Starting to Homeschool

Hi N.,
I know that there are families homeschooling in your area. My advice would be to find a homeschool group so that you can be under their umbrella. Groups usually plan field trips, create co-ops for teaching subjects and provide you with a lot of support. Some of these groups have their own curriculum, and there are groups that have you choose your own. We've done both. A lot of families prefer to choose their own curriculum because each child is so different.

This is a great site for books and so much more! http://www.learningthings.com/

This is a good site to check out: http://www.youcanhomeschool.org/starthere/default.asp?bhcp=1

I hope this helps! Much luck and best wishes!
M. B.

N., here is a website that might help guide you through the process. I home schooled my son for part of a year before we moved and I was able to put him into a decent school (we lived in a less-than-desirable location at one point).

http://www.thejubileeacademy.org/?gclid=CJfC87HvwpECFQIUP...

I hope this link helps. The main site is for a Christian based school but if you go to the bottom of the page there are many more options you can choose from.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it's going. I'm considering doing it again for my 11yr old next year.

Hi N.,
I just started homeschooling back in November and was overwhelmed by all of it. I found a great charter school that lets you school from home, but they provide the curriculum, the tests, and they keep the paperwork and grades and such. It really took a lot of pressure off of me to figure everything out, and we are really happy.

There are tons of charter schools in San Diego, just google it and you will find lots of information. :)

Check out www.hslda.org online for links to all you need to know about homeschooling in any state...and I would suggest you do as much research as possible, talk to people who do, don't, have, etc...and then decide if it is really right for you. I decided to homeschool my 3 children last year (Grades K, 1 & 6) and it was the best decision I ever made (even though, it took me a long time to make it). I believe timing is everything and family support is essential. This year, my daughter attends a private middleschool, but I am still homeschooling the two boys, Gr 1 & 2. I have also given myself permission to take one year at a time...that also wards off many others who are intrigued but not necessarily interested in my children's education. Regardless of your decision, and others, you are your child's best teacher, at and away from school.

I have worked in Christian school for 11 years and I have used A.C.E. or as know as "School of Tomorrow" check them out on thete web site www. School of tomorrow.com. I really liked it for my children.

Hi N.,

I'm in a somewhat similar situation as you are...I'm thinking about homeschooling my son (4 yo) and we're expecting baby #2 as well.

There's a book called, "So you're thinking about homeschooling" by Lisa Whelchel and I've heard it's pretty good for getting more insight on homeschooling. They asked fifteen different families about it and I guess there's more to it. I went ahead and put it on hold at my local library.

Hope this helps!

Get on the internet and find the program that suits you.
Your school district may have a list of recommended or approved programs. Mine didn't.

Your state dept. of education website will have info on who you must notify or whatever. Every state is different.

I only did home school for my kids high school years, so my recommendation is years away... but for high school, the home school program at Continental Academy is amazing and reasonable in price. ( www.continentalacademy.com )

Good luck and have fun!