I'm considering homeschooling my children for the upcoming school year. My children are in 2nd and K in public school now. How I do I decide what to teach? What curriculum to use? One minute I'm excited thinking I can do this and then the next I'm rethinking the decision, afraid that I will screw my children up. Ack!! Help the newbie.
Relax you can definitely do this. The first thing is to check what your state requires for homeschooling. Some states specify subjects that need to be taught while others let you choose your own subjects. Generally you would choose a Math, History, Language Arts/Writing, Reading and Science as your basic subjects. Some states also require Art, Music, Health and Phys. Ed. As for curriculum there are a lot out there to choose from. The first question you need to ask is do you want a secular or religious curriculum. After that do you want a textbook approach, literature/Charlotte Mason approach, Unit studies or maybe a mix. It may take you a little while to figure out how best your kids learn so do not be afraid to ditch a curriculum and start with something new. I started out using Sonlight for most of my subjects(History, LA, Reading and Science). I like that they schedule the material for you. I needed that schedule when I started. Now that I have done elementary for a few years I am more comfortable in planning myself. For Math I like Horizons for the early grades and Saxon for the older grades (4th or 5th grade and up) but it depends on how your kids learn. If they are more hands on learners you might want to look at Math U See which is also a great curriculum. Have you checked out to see if there are any local homeschool groups in your area? They can be a great source of information for state regulations. Sometimes the groups have networks or events where you can preview curriculum. The spring/summer is when most of the state conventions are held. They are wonderful places to check out the different curriculum. It is one thing to look at it on line but another to look at it in person. If you have any other questions just ask, folks on this board are always willing to help.
Welcome to the spot. That is exactly how I felt when we started. Then one day I realized, I'm gonna make mistakes but I couldn't do a worse job than public school. 1. Decide With Your Spouse: Educating your child at home is a huge decision and should be one that is made with your spouse. You will need the support of your spouse throughout your journey in big and small ways. Homeschooling is hard work some days (or weeks or months or even years!) and not having the support of your spouse will not only put a strain on your homeschool days, but on your marriage. However, I do NOT suggest asking friends and family to weigh in on the decision. How you educate your child should not be voted on by others. I also recommend, decide WHY you want to homeschool. Make a list of the reason why you want to homeschool, what your goal is (for the year and long term), write it out or print it out and keep it handy. You'll be glad you did when you hit a rough patch down the line. It will also help you focus, when you're struggling with your child, you'll have your goals handy so you can ask if that fight is worth it, is it important to get your and your child to your goal or not. 2. Learn the Homeschool Laws For Your State: Be fully aware of the legal requirements before you begin and especially before you take a child out of public school. Refer to HSLDA.org for your local laws. From there, also search out your states homeschool legal page. 3. Find Support: Meeting with other homeschoolers offers encouragement as well as knowledge and assistance with your homeschool questions. There are many options. First, an online forum. Great to get lots of responses quickly and to hear from many different experiences, newbies, veterans, all styles, all ages. Not to be overlooked, however, is how valuable a local homeschool group can be. Local groups can offer things online groups can not. Face to face contact, fellowship, socialization, classes, and the knowledge of your state laws and how helpful or difficult YOUR school district can be. Often, organized classes, filed trips or activities for you or your children are offered through support groups. HOW TO FIND LOCAL RESOURCES Yahoo Groups - search your state, town and county and near by ones and homeschool. Even if the group is in a town to far to drive to regularly for weekly play groups or classes, many members post activities in near-by towns, so it may be worth joining just for the e-loop info, even if you never 'join' in on the group's regular meetings. For example, I belong to a homeschool group for my county, the county next to me (As I live on the county line) and since I live in a rural area, there is no homeschool group for my city, so I belong to two for the closest 'big city' to me. I also belong to a state group. I started by searching AnyTown Homeschool then AnyCounty homeschool, then NeighboringTown Homeschool, then NeighboringCounty Homeschool then MyState Homeschool. Once a member of a fairly local group, post a message asking if there any groups closer to your area, as these people will be more familiar with your local area and groups than a general forum that has homeschoolers for all over North America. Ask your local library! Homeschoolers love the library! Many libraries even have activities for homeschoolers monthly. Ask your local rec department - they may have homeschool sports leagues during 'normal' school hours. Call local churches - Many churches have homeschool groups. Some will only be open to members of that church, but others will welcome non-church members, though even those often require sign a statement of faith, but if you are Christian, it's worth a try. Search Homeschool Legal Organizations - Search HSLDA.org From there click your state-they will have state and local organizations within your state listed. If they don't have a local group listed, check your listed state sites will may list even more local groups. Network wherever you go - If you're out and about during school hours and you see someone with school aged kids out too-strike up a conversation, ask if they homeschool Call local businesses and ask if they have homeschool days - skating rinks, inflatable playplaces, museums, nature center, etc Go to the homeschool days they offer and network there. Start your own group - If all else fails, start your own group! Libraries, book stores, office supply stores, craft stores, local parks and museums are all good places to post fliers. 4. Research Styles of Home Education: There is no single right way to educate your child at home; however, there are many differing philosophies you may want to consider. Don't get overwhelmed. Most families are eclectic. They may use unschooling for science, textbook for math, classical for language arts, ect. You don't have to follow one style. And you may follow one style for a year or two then find it's time to switch your approach. Find what works best for you and your child(ren) Also consider, if you are religious, if you want all subjects to be religion based and taught from a Biblical world view, or if you want secular subjects and teach Bible/religion separately. Charlotte Mason Classical/Well Trained Mind/Trivium Computer Based Correspondence Classes/Distance Learning Delight Directed/Child Led/Organic Learning/Unschooling Eclectic Independent Study Lapbooking and/or Notebooking Literature Based/Living Books Montessori Moore Formula Radical Unschooling Relaxed Ruth Beechick The Principle Approach Thomas Jefferson Education Traditional Textbook/School at Home Unit Studies Virtual (or Cyber) School* Waldorf Method *note-if you chose virtual/cyber public school, HSLDA and many local and online homeschool groups will not accept you as this is a form of public school, your child is a public school student and legally, it is not homeschooling. 5. Gather Resources: Some families start with a complete curriculum package, while others start with a library card and an internet connection. If you are financially burdened, there are free homeschooling resources galore on the web & at your local library. And remember, studies have shown, price paid for curriculum has little to no bearing on how well kids learn/test. Students who families spent over $600/year on curriculum only scored 3 points higher than those in two lower brackets of money spent on curriculum. If you are buying curriculum I suggest Homeschool Review to check reviews, as well as posting your questions or concerns about the specific curriculum on a forum of your choice.
My advice is to remember that the first year or so can feel a bit rough as you work out, through trial and error, what does and doesn't work for your family. It doesn't mean you're doing it wrong or that homeschooling isn't working. You're learning about your children and what works best and what is important to you and your family. Also when making goals look at them from a long term perspective, what you want for them by the time they leave home, then use that as your compass to guide you through.
Lots of great advice on here so far. Good luck with your choices. I have a 2nd and a K-er and we are using HEart of Dakota's Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory because we can combine many subjects together. Then they do their own math (we love Singapore) and language arts.
Welcome! I'm also planning on homeschooling for the first time next year for 1st grade. I'm excited, but intimidated at the same time. Currently, my daughter is going to a private school that I'm actually very happy with, but I just think homeschooling is still the better option for our family. However, once in a while, doubt rears its ugly head and I ask myself, "Why fix it if it ain't broke?" It's going to give me a bit of anxiety when enrollment comes up and I'm not signing those papers, but my husband and I have prayed about it and feel lead to go through with it. For my first year, I plan to focus mainly on math and language arts while keeping the rest pretty simple (and probably use free resources) in order to keep from getting too overwhelmed. Basically, throwing in some history, science, art, ect. I bought the book, "What Your First Grader Needs to Know" (they offer those books for other grades, as well), and I think it's excellent because it goes into great detail what to teach. In fact, I plan to use a lot of it as part of my curriculum. I also like to go to the world book website to look at the typical course of study for her grade level. It gives a vague description of what to go over for each subject during the year. If you go to worldbook.com you can search "Typical Course of Study" and just find the grade level you're looking for.
I'm sure that most of us went through this phase, but be assured that you will not screw your children up. They will: - Learn to see you as their primary teacher of values, life's lessons, and school lessons - Have the opportunity to learn things, and subjects, you simply don't learn in school - Have more time to spend on difficult subjects and the opportunity to go above and beyond in the areas where they excel - Let you know what works and what does not work so you change consider changes - Enjoy relationships with other children and families with whom you share common values and about whom you feel good about Yes, as parent/teacher, I messed up plenty of times. I learned from it, and our children learned from it. But all of our children have excelled after homeschooling, so you really don't have to worry. Perhaps the best thing of all, as I look back, is the relationship you develop with your children. That lasts a lifetime, and it really helps as your children transition into adults. It's more of a 'big picture' time, but it's very real nonetheless.
Thank you for all of your answers. My dh and I have discussed this at length. I've been researching and researching. My dh says that i'm addicted to researching...ha! Luckily I have a good support system. I'm in an area with tons of homeschoolers, lots of opportunities for co ops and field trips. I'm more excited than nervous now.
quite possible to be addicted to researching home school material... eh heh Hello My name is TeacherMom and I am a research addict...
You would have to try very hard to screw your children up. Doing absolutely nothing would probably not screw them up. So put those worries behind you. Now....just focus on teaching them to read, to write, and to do basic arithmetic. Nothing more. Get the 2nd grader a Kindle and this. In a word, just do something every day, including Saturdays. and dump the idea of a Summer vacation. Just do something every day. Something. Not a lot. Just something. Enjoy.
