I need help with homeschooling my 5 year old?

Question

I will be homeschooling my 5 yr old in Mexico. My husband has to live in Mexico because immigration is so strict in the U.S. right now. So our whole family will be going. She cannot go to public school because she is not a Mexican citizen. And private school is too expensive. So I will be homeschooling her. I have an associates degree in liberal arts.

Only thing is, I don't have much knowledge about homeschooling. Where do I start? Can I get material even if I am in a foreign country? We will be in Mexico for the next ten years. Also, we have limited funds. My goal is for her to enjoy school, learn plenty, and not cost too much because only one parent will be working, we have limited funds.

Answer 1

If you'll have an internet connection and a library, you almost don't need to buy anything for the next few years except for art supplies; there is so much available online for free (or way cheap) that the hard part is choosing what to use!

One program you may want to look into is called Five in a Row; it's fairly inexpensive, and you can pick up a lot of the books at low prices.  (I've found many of them at garage sales and library book sales for 50 cents or less.)  It covers pretty much everything, and is a lot of fun - I wish I had known about it when mine was that age!

Other than that, all you would really need until about 2nd-3rd grade would be a math curriculum; Math U See is excellent for that age.  I wouldn't even start her in it until she's 6 or 7, though; however, you can get it used on ebay or at used book sales (check with local homeschool groups) at a deep discount now and keep it till she's old enough.

I homeschool my gifted 10yo for around $3-400 per year; up until this year it was more like $150, but he's getting into high school work now, so things are getting a bit pricier.  However, until she reaches 9-11, homeschooling can be done for very little money, anywhere in the world.  If you will have internet there, you can do so for next to nothing; if not, you'll need to buy some supplies.

Ambleside Online is a completely free curriculum that covers everything but grammar, phonics, and math for K (possibly PreK) through 12; you do need internet access, but it's a literature based curriculum that gives you everything else, completely for free.

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Go online and look through different programs who offer home school curriculum. http://www.rainbowresource.com/index.php is a great one that carries all types and you can search on here they have free shipping on orders over a certain amount I think it is 150.00. Home schooling can cost a ton or you could do it for basically free. Once you get an idea of the classes you want her to take making sure that where you move back in the US you have met their requirements as well. Then you can do it cheaper than at first when you are looking around. Go to the library and it will be much cheaper. You can teach anywhere. Amazon.com has great information as well on what to teach I just bought a book about what you should teach your child and when. It breaks it down nice and gives references to books etc. Good luck.

Answer 3

Definitely you can get materials even in foreign countries.

How you want to get materials depends on how you want to go about homeschooling.  If you're able to pay for new curriculum that's already set up for you, there's a company called "Sonlight" that was started for Americans who were living overseas and homeschooling their children.  (It does have a Christian bent to it, but whether you are Christian or not, you'll find them very useful.)  If you do an online search, you should be able to find their website.  But new stuff can be very pricey.

If you have access to a decent library while in Mexico, you may not need to buy much curriculum.  You might want to purchase books for math in a year or two, but you can easily use a good library to get enough reading materials to teach reading, history, geography and science.  

If you have access to a computer and the internet while in Mexico, you'll be able to find a lot of resources, free worksheets and more online.  

You can use websites such as www.worldbook.com (look for "parent resources," then "typical course of study") to get information on what American children typically study at a particular grade level.  This can give you a guide on what to teach your child.  (And if you won't have internet access later, you might want to print out the lists for several grade levels to keep and refer to later.)

You can try online sites to try to buy used curriculum.  Some sellers on eBay, for example, will ship overseas.  If you have friends or family in the States who'd be willing to help, they might buy materials for you from sellers who won't ship overseas and then have the family or friends ship it directly to you.

You might want to buy a book or two on general ideas about homeschooling, or ones that give ideas about what to cover each year.  These aren't necessary but can be a great help.  I personally like "The Well-Trained Mind" and its approach to homeschooling, but there are lots of other great sources out there.  You might want to check at your local public library now (before leaving the States) to see what homeschooling books they have; read a few of them to get ideas on what methods sound better to you, and then buy one or two good homeschooling reference books.  (Most public libraries in the States these days have a number of books on homeschooling, or they can get them for you.)

You might want to go to a discount store here in the States and buy a comprehensive workbook for kindergarten (and maybe stock up on some for the following grades, if you won't be able to get back for a few years).  These can be found fairly cheaply.  They'll need some supplementation, but they can give you a lot of things to work on (and you can use your imagination to come up with similar things to do with your child for more practice).

With a 5 yr. old, you can do a lot for the next couple of years using a few good books and plenty of imagination.  You don't really needs textbooks to teach the basics of reading, writing, counting, adding and subtracting, etc.  You can do a lot with reading to her, playing games, learning about the community she's in, exploring the world around her, etc.

Good luck.

Answer 4

There is SO much information about homeschooling on the internet, I'd start there. :) A good website is besthomeschooling.org. Also check out the homeschooling forum at www.Mothering.com/discussions. Homeschooling doesn't need to cost anything, aside from a library membership and internet access. Honestly, there is so much stuff out there for free.

Answer 5

We homeschooled in New Hampshire, where the laws were fairly lenient. We ordered curriculum (it wasn't cheap), but I had friends who more or less made their own curriculum. Alot depends upon the area you're moving to and the guidelines they have set up. If things are lax, use the internet to help in your course planning. It's really good that you're starting out with a youngster, as the classes will be easier for you to develop, especially since you're also learning how to homeschool. I would suggest you find homeschool chat rooms to question folks who are still involved (my kids are in their 30's now). Good luck!

Answer 6

What US State are you moving from? You need to check your State's laws regarding Home Schooling and moving out of state.

http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Me...

With a 5 yo, a computer and the library is really all you will need.

Check Mexico laws regarding Home Schooling.

Legal Status: Without clear compulsory attendance laws, homeschooling is flourishing legally. ( from above link)

Answer 7

you can get her a laptop and then enroll her in a online school