What does it take to homeschool a child?

Question

My step-daughter is in second grade and goes to a public school and they are proud of the "No child left behind" act and very rarely try to teach kids how to honestly work out math problems. My step-daughter has homework 3 times a week and it takes hours to get her to actually do her work herself b/c she complains that she doesn't know how to do math without the number blocks they have in school.

Last year she was bringing home notes saying she's above average in math and was able to add and subtract very well. Now, she can't even do 12+20. Both me and her father have talked to the school principle and her teacher. They keep telling us we need to help her more at home.

I have to end up spending every hour she's home after school before I go to work helping her and her father spends all his free time too. And not to mention how it's effecting our 3 yr old son. It just seems it'd be easier to have her homeschooled than re-teaching her every year. What does it take?

Answer 1

I home educate my autistic son and I have to say this it is well worth it! You learn with your child and it's amazing how much I've learnt as well as my son!

Commitment, patience, discipline and a really good curriculum! Try and find out if there are any home school groups in your area (because you use the term math - I presume you're in the US?) I'm in the UK and most of the curriculum materials I've used have come from the US! Don't think you're alone in it - seek advice from any groups you may know of - do a web search for homeschool organisations (I can't really help you if you're in the US!)

I would say it is WELL worth it - and don't let anyone tell you that not having your child in school is bad for her social skills - of all the kids I know - the ones with the better social skills are the home educated kids! They become free-thinker and not clones of their peers - which is what happens in schools!

Answer 2

It sounds to me like you are already homeschooling your daughter. If your child is having difficulty in school, why do they say the problem is that you aren't working enough with her at home? If that is the problem, why is she going to school at all? Isn't school where she's supposed to learn all this? Or is school only where kids to go perform and be assessed?

Anyway, this isn't really answering your question, which is, I think, "Can I really homeschool? Am I good enough?" Because you already have your answer of whether or not school is helping your daughter learn.

You've already had some great answers, but here's my take on what is required to happily homeschool:

1) A clear understanding of what "education" and "success" mean to you and to the other members of your family.
2) Clear family goals and a clear family philosophy.
3) Flexibility. Being able to make changes and do what it takes to meet the needs of your kids.
4) The ability to listen (and watch). This skill is necessary to even know what it is your kids need.
5) Resourcefulness - the ability to say, "no matter what I need to learn, I know how to access information, or to find a way to learn it."
6) A strong sense of self. You're gonna get lots of criticism if you homeschool. It takes thick skin and a sense of being grounded to hold up against that.

Now, all of this can take time. And sometimes, when you get started homeschooling, all you have is a hope and a prayer. That's OK. Really, the most important thing that should effect your decision whether to homeschool is this: Does it make sense for your family and your child? Sometimes, it takes a lot of soul searching and research to figure this out. And during that process, the things I listed above will happen on their own.

Only you know whether it's the right choice. If it is indeed the right choice, it's not even a question of whether you are ready or not. It's not even a question of whether you can do it or not. If it's the right thing to do, then you, as a loving parent, will do what it takes to give your child what she needs.

Homeschooling is a huge leap into the unknown. Just like having a baby. Or starting a new job. Or moving to a new city. Or having an operation. Or any major life change. But it is a path that has also be tread by millions of people before you. So, it can, and does work.

You ask this question here on Yahoo. But you know the answer.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You've been given a lot of good answers and what sounds like some very good resources. However, I'm shocked that only one person suggested that maybe your first step would be to look for another school. There are excellent private and charter schools and they are not restricted by some of the things public schools are. They are also much more likely to teach "up" to the highest level rather than "down" to the lowest level (a huge problem with public schools). I'd suggest you try them first. Teaching is a gift that not everyone has and homeschooling is very very hard. Anyone who encourages you to homeschool without knowing a lot more about you might be leading you in the wrong direction and their advice and motivation should be questioned. It's about a whole lot more than getting the age appropriate concepts across to your child. You may even succeed in the academic part but if you can't provide all the other things a school provides, most importantly, the social rules, you may do your child more harm than good. The parents who are educated or trained in this area can do a great job but you should think twice if that isn't your skill area. You also must work twice as hard to get your child out and participating with people. There are home-schooled children out there who are brilliant, but their social skills are so lacking that their knowledge is likely to go to waste because they have no clue how to apply it nor how to interact with other people. It is so good that you are concerned that your child reach their top potential, and you obviously are. I wish you success with whatever you decide.

Answer 4

When I was teaching math, both to adults and to children, I found that using Cuisinere rods really helped. These are little wooden sticks, that come in different colors and different sizes. For example, the basic unit would be red. The next stick would be green and it would be twice as long. The next unit would be yellow and it would be five times as long as the first one. The next unit would be purple and it would be ten times as long as the first one.
It really helped them conceptualize what it was they were trying to do, and was invaluable when we moved into algebra.
However, as your step-daughter is in grade two, you don't even need anything that complicated. Start working with dried beans or popcorn (when she finishes her homework she can pop the corn and eat it....)
It seems a little excessive at first, but she's soon going to learn how to add 12+20 in her head, rather than keep counting out those corns. And it reinforces what she's doing. If she gets confused, all she has to do is count out the integers and either add or subtract by taking away or adding to the pile of corn, and then counting the result out.
Homeschooling is not that difficult to get into, if you have the time to devote to it. If you google up homeschool, you can find a site in your area. There are usually several local homeschool associations, some are church oriented, some are online, some are associated with schools -- there is really quite a wide range.
I can sympathize with you. If you are being told, in grade two, that you need to help her more at home, one can only wonder about what is, or isn't happening, in the classroom. Grade two shouldn't be doing hours of homework.
And the one word answer to what it takes to homeschool, is 'patience'.

Answer 5

Yes. You can give her a great education at home.

I'm a firm believer in building a strong foundation for math. This can be done with very inexpensive tools. The first is a complete set of flashcards -- 0's through 15's and with all functions -- +, -, x, /. The next tool is a pile of manipulatives. Some people use blocks, others use coins. Coins are a great help in math. We usually allow the child to choose the medium. My youngest is very creative and used pop-corn kernals or rice grains, and popcicle sticks. The key is to memorize AND understand all of the basic equations befores beginning text-book math --- this should include both flashcards and tables. Once the base is ready then the student begins Saxon Math level 54 (4th-5th grade). No other math program is necessary previous to 54 besides the memorization and study of function via manipulatives, flashcards and tables. We spice it up a bit with periodic timed drill sheets to compliment the flash-cards.

The process of adding 12 + 20 will be better understood after she has her math-facts memorized.

The process that I describe is very slow --- and very solid. It does work very well to ingrain the facts and to exercise the thinking ability. It also builds confidence and teaches the child to strive for mastery of the concept and material.

I recommend that you check into the Robinson Curriculum and Saxon Math ---- not levels K through 3 --- ONLY flashcards, tables, and manipulatives -- "just the facts ma'am. just the facts." --- And then move into level 54 as her first text-book study.

We use this method --- my 2 older children did not go through the facts memory flashcard routine --- but if I had known what I learned later it is the way we would have done it. My younger 2 children are now in Algebra 2 and beginning Algebra -- way beyond beginning math-facts. The foundation they built with flashcards and tables was well worth the time!

Answer 6

Check out NSLDA online, it has every state listed, along with the requirements and such. In some states (like ours) you don't even have to tell the schools that you are homeschooling, there is no testing, no check-ins, nothing. I feel lucky although I know some families could use the timelines to help their kids. Other states require certification or overview from a certified teacher. You must be registered. The state board of ed can help you find that, and they'll also remind you each year of testing or that you should hand in a yearly portfolio of work.

Our schools were using some curriculum called Everyday Math, it works for some kids, not for others. However, my concern was that it was created as a project by college kids. Why is this our curriculum???? We've had to unteach a bunch of crutch skills in our daughter and start over with basics. TouchMath was similar, we've had to unteach all of THAT as well, one because they didn't teach it properly, and two, the way they taught it doesn't let you advance past double digit addition.

Anyway, look for a homeschooling group in your area, they are usually pretty good about explaining different curriculums, how to work in your area with testing and compliance. Often they have fairs where you can see all the curriculum laid out, and you could also see if they have a curriculum exchange.

Definitely see how far back you need to go to make your daughter understand. It sounds like she didn't make the jump in math very well, which probably means that the teacher doesn't know how to explain it any differently than she was trained to.

Seriously, after a semester in the teacher classes at our university to get my masters, I quit. It was nauseating what the lessons actually were, how to stand firm with parents who get overly involved, how to fill out paperwork, what to do if a child needs tested. My friend is still in, and she says it continues much the same. She's only had two classes in four years that was actually beneficial in teaching children.

With our daughter, we wound up moving to very tactile ways of explaining math. We have links that snap together, we use candies, we use pennies. We started with associating single digit math with those tools, so that she understood the concepts of addition and subtraction in the real world. Then we made groups of ten. We added and took away numbers of items to show her than any number could be rounded up or down to ten, and then worked on making groups of tens from numbers, putting the extra items in another pile, and then added tens, then the extra items. She's special ed, and it really worked well for her. Maybe it would help your daughter. Sometimes you get stuck in the idea that if you kept doing worksheets she'd catch on, but there's a real roadblock there, and it's building higher with every struggle over homework.

Good luck

Answer 7

Just transfer her records to the new school. Be professional when telling them the reason you are pulling her out is because you are "transfering" her to another school and not because you are going to "home school" There is a difference in each state. The less the current school knows the better off you are.

One of the main advantages is YOU HAVE A SAY IN WHAT YOUR CHILD LEARNS. You can set your own study/school hours. I too was doing more than my share of homework with my daughter whens he was in public school. For my five year old it is a couple of hours first thing in the morning when we home school.. She already knows how to count to 20 in Spanish and enjoys every minute of it.

She was picked on pretty bad in public school and loves doing the work at home much more. It can get pricey for us ($20-30 per week sometimes) because I have to pay for the ink Etc..to print out the work, first I have to find it and download it from places like http://www.enchantedlearning.com... and another is http://www.Learningzone.com are some good places to start.

Find a local "Umbrella School" then request a transfer of records to the new private school (We don't use home school wording because there is too much legal rigamaro) so it is better to use an umbrella school and tell the current school "I am transfering her to private school in such a county" very simple and easy. You do have to keep up with the attendance/grades Etc...at a place called http://www.homeschoolreporting.com...

Answer 8

One really great homeschool curriculum provider you should definately check out is Learning By Grace. In their program students work at their own pace, and can take classes appropriate for their ability in the subject.

They are also having an essay contestin which the top two essayists will each win a Nintendo Wii!! The essay must be 500-1,000 words, and the question to be answered is: How is your family putting "Christ" into Christmas this year? The contest ends December 31st, 2006.

I think their website would help you out a lot: www.learningbygrace.org

Answer 9

Check out the state education department site for your state to see what is required in the way of paperwork and dive in. If you are going to end up teaching her yourselves anyway, why waste all that time in school?

For math I recommend either Right Start math, www.alabacus.com or Singapore Math www.singaporemath.com

A very interesting read is Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics by Liping Ma. It is a comparison of elementary math instruction in our country and in China. Despite the fact that elementary teachers in China only go thru the 9th grade and then receive a year or two of specialized training to teach, the Chinese students routinely outscore our kids in math. They found that teachers in China have an overwhelmingly better foundation in the concepts of math and teach in a way that passes on those concepts rather than just procedures. It takes several key concepts - subraction with regrouping, multi-digit multiplication, division of fractions, and the concepts of area and perimeter as examples. It would be very helpful in your teaching to see how small changes in wording and method can give a much better understanding of math.

Good luck!

Answer 10

It takes knowing the laws where you live. Some states have specific restrictions or requirements. You can find out more about these at http://www.hslda.org or by finding a state or local homeschooling group.

It takes a committed and loving parent (ideally, two committed parents) to be there each day to help the child learn and grow.

It takes a parent who is willing to learn, willing to try, willing to experiment to find a good fit, willing to put up with naysayers ;) .

After that, it's all up to you (and to a certain extent, your laws). You get to pick the books, the schedule, the field trips, the activities, etc.

FWIW, you certainly wouldn't be the first parent to pull their child after discovering that you're spending a ton of time at home teaching your child already!