's an online curriculum that is auditory, visual, and kinesthetic...and it's fun, too!  My son is dyslexic, and this program helped him gain 3 grade levels of spelling ability in under a year.

Math - Math U See has been an absolute life saver as far as math.  It's taught by DVD, comes with a very easy to use teachers guide, and is very concept-based.  It uses manipulatives and is designed for mastery.

Science - we now use Apologia (because my son loves their curriculum), which runs about $25 per course.  However, we also do unit studies with lapbooks (http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/ ) and notebooks using resources from online and at the library.  These can be sparked by something he's learning in Scouts, a book we've read, or a movie he's seen.  Over the past 4 years, he's studied botany, zoology, astronomy, anatomy, marine biology, meteorology, geology, paleontology, and other fields, many of them fairly in-depth.  He'll study them more in-depth as he gets older, but he has a good foundation for those studies.

History: We've moved to a literature-based approach for this, and also use lapbooks and notebooks in history.  We've taken a chronological approach to history, and over the past 3 years (2nd-4th grade) we've studied from the Ancient World to the American Revolution.  This next semester, we'll be studying Presidents (from Washington to Nixon or Ford) and an overview of the states as they came into the Union, according to which President's term we're studying.  This is something that neither my husband nor I ever got to do in school, and our son is really pretty excited about it.  Starting in 6th grade, we'll move to TRISMS, which is a literature and research based program.  This will take him through high school.

We also do other subjects, but this gives you an idea of what we do.  Many of his text-based products are purchased at a discount or used; there are many ways to get good-quality resources for your children without having to spend a fortune.  

Hope that helps!

Answer 5

You've already received great answers so mine is just for fun...

How do I homeschool? Let me count the ways.

I homeschool and learn to the depth and breadth and height

My mind can reach, when feeling out of sight

I homeschool to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I homeschool freely, as men strive for Right;

I homeschool purely, as they turn from Praise.

I homeschool with a passion put to use

In my learning, and with my childhood's faith.

I homeschool with a love I seemed to lose

Inside the public system,

I homeschool with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life!

Answer 6

I too have a child that is too advanced to be in our public school. We use the library, ALOT. As someone else mentioned, you will leave things out, so do the schools. For example: I grew up in NJ. We learned TONS on the Revolutionary War and the Civil War for American History. We disected things in Science and learned about sandy soil. My husband grew up in Oklahoma. He learned more about Indian tribes and the Alamo. His Science revolved around oil and farming.

I use our states Grade Level Expectations, found on the board of ed website. That way, if for any reason in the future my kids have to enter into the public school system, they will have covered all the same material.

There are some affordable box curriculums out there. They are a great place to start, but I have found alot of people drift away from those once they are more comfortable with homeschooling.

Good luck

Answer 7

We follow an interest-led approach, or "unschooled" approach to learning. I don't teach, I guide my children through this process; this forces the kids to become independent learners who do not look to outside affirmation of a job well done.  The job is well-done because the child knows he/she did a good job. And that's good enough for us... :o)

Take your cues from your children. If they want to learn about history, talk with them and you will know what point in history makes sense to study. This is the beauty of homeschooling -- you are not bound by any state standards (well, most states; some states still require some form of testing and accountability of homeschoolers; thank goodness Ohio isn't one of them; make sure you know your state's requirements).

For example, my 6yo likes ancient Egypt, mummies, and pyramids, so, guess what? We study very basic ancient Egyptian history, mummies (and not just Egyptian, bog mummies are also facinating!), and pyramids.  She's not interested in the whys and wherefores of history; historical perspective does not make any sense for very young kids, though sometimes the youngsters can make those sorts of connections, ask yourself if it really is all that important to your child and where he/she is at in life.  Once your child has determined it is important to her/him, then you go from there.

Homeschooling does not have to be expensive and I know it is hard to ignore the siren call of curriculum publishers who try their best to convince you that their product will make your kid ace their tests.  Well, if your kid doesn't take tests, then what's the point of all those facts and figures?  

We spend a lot of time at the various libraries we have at our disposal, the Internet, and we buy the occasional textbook.  Barnes and Noble is our favorite store, though we buy books only if they are ones I believe all the kids will benefit from.  Otherwise, the library fits the bill for subject-oriented learning.

Science figures pretty big in our lives, but we do it on the cheap, in our kitchen, with a textbook and website ( http://sciencebuddies.com ) on hand, though we will probably buy a high-school level chemistry set this year ( http://thamesandkosmos.com/products/main... ).  

Social studies happen based on current events and observations of our local culture.  As our kids get older, they will begin to make more advanced connections that might require more in-depth learning, but that is not important at this point in their lives.  

We talk, a LOT, and the kids read, a LOT.

The learning goes so much easier when the child is on board actively participating in the learning process, from choosing the topic to deciding just how deep to go.  When the child is ready for higher-order thinking, you will know and you will be able to respond to that need much faster and more efficiently than a public school teacher would be able to with 25 or 30 kids to watch over.

Good luck and email me if you want to chat about homeschooling!

:o)

Answer 8

My advice is that you seek mastery in the basics and foster a love of learning. Natural curiosity and interest will guide you as to what to assist them in learning next.

Answer 9

try www.k12.com

Answer 10

I spend very little on homeschooling and do not use a purchased science or social curriculum. The library has TONS of science books (and videos/dvds) for kids, covering everything imaginable, including plenty of books with experiments to do. The library also has TONS of books/videos on geography, history, biographies...

As for leaving topics out, you know that the schools leave topics out, too, right? There's no possible way they can cover everything. If you want to follow what they're doing in school, your state dept. of education will likely have the learning outcomes on their website and you can follow that.