Homeschoolers--let's talk!

[MeetingMickeyin2006]

I knew that this board, with its many members and many experiences, was a good place to ask about homeschooling. I am considering homeschooling my son, and was wondering if anybody would share their opinions, thoughts, tips, etc? I am starting to research now, even though he is only 3. Thanks so much!

 

[OceanAnnie]

It's good that you are researching now. I did my research early too. There are many resources available for you. My suggestion for you is to network early. Do a yahoo search for homeschooling + your city & state. There are groups that do co-ops, field trips, and get togethers for play dates and classes. It's a great way to get your child established with a peer group and find adults in your area that have similar interests.

When you have some time check out this thread! It has a lot of information!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=840970&highlight=Homeschooling

A great website I recently came across is: www.letteroftheweek.com

It's a great resource and it's free!

HTH!

 

[horseshowmom]

I highly recommend the A Beka curriculum. They actually have materials for 3 year olds (which we used). The materials are much like what you'd find in a preschool/early kindergarten program.

A Beka provided my DD with an excellent education as well as helping her gain the skills to make her an excellent learner.

She is now a college freshman in an early entry pharmacy program (which was very hard to get into). She had an excellent ACT score and was awarded enough scholarships to cover her college expenses.

I sometimes am hesitant to recommend A Beka to people who are switching from public school to homeschooling, because it's curriculum tends to be more advanced and could cause some frustration for students who might now be as well prepared as they should be. However, I think it's great for anybody who is starting out as early as you are.

Good luck! Feel free to PM me if I can answer any questions for you.

 

[Brier Rose]

I second ABeka . We're using the DVD program with my DS now and he loves it!

I agree that it is advanced, but as stated, if you plan to start with that it would make things even easier.

We used the same program for my DD for years, but then she wanted to try a little something different so we went with The Morning Star Academy .

We've been very happy with it as well.

I can honestly say that while homeschooling may not be the best choice for everybody, without a doubt it's been the best decision we've ever made.

Good luck, and if you have anymore questions..ask away!

 

[disneymom3]

Hi
I thought I would let you know that there is a very long thread on the family board titled Homeschooling list (Or something pretty close to that.) On occasion other threads pop on that board too. You might be surprised at how many homeschoolers there are around here!! (Oh, I see that OceanAnnie has already provided the link up there--awesome!)

Personally, I could never use something as structured as A Beka. I have three kids and they all learn so differently and one of the benefits of homeschooling is that I can work with all of their different styles and have them learning in ways that work best for them. I use a whole conglomeration of things to teach my kids and it changes a lot from week to week or even day to day. DD loves workbook type activities--during free time today she was working on her logic workbook. Yep, that was playtime for her. DS5 on the otherhand cannot stand to be at the table doing paper related activities, so he spent his morning working on a geoboard rearranging all of the rubberbands and we talked about how many sides each shape had, what different shapes you could make, how to split them in half etc.

One big thing I have learned is that it takes time to figure out your child's learning style. I know some parent's who say well that is what works for me and I am the one who chooses the curriculum, but for me, if that is the case--this one size fits all--I may as well send them to public school. The thing I value most is that individual tailoring. My kids are involved in a co-op in a class setting so it's not like they never have to adjust to other's needs, but for the basic stuff, I like that I can teach the way they learn the best.

It is hard work--some days really hard. But it is soooo right for our family. We love the freedom. We go slow when we need to, we skip ahead when we already know that stuff, we spend time together and we go on vacations when everyone else is in school!!

 

[Denine]

I really need to find the time to do research on this. DD is 3-1/2. I don't know if I should send her to pre-school in the Fall or just start with homeschooling.

 

[stamper]

This has been our first year of homeschooling and it has been the best, most positive thing we have done!! DS attended a small Christian school for K-2 and needed something different. The curriculum they used (A Beka and Bob Jones) just wasn't engaging him and he was bored. He is a whiz at reading,but his retention was low so they wouldn't give him harder books. This year his comprehension/retention is through the roof! I credit it to the wonderful books we are reading! The stuff they read at school just plain isn't interesting.

We use Sonlight...it is a literature based curriculum. This means that things like history are taught through wonderful historical fiction books. We generally have a hard time putting them down. And then, he wants to learn more, more, more about whatever we are studying!!! Going to museums and seeing things in person (Valley Forge, Plymouth Plantation, etc.) are things he wants to do on vacation! This is NOT your usual boring school work!! Yes, it's Christianity based, but if you are not so inclined, it can be altered easily.

I really can't say enough great things about it! Here is their site if you'd like to check it out. Sonlight Curriculum Feel free to PM me...good luck in your search!

 

[LiteBrite]

I graduated my daughter last spring after homeschooling her all the way through. I know lots of people love Abeka, but it just wasn't for us. We were much more "free form", and I never used any one curriculum exclusively - just picked and chose what seemed best from year to year. I am a big fan of Saxon Math and Apologia Science, but those are for older children, so it will be a while before you'll be interested in those.

In the early years, the best thing you can do for you child is to read, read, read to them, and then read to them some more. While you're reading, look for opportunities to sound out words that get repeated frequently in the books you're reading, pointing to that word as you do. Gradually your child will begin to recognize letters, letter groups and words in an easy, natural way. Also, don't worry if your child takes longer than you expect to learn to read. The beauty of homeschooling is that your child can learn at his own pace.

You'll find lots of homegrown opportunites for little kid math, too - counting how many forks go on the table when you set it for dinner, things like that.

I love the Ruth Beechick books for homeschooling little kids - they're a set of 3 very thin books (written to the parents), and the set is usually referred to as "The 3 R's".
Ruth Beechick's 3 R's

Have fun homeschooling, and if you find yourself getting burned out, take a break from it and look for a different way to go about whatever you're trying to accomplish at the moment. Learning is so natural to little kids, it's really hard to go wrong in those early years, unless it's by pushing too hard. Just relax, enjoy your son, and let the learning happen. You'll love it.

 

[disneymom3]

Denine--nothing says you can't still homeschool your DD if she went to preschool when she was three. My older two went because I looked at it as a fun experience. The younger one isn't because we are too busy and don't have the time.

Keep in mind that Kindergarten was never created to be academic so a lot of it is entirely appropriate to be playing with blocks, finger painting, measuring things etc.

 

[Denine]

This is all great info!

I would only be sending DD to pre-school so she could play with the other kids. There is only one around here that I would consider and I have to look into it more.

 

[Peter Pirate]

How about On-Line schools? We are in a dilemma with my 7th grade daughter in that she is a competetive tennis player and would like to be more competetive. The problem being (obviously) that this means more court time per day is needed along with much travel, which our school just can't or won't accomodate.

I know a couple of Olympians graduated through Laurel Springs. Any opinions on this route?

 

[Brier Rose]

How about On-Line schools? We are in a dilemma with my 7th grade daughter in that she is a competetive tennis player and would like to be more competetive. The problem being (obviously) that this means more court time per day is needed along with much travel, which our school just can't or won't accomodate.

I know a couple of Olympians graduated through Laurel Springs. Any opinions on this route?

We are doing an online school with my DD this year, and she loves it!

We're using..The Morning Star Academy.

If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer.

 

[OceanAnnie]

Here's some more pre-school websites:

www.preschoolexpress.com
http://www.magicalchildhood.com/index2.htm (my new favorite! )

Whether you want to homeschool or just supplement your child's education these are nice websites to have on hand. HTH!

 

[Peter Pirate]

Thanks Brier Rose, I do have a question about standarized testing. In Florida we have FCAT and each State their own. As I understand it (with Laurel Springs anyway) students at Private schools, and though LS offers web study though they have a traditional brick & mortor facility, they are a private school, students do not have to take the 'standards'. Are all web based schools this way? Do most web taught kids take the 'standards' anyway? What if they go back into 'the system', will the lack of 'standards' somehow hurt them?

Enough for now (hope it wasn't too much, lol).

 

[LiteBrite]

Thanks Briar Rose, I do have a question about standarized testing. In Florida we have FCAT and each State their own. As I understand it (with Laurel Springs anyway) students at Private schools, and though LS offers web study though they have a traditional brick & mortor facility, they are a private school, students do not have to take the 'standards'. Are all web based schools this way? Do most web taught kids take the 'standards' anyway? What if they go back into 'the system', will the lack of 'standards' somehow hurt them?

Enough for now (hope it wasn't too much, lol).

Peter, I can't answer your question regarding web based schools, but I just wanted to let you know that FCAT is not your only option for testing in FL. You can use pretty much any standardized test to satisfy your yearly requirement - I use the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, but there are others as well. Another option is not to test at all, but to have your child evaluated each spring by a certified teacher. Your local homeschool association should be able to point you to testing or teachers that do homeschool evaluations in your area, if you prefer either of those options to sending your kids to take the FCAT at the local public school.

 

[Brier Rose]

Thanks Briar Rose, I do have a question about standarized testing. In Florida we have FCAT and each State their own. As I understand it (with Laurel Springs anyway) students at Private schools, and though LS offers web study though they have a traditional brick & mortor facility, they are a private school, students do not have to take the 'standards'. Are all web based schools this way? Do most web taught kids take the 'standards' anyway? What if they go back into 'the system', will the lack of 'standards' somehow hurt them?

Enough for now (hope it wasn't too much, lol).

In Georgia we are required to test every three years. We use the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
Our homeschool group sets the dates every year, so with them making all of the arrangments it makes things a lot easier.

I'm not sure about a private school exemption. I know when I attended a
private school, we were still required to do the ITBS tests.

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want! I love talking about it, and am happy to help!

 

[Pixiedust34]

We use Sonlight...it is a literature based curriculum. This means that things like history are taught through wonderful historical fiction books. We generally have a hard time putting them down.

We use Sonlight, too. We love it! The books are wonderful.

If anyone is interested in checking out Sonlight, now is a good time to do so. Their new catalogs are about to be mailed in a few weeks.