Homeschooling - Syracuse,NY

I have been using hooked on phonics workbooks. also a few sites online www.starfall.com, http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/liter...
we also get different kids of workbooks at barnes and noble. which means i haven't been using a certain curriculum, more like what should we concentrate on: letters, sounds, numbers, and finally reading and writing.
also these hooked on phonics workbooks come with a school DVD and also a computer software (very good ones).
ps. before we had started with letters, sounds, and numbers we watched letter factory (leapfrog) dvd, math circus, and word factory. that was our first intro to learning letters and sounds, which eventually led us to learning to read. by the way, my children are 4.
good luck

Hi S.,
I've been homeschooling my daughters for about 8 years now (I started my oldest when she was 3). I think now at 4 years old you can just start with basic reading and math (counting, shapes, etc). I used a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons", it received a mixed bag of reviews but, for $15 I figured I didn't have much to lose. That gave my daughters a basic flow of how words work and what letter sounds do together. We then moved on to curriculum at 4. They have lots out there, ABeka is good for tiny tots and so is Horizons-but you will find what works for your daughter as you go along-the best advice I can give is that its okay to try something new if what you are using doesn't seem to be working.

Congrats on your decision to home school. We home school our children also. You have already gotten a lot of great advice, the only thing I would add is to try to find a local home schooling group. It is fun for the kids, but it also gives you a group of other parents to talk to about issues like curriculum. It is much different looking at a curriculum on-line than it is to pick up the materials. Being in a group, you will have access to other parents who already have the materials and (in my experience) will let you check it out to help in your decision making. Also, curriculum fairs are great. Search the LEAH home schooling group on-line. I know they have their fairs coming up with many different curriculum vendors there. Good luck.

We went to the LEAH sponsored homeschool conference. It was very nice to be able to leaf through all of the different curriculum, instead of just comparing covers online. Vendors are there, too to help explain their own curriculum and what is involved. Ultimately we chose the Christian Liberty program.

Hi there, I have an almost 4 year old and a 2 year old. We also homeschool and I have been wondering the same question as you! I rc'd lots of advice when I posted this question on my homeschooling yahoo board and the most common answer was you need to buy nothing, You have preschool education all around, every single thing you do with your kids you can teach them. We do go over the calender ( I have one from Lakeshore) and we do ABC, 123, and lots of books as well as storytime at the library, outings to the zoo, and lots of playdates, at this age they really learn by play and interaction. Several also recommended 5 in a row. It is literacy based and I found it quite interesting. I also liked the sites Lola mentioned, we went to that and right away my boys loved it! They also like to go to Noggin.com. I would start looking for homeschooling groups around you so you a. End your kids can be linked. Right now there isn't a lot my young kids can do with the group, but we do things like swim together on Fridays. If you aren't already involved, I would start up a playgroup. Email me if you have any questions.

Hi S.
Good for you and congrats on the decision to homeschool.
I homeschooled my twins through high school. They are now in state colleges, one commuting for journalism, with a 3.8 GPA; and the other on campus for fine arts with a 3.7 GPA.
There is a lot of material out there. The tendency is to buy too much. My suggestion is to get the book "what your Kindergartener needs to know" Read it. Have fun teaching it. What she does not catch, you have another year to teach it, right?
I have lots of ideas, but some depends on child's learning style. If you don't know, check that out.
I love to talk about homeschooling so write me, if you want to talk.
God bless you
K.

I am not sure where you are, but try the Holistic Moms group near you (http://www.holisticmoms.org/) there are alot of moms who homeschool (we aren't even thinking about school yet!). There are alot of groups in the Syracuse area, one of the moms should be able to pass on the info. Also, the Soule branch in Syracuse has a wonderful home schooling collection and Cynthia Bishop does quite a bit with local families that home school (http://www.onlib.org/web/locations_hours/branches/soule.htm)

Hi S.,

Start by going to the NY state education website. There is info there and links. Good luck!