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!

[FourPeas]

LOL! I like that.

[GOPrincess]

That's a curious requirement in AZ (prior year public school). Wonder if they are trying to avoid spending school dollars on people who have been outside the system. Doesn't strike me as fair, given everyone pays taxes.

I was curious (in part to see how it's being administrated differently than in CA) and checked out the AZ website. Here's what it said about Kindergarten:

"Enrollment Requirements/Restrictions
Students in grades 1-7 are eligible only if they were enrolled in an Arizona public school during the prior school year. Kindergarten students are eligible if they have a sibling currently enrolled in Arizona's Technology Assisted Project Based Instructional Program. Families will need to indicate on the application the Arizona public school in which their child was enrolled during the 2002-2003 school year."

Doesn't mean anything to me but maybe it will to someone else :).

[paws_and_whiskers]

Eleven years down; three to go!

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

**"Not to be controversial, but there is another alternative, namely private/parochial."**

I am strongly considering the homeschool option. I always thought I would choose Catholic schools for my children; both my husband and I went to Catholic schools. Here in PBC, there is no way, after losing two Bishops in 5 years to sexual misconduct allegations, that I can feel safe sending my children into the quagmire. No way.

For two years, my firstborn has instead, attended an Episcopal school. Hmmmmmmm...now I am stuck with a school whose religious affiliation endorses divorced men-turned gay for a Bishop. Lovely.

Lord Jesus, please come soon.

[tutstar]

bttt

[tutstar]

did you know that it is now an option in FL? free at that but only if you were ptreviously enrolled in ps

[chuckles]

I just enrolled my daughter in college and she was home schooled 11 years. She has been our pride and joy. She had to resign from her gospel-singing group to leave for college. She recently sang with the Poet Voices (pre and post split up), Tally Trio, The Hoppers, and the Brady's. She has never been in trouble and never been any trouble. When I see what other kids are up to, I just fall to my knees and thank God for home schooling. We used ABeka for most of the courses. Saxon math is also a winner. Move to Texas if you want to be left alone. My daughter worked the last 3 years to pay her own way for her '99 Cougar, her own insurance, gas, tires, and all other maintenance. She pays for her music CD's and barely costs us anything to raise. Compare that with most kids with daddy's credit card and idle time on there hands and I choose home schoolers any time. A girl she worked with, (11th grade public school) has totaled her car and recently been charged with shoplifting and could be pregnant, that's the difference we are talking about. If you try home schooling, I can pretty much assure you, you won't be sorry. It's definitely not easy, but it is sooooo worth it.

If my wife and I can do it, anybody can. You can argue and worry till the cows come home, but there is living proof that home schooling works. Public school is permanently broken. The biggie everybody worries about is socialization. Well, I don't want a little socialist (pun intended). The peer pressure they get is almost universally bad. You get to choose who they socialize with, not the public school. They will grow up morally stronger if they aren't made to compromise. There are many things they learn that don’t come from books, but are of equal importance to their citizenship. We argue here at FR every now and then about home schooling or no home schooling, but had I waffled on my daughter, I KNOW I would have regretted it.

[Marie Antoinette]

This is a great site for practice sheets, it's free to sign up and you can print practice sheets out. They are PDF files so you will need the Acrobat Reader, that's free too.

Enjoy!

http://www.learningpage.com/

[Diva Betsy Ross]

There is a reason you are thinking about it and reading this post right no won this thread today. Homeschool them. You will never be sorry you did. You can do it! (Just gentle encouragement..)

[samiam1972]

If there's anyone I missed, I apoligize. I was going to try to reply to each of you individually but there are far too many of you!!! God bless you all for sharing your experiences, your knowledge and your support. You are all so generous. Some of you are just cruel though! I will have many sleepless nights looking up all the websites! I can't wait to check out Seton. My son wasn't even supposed to start Kindergarten this year due to the cut-off date. He missed it by 5 days. The public school was going to make me jump through hoops to get him enrolled. The Catholic school gave him a little test and let him in. I'm grateful for that because I don't think I'm quite ready yet. It's definitely something that I need to push for .

Again, thank you all for the support! All these hours spent trying to cram in as much FreeRepublic as I can in a short amount of time has paid off!! : )

[getmeouttaPalmBeachCounty_FL]

I will definitely check out many of these links in the morning (if the weather isn't too bad.) Thanks :)

[scripter]

Well Trained Mind

My wife (freeper latina4dubya) loves that book. Many of our homeschool friends look at our copy and then purchase it for themselves.

[Tax-chick]

Hillsdale's website is www.hillsdale.edu. A few years ago, when I looked into their curriculum, they were giving away a booklist and general guide in connection with their private grade school. They might have satellite enrollment by now; I haven't checked lately.

We've always used Seton, and been satisfied with it overall. Not perfectly happy, but nothing's perfect! There are also several Catholic classical curricula; for some reason that approach has never done much for me. Kolbe Academy is one; Our Lady of Good Counsel (I think) is another.

If I can help you with anything, just FReepmail!

Xy

[Diva Betsy Ross]

You can always find support here. Just freemail us. No question is too small or silly. It is overwhelming at first because there is so much information out there now. I think the first thing to do is to realize that you can do it. If you really think homeschooling is for you, it most likey is. Homeschool is not just about how our children get educated, or where. Homeschooling is really a lifestyle. Of course it is just one of the many choices we have on how to best direct our children, but you will find homeschool support groups, learning styles and teaching materials for almost every child, family and situatuion.

The internet has been a God send for the homeschooling movement. There is no reason anyone who does not want to attend brick and mortar has to with the internet around.

Good Luck. As long as you keep an open mind, you will make the best decession for your child.

[SLB]

As we are getting ready for our 16th year of home school - please feel free to ask questions.

I would suppose the best advice we could give is to not be intimidated. Just do it - and make education both interesting and fun with a style that is unique.

We would also advise finding a support group and don't be overwhelmed by the "old timers" who are there, they are generally more than glad to help out. Another great investment is a membership in Home School Legal Defense. More and more local districts are trying to weasel in to the home school success with "programs" they have to offer. My advice - run, do not walk away from them.

Good luck to all, we will be praying for all home school families.

[ladylib]

Susan Wise Bauer has also written a book for adults "The Well-Educated Mind." It's now in bookstores and it's for adults who want to reeducate themselves using the classical model.

[Diva Betsy Ross]

Here is a free reading program and phonics program. I think it is really cute ... all downloadable and online.

http://curry.edschool.virgina.edu/go/wil/home/html

[Tired of Taxes]

Not to be controversial, but there is another alternative, namely private/parochial.

You're absolutely right. Let's not forget about ANY alternative to government school education.

[Tired of Taxes]

As a former teacher, you would be great at homeschooling! Nothing to worry about! My oldest at 4 was already reading at a level a few years in advance, and the local public school preschool was nothing more than fun time. You will be amazed at how much your child will learn at home and so easily because he won't have to hold back to wait for the entire class to catch up!

We don't use an expensive curriculum but instead rely on workbooks, the bookstore, used books, and the library for our materials. But, I know Christian homeschoolers who use Abekka http://www.abeka.org/ or Konos http://www.konos.com/ Just mentioning those two because I haven't seen them mentioned yet, though maybe I just didn't get around to those posts.

Also, though I've never read it, I'm told that "The Well Trained Mind" http://www.welltrainedmind.com/ is a good introduction to homeschooling.

You'll do just fine. Good luck!

[Okies love Dubya 2]

Thanks for that tip--my five year old is learning how to print and this should come in handy!