What is the best way to home school my child?

Question

i have a 5 year old that i want to teach at home how do i get staeted

Answer 1

Don't.   A kid needs to be in a school with teachers and alot of other children.  They need to learn how to make friends and learn.  If your child wants to go to college when the time comes, it won't know what to do becuase he/she wasn't in a regular school.   I don't think it's a good idea to seclude a child from learning with other children.

Answer 2

First off, you'll need to take a look at the laws regulating homeschooling in your state. Your child might be to young for compulsary attendence right now (the age varies from state to state), but it would be a good idea to have a general outline of what you'll need to do in the future to continue homeshooling.

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

State laws are WIDELY varied on the type of records you'll need to keep (from none at all to portfolios and transcripts),  whether or not standardized testing is required, etc.

A quick search of 'your state homeschooling' will yield a number of links to local groups who can help you get started, advise you about local issues, keep you abreast of local activities and events, etc.

Insofar as actual curricula and teaching methods, you'll find opinions are hugely varied. The most important thing at this point (especially since your child is so young) is to spend time getting to know what type of 'learner' your child is. Does he/she pick up things visually? Does he/she need verbal instructions? What does he/she show an interest in? Initially it might be beneficial to borrow or download a wide variety of resources in order to identify his/her strengths and the areas you'll have to put a little more effort into. This absolutely doesn't mean he/she won't  be actively learning anything initially (I'm sure as a parent you know they're ALWAYS picking up things) but it will help you pinpoint what teaching methods best benefit your child.

Some simple ideas to get started - talk about animals and nature while at the park, make some sight word flash cards, use fun manipulatives to teach numbers, find a couple interactive learning games online, turn the on closed captioned narration on his/her fave DVDs, use lots of coloring and artwork to improve his/her hand/eye coordination. Keep it simple and he/she will be picking it up before you know it.

Read, read, read! Read him/her everything! Point out the words and their sounds. Pay attention to how he/she reacts to it - this is a great way to figure out what subjects he/she is interested in learning about (most children can and will absorb information often considered 'above grade lvl' if they have a marked interest in the subject). Literally litter your house with books - visit the library frequently - get to know used bookstores (local and web) in and out - get novelizations of his/her favorite movies/TV shows - print out info from the web on things he/she is interested in for you to read together (and for him/her to have a 'hard' copy, they love to have 'important' papers of their own). Read some more!

All in all, only you will be able to say what the best method is for your child. Don't be afraid to try something and leave it (or introduce it again later) if its not working or your child isn't ready for it. Get to know your child, get active with a local support group, and have fun! Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

K12.com (free)

progressacademy.com (71 per month)

Ohio Virtual Academy.com (free)

Connections Academy (free)

Answer 4

www.hslda.org will show you how to legally homeschool in your state.   Just click on your state and do what it tells you to do. After, you can find the right curriculum to teach them.

Answer 5

Check with your local state regulations--as all are different--but they are very easy to dowload the needed required papers of the state sites....

Usually a high school diploma is needed by the parent that plans to "teach" the child.

When your child reaches the age of 7 usually , you will need to order a standardized test that the child is required to take at the end of every year to keep on file-(at your house)

You will also be required to keep attendance and other papers that show where your child is at periodically with their learning processes.

There are all sorts of curriculms out there--and you can stick with just one type or provide an assortment---

Go to Barnes and Noble and check out their books on Homeschooling--and your local librairy helps tremendously-with books to learn more about homeschooling and materials for your child--

There are also local clubs that you can join in your area for your child to go on field trips, and join in wonderful learning activities.....and they will have plenty of socialization in extra curricular activities that regular schools do not give.

I am homeschooling 2 children, and enjoying every moment--

Do not be pushed around by others telling you that the kids will not be socialized, etc---

Homeschooled children are being sought after when it comes to college admissions---Administraters know that their education has been more than public schooled children, and have seen over and over again the performance that comes with homeschooled kids.

There is no need to expose kids to the awful things that public schools have in them--they have all their life to know and experience others problems, and short comings.....let them learn in a safe environment....and give them the individualized instruction that they deserve.....

http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0...

Feel good about what you are about to do for your child... get out and get busy--school is ready to start soon!!

Good Luck and Blessings to you .....

Answer 6

First check with your state about the homeschooling laws to see what your requirememnts are. Most states have a minimum requirement like for example: In  Colorado (where I'm at ) it states that a student will receive at least an average of 4 hours of instruction per day for 172 days and every odd year starting in the 3rd grade they will take a standardized test to be put on file with the school district.

Most States require that you submit a Notice of Intent- this just states that you'll be suppling your childs education and this is your info and your childs and how many days and how many hours etc...

Also search online for homeschool support groups for your state. They are a great place to talk to other homeschooler's and your child can play with other kids. A lot of them will do co-op classes and field trips too.

Some good websites to get you started are:

www.starfall.com

www.abcteach.com

www.easyfunschool.com

www.crayola.com (register under "teacher" and you can   access all of their lesson plans for free)

www.thehomeschoolmom.com

www.donnayoung.com (homeschool forms like lesson plan pages, attendance sheets, grade book pages)

There are lots of sites out there just search under "homeschool", "kindergarden homeschool", "homeschool curriculums" etc...

Some homeschool company's that have good curriculums are

Life pac

Alpha Omega

Saxon Math

Rod and Staff

Bob Jone's University

A Beka

These are just a few, search these names and you'll bring up their websites.

There are also websites that cater to used curriculums.  Just search under "used curriculums".

I hope this has helped and good luck in your new adventure.

Answer 7

Check with your local homeschool laws.. Many kids don't have to be in "formal" education till the age of 7 or 8...At that young age, you can use many Wal mart type workbooks to get your child started on all the basics...I homeschooled for 6 years.. 2 of my kids graduated homeschool.. one is now using PA cyber school, and 2 are in public school, so I have experience in many types of schooling! Good luck!

Answer 8

Go to hslda.org and find your state, look at the requirements, then go to christianbook.com and look around for kindergarten grade items.

It might be a good idea to start out with all Lifepacs, since they are good at seperating the grade levels, then once you are around grade 2-3 you will have more options.