I shoulda been homeschooled.
(Disclaimer, this is a business research question. I won’t send you anything, more like planning..)
Bump
BTTT for later digestion after work..
Hmm, I think that article has some good points. I grew up homeschooled, as did my husband, so I tend to read articles like that and say “yeah, that’s obvious, what’s the point?”. Any article discussing the pros and cons, or the mindset needed for homeschooling, strikes me that way. A valuable service for people just starting or considering home schooling, I am sure.
It reads like a good introduction for parents of young children. Parents of already-school-aged kids, who are thinking of yanking their kids from government schools, need more emphasis on the freedoms of homeschooling, of how the most important thing to do is remember that you are the boss and the teacher and you don’t have to follow a 5 day a week, 7 hour a day schedule if you don’t want.
For our first year to homeschool, I wasn’t sure how much money to budget or how much it would cost so I was looking for the best quality product for the least amount of money. I knew we had a learning difference to work with, so I took that into consideration as well. Another thing I looked for was state law concerning homeschools and grade requirements (Texas is an awesome state for homeschoolers).
Finding curriculum is easy. You could homeschool with a Bible and a library card (supplies extra) if that’s all you could afford. The library is an extremely valuable resource for homeschoolers. I wouldn’t recommend going to a curriculum fair for first year homeschoolers because they are so overwhelming. However, they do have a lot of products that you may not know of or that are new to the market. I have never been to the local bookfair, but I have heard it’s great. I think I may make a point to attend next year, though I don’t think that it will change what we’ll do school-wise for the up-coming year. Who knows, it might :-)
When we decided to take the plunge, I went online and did a search for various curricula. This is an extremely liberating experience for former ps teachers! We get to CHOOSE our curricula? WooHoo! I knew about several products already and searched those out first. I also went to the local teacher store and browsed the aisles (and the books).
Then I went online again and found homeschool support sites with free stuff! Free is always good. I discovered DonnaYoung.org and made a planner according to her pages. I still like her pages, but I needed something different this year and ended up making my planner from scratch. You don’t really need a planner, but they help keep you on track and if you have to keep records, they will also keep you organized so you CAN. You do not have to buy something fancy. A regular old day runner will even do the trick. All you need is a calendar with enough space for daily notes.
We also joined a local homeschool support group. You don’t absolutely have to do this. I found that this is the best way for my son to find friends with something in common with him. We are actually in two groups locally and some online curriculum groups as well. The two groups are different in nature, but both strive to create a network of friends. The curriculum boards are such a bonus. If you ever have a question, just ask. You will get fresh perspective and good advice as well an encouragement. In some cases, the author is a poster on the board and you can go straight to the source.
Okay, I think that about covers it without writing a whole book. If you are interested in the actual curriculum I have used, I could go into detail, but I won’t unless you ask :-)
Yes, many children will need to be institutionalized for their education. We need orphanages too, but no one is suggesting that orphanages are “normal”.
And,,,,by the way,,,,,I have never met a fat homeschooled child who has been homeschooled from the beginning. In fact, I can’t even recall meeting a chubby one.