We are trying to decide on homeschool options. I am overwhelmed with curriculum choices and costs! I will have a 1st and 3rd grader. The more I research, those cyber schools are looking better and better, just because they are easier and I don't want to settle just because I am confused. It was a huge struggle to get my husband to agree to homeschool, so I can't give up now. Any suggestions on where to start.
There are several curriculum choices out there, so I can see how it would be overwhelming. Do you know what you would like to do with? Have you done any searching of curriculums that intrest you? There are several curriculums available that list out what you will need for each grade level. If interested you could go to the National Home Education Network website, there is lots of info there. Also, this will take you to a Beginning to Homeschool page: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/directory/Beginning.htm
My opinion would be to lean toward a boxed/prepared curriculum, or curriculum products from various publishers, and away from the online cyber school setups. I also considered this option when I was a newbie. SOOOOOO glad I did not, now that I have been homeschooling 2 years now. There are many prepared curriculums that lead the new homeschool teacher/parent by the hand. The cyber schools tend to be school at home and try to replicate the PS experience at home. They tend not to be "work at your own pace" which is one of the greatest advantages to homeschooling. Some of them cause you to have to spent huge amounts of time on filler work and an attempt to re-create the social aspects of the classroom by interacting via chatrooms etc. Many of them have data input processes for things like math that are very tedious. It seems from reading in forums like these that many newbies consider cyber schools due to the many concerns that being new to homeschooling brings about. They are perceived as a failure proof option in a way, but the major prepared curriculums have large staffs of professional educators and their expertise behind there product development also. I have noticed that it seems like most of the folks that start with the cyber schools are not altogether happy with the arrangements and are happy to move on to something else later. Some teacher parents actually count down the days and weeks in the end as if they were jail terms. Don't get me wrong, these programs are often very good academically and are the best solution for many families. I encourage you to sure you select such a program because it is a best fit, and not because of a lack of confidence in yourself as a home school teacher. You will do fine either way, and the first year will have bugs and bumps, but will be rewarding as you and the students get used to each other in your new roles. Just take it easy and move into it with as little stress as possible. Homeschoolreviews.com is another good homeschool information resource you might find useful. If you search for K12 (a well known cyber school) on this forum you will read many threads on this topic.
Thanks guys for the help...I think mostly I am just scared of making a mistake...it is my kids future!
The greatest thing you can do for your kids' future, intellectually, is to help them enjoy learning. Teach them how to learn to learn. From my own experience and that of others, it seems that one of the biggest obstacles to parents is their own fear of leaving something vital out. When we began, I wrote to all the curriculum companies I could find and compared each scope and sequence. I took the strictest, highest, most comprehensive goals and went for the top! It wasn't too many years down the road, however, that I finally realized that there was much overlapping, repetition in subjects covered year after year, as well as discrepancies between curriculum and areas which I would call "gaps." I finally got around to asking myself: Whom are you looking to, in order to set the standards of what your child "should" know? There are multitudes of fantastic homeshool resources! Choose one that looks good to you, and you can always switch. It's exciting! It's fun! I recommend starting with Ruth Beechick's three-booklet series on teaching math and reading. She also has a book with a title, You Can Teach Your Child Successfully. These booklets and book get down to the basics and are so useful. You'll do great. After all, you're the parent!
I have to agree with all the ladies, go towards a box one for your first year and jump in slow... You can't make a mistake you are doing the best thing for them by teaching them... Good Luck it will all work out, yes the first year is very overwhelming and alot to take in.. just remember you are important too, take a few mintues for your self like our Jackie on here always tells everyone...
I too agree with the other ladies but will add one more thing. I always encourage newbies to write out an philosophy of education. It doesn't have to be super fancy and it doesn't have to be a thesis. Just some general thoughts on what you hope to achieve by homeschooling and how you think you might like to get there. Believe me it will change as you go along, but thinking through these issues first will help you choose. Also, jot down some things that are important to you about education. One thing for me that I knew right away is that I HATE workbooks. So I steer clear from curriculums that use them. I have one for handwriting and that's pretty much it. Instead, I read out loud a lot and encourage free writing. Anyways, the point is that by having some goals set before you, you will have something by which to evaluate the mountain of curriculum before you. ;-) HTH I'd be happy to share my philosophy of education/goals for homeschooling but it's long so if you're interested, let me know and I'll leave the link. ;-)
Oh and one more thought on messing up your kids. It's really hard to do. Anytime you have parents who are highly invested in their child's education--you generally win. You will change things, find things you did this year that you'll want to do differently next. . .but I highly, highly doubt you'll mess them up! ;-)
BlessedMomof2, is your state highly regulated? Do you have to have evaluations for your children? Patty
Regulations??? I really don't know all about that...but I have several friends that homeschool and they only have to turn in something at the end of the year. There is a local co-op to help with all that kind of stuff. Three of my friends use three different boxed programs. They of course are partial to the one they like. Sonlight, abeka and Bob jones. One of my friends just wings it.
You will need to find out what your state requires. Most require a Letter of Intent and attendence records. Some require more, some less. A great place to find out what your state requires is www.hslda.org.
You can look up regulations for your state at http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp When we were starting out (just last year!), we found Cathy Duffy's Homeschool Reviews very helpful: http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/ She has a book called 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, which goes over a lot of different options and gives you the strengths and weaknesses of each option. We found it at a Half-Price Books, but you can check to see if your library has it, too. We also found Mary Pride's The Big Book of Home Learning, Volume 1 (the newest edition is re-titled Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling) in the library and it helped immensely! She has a website, too: http://www.home-school.com/ We found both of those books invaluable in deciding what we wanted our homeschool to look like. I hope that helps!!
Regulations is a good point to make. I personally would wing it but our state is so highly regulated that I ended up going with what I feel is a very flexible, but 'all put together for me' packaged curriculum (Sonlight.)
I started Homeschooling January and I felt like I was drowning in information. So to take away my confusion with starting I just teaching them. Pretty much shooting from the hip and a few instructional books to help. I bought workbooks for them to work on. soon found out was there was a lot of material they had already covered. There was also more they didn't. In my stupor of trying to keep ahead, I realized that the only way to make homeschooling effective for my children is me to not think of the task as a burden but an opportunity to give my children their best by being at my best. So I reevaluated my approach and started a new style of learning that would help them and me. Now they get a learning syllabus at the beginning of the semester and it guides us in their study. I chose the traditional textbook style of learning, buying my books from a used textbook outlet that many of the public and private schools utilize. The workbooks came in unused, although they sold at used prices and the textbooks came in great shape. If you go to my site thehomeschoolexchange.com you can download a template for my syllabus to use. Also you can read my Let's Get Started article. Hope it helps.
i agree with the ladies above. A multiaged boxed curriculum is usually the easiest the 1st year of homeschooling. After the first year you will have an idea of what things you like and don't like. YOu can't really mess up no matter what you choose so long as they love learning at the end.
Yes, every state has it's own regulations. I would suggest that before anything else, you find out what your state requires and then search for curriculum from there. If you are living in a no regulation to low state, you are more free to do as you please. In highly regulated states, you can still do what you please but you have to show your child's work through testing or evaluations. In this case, you want to be sure to cover certain topics before evaluation. Good luck! Feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here for you! Patty
some info gathering is done I found out yesterday I need to let my school district know, they will send me an info pack on what I need to have done. Along with paperwork with a statement of intent etc. I also have to keep a log and have a certified teacher check it at the end of the year. Thanks so much for telling me to check it out. I guess this paperwork needs turned in by Aug. 1st. I will get this step done 1st...then go back to curriculum shopping! I have to laugh by dh is the one pushing to hurry up and get it going, when it has taken me three years to talk him into this.
A dear lady from my former church once told me that parents who worry about whether they are doing a good job are the ones doing the best job. Parents who don't worry once in a while probably don't care. Considering she raised 4 kids into wonderful God-praising adults; and just raised 2 foster children whose only other option was an institution due to behavior issues - I consider her very wise.
If you can go to a curriculum fair, you could see things hands-on to see what you like and dislike. Lots of places held their's earlier in the spring and summer, but I'm going to one today!
