Thinking About Homeschooling

Hi A.! I am not sure what area you are in but joining a group is the best way to get these questions answered. I am a member of the Macomb County Group http://tinyurl.com/86bfau) and Oakland Counties (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/reachoakland/). The groups websites have tons of info along with many free resources for your kids age groups. Feel free to email me and I will send you many links to get you started if you like!

I was homeschooled from 3rd grade through 10th grade. Now there are SOOOO many homeschoolers and groups and activities that I believe it can be overwhelming for parents to choose which things to do!

I teach a piano lessons and have 4 families that are homeschoolers... I think the amount of social skills just depend on the parents and the child's personality. The families that I have whose children attend public or private school vary just as much as the homeschooled children.

Best wishes...

I have researched it a lot and would LOVE to homeschool my kids but my husband doesn't agree. He did let me homeschool my preschooler and I will continue to do it along with the public school. That said I have found out a couple of things that helped me with information. Look up The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, I only get their free newsletters (and advertisements) but they have a lot of free information and products.

Don't buy new if you don't have too. There are a couple of sites that help homeschoolers sell their old curriculum and you can help other homeschoolers and save $$. One is www.vegsource.com/homschool/ another one that I have used is http://www.homeschoolclassifieds.com/.

I also think you should look into Five In A Row (www.fiveinarow.com) and www.homeschoolshare.com they are literature based unit studies and work great for your kids age range.

There are a ton of other sites you will find that help you through the maze of information. Like: http://www.homeschool-curriculum-savings.com/index.html

One other thing you should do before you start is figure out the main reason you want to homeschool and set goals for yourself and your kids. They can always adjust but it is nice to have a reason and a framework so you don’t get distracted by all the wonderful stuff out there.

GOD bless and I hope you enjoy it and get the most out of it!!

A.,

Good for you! Looking into Home Education options, before hand and getting yourself prepared is key.
PLEASE don't listen to the myths about Home Educated Children.
I myself was Home Educated for High School (back in the early 80's) when Social Workers would threaten your parents for not sending you to school. Yes, Mine were among the great that stood their ground. When I went to College, I had NO troubles, finished with a 4.0 and didn't take long to get a job in the field of study.

My oldest 3 started out in PS and I took them out because my eyes were opened. God made it CLEAR that PS was not for our children or family.

Social skills? There isn't one of my children that has any fear of explaining Breeds of rabbits or goats and how to breed, medicate or take care of them. Another myth, mostly from people that have never Home Educated and have no experience. (and my youngest is only 7)Children that learn at home are not locked into a closet .. What are they thinking??
They are members of the same sports teams, 4-H clubs, Scouts and other groups Public School children are. Public School is NOT the type of Social Skills I want to promote or expose my children to. Drugs, Disrespect of Elders, Weapons and Liberal Agendas. It is your child and YOUR decision to make on exposure. Just like what they watch on TV, Garbage in, Garbage out.
I have seen many Public Schooled children that could be taken as unsocial, however we are told they are shy. Personalities come out in children too and they are all different.

The fact is, Home Educated Children are intelligent, and more rounded to face real life issues. They score higher on ACT and SAT tests and many colleges seek Home Educated Children due to the fact they are more serious about their education.

With that being said, my oldest is 18 and has finished High School, now into college. I have 3 others we continue to Educate.

I would suggest to start with:
www.hslda.org It is a shame we need to protect ourselves legally to educated our children, but for those that *think* they know what is best and don't agree with your choices, we protect ourselves from them.

www.inch.org Information Network for Christian Homes, will list the next conference in Lansing (May I think) I highly recommend you attend, you will get a multitude of good information.

I don't use a curriculum in a box, however I know parents that do. You will need to pick what is right for you and the conference will give plenty of options.

Attend a local support group meeting. Ask TONS of questions and find out what others are using. You may have the option to borrow some books and look through them. See if they will work for both your teaching style as well as your child's learning style. INCH should be able to help you find a local support group.

www.rainbowresource.com - This is great for new curriculum and has a book thicker then any phone book I have ever seen! You really can find most anything there, and at a discount.
It was already given www.homeschoolclassifieds.com I too have used them and been happy with my purchases.

So many schools have budget cuts that sports is an outside activity. Piano lessons, Guitar, Voilin (and others) is always an extra thing no matter what school you are in. Not all schools offer band anymore.
Do what YOU feel is right and know that not everyone will think you are doing what is best. But your children were given to YOU from God and he has trusted you to raise them.

Feel free to come back with questions, I know the first 2-3 years was the hardest on me, being new and so many questions. It will be a learning process for you too.

Best of luck to you!

Bravo to you!
If you have had the thought then it is something you must be destined to do! Do your research! I must say that it's not for everyone, so you must be dedicated and have a grateful, loving, and strong-willed heart and must be able to take the critisizm(spelling?) (you don't have to be a perfect speller or have a teacher education.. you can learn right along with your child! It's the best! That's what the cirriculm is for! Some teachers aren't educated in some subjects either but they still teach. And just because they have a piece of paper that says so doesn't neccessarily make them better at teaching "YOUR" children), and comments of those who just simply don't understand or get it. Just remember this..when someone askes you, "How can you homeschool?" Ask them "How can you not?" You'll get lots of comments on "socialization". Everyone has a different idea of what socialization means. In fact there are many different definitions. My view from that is if you don't wear the right kind of clothes, hang out with the right kind of friends (all being the same age), don't do this and don't do that then your not important. That is exactly why I don't want my kids socializing wth others their age. Today's society places too many judgements and labels on our kids and the public school sector tends to reinforce them and create even more, like "slow learner", "doesn't fit in", "learning diability". These are all labels and if they knew anything about children they would know that any child can and will learn anything if given the right enviroment and time and love, something the public school can't do! Our children and our family is the most important social group that they need to socialize with, and what better way to do that than to homeschool. I provide plenty of opportunities for my children to socialize. Some weeks we're so busy "socializing" that we hardly have time for other things! I do believe also that some children don't have a very good home life and therefore would thrive in public school away from their home life. I agree there are homeschoolers that give us a bad name and we as other homeschoolers need to step up and help. I myself haven't seen, only heard of these families. Most people think that if they conform to whatever the majority of the people think and do then that's socialization. Anyways, I recommend that you find a local group for support and information, use your local library often, buy or request books from the library about homeschooling (although I have found the resource sections are the most helpful at the back of the books), search the intrernet for it is an unlimited supply of information. There are many ways to homeschool and you have to find what's right for you and your family. You will struggle and wonder if it's the best thing to do and somedays you'll want to walk away from it all! But learn to put things into perspective, pray about it, read something about the benefits of homeschooling, take a day off, reorganize... whatever it takes to start fresh again! The first year will be the hardest. Kindergarten will be a breeze, make it fun! But also don't forget the fun for second grade also, that's when most schools take away the crayons and all the fun things! Keep it simple also, for your kids sake and your sanity! Most of all, pay close attention to your kids and listen to what they want to learn about and run with it! I use every opportunity to use every situation as a learning experience and beleive me each moment that goes by is a learning experience! I get books from the library and read to them almost daily. Get good books that teach chararcter building, manners, anything educational. Take them in the car with you. Get books on tape. Listen while on the way to the grocery store! Play educational games, let them play with play dough and make numbers or the letters in their name. I could go on and on! Something my children loved is the Little House on the Prairie Books, books on tape, and movies(with Mellisa Gilbert, the ones that played on TV.-You can or should be able to request them from your library)There is a cirriculm that goes with the Little House Books called the Prairie Primer by Margie Gray. I just borrowed it from a friend that did it last year. I am doing it slowly, I've only read the first chapter at night before bed time, on top of the cirriculm I already have. I probably won't go to indepth with it, because my kids already have alot to do. If you want a cirriculm to go by to help you out seach the internet. There are a million different ones. I myself use a public school cirriculm for k-2 grades that was given to me by my fathers cousin who works for Scott Forseman Publishers (they make public school cirriculms), but I add alot more things like the books you can get at Wal-mart. I myself would not spend alot of money. It's just not worth it.
Here are some web-sites that may help:
homeschool.com
hslda.org (homeschool legal defense association)
abcteach.com
enchantedlearning.com
crayola.com
discovery.com
I could go on and on here also. But these a few of my favorites.
Here are some books:
The 7 Habits of Healthy Kids by Sean Covey
The Little House Series
Any classic tales like Tom Sawyer.
Children's Books by Dr. Wayne Dyer
Kids picture Encyclopedias/Dictionaries
If you do any traveling go to National Parks and do the Junior Ranger Programs, there is also a website nps.gov
I hope I've helped and if you have any other questions please feel free to email me anytime.
C.
Go to youtube.com type in "I will survive-homeschool edition" it's a good inspiration and there's others like "14 days of homeschool" and "the tyranny of compulsoy schooling"

A little about me: Mom of 4 (11-b,9-b,7-b,5-g)have homeschooled for 6years. Have a supportive, loving Husband of 14 years.

Check out www.homeschoolingworks.com The people who put on the book fair are curently homeschooling and/or have been providing services to homeschoolers for over 20 years. They have children in all age ranges. They are in the metro Detroit area. Great reading-Things We Wished We'd Known compiled and edited by Bill and Diana Waring. This book has my family's story along with 49 others who share their experiences. Go to www.dianawaring.com for purchase and support a Mom in business.

We started homeschooling when our oldest (now 20) was entering K and we are still at it! West Michigan is a great place to live if you are homeschooling. There is so much available for you to become involved in. I would look up the Home School Building on-line and request a subscription to their newsletter. That will give you an idea of the support network out there.

We homeschool and have become quite passionate about it.

www.naturalchild.org

www.enkieducation.org

and john taylor gatto's new book weapons of mass instruction is great

Jump on the internet and find a local group--and you might consider going to a conference or convention (there's a big one in Cincinnati in April, a smaller one in Lansing by INCH in May, a book fair in Farmington Hills in the spring).

Here's an inexpensive course for parents: http://www.homeschoolingabcs.com/

To get a feel for products and resources, find a place where parents are reviewing or blogging about them, like here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/

Just wanted to encourage you to go for it! I was home schooled through all of elementary school (except 2nd grade). I didn't like it because we lived far away from other children to socialize with, but if you can fill your children's social needs with things like church, sports, music, etc... it won't be an issue.

At that time it was very hard to home school without criticism from the state, so my mom made sure we did the Iowa basics testing each year to be sure we were progressing as other children were. We had no problems transitioning into the classroom for High School and College, and had lots of time of outside activities. We were also pretty disciplined so would get our schoolwork done before noon and then could have the rest of the day to play. We also learned to cook and sew early on because we had the time to do it. I don't know if you're a Christian, but my mom used the Mennonite curriculum for us because it was very Bible based and good academic quality.

One issue we had was when we became adolescents we needed to have other adult authority figures in our lives besides our parents. So that's something to be aware of, see if you can fulfill that need in some way.

I plan to home school my daughter once the time comes.