How can a parent who is considering homeschooling prepare and find information on the subject?

Question

Which books could help?

Answer 1

First start at http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp choose your state and click on the laws tab.

The first book I read was the Complete Idiots Guide to Homeschooling. It was a good place to start. Defined things like unschooling and talked about a lot of the initial concerns I had. The others are good once you know what people are talking about, but if you are just starting to look into this and don't know all the terminology and things, I would start at the bottom.

From there I went to the What Your ____ Grader Needs to know. I knew what I thought a kindergartener or first grader should know, but turns out I was a little off on most of it. Usually ahead, but once in a while behind. This is not to say I recommend following these as a curriculum, you could, but homeschooling is all about working at your child's level, and for us that would have meant that by the beginning of 1st grade we would have been in 2nd grade for math, 3rd for reading, kindergarten for handwriting, and could have gone into any of them and learned something for science or social studies, but it does at least provide a good bench mark to go by as you are getting started.

From there you need to look at your children, your life style, and your beliefs. Here are some questions you need to answer before you look in to curriculum. They are in no order, just as they rolled out of my head, and don't all need a concrete answer (the answer will change for most of them at some point anyway and you will adapt) for any of them, it just gives you some things to look at before you choose curriculum or style if teaching.

Are you a Christian and do you want to teach with a Christian based curriculum or do you prefer a secular curriculum? This has to be the first step, because there are great curriculums on both sides of the table, but you don't want to spend a lot of money just to realize the curriculum everyone recommended is teaching your child something you don't want them to learn. For us we are Christian and have always used Christian curriculum, we are starting biology next year and I am going to use a creation based science program. My son (8) knows quite a bit about millions and billions and evolution because he loves Animal Planet and dinosaurs, and I want him to know both sides. As he gets older, I will continue to make sure he knows both creation and evolution so that he can make his own choices. But you may want something different, so my recommendation would not work for you there, but in math it might.

How many children are you going to be teaching? Are they on a similar level or 4 years apart? Would it be helpful to have them learning the same history, literature and science topics, even if they were different in difficulty? If so you might look into Classical Curriculum and I recommend the book Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.

Do you want to do mostly worksheets or mostly computer based curriculum?

This is usually for older kids, but you didn't mention how old yours were so I thought I would throw it in. Do you want to be responsible for the grading or do you want to mail it off or do it online? Do you feel competent to teach the math, science, and grammer etc that your child will encounter if you have a pretty good guide to follow or would you prefer a DVD taught class or an online enviornment where they have someone else teach them and you just provide the voice that reminds them to get back to work? Do you want your child to have a high school diploma from an accredited school, or have one that you issue and get into college either by his GED or by her test scores on ACT and SAT?

How is the structure in your home? If you are good at this do you plan on having a schedule (8:00 math 9:00 reading etc) or just work as you feel each day? If you are a little disorganized (or a lot) how are you planning on fitting in schooling? What do you feel is the most important thing your child learn?

Are there health or behavioral issues for you or your child, how do you plan to deal with them?

How much can you afford to spend each year on curriculum and still have money for zoo and museum trips that make homeschooling such a great option?

What do you plan to have your children do outside the home for socialization? This is the one everyone worries about, and it can be easy to over look. If there are a lot of kids on your street or in your family and your kids are exposed to a lot of people all the time, not as big a deal. If play dates rarely happen, you have 2 kids, and no family nearby, it can be huge. So there are music lessons, sports leagues, 4-H, brownies, scouts, home school groups with park days and field trips, museum classes, church, home school co-ops, cooking classes, gardening classes, activities at the library, and homeschool days at places like NASA and such. It all depends where you live, what you allow in your schedule, what your childs interests are, and what you can afford. But it is something to think about.

Spend time with your child. If they have been in school especially. It will not kill them to not do structured work for a few weeks, and you need time to figure out how they work best, what level they are on, and where their interests lie.

Do some placement testing with them and see where they are if they are older. Saxon has a free math one online http://saxonpublishers.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonpublishers.htm?MSCSProfile=DCCDF22EB27065BE2701845D8B9B5BFC97E84CBCC5212C18E3341F18CE3975459D45D3F56BC21A69B9A4EA34FAA16D806CC4BBD3DA203693F8DEF130A8057A158974A92368338069EBA5B1961E83EF4A6EAE312C26D05C81D9B3BA983EF16EA906B913D1452CF19D7F43FDA9CB9D26F3939327B800F7D94E626802C9A67A51D8&UserPref=culture%5Een-US, Alpha Omega has a free one for Switched on Schoolhouse http://www.aop.com/sos/Support_Diagnostic.php They are both from Christian companies, but the placement tests should still give you an idea.

Do they seem to learn best if they hear something or if they read something or do they excell with hands on? How quick do they pick up on the things you are talking about and once they have are they ok staying there a while or are they ready to move on? This is a big one for me because my son grasps things very quickley and is ready to move on. Too much repetition leaves him bored and frustrated. So a curriculum like Abeka killed us where it is great for others. Switched on Schoolhouse is ok because it allows me to decide if I want him to skip 1/2 the questions or do the whole thing, but I am left wondering if I would not just be better pulling math together on my own. If your child learns slower you want to be sure the curriculum isn't too fast paced.

Does your child read well? If they are behind there you may want to park your self in reading and math and only gloss over things like history and science by the books you are reading.

How long can your child sit still and not completely lose focus? If they get up and run outside for 15 minutes can they focus again? Start toying with scheduling before you choose curriculum. You no longer have to be up and dressed by 7:30 unless that is what you like, math can be taught after dinner when Dad is home to help with the baby, and you can go on vacation whenever you want, so you may choose to work at least some during school breaks. 2 weeks off at Christmas about killed us, we won't do it again, our curriculum wasn't at a good stopping place and my son had to go back and review a lot to get back on track. So next year we will just take a few days here and there.

Once you know the answers to some of this, go to a homeschool convention or book fair, look into curriculums online, and start making choices. There is a lot out there, but if you answered some of the questions you are walking into the building with some idea of what you are looking for. From there flip through the books, talk to other people who are there, see what you like and try it. If it is ok, but not exactly what you are looking for you can try something different next year and suppliment this year, no big deal. You will be fine.

The biggest thing to remember about homeschooling is that there is no one right answer for everyone. You make it work for you. The only requirements are those your state mandates, and some are VERY easy, so after that you may spend a few years discovering what works best for you and your child. That is ok. You don't have to know it all now or risk ruining your child. Think back to before you had children, all the things you swore you would and would not do, and all you changed your mind about once you got to know yourself as a parent and your child as a person. Homeschooling is just like that. A constant evolution to be the best it can be for a certain time in our lives.

Sorry I was so long winded, hope it helped. Email if I can help with anything else.

Answer 2

on what subject? On homeschooling in particular, or on a subject that the parent wishes to teach to a child?

I'm going to assume homeschooling for the sake of answering the question. It's funny, if you google 'how to homeschool' you get over nine million hits. Homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular, grows by 10% every year. If you go to your public library, you'll probably find at least ten books about homeschooling. Homeschooling for dummies is good, each chapter is short and succinct, and also is full of online resources. It also has an index full of state and local resources.

Online I like www.oklahomahomeschool.com It's not specific just to Oklahoma, it is just really a well-laid out website that goes step by step and has links to other websites. I also like
www.homeschooling.gomilpitas.com

Answer 3

There are plenty of books you can find in the bookstore. But first, you need to hook up with your local homeschool group. If you type up the address "learningthings.com" they have an icon which has local support groups. Or, you can type up your state. Example, New Jersey Homeschool Association. Whatever state you are from, you need to find out what the restrictions are -if any. You may need to send you local board a letter stating you are homeschooling. Or, if you have a local bible or religious store they usually carry curriculum and might have someone familar with the local groups and laws.

Answer 4

I would recommend several books you can check out from your library. Teach Your Own by John Holt (a homeschool "guru"), Patchwork of Days by Nancy VanLande, The Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise. If you find the Dewey Decimal number (371) for homeschooling books at your library, you can just browse along the shelf.

As far as legal information, yes, HSLDA is a decent place to start, although I will advise they are for Christians of certain beliefs only and tend to proffer advice that makes you dependant on them for "protection" as opposed to taking charge and learning your own rights. (my opinion!)

It might also help to attend a homeschool curriuculm fair, to get an idea of the vast array of materials available.

The one place I would avoid for information is your local school - they won't know (why would they?) and are vested to keep your child IN school (and bringing in federal and state tax dollars). They are more likely to feed you misinformation!

Answer 5

I would start at www.hslda.org to learn the legal requirements for your state. HSLDA can also help you find a support group in your area. Lots of groups are holding conferences and curriculum fairs in the next several months, but you might want to do some research in advance.

I'll second the recommendation for "Family Matters." Rebecca Rupp has a good book called "Home Learning Year by Year" (Amazon.com sells it). Check your library for those books or anything by Mary Pride.

Answer 6

I recommend "Family Matters" by David Guterson. He is a public high school teacher and an author ("Snow Falling on Cedars"). Interestingly enuough, he makes a strong case for homeschooling, which is what he and his wife chose for their family.

Answer 7

Any good book store would have books on reading, writing and arithmetic for students of all ages. Or borrow them from a library.

Answer 8

I suggest speaking with your school's administration and find out what the guidelines are for each age group and what the expectations are.

Answer 9

google the topic or try amazon