Are there any books that parents can use to home school ?,and where can I find them?

Answer 1

I guess there is no spring break for people that have nothing better to do but bash the choices and decisions of others.
Last time I checked parents in this country still had the freedom to choose to educate THEIR children the way THEY WANT to.
Isn't it funny how someone exercising their freedom can cause the "professionals" to sweat???

The first thing you will want to do is check www.hslda.org for a list of requirements for your state. they also have information about homeschool support groups in your area, plus a plethora of articles that may shed some light on why the "professionals" get so nervous about parents CHOOSING to homeschool THEIR children.
If you want books about homeschooling styles, tips and things like that, look for books by Mary Pride, Diana Waring, Sally Clarkson, Susan Wise-Bauer.
If you are looking for curriculum choices, ABeka, Bob Jones, Sonlight, Texas Tech ODE, plus many many others. (just too many to list)
a good site with all this info, plus more, is "homeschooling.gomilpitas.com"
tons of info to research there.
good luck!

Answer 2

If you go with a prepackaged "school in a box" solution, you'll have many choices, although from what I've seen there's a greater variety of choices if you're interested in Christian materials than secular. See www.k12.com for what looks to be a very impressive secular program. Many states will offer to provide these materials for free if you participate in a Virtual Academy program.
If you're inclined to design your own plan, the Core Knowledge series is a good outline, but far from a complete curriculum.
Another good resource is Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School by Rebecca Rupp.
To get started, google "home school" and read about the variety of different approaches, then zero in on what you are looking for in home schooling.
The beauty of HS is the buffet element: utilizing those things from any number of approaches that you find appealing, while avoiding the parts of each that don't work for you and your child(ren).

Answer 3

Good for you and congradulations you mastered the first step 'asking for help when you need it'.
Now to answer your ????.....HSDLA(Homeschool Defense League Assoc.) is good for legal stuff but not really what you need for this. Whatever state you live in , pull up your State Standards this will help you keep your child up to the Standards that schools expect(just use it for a guide). Now as far as books, you can get them at the Library (the children's section is good for teaching materials),Thrift stores, The School Board Warehouse (these books are free), your local bookstore (again check the children's section), Amazon.com, Homeschool Buy.com. These are just a few places. Personally for my little girl I use McGuffey Readers for reading, McGuffey Speller for spelling and Ray's Arithmetic (it covers primary- high school) for math and she is doing very well {2nd grade and doing division}. There are plenty of online sites to help and Ray's has a yahoo group. You can use SpellingTime.com for spelling too (let them create the word list or you create the list). Find yourself a support group, online or not. The Schools and School Board will give you the run-around as they don't really 'like' Homeschoolers, so please don't count on them except for a hardtime. Also take into account of how your child learns (visual,auditory,tactile) and don't just stay 'in the house' for your learning experience. Going to the Grocery store can combine Math and Reading, going to the Zoo can combine Science and ???? and counts as a field trip. Use what your child likes and build on that.
Good luck to the both of you.

Answer 4

Oh YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are a ton of publication places that make them.
My family homeschools and we have used Abeka, Bob Jones, Alpha & Omega, etc. There are so many!!!!! In my opinion Alpha & Omega is the best. It is easy for both the teacher and the student to understand and is set up in an easy way for scheduling everything. Of course, everyone has different views about what is best and what is not, but I absolutely hated the Bob Jones stuff. It was over priced, and so hard for both the student and teacher to understand. Most homeschool publications have websites that you can use to choose which one you want to use.
Alpha & Omega Website:
http://www.aop.com/home/
Abeka Website:
http://www.abeka.com/

Answer 5

Ok. First start with knowing the law in your area so you can know what subjects are required and if there is a standardized test the child will have to pass (some states require testing every year or every other year) as this will greatly affect what you teach, especially in history and science. http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp

Next the books What Your ___ Grader Needs to Know are a good starting place and you can get them at any book store and most libraries. Another book to look at especially if you are starting with younger children or elementary kids is A Well Trained Mind. It discusses a Classical approach to learning and is more typical of the education our parents and grandparents got. It is better than I had and gives a good way to teach more than one child at a time while maintaining different levels yet teach the same history, literature and science subject. They also give some great reviews of different curriculums for the various subjects.

From there you need to decide if you want a Christian or secular curriculum. Should be an easy decision but it should always be the first step.

Next you need to decide which way your child learns the best. In order to do this I suggest working with them for a few weeks. Read to them and ask questions about what you read to see how their comprehension is. Have them read to you various levels of books so you can see how they are doing with reading skills, then ask conprehension questions again. Are they reading and absorbing or just sounding it out. Print some work sheets off the internet. Does the child zone out when it comes to worksheets or seem to "get it" best when information is presented this way. For example my 8 year old hates worksheets but loves working on the computer or on a dry erase board. So Abeka was a nightmare with all its worksheets, but Alpha Omegas Switched on Schoolhouse has worked well. Next year I will use SOS for math and bible but go to a more classical approach for history, science, and language arts to begin to gear toward teaching my younger son who is now 2 with my older. But that is what works for us. Only you can see what works for you.

Another factor is how comfortable you feel teaching all the subjects. Do you think you might need help or do you feel confident. There are some curriculums that come with computer software, DVDs or teachers that can help through email or phone. There are online schools where you are just a support staff and some one else handles the work.

How much can you afford to spend? The cheapest I have seen is k12.org where in some states it is free or like $100 per year and they loan you a computer if needed. This is actually public school at home though and you will have to arrange for the standardized testing that they take in public schools. Also you can only work during normal school schedules and must work a certain number of days during that time. For us this did not work as we work through the summer at least part time, but take off in the fall or spring for a off season vacation. On the plus side there is a teacher assigned to you and regualar field trips. The second least expensive I have found is the SOS we use. It is about $210 per year for all subjects. We like most of it, but it is all computer except for science experiments, and doesn't start until 3rd grade. From there it can go up to thousands of dollars per year, you just have to shop around.

Many Christian book stores and conventional book stores now offer books you can teach from, as well as teachers supply stores. For packaged curriculums you have to look around, but there are a lot of homeschool stores online.

If you have time this is the time of year when the homeschool conventions are getting started and they run through August. Check online to see if one is coming near you. Just type the name of the closest major city and home school convention book sale in the search engine.

Hope some of this helps. If you need web sites check my previous posts, I recently gave all that I had to another mom. Or feel free to email me. Good luck.

Answer 6

Just Google home school. I used Sonlight Curriculum with Singapore Math. It was excellent for my daughter when she was home schooled, but I know there are a lot of programs available. Shop around for what you are looking for. If you are homeschooling, there must be a reason. Stay true to that reason.

Answer 7

There are tons and tons and tons. It might be best to actually connect with homeschoolers in your area so you can see what these resources look like, get their feedback, etc. Most people I know purchase things after they've checked them out through other people. Or at homeschooling conventions.

Answer 8

There is huge industry that produces what you are looking to find. Try starting by talking with Liberian in you public library. In addition to books you can get dvds, cd-roms and audio tapes. Sorry do not known of any reliable reviews.

Answer 9

look on craigslist.com
they have everything
(it's also very cheap)
got a set of tables and chairs for $15

Answer 10

This question typifies the typical home schooling parent. They know absolutely nothing about teaching and figure if someone tells them where to get a book they can just run with it. Would you go to a brain surgeon who was referring to a book while he was working. Do your kids a favor and leave education to the professionals. They will learn more and get social skills in the process.