I'm a married father of two,15 and 12. My daughter is having social/behavioral difficulties at high school and has been suspended twice back to back. I want her out of that environment. I hope it's not too late to start with the homeschooling. I've never done it,but I will devote the time for it while my wife works her full-time job. It's just so overwhelming trying to decide where to start and look for information. I've been told the library has good books on the subject,but why can't I just study online? Thanks for any advice.
Welcome! The thing that comes to mind for me is do you plan to stay home during the day. Your child may get into more trouble if left alone. With that said there is loads of information online and loads of help here for you. Someone here used to have a long list of subjects and maybe they will share. I would first look into HSLDA, lawyers who help homeschoolers and see what your state requires for you to be legal. I think TX is very open. Some of the ladies here are from TX so maybe they can add more to that. I don't know if you are looking for religous or nonreligous books. Abecka is good for an advanced student but is bible based. Life Pacs are good too. I don't think they are bible based at all from what I know. We use a mixed selection of books, online and the library alot. Be sure the get the girls in a coop type situation so they can make friends. Don't expect it to be easy. It will not be and there will be some very trying days ahead of you but you seem to want better for your kids and that is the biggest part of it. Good Luck, Lorna
Welcome to the board! Yes, Texas is an "easy" state. You must notify the school that you'll be withdrawing her to homeschool, and that's the end of that. If they ask for any more info, let them know that you're not required to do so by law, and if they persue it further you can contact HSLDA (or there's one that's Texas specific, whose name I can't recall) for help. THey probably won't bug you, though. LifePacs are also Christian based. An important consideration for high school students is whether or not she plans to go to college, and if so which one. You should contact that school to find out the procedures and preferences for admitting homeschool students; they'll need a transcript and will have a prescription of credits required that you'll want to be certain that she covers. Some terms to google for your online "beginning to homeschool in high school" study: (well, there's one - beginning homeschool in high school) learning style homeschooling approaches (or homeschooling methods) Christian (or secular) homeschooling high school Lisa Welchel has a blog and website that has a lot of great info on it; google her. About.com has a lot of great info on homeschooling, on starting the journey, and about homeschooling high school. Links to links to links kinda thing. The more specific questions you can come up with, the better we can answer your questions - and we love being helpful and answering questions! Best wishes on finding what will work best for your family!!
Wow!Now that's the kind of help and encouragement I need to hear!! I do want a Christian-based curriculum and I will be home all day with my kids. Thanks so much!! I'm glad it's so easy to tell the school to take a hike! Do I need everything in order before I pull her out or can I just do it and then get her the books? I hate public schools and the trash that goes on there!
Hello fellow Texan...Outside San Antonio myself. If by chance your near San Antonio they have a great store called FEAST that can help you get started if not let us know what city you are near and I bet someone else can direct you, we have a lot of Texans on this board from all over our great state. I would recommend Texas Homeschool Coalition http://www.thsc.org/ They have a handbook once you join that will take you step by step on what you do with your school district. They specialize in Texas homeschool law. Hit the "Getting started button" and it will tell you what you can do to take your daughter out of school Good luck. Have fun! Sam PS: The CBD has great books for sale if you want them new, all different kids. I love their catalog http://www.christianbook.com/homeschool If your looking to be more frugal and buy used I can give you a list of yahoogroups and websites that people sell them besides Ebay.
Good luck with your new adventure. Taking my daughter out of Texas schools was easier than I thought it would be. Believe it or not even my daughters teacher and office officials were very helpful to me. Though I would not expect that from the majority of schools. I took her out of school at the end of the day and withdrew her. I had mailed a letter earlier that day to the school using information provided to me from the Texas Home School Coalition website. I mailed a copy of it to the school and one to a HS group out in San Antonio. I kept records and receipts of everything I mailed out so if ever asked I could provide proof. It was thankfully very easy to pull her out. We go out during the day all the time and have never once have I been asked why my daughter is not in school. Alot of women in my church use the A Beka books system and love it. I have also used some from them and it suits my family well. There are tons of other options such as Morning Star Academy, Alpha Omega and more that I can't remember right now. I wish you the best of luck and hope you enjoy this web site as much as I do. The ladies on here are very helpful.
welcome I am on the ocean here in Texas what part of Texas are you from... lots of neat things to do in Texas for homeschoolers, let us know where you from and we can lead you the right way.
Yes, thanks Sam! Texas Homeschool Coalition was the name I couldn't think of previously. Yes, A Beka is a well-known and widely used Christian curriculum. Alpha Omega is another popular Christian publisher, and they put out several different curricula to teach several different learning styles. Another few Christian publishers: Christian Liberty Press Bob Jones University Press Rod & Staff Tapestry of Grace Bright Ideas Press Answers In Genesis A big, huge determining factor in what to use will be your daughter's learning style. It just helps to know if she learns best by hearing someone tell her about it (probably not, if she wasn't thriving in public school), by watching someone else DO it or having some kind of visual aid, or by actually getting her hands dirty and doing it herself. You can also google "free learning style quiz" and take a few of those short things to give you an idea of what she might need; don't take those things too literally though. At your daughter's age, I also highly recommend letting her have a say as to what things she studies or what approaches she might like to try. If she has input into how it's all going to work, it's more likely she'll cooperate with the whole idea. (And yes, you can pull her now and decide later which books to use. In fact, most of us recommend a period of what's called "deschooling" for any child coming out of the public school system no matter how old they are. I think that one general rule as to how long to "deschool" a child is to wait one week for every year the kiddo was in school. LOL That's another term to google, too - "deschooling.") A few free online curricula to "play with" while you research: Simply Charlotte Mason Old Fashioned Education Ambleside Online (and google "free homeschool high school curriculum" and I'm sure you'll come up with tons more. My oldest is only 9, so I don't have just a whole lot of high school resources, but I know they're out there!!)
Texas Homeschool Coalition have sample letters you must write to withdraw your daughter. Send the withdraw letter certified mail and request a proof of receipt from the post office. TEA (Texas Education Agency) website also provides a letter explaining that you do not have to show the school your curriculum. Since homeschooling is considered a legal private school, the TEA does not regulate homeschooling, and does not issue highschool diplomas to homeschoolers. The parent or a homeschool program has a legal right to issue the diploma. Most colleges and universities, want to see a highschool transcript issued by the parent or a homeschool program, and SAT or ACT scores. Check with the school. If you ever decide you want your daughter to get a diploma issued by the State of Texas, Texas Tech University and The University of Texas at Austin have at home programs accredited by the Texas Educational Agency. However, since these programs are considered public school programs, she would have to take the TEKS test.
HSLDA has an entire part of their site dedicated to homeschooling high schoolers which you can access without membership (I think). They also have high school coordinators available to help you figure out your questions. www.hslda.org Welcome!
