I've decided to homeschool my kids but want to do the best I can. Anyone with advice on things they've used or done that was really successful please let me know. Thanks!
2006-09-09 03:25:15 · 18 answers · asked by lilmama 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Home Schooling
Good for you, and best wishes in your journey. Keeping distractions down, is key, and not just those things that distract your children, but also those things that distract you: phone, internet, house chores, bills...
get to know how your kiddos learn. a search on learning styles will yield tons of info on that, especially if you narrow your search to "homeschool, learning styles"
Find a curriculum you are comfortable with. I started with a packaged deal, so I didn't have to worry about what my kids were learning. I knew if I got from point A to point Z by the end of the year, then everything was ok. you might even consider an umbrella school that keeps records for you to increase your comfort level in those first years (I have no idea where you are, each state is different, mine is quite liberal) Abeka, Christian Liberty and School of Tomorrow come to mind.
Get out and meet other homeschoolers. Find a local support group that has weekly get togethers and go. Well worth any membership dues you may have to pay (usually 20-25 dollars)
look at local spots of interest as field trips. Got an arboretum? Awesome spring and fall field trip ideas. Blessed with tons of museums? That should keep you busy! If your kids are young, tour the fire station and police station. Go to a local vet for a behind the scenes tour...
Enjoying this time is the key thing. Love your kids. Learn with them. nuture them, give them opportunities to grow. Give them the freedom to find something they want to learn about. Keep your expectations reasonable. And remember, if something doesn't work, you are not a failure, all you did was find a way not to do something, just try a different way next time.
Have fun!
2006-09-09 04:28:15 · answer #1 · answered by Terri 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The best tip I can offer is to find a local support group. That way you can talk with others about how they do things and see how it all works. It will also give you a chance to look at different resources and see what you think will work best for your children. Note: not all resources necessarily work for each child!
Also, check out books on homeschooling from the library. There are lots and lots and will give you ideas and some even have scheduling or routine examples. Mary Pride's "Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling" is very good, albeit thick. :)
Another tip: Find out what the standards are where you live and aim to meet or exceed those for language arts and math. Depending on where you live, you might want to add in other subjects, too.
Get different homeschool company catalogues and browse through them. Even if you don't purchase anything, you may get ideas. Sonlight www.sonlight.com is my favourite catalogue to look through.
Don't become overbearing but don't be too relaxed, either. Find a happy medium.
2006-09-09 04:35:29 · answer #2 · answered by glurpy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Good for you. Here's the $.02 from this HomeSchool mom :-)
Set aside an area where your children can spread out(I set aside a spare bedroom and put a desk ,a map, etc), set a budget and try to stick to it...curriculum can get $$$$.(Miss Maggie has a great site called Old Fashioned Education with a section on free stuff). Find out what your State requires(this is very important you want to be legal). I use the Prairie Primer a literature based curriculum centered on Little House on the Prairie, McGuffey Readers and Ray's Arthimetic Series(but this is MY choice and my little girl (3rd grade )Loves Laura Ingalls Wilder so I use what she likes). Yahoo has a lot of HomeSchool groups.
Go to Walmart and get yourself a good sturdy File tote and some legal sized file folders(to store everyhing in) and a disposable camera( a picture is worth a thousand words)or two.
Enjoy your journey it is truly an Adventure(one I wouldn't miss for the world).
2006-09-10 16:52:00 · answer #3 · answered by HistoryMom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One thing I have found is not to be afraid to take a day off. If the child is getting frustrated instead of pushing and making everyone end in tears or temper, Stop and regroup. Sometimes this may take time.
I have also found that if the children work real hard during the week make Friday fun. Find fun and educational worksheets or web sites. If they know that this is an option they work extra hard Monday-Thursday. Some great sites for this are: www.schoolexpress.com; www.factmonster.com and for the younger child www.crayola.com. Remember have fun with learning.
2006-09-09 08:03:16 · answer #4 · answered by MomOfThree 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Personally, I use Abeka and Alpha Omega. I also incorporate many extra curricular activities to keep the education process entertaining. I have a 7th grader, we pulled him out of public schools last year and he is thriving.
We had him take the placement exam to make sure that he was still at the appropriate grade level. He far surpassed it. When he took his tests in 6th grade (the government regulated ones), he tested from a 4th to a 6th grade level on different subjects. When we retested him when school began this year, his scores reflected his progress. His minimum grade level was now 7th grade his highest was a 9th grade level. I have adjust his curriculum accordingly so that he doesn't get bored with it.
Good luck and God bless!
2006-09-09 13:21:02 · answer #5 · answered by jenepher402 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Simplify.
Get down to the basics.
Math -- mastery of math facts and then lessons --- we prefer Saxon math because it lends itself to "self-teaching". If the child is prepared in math facts and good reading skill then he/she can study math by reading the lesson and figuring out the equations with minimal aid from a parent or tutor. The brain grows stronger when made to THINK.
Writing: Simple one page essays. Any topic. Younger children can do copywork -- copying excellent works of literature until they are 10ish. Then creative essays -- one page turned in for correction. Have a really good set of encyclopedia available for writing ideas and research.
Reading: Read from a list of excellent books. Make sure they are high in moral quality and sound in grammar. A minimum of 2 hours reading will round out a perfect academic day. Vocabulary can be included while reading -- keep a good dictionary on hand.
2006-09-09 06:16:44 · answer #6 · answered by Barb 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Use an online school like The Jubilee Academy or The Morningstaracademy. It changes homeschooling completely and makes it sooooo much easier! Anything else is the old fashioned way!
Go to www.thejubileeacademy.org or
www.themorningstaracademy.org for more info.
2006-09-09 09:48:23 · answer #7 · answered by homeschoolingauthor 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Become a member of HSLDA, then of your local homeschool group.
Then choose how you wish to teach your child: traditional, old-fashioned, with or without religion, academically stringent, artistic and world-open? Here you can mix and mattch to your hearts delight and also allow your child to participate in which things she wishes to study. Younger children can choose which books to read for "English" but keep it in your spectrum, when they are older, allow them to include "electives" that interest them, but keep the Math, English and Sciences, but allow them to add those odd things, like drama, art, mythology or architecture, whatever they have a strong interest in, all these things fall into a category or subject heading anyway.
When you know what you want, choose and purchase it, leaf thru it, divide it into weekly chunks and fill a schedule for each child for the week. Thus you know, you will be done in a year with all you planned.
Do outings, when the mood strikes. Allow for OFF days...keep track of their work, and have them tested thru a proctor once a year so you can see where they are academically compare to the rest of the Nation. If your fifth grader wants a microscope...by all means get one. Buy second hand books, Dover Thrift editions and decent dictionaries, Atlas, globe etc.
What helped me most: I allowed my children, and myself, to deny a book we did not like or did not "work" for us. I simply sent those back, returned them or sold them back to other homeschoolers. There is nothing worse than being forced to finish your brussel sprouts if you hate them...same goes for your curriculum.
Find a homeschool support group, so you can be involved in outings with other parents and children who homeschool. Have a few outside things, like soccer, or pottery or scouts.
And above all, be loving and have some fun!
2006-09-09 12:42:11 · answer #8 · answered by schnikey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I use the free curriculum recommendations from http://www.Amblesideonline.org for my children and I and we love it. I do have to tweak a bit because I'm not a Christian but the group there is very supportive. It is a very liberal education in every sense of the word as the lessons geared to help your children become self-learners...both of mine are :-) This is not a dumbed-down curriculum...You use classics, fairy tales, biographies, study Plutarch, Shakespeare, Composers, Artists, etc...the very best books are recommended. You use only 'living books'. The lessons are short, no more than 5-15 minutes per lesson for younger children and you build up to 45-60 minutes with older children but no more than 4 hours ever. The curriculum is based on P.N.E.U. schools that still are run in Britain that were started by an awesome 19th Century Educator named Charlotte Mason who had much respect for all children and felt that all of them, despite income, deserved the very best books, music, art, etc. and that a liberal education shouldn't be given to only those who could afford it. Most of the books recommended can be read online for FREE! :-)
Or here is a site that you can build a literature based home school on: http://www.abookintime.com/ all books are labeled for grade.
For math we're expecting Ray's Arthimetic the Complete 20 Volume set which runs from K-12 and there are elementary, intermediate and advanced math (going through to calculus) on CD for just $59, it is the ONLY math program we'll ever need but again, I'll have to tweak and weed out Christian bias in the curriculum which is okay, I want my children to be free-thinkers and no how to identify bullcrap.
When my now 12 year old son turns 14 we'll be switching to another literature based program from here: http://www.everydayeducation.com/home/index.shtml Both of this women's children started college at age 16. My son also wants to dual enroll at age 16 so we will base our curriculum choices on his desires and make an outstanding portfolio.
Amblesideonline not only provides free lesson guidelines but also provides schedules. They have gone out of their way to make a Charlotte Mason Education doable for all.
And to the person who spouted off about learning from teachers...please, do yourself a favor and take your head out of the sand, MILLIONS OF SCHOOLED CHILDREN FAIL IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM so apparently, something is wrong! I appreciate teachers and many are awesome but not even the best teacher can meet the NEEDS of each individual child. Not every child should be home schooled but at least home schooling provides children an opportunity to progress at their own rate and learn in the way that is best for the individual, not what someone else has deemed as the best way for them to learn.
2006-09-11 03:01:20 · answer #9 · answered by FreeThinker 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used Robinson Curriculum. It is a self teaching program, and if implemented correctly works great...and it is inexpensive..Just type in Robinson Curriculum into your browser. MAy or may not be for you.
Also check out Home School Legal Defense Association....on the web
2006-09-09 04:24:32 · answer #10 · answered by heresyhunter@sbcglobal.net 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋