Question About Home-schooling

Hi G.:

I am a homeschool mom of a 7 year old boy and a 1 1/2 year old daughter. It was THE BEST decision I ever made. I do NOT regret it. For answers, laws, support group and all inquiries regarding homeschool go to http://fpea.com/ also, I started my son on http://letteroftheweek.com/ for pre-k and found this really neat website called http://www.starfall.com/ for reading. Also another website to do stuff is http://learningpage.com/ . These are all great to do stuff at home and free. You can always purchase unit studies or curriculums online. Popular ones like Abeka. They have a wesbite and you can get it depending on the grade. My son enjoyed workbooks I purchased at dollar tree. The FPEA also has a statewide conference every year here in Orlando (you will find information on the website) I highly recomend it. They have 100's of vendors and great workshops for homeschool families. You are NOT alone in this area and you can DO IT!

I pray you make the BEST decision for your family!

If you ever need to speak further please contact me! I LOVE homeschooling!

Hi G.,

Can't help you with Dubai but can help you with some homeschooling materials. I do not home school right now but have been a teacher for 15+ years, now working from home. I have often thought of homeschooling my son but decided to give him a try in public school. Anyway, there's a great curriculum that is available internationally - K12 Curriculum. You'll have to contact them to request information but most of it you can find online (www.k12.com/international). I believe there's even a place to look up the country your interested in. You can also go to www.k12.com to find info on the US curriculum. I believe if you start with one it will be an easy transition for the other (US going into International, etc.).

There's also a couple of great virtual academies in FL. One is the FL Virtual Academy (www.flva.org), which is based in Jacksonville and the other is The Connections Academy (www.connectionsacademy.com), which I believe is based in Orlanda.

Best to ya!!

K. Woodlief
www.LovinLifeHome.com
800-841-5821

I would go for it. You have nothing to lose. I am homeschooling my 6 year old daughter and will be homeschooling my 3 year old son and 15 month old daughter when they reach the age. they are so smart and happy with homeschooling. Find a good support group and make sure your husband supports the idea too. Read some on homeschooling and google it. There are so many resources and no reasons why not too. God bless your journey.
- A.

Hello G.,

This is my second year homeschooling my older two, the best decision that we have made! My daughters are 10 years old and 6 years old, my oldest worked on Switched on schoolhouse (SOS) for 5 subjects last year and did a wonderful job. I also was able to find out were my daughter was experiencing trouble understanding some of her homework from public school the year before. While my oldest did attend public school she was on the AB honor roll along with the principals list, yet she had trouble finding the subject of a sentence along with sentence structure. This year we are doing a cross between SOS for 2 subjects (Science and History), Lifepac series for 2 subjects (Language Arts and Bible history) and Horizons math. My 6 year old, has been working with the Horizons series for the last two years ~ wonderful and easy for them to use. Everything repeats itself over a weeks time until they learn how (for example) a math problem should be solved. Each Horizon workbook is about $11 or $12 each. The best prices I have found were on www.rocksolidinc.com, which is a company based out of Jacksonville, Florida. Other than working out of workbooks, we play learning games together.

Along with homeschooling my girls we are also part of a homeschooling co-op at a local church. Which is a wonderful alternative for allow our children to interact with other children their ages. We meet once a week for 8 weeks once during the fall then again during the spring. The co-op is taught by other parents who bring their ideas before a small panel who decide if this would be of interest to other children. Each class hour also has one additional parent to help assist the "teacher" along with 2 or 3 parents who care for infants / toddlers in the nursery.

If you would like to ask any questions, please feel free to do so. I would be happy to help you out with any information that I have come across. Good Luck.

I am a homeschool graduate. Now with a 13 month old of my own and 8 months pregnant I'm looking forward to giving my children that same advantage.

I would say there are at least three things you need to consider. 1)This isn't an easy choice. How committed are you to this choice of education? Transitioning between mother and teacher every day is difficult. 2)Is your husband behind you in this decision? A key for success! 3)Can you get to a homeschooling book fair before you leave for Dubai? Usually they take place in May and August. There you could choose from the myriad of curriculum available to families. Plus you could ask more specific questions of veteran home educating mothers.

Dear G.,
I have been contemplating homeschooling for a few years now and a new resource is free-to-homeschool.com. It helps to find out what it's all about and if it is for you and your children. It also gives great ideas for working at home if you need the extra income. I am greatly considering homeschooling next year for my children and this is one resource that is truely helpful.
I wish you the best of luck!
C.

G.,

A great place to start is to find a local homeschool support group. You can look online or call your school board and the homeschool division should have some information on it. Next, look at a variety of materials online and decide which is best for you considering your specific beliefs. ABEKA is a great carriculum if you want to incorporate spiritual matters. I highly recommend it. I have homeschooled in the past a combined total of about 4 years. Also, your homeschool support group may have used books for sale at a low cost.

Take Care,
T.
Mom of 4