Seeking Information on Homeschooling

We are also going to start homeschooling, or rather unschooling, our kids after this school year. I am so excited about it. There is a ton of information out on the web (and it can be too much).

When we first thought about this I think I checked out about 15 books from the library. I got through a few and then stumbled upon unschooling (or natural learning) and I was completely hooked.

There are schools that you can enroll in that are "umbrella" schools for home schoolers, and as far as the state is concerned your kids would be considered to be enrolled in a private school (so none of the worries about providing evaluations or portfolios). You do have to provide attendance records I understand.

I think that is the route we're going to take (especially since unschooling requires no set curriculum).

I am no expert as we are just starting out too. I'll be watching the posts to see what others say.

I am a homeschool mom of 9 and 12 year old children. There are many different ways to homeschool your children. Virtual school is just one of them. I buy my curriculum at a homeschool fair in August here in Largo which gives you many different choices on which way you want to teach them and many different extras you can add to them. It varies on how you want to do it. There is also an extremely large 2-3 day (I think) homeschool fair in Orlando. It has many more options and help. If you are interested in that I think it is coming up this month or next. I don't go, but I know a homeschool mom who does and finds all her curriculum there. The best thing is that there is different ways to homeschool, it is just finding what fits you and your children. If you have any more questions, please feel free to e-mail me, I am not an authority, but I have a lot of other homeschool moms and we help each other. There is also a homeschool PE class at the Largo Recreational Centers to help your child to get exercise and make friends and for you to meet other moms to help. There is also a homeschool loop on Yahoo where you can find out about different groups in your area and meetings to help a new homschool mom like yourself or post asking for more help. My e-mail address is ____@____.com. There is a lot of help in Pinellas County for homeschooling, don't let it overwhelm you, just look for what works for you.

I am originally from the U.K.; and,I have been homeschooling for 10 yrs. We have used many methods.
I now run an online school.
One benefit is that it is available throughout the year.

If you go onto member perks, you will see my online school voucher.
Contact me if you want further information. We look forward to helping you!

What a wonderful change you and your family are about to venture into! Congratulations!!! You should consider joining the FPEA as well as the PPEA ... Both are excellent resouces for everything about homeschooling, from laws, rules, requirements, to helpful pointers on styles and types of curriculums or unschooling. I am also part of another group called FCH Florida Christian Homeschoolers. All are tremendous support sources, especially for you with the changes from public school to homeschool environments. Also check out local co-ops which offer classes in any subject or activity that interests your children as well as having meet-ups and park days for kids and moms to socialize. There are some open to all, some Christian based and some geared toward unschooling.... Whatever you are looking for, it's out there! Feel free to email me.