For anyone who wants to start homeschooling

[Diva Betsy Ross]

It is that time of the year again to decided if you are going to send your child off to public school, or if you are going to take the leap and homeschool. I wanted to start a thread to offer you support and perhaps answer some of your questions about homeschooling by freepers who do homeschool.

Post questions , answers and links helpful to new homeschoolers or curious parents who just want more info about homeschooling.

Best of Luck to all parents and children as we get ready for a new school year!

[GOPrincess]

"homeschooling in so many ways opens up the whole idea of learning. It no longer becomes something you turn on and off depending on the building you happen to be in."

What a wonderful way to express that idea!

[ladylib]

Here's a new link for those interested in history. It must be the time of the year. Links are popping up all over.

http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/HTTA/timeline.htm

[Diva Betsy Ross]

I really liked the curriculum at K12.com. It was just difficult for me to move around as much as I needed to, and as much as my children liked to. For my family a good fit is a combonation of classical, Montessori and unschooling . I do follow most of the guidelines laid out in the books Well Educated Child and the Well Trained Mind. I love most of the manipulatives of Montessori theory.

Mostly I am glad I am able to explore other options and discover the best fit for my family.

I don't think the idea of public school is bad, in itself. I say you are a homeschooler, and no one will change my mind. I waelcome cyber schoolers to my groups becauce I think you all are paving the way to educational freedom as much as we are. Keep up the good work!

[GOPrincess]

Thank you, history and politics are my great interests. (The excellent history beginning in Kindergarten was one reason for my selection of K12.)

[evolved_rage]

I hope my thoughts here will be considered in the friendly spirit with which they are offered. Thanks much!

Excellent, good advice is always welcome. You're further along than I, and I believe your children are older too...so I still have time. We liked the K12 materials, but the "free" and "accepted by the State of Kalifornia" moniker made my wife and I add a second layer of tinfoil. This state's attitudes towards parents stinks on ice! Bill Bennett was just a major groan (and sigh). My kids are still pre-school and we haven't ruled out K12 yet. I would be interested in knowing how the interaction with the teacher/school unfolds. Will it be more of a blessing or more like the DMV. And what will the CA Teacher's Unions do about K12??? They've been viscious to other forms of homeschooling.

[GOPrincess]

Interesting you mention Montessori, my 2nd oldest is at a Montessori school :). We pulled him out of public school mid-year a couple years ago after a series of disturbing incidents with his teacher (who I don't think really liked children and who ended up suddenly leaving the school later that year) and the principal, and are so grateful we did, as overnight our child changed from someone who was starting to hate school to someone who loved it! The "hands-on" atmosphere and manipulatives, ability to move at will and learn to plan his own time, and individual teacher attention all were exactly what he needed. At public school he was being "squashed," emotionally and academically, when expected to sit still for up to two hours with 34 other kids (recesses eliminated in upper grades, one of my pet peeves, argh!), teach himself to do things from written directions (he is very hands-on and visual), etc. Now he is confident and enthused about learning. Some people have told me Montessori school, with its relative freedom in multiple areas (from classroom movement to choosing one's own "goals" to working at the child's own pace, which might be one "grade" in one subject and another "grade" in a different subject), might be the closest form of school to homeschooling, which is an interesting idea.

Classical appeals to me as well, as I love history and literature, etc., and the idea of exposing children to various concepts and critical thinking at an earlier age than happens in public school (one relative with early education training called it "opening a file" in the child's brain, which can be added to with increasing levels of complexity as they mature -- I love that description). K12 seems to combine some classical ideas with hands-on options, which seemed a good place for us to start. Thanks for sharing your experience!

And thanks for the encouragement! As a first-timer I have been a bit nervous (mostly about also juggling my at-home work) but find I'm getting increasingly excited as September draws near.

[GOPrincess]

It's neat you are taking the time to consider and research what you'll do while your children are so young! My children range anywhere from starting Kindergarten to halfway through high school, so I've seen it all schoolwise (grin). I think you do have valid concerns...Delaine Eastin (the former CA Superintendent of Education for out-of-staters) in particular was on such an anti-homeschool tear last year it was disturbing. Fortunately the new superintendent, O'Connell, seems to have backed off of her extreme (illegal?) positions and at least right now, the atmosphere is more benign. With all the problems they are having right now in bricks and mortar schools, maybe they realize it's wiser to leave homeschooled children, who by all accounts typically do very well, alone.

I have friends and acquaintances who used K12 via charter last year in two different geographic areas, and their reaction to the teachers was uniformly positive. In some cases the teachers were homeschooling themselves -- homeschool friendly and quite "hands off," there to support or give ideas when needed but not intrusive. If I had not received that kind of feedback I would have gone the R4 private homeschool route. With one child still in private school (he's my biggest challenge of the four educationally, and I think he's better served remaining where he is until he completes elementary school and I simultaneously "get my feet wet" in home education), having K12 paid for (via our tax dollars) was a real blessing for our family. Frankly the charter also makes it easier to withdraw one of our children from a school with a rather nosy, unpleasant principal who wouldn't hesitate to make phone calls asking about our child's whereabouts next year. If the charter isn't a good fit for us, it will be a relatively simple matter to switch to private homeschooling a year from now :).

There are a couple of good email mailing lists for K12 on Yahoo if you are interested in information -- one is for K12 users nationally and the other is CAVA-K12 (for participants in the California Virtual Academy).

As a longtime Bennett admirer I share your sigh -- it was a real bummer. But then I realized that despite my opinion on his lack of wisdom with his money, it really didn't have any bearing on the materials I'd become so enthused about. (I did a couple of the sample lessons such as "Life in a Pond" with my five-year-old, and we had so much fun!) A completely pre-planned curriculum like K12 also fit my time needs as I have a home business -- I've cut back on it but cannot afford to quit completely (grin), and not having to pull together my own materials from various places was the right thing for me at this juncture. That said, there are lots of other good options besides K12, as described here. I'm busy bookmarking these links for future reference! :)

[scripter]

Here's our listing of homeschool links. We'll have a lot more in a month when we combine resources of our area and put everything on one web page.

• K12
• K12 Patriotic Lessons
• Home School Legal Defense Association
• God's World Book Club
• Sadlier Oxford
• America's Library
• Baby Einstein
• Education.com
• Truth USA's education page
• Vision Forum homeschool links
• Crosswalk Homeschool
• Conversion Calculators
• 1 on 1 School Supplies

• Heart of Wisdom
• David and Laurie
• Baker Books
• Diana Waring
• Color The Classics
• Classic Homeschooling
• Bright Ideas Press
• Premiere Microscopes
• Orpheum Children's Science Museum Bookstore
• Lickle Publishing Educational Books

[Tax-chick]

I would be interested in knowing how the interaction with the teacher/school unfolds.

Friends of mine in Alaska, which has a state-run virtual school program, have said that the State's intervention has become more intrusive as more homeschoolers have become dependent on the "freebies" from the State. As I recall, they started with parents being able to use any organized curriculum they chose ... to being able to chose only a "religion-free" curriculum ... to having to use the curriculum designated by the State.

Whether something like this will happen in California remains to be seen, of course, but you can foresee the California authorities having problems with the traditional, American, character-building path of Bill Bennett's guidelines, and demanding "tolerance," "inclusiveness," and "multiculturism."

[Jalapeno]

Bump for a "Right On".

[GOPrincess]

"you can foresee the California authorities having problems with the traditional, American, character-building path of Bill Bennett's guidelines, and demanding "tolerance," "inclusiveness," and "multiculturism.""

If that happens I'll be outta there (grin)...some of the stuff they've been introducing in public school is one reason among many that I'm out of the bricks and mortar public school, and conversely I like that K12 emphasizes heroes, great deeds, traditional history, etc.

[Tax-chick]

K12 emphasizes heroes, great deeds, traditional history

We get the same from our Catholic curriculum. Hillsdale College's model curriculum is similar, as well.

Lots of great stuff out there, but whether you'll be allowed to use it in California (unless you have lots of guns and big, mean dogs ...) is always in question. I'm so glad we live in a regular state in the U.S. :-)

[cantfindagoodscreenname]

We are starting our thirteenth year of homeschooling and our oldest son will be graduating. I can't believe it! I've got two more boys and a girl. My daughter will be starting first grade at home this year so I will have four kids learning at home. It should be fun :-).

My kids are involved in all kinds of things from math competitions to chess to playing in a Christian band to community sports to the church's youth group. They keep me busy and help me put lots of miles on my car. This "stay-at-home mom" has put 40,000 miles on her car in 15 months. My oldest son started taking courses at the local community college to help him get a head start on college and hopefully to trim the cost of attending a four year school. He took two courses last year and will hopefully take four this year. If anyone feels so inclined, I’d love prayer for him for tomorrow. He is taking a Credit By Exam test in Intro to Computers tomorrow because it’s a prerequisite for the Networking Basics course he wants to take.

We don't use a "boxed" curriculum, but stick pretty much to A Beka, Saxon Math and Apologia. I'm very pleased with how well my kids have done and would recommend homeschooling to anyone.

Candi

[GOPrincess]

"I'm so glad we live in a regular state in the U.S. :-)"

That made me laugh, even though I'm pained (in some ways!) because I live in CA. At least I live in Orange County, which is still often called "the most conservative county in the country." As for the rest of the state... Oh, well!

I'm writing down the Hillsdale name. Do you use Seton or a different curriculum? I'm Episcopalian but lately have been thinking more often of "crossing the Tiber" for probably obvious (as of last week) reasons (grin).

[TontoKowalski]

I hope my thoughts here will be considered in the friendly spirit with which they are offered. Thanks much!

Fuggidaboudit!!! K12???? You're practically a Marxist!

Just kidding. There are certain segments of the homeschool community that are too tied to homeschooling as a political movement. I think of it as an educational movement, which just happens to have political implications.

Still, the guiding principal behind homeschooling is that the PARENT can best determine the best method to educate the child. For those of us who have chosen to educate our children at home, we should be free to use whatever curriculum or method or anything else that we feel will give our child the best education.

For you, its K12. For us, its A Beka.

And, oh by the way, I NEVER rag on anybody for sending their kid to public school. Those parents have made their choice, same as homeschoolers...

[mamaduck]

http://www.sonlight.com/

http://www.rainbowresource.com/

http://learninfreedom.org/

I have been homeschooling for 15.5 years now (the age of my eldest). We have taken some detours into parochial daycare/preschool for self-employement reasons, but I was still 100% responsible for their education. Parents *are*, even if they give up that right to failure in the public schools. My sons 15.5 and 13.5 are about to enter a Classical Christian school. We haven't set the world on fire with our homeschooling. We haven't built models of the human ear. We haven't won any contests. But my sons are v. intelligent, v. well read, v. well mannered. Oh, and excellent pianists, and black belts in martial arts. :-)

The principal looked at my eldest's booklist / transcript and said "You've *read* all these?" :-) He knew what to expect when he saw my #2 son's.

It's EASY; It's FUN; Your children are YOURS, by God and by Homeschooling. Even if you just buy them boxes of books like I did (or go to the library often) and get them out to a couple activities (i.e. martial arts and piano) You Will Do Fine! YOu do not have to do what the PS's do, that isn't education anyway, that is Brainwashing. Your kids will do fine even if they don't get into Harvard, or any other college.

If they know God, and know their Parents & sibs, and know History, Mathematics, and how to read and write (this is EASY), they'll do fine. You aren't homeschooling for them to come out just the same as ps'ed only better. It is something completely different. I think it is Real Life.

Oh, well, who put the quarter in?

[HungarianGypsy]

I am all for anything that gives parents a choice in how they wish to educate. After all, they are your children, not mine. There was some talk on a local station in Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday about the Virtual Charter School. It was interesting that those you would think of as a target audience are actually excluded from the government funded program. Even though I got many ads in my mail for their seminars, the school here is only open to those who were in public school last year. Which leaves open the question, "What about kindergarteners?"

[FourPeas]

God is indeed wonderful, eh?

My advice to anyone beginning the adventure that is homeschooling is to do a bit of research. Being a former elementary teacher you're probably familar with learning styles. Start there when determining what types of materials you need.

Most new homeschoolers prefer to do an all-in-one curriculum just to get their feet wet. Again being a former teacher, you may not feel this need. There are many, many different flavors of homeschooling from school-at-home to unschooling. Research the various types to find the one that sounds like it'll fit your family best. I particularly liked The Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual by Cathy Duffy. (I think I have the title right) It was a big, big eye opener.

To research your state's laws regarding homeschooling go to hslda.org and nhen.org. You may find that you want to join one or both organizations.

I'd suggest finding a homeschooling group in your area. Often there are specifically Christian groups or groups that emphasize an age group. The latter tends to be a double-edged sword. Catering activities to younger children is a definite plus, but having a mix of age groups is, too. You may find you want to join more than one.

Most homeschoolers I know face at least some reluctance from family and friends if not outright hostility. Neither side of our family is thrilled at the idea. Depending on their reasons they may just need time to adjust or if they're openminded enough perhaps some information will help ease them into the idea. In some cases, family members just have to agree to disagree. You need to do what you think is best and others need to respect that.

One last thought: my favorite book on homeschooling is called A Patchwork of Days. It's a book about a "typical" day with different homeschooling families. I recommend skipping the first family, it's the author's and I find it way, way to preachy and perfect. The book gives a good idea of the various ways homeschooling can fit into a family. It's a good one to ease your mind about whether you can do it.

[RightOnline]

We've used Christian Liberty Academy's curricula for over eighteen years as homeschoolers (have seven children). Highly recommend them.

Squeeze here

[FourPeas]

24--You can’t put your produce in the cart without asking your older student to estimate its weight and verify accuracy.

You mean this is normal?? I do this with my preschoolers. In fact, if I don't they get really upset. We live in a small town and the lady who works in the produce department thinks we're a riot.