Home School

I have been homeschooling my oldest daughter for 7 years (she's in 9th grade this year). My son has never been to school.
There are sooooo many curriculum choices. I would definitely suggest attending the curriculum fair in St. Charles this June:
CHEF Conference & Curriculum Fair
June 23-25, 2008
____@____.com/ www.chef-missouri.com/
St. Charles Convention Center, 1 Convention Center Plaza, St. Charles

Here are some other links that you might find helpful:

http://www.rainbowresource.com/ (this is a great catalog)
http://www.heartofdakota.com/
http://www.stlhomeschoolexpo.com/index.html
http://ebiz.netopia.com/clpress/
http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/
http://www.chfweb.net/
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/RCHEC/
http://www.hslda.org/default.asp?bhcp=1

Let me know if I can be of any help.
J.

Hi C.,

I don't know where you live, but may be you can ask to a different public school to admit your child, many schools do, I know that ours in Lenexa has many children from an other district, everybody in my area wants to come to this school because it is so good! They have a special curriculum for bright children, they go on Fridays to a special place and also many get etra incentives when they realize they need it.
They can admit your child if she is too good or if you are moving to the area or if her baby sitter lives close or someone that she goes after school is close.
It doesn't hurt to ask and I really believe that we have an amazing school. I worked in great private schools for several years and then I worked in this school before sending my kids and I have to say that this is the best one I have been so far.
Just an idea that you can try...
Best of luck!
Mariana Abadie
www.MaiaCreations.ecrater.com
www.MyKidsFirst.com

I honestly do not know the state of MO's stance on homeschooling, but the state of TX is the leader on homeschooling success. (concidence since that was the state that produced the "no child" act, and remember the guy that created it had to leave the Bush admin because of faulty reports--I have a sore taste for the act, because I use to work under the "act") anyway-- Check out web-sites in the Texas area, key words: christian home school web-sites, catholic home school web-sites --- Woodlands Texas. Better yet; Tina Robertson at ____@____.com is a home-school leader I was checking into prior to moving from TX to MO. She may have great information for you as well. One thing you have surely learned, from what I call "every child will be left behind" is the over-achievers are and will be bored because they are not challenged by the public system.
Good Luck, M. N.

You might want to consider a virtual school approach. We used K12 when we lived in Ohio and really liked it. Using the supplied textbooks, materials and computer, you educate your child at home. The child is assigned a teacher and has regular email/phone contact with that teacher. We have a special needs son, so we were able to get the services that he needed (speech therapy). He had an IEP just like he would in a "brick and mortar" school. Since it is a public school, there is no charge for the curriculum, supplies or the use of the computer. If you already have a computer for her to use, they will reimburse you for internet access. For us, it was a wonderful way to jump into the homeschooling arena and still have a safety net. Using a virtual school approach, your child can learn at her pace, not the others in the classroom. You have the freedom to supplement the material, go on your own field trips and set your own hours. I got onto the K12.com site and found that the St. Louis school district offers the K12 distance learning option. You might want to check it out further. http://www.slps.org/virtual_school/index.htm
Search around in your own neighborhood and find a homeschooling group. Check with local churches, the library, local publications, internet search etc. to find a group nearby. That is a great way to talk to other parents and really get an idea of how other parents homeschool their children. Just as no child is alike, there is no "right" way to homeschool your child. There are so many methods that you could use. The hardest part is not being overwhelmed with all of the choices. Good luck to you.

We too are researching homeschooling and the best site I've found so far is www.hslda.org. It's the site for the Home School Legal Defense Association. You would think it would just be all legal stuff, but it has the best basic info on how to start a home school that I've seen so far. I would suggest starting there and then check out bjupre3ss.com and rainbowresource.com for curriculum help.

Hope that helps.

I pulled my 8year old and my 11 year old out of public school last december. It is a HUGE decision but it has been the best one we have made for our children. our oldest has a learning disability - and being at home with one on one learning is doing amazing things for him. as for our daughter, she loves it too. I tailor each of my children's books just for them and their needs (my oldest needs extra help so i can order books just for that). I order most things online. i love homeschooling too. i have lots of information if you would like more. my email is ____@____.com. contact me at anytime. I also have sheets for logging hours, field trips forms, reading logs, etc. Good Luck!

Hi C., I know how you're feeling, my husband and I are talking about doing the same due to our son seeming to get bored at school. All I can say is that I've been researching the whole situation at the best of my possibility and I can only recommend that you do the same. I hope you learn what you need to learn and I hope things work out for your daughter.

-J. M.
www.themomteam.com/mom2
HELPING Moms Stay Home!

I went to private school for a while when I was in 5th grade. Hated every moment of it and was in public schools prior and after that. I liked the public schools a lot better. 9-12 yr olds always say school is boring and they go through so many changes in their lives at this age. It is the awkward age of growing up and seems to be their tough years socially. I have a hard time with homeschooling. I know there are some good parents out there that can do it well but most of the kids I am around that are home schooled are not socialable and seem to fall behind my kids in their work. When they get older and try to get a job they don't seem to cope very well and quit a lot as they don't know how to get along with others in a social setting.
As far as having a 12th grade reading level at that age isn't that uncommon. Once you learn how to read and become a good reader you will be at a high level. Most kids achieve their high reading level at this age or a few years later. Staying involved in your child's life is most important whether they are in public, private, or home schools. I have found the more involved I am at the schools, the more I learn and watch all the different teaching styles and see how children react. Have your child tested for the gifted programs or advanced classes and if there aren't any for grade school, there usually are in junior high and high school and my son wasn't tested for the advanced classes in high school. He asked about them as he makes A's and his teachers signed the forms and recommended him for the classes. He is in 10th grade and taking advanced classes and AP classes which can earn college credits for. He plans to take 4 AP classes next year and some his senior year. He was always bright and some years were more boring than others but he would have never made it being at home all the time as he has always made good friends at school. We were military for many years until my husband recently retired so he went to several different schools. Some were better than others but my kids have learned to adjust well with going to different schools and have friends that they still keep in contact with over the years that we had to move far away from.

Just relax! I know that sounds difficult, but the more relaxed everyone involved is in homeschooling, the better. I was homeschooled from sixth grade on. I now homeschool my two sons. Just remember that homeschooling does not have to be a miniature school at home. Have fun with it!

I recommend the book "So You're Thinking About Homeschooling" by Lisa Welchel. It is a fast read and gives you an overview of many different ways to home school.

Hi
I'm not sure where your at, but in my area there is an organization Parents as Teachers that might be able to help you with that. I'm thinking of home schooling for my 16 month old daughter. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

J.

I too have a very bright 9year old 4th grader who is homeschooled. I have homeschooled for 3 years and we love it. My daughter does very well and is never bored with school. I briefly put her in public school last year and it was terrible. She was miserable and so was I. After 2 months I pulled her out and said never again. We use ABEKA. It is Christian based. If your daughter is very smart then she should have no problem with ABEKA. I have only used 1 other curriculum and that was Bob Jones. It is also Christian Based. My daughter did well in it but I prefer ABEKA. I sure hope you choose to homeschool. It was a one of the best decisions we ever made.

R.

Just a note of encouragement, I am a mom of 7 and we have done it all, home schooled, private and public. There is so much support and help out there for home schoolers and I still think it is a wonderful thing IF it is right for your family and yourself at this time. Just don't get locked in to thinking you have to make a one time decision now and can not change if your situation changes. Think about the demands on you emotionally and physically and just how much you can do, some women take it all in stride and do great and others get completely bogged down and overwhelmed. The resources are limitless and there is so much good stuff out there to use, it sounds as if your daughter would thrive. If you want to continue, I'm sure there will be plenty of advice coming in so I wish you luck and let me know if I can help you in any way!

I work for a Virtual School here in Kansas. I would STRONGLY recommend it. If you have any question about how Virtual School work with homeschooling, I'll give you my unbiased observations!!!

I have a 4th grader also, I want to home school, I do not have a college degree so fear of home schooling at high school level is scarry. Which curriculum did you find, if you dont mind? I would like to check it out

You may have already heard this, but I would just suggest a couple of things. SHEM a homeschooling resource does offer a meeting for those who are thinking about homeschooling and they give some great, practical advice and just some simple things that you need to know. You can also check out their website:www.shemonline.org/index.htm
I went to their meeting this last Thursday and found it really helpful. My husband and I are considering homeschooling our kids, but aren't completely decided yet. Also, SHEM is sponsoring a curriculum fair at the end of next month that would probably be helpful for you. They will have lots of curriculum vendors as well as speakers on all kinds of topics. Homeschooling does not have to be expensive. There are used book sales and also a lending library.

Way to go! Talk to your daughter before you take her out of school. Make sure she won't mind it.

C., Congrats on having such a birght and studious daughter! Have you checked on scholarships at your local private schools. All private schools have financial aid options, and I'm sure most would love to have such a great student in their school. As a mom of 3 and a first grade teacher, I would personally check out this option before home schooling. Good luck.

Homeschooling is GREAT, easy, and fun. Got nerves? Everyone does :) You're not alone, you are going against the grain of public schools that you've seen all your life! Sure, any human is nervous. Every state has a different home education law, and there are over 1 million homeschoolers in the United States. What state do you live in?

If you aren't ready to completely abandon the school environment, have you considered developing an enrichment program for your daughter that would be after school and weekends? It could be fun activities that are also educational - like going to the zoo and asking her to give some sort of summary - anything from art (draw the animals she has seen) to little plays demonstrating animal behaviour. Ask her to also give information on the foods, lifestyle, and environment/geography of a particular animal. Draw on your local library as a source, and if she is reading at 12+ years of schooling, let her browse thru the adult sections, don't confine her to Dr. Seuss. If she is interested in math, feed her interests by not just giving her advanced math concepts, but finding out about great mathmeticians, who they are, when they lived, what their contributions were, etc. If you have internet, there is a lot of information at your fingertips to use as tools.

Hope this helps.

Homeschool is a great option if you have the time and organization. But, if you're daughter is so advanced have you thought about talking to the school about moving her ahead a few grades? I know this isn't a popular thing to do anymore but if she's reading on a 12th grade level then maybe doing 5th or 6th grade work will present more of a challenge.

I don't have any suggestions but wanted to tell you this: My cousin has 3 boys whom she homeschools. They are the most well behaved, polite boys I've ever met. They are obviously doing something right because they are raising some great boys!

If you decide to leave her in public school, you could request that she be advanced. I'm sure there is testing available to determine the appropriate grade level.
Also, some private schools have people who would be willing to sponsor your child. Sort of like a scholarship. I had a co-worker whose daughter was sponsored from 6th through 12th grade; their relationship with the sponsor was so good that he "sponsored" her through college, and will be sponsoring her child next year in private kindergarten.

Because you said you are really nervous about homeschooling, I would look into Scholarship opportunities at any local private schools you like. Most of them have scholarship and financial aid, just like colleges. It doesn't hurt to ask and check it out. They may require her to take some tests to determine eligibility, but she sounds SO bright that you wouldn't have any problems! What is her view on the situation?

I applaud you for considering this. I'm a big advocate of homeschooling for educational reasons...not shelter-your-child-from-society reasons. There are tons of great homeschool resources out there on the web and in print. You can find tons at the mid continent library. My favorite school of thought in the homeschool world is that of classical education. This is the way they taught children for hundreds of years, until the 20th century, when psychologists and sociologists got involved in the school system. Dumbing everything down to the lowest common deniminator and treating normal children as "gifted" is why your 9 year old has now essentially become a "non-learner" You can help your child excel at her own pace.

Anyway, classical education is based on the trivium, an idea that children go through 3 stages of learning: the grammar stage, when they soak up information and don't really do a whole ton with processing it; the logic stage, when they learn how what they've learned fits together, the rules of logical thinking, processing, etc.; and the rhetoric stage, when they learn to take the info they know, and are able to logically use, and organize it and communicate it effectively. My FAVORITE, favorite author on this topic s Susan Wise Bauer. She wrote "A Well Trained Mind." It is a how-to on homeschooling your child classically. It has everything you need, including cirrculum lists, daily schedules, the ideas and philosophy of education, etc.

Good luck with your decision, whatever you and your husband decide to do for your family.

You could go to the home schooling convention in April. Go to shemonline.org for more info. Home schooling is far easier than I imagined and great fun. Plus, the relationship between you and your daughter will only get better. Take her with you to the convention and let her look as the curriculm and see what she might like to try.
D.-homeschooler and mom of 9

Have you talked to the teacher? The Principal? Can your daughter go to a higher grade for some of her subjects? I know you said the school system in your neighborhood is poor, but I don't really know what you mean by that, is your daughter's teacher not willing to work with her to keep her interested? Unfortunately for the bright children, you really have to advocate for them even more than you do for children who are struggling, because they are dismissed as not needing extra help. But as you can see, they do need extra attention or they get bored. Is there a class at her school for the gifted children?

C.,

I have 8 children. The older 3 were basically homeschooled through high school. The younger 4 have had a mixture of public, private, and homeschool due to extenuating circumstances in our lives. We currently homeschool the younger 3-8th grader, 7th grader, and 5th grader. The first thing I would suggest is looking up HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) on the web and seeing what they recommend for folks in your state. Different states have different requirements and procedures when pulling children out of school. They also have a plethora of information and resources. Another suggestion would be to see if there is a homeschool organization in your state and/or one in your particular geographical area. These organizations have information on groups that meet for particular subjects, area opportunities, resources, etc. In addition, this is the time of year most state organizations have their homeschool conventions which would be a great place for resources and connecting with others. When I started homeschooling 22 years ago, there was not nearly as much to draw from as there is now. I am confident, if you decide to pull your daughter out, you will be able to challenge her in her studies. It does take a commitment to excellence and to working through any adversity be it discouragement, time restraints, financial, disciplinary, or whatever. Sounds like you are "considering the cost" already and that puts you on the right road, whatever the final decision may be. Homeschooling has been the most difficult, but fulfilling thing I have done in my life and has been worth every minute. C.

I think it's great that you are considering home schooling as an option. Just make sure you find out what the state requirements are. I would LOVE to homeschool when our daughter is older. I already plan to teach her as much as I can regardless. I didn't go to preschool, but I already knew how to read by the time I went to kindergarten because my mom had taught me. Parents know their kids better than anyone, and even the best teachers have the odds against them trying to cater to 20 kids and their ability levels and learning methods. Best of luck!

You daughter might qualify for a scholarship to go to a private school. You should check into that, especially if she is that advanced. Most private schools would love to have the chance to continue her education.

Good luck!

I'm almost in the same boat...but I've been researching this for a couple of months now. I would highly recommend the book The Everything Homeschooling Book, which I found at the Liberty library. It is tremendously informative about the subject, with lots of info about types of homeschooling educational philosophies and methods, types of record keeping, examples of so-called "typical" days for each type, ways of determining what kind of learner your child is and ways to cater their education to their learning style, and a variety of information about curriculum (including the fact that you don't really have to have one). My 12 year old daughter and I just did some "practice homeschooling just for fun" over the spring break, and we're both pretty thrilled with how that worked out, though my husband and I still aren't quite 100% decided. I'm trying to find out about a local homeschooling group that I could meet with and learn more from.

Anyway, the point is that the book will likely at least contain enough information for you to get a feel for whether this is something that you can and want to do, and it will really open your eyes about all the different ways it can be done:) Good luck!

I home schooled my daughter in fourth grade, too, but because she was dyslexic and couldn't read. I solicited the help of the teachers from her school to help me with some of her issues then we worked on the specifics such that she now exceeds her reading level as an 8th grader in public school. I only kept her home for one year, but was prepared to go longer. Home school curriculum is more vigorous esp with reading and the other basics. She will be much better grounded in general education no matter how long you go. Check out the state requirements for 4th grade that you can get from your principal, then solicit help from other home school moms and organizations around (there are lots). Set up whatever curriculum your child will learn from best. My daughter is an auditory learner, so traditional learning is not best for her. She has adapted pretty well to it now, tho.
I wish you the best. (It was the best bonding time I ever had with this child, our fourth, as she had so much competition. I have no regrets whatsoever.)

I don't know where your daughter goes to school, but it just sounds like she is in need of either being accellerated or being in a gifted program. My suggestion is to get in contact with the school, let them know of your concerns, and they may be able to help get testing, find a school close by possibly in the same district that can accomodate her if they can't. The public schools have a lot more resources than we think, even in small area's where your home school seems to have limited resources. I understand the fear of doing home school. We had to consider that with my oldest last year, and she is now being bused to another school in our district and it has been a much better year. Good luck!

Hey C.. I've sat on this one for a while-sorry I didn't respond quicker! We are a home schooling family, with a 2nd grade girl, preschool boy and boy who just turned 1. We've home schooled from the beginning. It's been something that we feel very strongly that the Lord has called us to. One weird aspect about our situation is that my hubby's a public school teacher:)

There are a lot of great resources out there. I saw that someone recommended rainbow resources to you. Highly recommend their catalog!! It's huge-can be overwhelming, but it gives detailed descriptions about item they sell, so you can better assess if it's a good fit for you and your child.

Not sure where you're located, but there is an AWESOME conference April 25 & 26 in KC. Many good speakers, variety of workshops-many about starting out, as well as a great curriculum hall where you can get your hands on different books. (Rainbow offers free shipping on orders over $150, so I usually look through stuff at the conference, but wait to buy through them on a lot of things.)

Midwesthomeschoolers.org is the website for info on the conference. I can't stress enough how great it has been for us. Oh, and it also has MANY workshops geared toward dad. If there is any way your husband can come, that would be even better. We have said that it's the best marriage/family conference we've been to!!

Well C., hope this helps. God bless with whatever you decide.
T.:)

Hi, I have 10 year old twins that I homeschooled for part of the year last year for the same reason - they were bored. The good thing about homeschooling is that you can study what you want, when you want and you don't have the distractions of other children who do not have the concepts yet. Your daughter can move at a faster pace in some subjects and slower in others. I would recommend a computer. Both of our boys had a laptop and traveled with me. Just the travel alone helped with geography, budgeting, planning skills, etc. Do a google on homeschool and you will have more information than you imagine. Also, Mardel's has cirriculum in the back of the store. We went with a computerized version of the 4th Grade Switched on Schoolhouse which was in a package. But you can buy single subjects as well. Also there is a yahoo group in Gardner that is a great help.

We went back to public school this fall at the kids request, and due to the sports, scouts, etc. There is plenty to do and to keep your daughter socialized without school tho', you may have to look for it and have to plan a bit more.

Please contact me directly if you have any questions. I'll help all that I can!

D.