Help! Info on Home Schooling

The first thing you need to do is look into the rules for homeschooling in your state. They are different in each state. NC doesn't require you belong to an accountability group, just end of year testing. You also need to check into Homeschooling groups in your area. They can provide you with all the information you may need. You can probably borrow some curriculum from some of them to look at and see what best fits you and your family. We have always used an eclectic approach. Math-U-See for math has been consistent with us, but we have switched curriculum in the other areas as we felt the need to. BTW, my DS will be 12 next week and we have homeschooled from the beginning. In reference to the person who asked if you had 3 to 4 hours a day to homeschool your oldest, you don't need that much time to homeschool 1 child especially at the early years. Homeschooling 1 child takes much less time than teaching 20+ kids in a classroom. The time also doesn't have to be 9-3, M-F, nor does it have to be uninterupted. You homeschool your child(ren) at the times that work for you and on the days that work. That might mean doing 1 or 2 subjects in the morning and more in the afternoon and/or evening. I would be happy to talk to you more about it if you like.
____@____.com

HI S.,
You'll need to sign up with an accountability group; we use School's Out Support Group (SOS) and there are many curriculums to chose from out there should you decide to use one. We do not use curriculums. Check out this link to see what children in each grade level should be learning
http://worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum
Best wishes,
C.
www.LostRiverNaturals.com
Handcrafted Herbal Organics

Homeschooling is awesome. I love it. If you are worried about academics, I suggest the Georgia Virtual Academy http://www.k12.com/gva/ it is part of the public school system, but you do it at home. They are currently enrolling. It is free and materials are provided. Definitely worth checking out.

YOu'd love to connect with the thousands of homeschoolers in this area. I work with Dr Mary Hood, the relaxed homeschooler, and she will be doing a seminar soon in the Dallas area, very inexpensive. Her books are in the library system. No time to write more but check out the homeschooling email loops, etc. Email me for that and I will forward you some, you woan't believe what's available to you!
S. ____@____.com

Hi there, I'm not sure where you live but there is usually a big group of home schoolers in any area here in the south, because of the issue with public school. Home schooling is GREAT if you do it right. I am sure that your child will not fall behind. I am attatching a link to the homeschool conferance. This is a convention and all the curriculum books and representatives will be there. We are doing the same next year going from private school to home school only cause they have to close.
Anyway hope this helps! You are doing the best for your child AND if there is any negative comments, they obviously don't know anything about it! http://www.schomeeducatorsassociation.org/convention.php

M;y daughter teaches K-5 in a public school in DeKalb County. In her class the children are reading by January. Is he reading now? Of all the necessary things, having a good start in reading is most important. Can you locate a good teacher that would possibly tutor your child maybe once a week to be sure he keeps up with where he should be. This experienced teacher/tutor could well become your best friend as you homeschool your child. You might find a retired early childhood teacher that would be glad to help. With the 2 younger children do you have time (uninterrupted) to teach him at least 3 to 4 hours a day? Do personally check out your public school and ask if you can visit a K-5 class. You may find that by being very involved with the school your child can receive a very good start. I just don't want you to get yourself so stressed trying to do way too much. V.

I would be extremely careful if I were you. Homeschooling is a sensitive subject. If you plan on doing it till they graduate high school you can take a different route than if you plan to place your child in school eventually.I personally experienced this problem. I was taken out of school in the seventh grade because of the school district and home schooled for the eighth grade which I loved, but when i was sent to a christian high school in the ninth grade I had to repeat the eighth grade at their middle school. They said the curriculum my mother used was not recognized by any school. I used the Abecca curriculum in the eighth grade at home. Then when my mother decided after two years at the christian high school I should go to public school, i was placed in the ninth grade because the christian high school I went to was not recognized by the state that I live in and me and the 23 students that transferred from the christian school were placed a year behind. So I would say be very cautious and please do extensive homework on this subject so you do not run into the same problem or maybe even worse.

I started homeschooling for similar reasons. Our area is notorious for terrible schools, and with 4 children private was definitely out. Since I taught in public school I felt very confident, but I'm sure you can do it too! I use sonlight curriculum for a lot and Right Start Math . I love both of those. Sonlight is a christian based curriculum though, so if that's not your style you'll need to look elsewhere. However, I love that it uses tons of literature and the science component is a lot of fun. I like right start because it is very hands on which one of my kids really needs. I am so impressed with my kids' math skills after a year of it! I would say to see if there is a home school support group in your area. There probably is. It is a huge help to get together with others and see what they do! After a few years of homeschooling I know I am giving my kids a better education than they would get in any school. I have one that would be labeled ADHD in a heartbeat. Being at home he does fine! Another that would be in a gifted class. At 5 he is doing 2nd grade work almost across the board. lol. But the great thing is that at homethat is OK. They aren't weird or different, they're just what they are. You don't have to have grade and tests and such. You KNOW what they have learned and what they haven't. I can't imagine now not being a part of my childrens' education every day. Feel free to e-mail me privately if I can help any, I have a 7, 5, 3, and 1 year old so am dealing with similar ages and issues!

There is a very good sustained home school curriculum that, if used correctly, will not only keep him from falling behind, but will have him excel. It is the ABEKA curriculum:
Abeka Books, Pensacola, Florida. You can find them easily on-line. They offer virtual classes, via video, that are well known for academic excellence. Good luck. I did it with my daughter and was highly successful.

Have you looked into the Georgia virtual academy? it's the public curriculum but the child does it from home.

http://v7.k12.com/dg/dg_ga.html?se=Google&campaign=GA...

we are looking at this for our kids just because my oldest is picking up some not so nice habits from school.

There is SO much curriculum out there. You are actually looking into this at a PERFECT TIME. The biggest curriculum fair is coming up and it is at the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC). Look at this site ghea.org for a little more info on it. It's always the first weekend of May each year. People drive from SC, GA, AL, etc., to attend. It's a wonderful, huge, big fair. I always go every year and buy my curriculum...tons of exhibitors will be there. I usually only go on Friday, but your pass is for Friday and Saturday. There are classes, but I never go to them, I just go to buy, buy, buy! It's only $15 to get in. If you are taking your kids, it's an additional $5 for each child (probably not little ones though).

What you could do in the meantime is look at the following site and just browse through many different curricula and find out what you think you might like to use. Since you are starting out, you may want to go to one place (I don't, never have) and buy everything and then see what you like. If you go to the fair in a couple of weeks, you'll actually be able to physically see SO MANY different and wonderful things. But do your research first. www.homeschoolreviews.com. Don't listen to much to negativity about some of the curriculum, but more so, listen to WHY it did or didn't work for someone. Everyone is different and each child is different.

Another thing to ask yourself is if you want a christian based type curriculum or secular. I am eclectic (I use many things..like Story of the World for History, Real Science 4 Kids (secular), Easy Grammar, Math U See, Spell to Write and Read, Apologia Science (christian), Prudence for your Health, various cursive books, Maps, Charts, and Graphs, etc.) I didn't list everything, but you get the point...I use many from different companies.

If I ever were to go to a 'one stop shop', I'd do Sonlight.

Good luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

www.ghea.org is Georgia Home Education Association. They have a lot of information here about home school laws in Georgia etc. So that will help you with starting up. Also you can find info on that website about the GHEA Homeschool conference in Atlanta on April 30 and May 1-2. April 30th is especially for new homeschoolers and could help you get started. I am also starting homeschooling this upcoming year for my daughter who will be in Kindergarten. You can find curriculum all over the internet. Best of luck to you. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with your choice to homeschool. D.

Check out the Georgia Virtual Academy. It is free , you have a teacher, online. I have known homeschooler Moms who now use this and love it.

I have a friend who has been homeschooling not only her own children, but other people's children as well. I know she would love to talk to you about it if you need advice and encouragement. Her name is Beth Guest, and she lives in Macon. Her email address is ____@____.com is one of the nicest people I know and I feel sure that you will feel better about deciding to homeschool after you talk to her. Email her and give her your phone number. Or message me back, and I'll give it to you.

Homeschooling for us has been wonderful...I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. I started with my son last year doing kindergarten which I realize now I was a year early, but he actually has EXCELLED and is doing 1st grade work (math/reading) It is very difficult at times but VERY rewarding also. I strongly encourage it because the good times overrule the bad by a long shot, each child I do believe is different, I would talk to your significant other about their feelings and weigh out how homeschooling will work for you and speak to your child about it and do a practice run maybe this summer just to see if he will listen to you and learn from you for a week and then that may help you make the right decision. I pray this helps and will pray that God leads you to the right decision for you and your family.
God Bless,

I have home schooled all of our children until this year and would recomend it to anyone. I schooled our two oldest son's all the way through and they did great in college. My oldest will be graduation from college next month. We did change things this year though as we now have charter schools here in SC that are virtual charter schools so we stay home but are considered public school. This has been a hard year after almost 20 years of homeschooling to have to be on someone elses schedule and answer to others but it was getting hard to pay for things. The curriculum is very good, paid for by the state, and if you qualify forit you can get computers and internet reinbursement from the state as well. This program is great in that a child can progress as fast or as slow as they need. I have both kinds of children amoungst our 7 that are school age. I have had difficulties with one of the schools and have transfered because of it but I have yet to have any real problems with Connections Academy. I find them to be the most flexable and very professional while still very warm. I'm sure you could look them up to see if they are in your state or will be soon. I think the K12 program is good but I found the SC administration to be a problem. If this is not available for you it might be in the future so it might pay to at least know about it. Feel free to ask any questions!

Sincerely,
K. B

www.shaklee.net/takecontrol

you can start here for info:
www.home-school.com/groups/GA.html

Hi S.!
There's no reason why you can't homeschool, and watch as your child excells far past the levels of his peers in traditional school. My two children (5 and 7) are homeschooled, and we use a variety of tools; my favorite is the Sonlight curriculum. They'll send a free catalog, and just looking through that is sure to inspire you. It's a faith-based company, and they've been serving homeschooling parents for years now. Good luck to you, and have FUN homeschooling your son!