Wanting to Learn About Homeschooling

Hey! I am a "veteran" mom like you with two adult daughters, a 13 year-old daughter, and a four year old son. The school system in our town had become so bad when my 13 year old was ready for kindergarten, we decided to send her to a private school. We had a wonderful experience there, but it was very expensive. I was a former school teacher and felt that I could teach my daughter at home, although I was nervous about trying it. We decided to take it one year at a time and just see how it went. I ended up homeschooling her until she began seventh grade this year at a public school.
Homeschooling her was a wonderful experience for me. It was so nice to have that one on one instructional time with her. There were times when I felt like I was learning along with her and I loved that. It was very beneficial for her if she was having a problem with something that I could see it right away, and we could fix it before it went too far. The biggest advantage that I found was the bond that developed between the two of us. I would not trade the time we spent together homeschooling for anything. I am very thankful I had the opportunity and the resources to homeschool her. I highly recommend giving it a try!
I went to a homeschool curriculum fair in a nearby town which was huge and very overwhelming! I did my homework before I got there, and had talked to several homeschool moms who had given me recommendations for curriculums. I love the Saxon Math curriculum. For all other subjects, I really liked the Calvert School curriculum. You can check out both of these online. I bought them both used from Ebay. Good luck!

Yeah, there, M., LOL, I am old too.
I homeschooled my youngest, who is 19 now. The main reason that I homeschool is that in Middle school their bodies go through so many changes that they really do not need the peer pressure that comes with that age. He graduated last May. I am so proud of him. The first thing you may want to do is get in touch with a Homeschool support group in your area. We used Abeka and Christian Liberty because they will keep records for you and send you a transcript upon graduation. Good luck with the best choice you will make for your child/children
I live in Winston Salem, NC

I have a 6 yr old & a 9 month old. Before my children were born I taught in a private school. I never thought much about home-schooling b/c I always thought I would send my children to that school. Then, I married a marine & moved across the country last year. I had worked with my son alot at home, then when he turned 4 I put him in private school & worked there also. When we moved to J-ville, he had to go to preschool b/c of when his b-day falls. I thought about keeping him home then, but he needed the social interaction. This summer I was irritated by the fact he had to go to kindergarten. He was reading beyond a kinder level. I reluctantly put him in anyways. After a couple of weeks he came home with a letter from the librarian that they were learning how to turn pages & treat a book nicely. That was it. I did not want him to loose all that we had worked on. I decided to home school & I am so glad I did. I use the School of Tomorrow curriculum. That is what I learned with & taught with for years. I have since found several homeschool groups in the Jacksonville area. It is a struggle at times, but so worth it.

M.,

I'm not an older mom, but I am a homeschooling mom and hope I can be helpful. I have 3 children (9, 5, 2) and one on the way. I have been homeschooling since my oldest was 3 1/2. It is the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. We decided to home school for lots of different reasons - more rigorous academics, special needs, freedom of scheduling (we can go on vacation in the middle of the year), helping our kids learn to socialize in a lower pressure environment, fun field trips on a whim... My list goes on and on! I use lots of different sorts of curriculum. There are lots of good resources out there - there is a book called "Home Learning Year by Year" that was very helpful when I first started. but really, my biggest resource when we began was other home schoolers. Let me know if you would like to talk some more about it, I'd be glad to help out in any way I can. I'm looking for a playmate for my 2 year old as most of my friends have kids the same age as my other two. I have all my old curricula and would be happy to share ideas. Also, in Charlotte, there is a great store called "Growing Scholars" they have two locations - in Stallings and West Charlotte. It has been incredibly valuable in finding what's the right curriculum for us...

Steph

I have a lot of reasons for homeschooling but one of the main ones was that I wanted my kids to love learning. I see my younger siblings dislike for anything related to education or learning and I knew I didn't want my kids to be like that. I prefer for my kids to learn through experience rather than just books. I also wanted them to learn my values rather than what some local school board decided was important. In the early years I believe it is more about exposure I think. Trips to the zoo, library, children's museums, local cultural activities, reading to them, letting them help you in the kitchen are all ways to help their little minds grow. At that age anything they do with their mom is a cool thing. The hard part is keeping the excitement alive, and not let them feel overwhelmed with what they "have" to do. Most places have homeschool support groups which help with activities and socialization. There a lot of helpful resources online as well. Find out what type of learning style your child has ( visual , auditory, tactile/ kinetic ) and you can incorporate this into what you do. ( something most public and private schools cannot do ) For instance an auditory learner might respond better to listening to music and books on cds than a visual learner would. Another great help is the rainbow resource catalog. Its huge but it has a lot of resources on everything related to homeschool. Also check out some books by Mary Pride, Gayle Graham, and some other homeschool veterans. Homeschooling is a lot of work but its also very rewarding.

Hi, I homeschool my 4 year old dd and have for several years now. We started when she was about 1.5. We have had our ups and downs and this year we are taking a break as far as formal lessons go (we moved and have a new baby on the way). I am pretty young and she is my only until March, so can't help you there.

We decided to homeschool before we had children. Moving to our new city and learning about the school system here, we will continue. We have a lot of support from family and friends, so that really helps.

My dd has had a difficult time understanding why she can't ride the bus and go to school. I was very frustrated for a long time trying to find suitable and affordable activities for her to participate in that included other homeschoolers. Since she is still not of school age, it's been so hard. We went to our first homeschooling outing and I was able to show her that all those kids that were there also learn at home, their mommy's and daddy's teach them as well. She seemed to really be excited about that. She loves book learning and lessons so I lucked out there.

We don't use a curriculum, we make up our own - for right now. But we try to keep up with what other kids her age need to know. There is SO much information online about homeschooling. At your child's age, it's really not so much about formal teaching as it is crafts, activities, reading, and play time.

I wish you good luck.