This time of year, the homeschool list I'm on seems to get a lot of requests for help from people who are thinking about giving homeschooling a try but being afraid to try it, afraid their kids will miss something important or that they won't be able to do it. Some homeschoolers advise them to go ahead and pull the kids out in the spring, because they won't miss a lot of content if pulled out now, just mainly testing, in the public schools. I don't know if that's true or not, I'm just saying it's common wisdom in homeschool circles. Some also advise beginning homeschooling in July and then in August they can decide if it is working or not and decide whether to send them back to public school at that point and others say to definitely give it one full year before deciding.
I'm not sure what anyone else should do. Homeschooling is not for everyone but it can be a wonderful option for some families who are dealing with weird work schedules, problems with the public schools or who just want to travel during the off season ;-). Just kidding! You don't necessarily have to spend a lot of money to do it. Single parents can homeschool, I know of some who are. Parents who are both working can homeschool, I know several who are. If you are thinking about trying it, my advice would be not to spend a lot of money at first. Here are some free resources available on the internet to get you started. Most of these are for elementary school.
Free Online Curriculum - Ambleside Online.
Free ocean unit study - Oceanography This is the one we used and enjoyed.
Free Math Worksheets - Superkids
Notebooking- Free printable pages to go along with science studies.
More notebooking - Pages/forms.
High School Free Online High School Classes
Free books if you need them. Book Samaritan
Children's Literature List. DAWCL
Tons of stuff here - Learning Pages This is where I get the Tommy Tales books my son is reading, plus grammar worksheets to go along with them. Lots of stuff here. You have to become a member but it's free.
Art- Elementary Art Lessons
Coloring Pages - Worldwide
National Geographic - Lots of good maps and other things here.
Build your own castle - Fun
Geography Games - Sheppard Software
There's even free public school for some states. Some people argue that this is not "real" homeschooling but it might be a good option for some people, so I'm including it in my list.
I know I am barely scratching the surface here but these might be some fun things to do while you are trying to decide if homeschooling is for you and what curriculum to use. There are also some organizational things on line for homeschoolers at this site.
So anyway, if you decide to spend a little time homeschooling, here are some resources. Be warned, homeschooling can turn into a whole new way of life. ;-0
I almost jumped out of my chair when I saw this! I needed to read this today. I feel like I'm trying to wade through the ocean against the tide. There's so much stuff to read and I feel like I'm under the gun because I pulled my son out of school last week because his school wasn't working for him. If I don't know what I'm doing or what I should do is that any better than leaving him in a school that would rather ignore him than help him?
ReplyDeleteLuckily I have found a fantastic homeschool board and between meeting with them today and reading this now, I think we'll make it.
Thanks for the online resources.
Hang in there, Jennifer. We were recently in the same position you are in now. We pulled The Boy out of school suddenly, and it has worked out wonderfully. I trust it will work for you, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so much, Paulanne, for the great resources. We're always on the lookout for good sites.
http://howtohomeschool.wordpress.com
You can do it Jennifer! I'm glad to have helped.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, LaJoyce, on the resources.
Did I ever tell you that I think you are the coolest cat around? *Grin*
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteJust don't tell Fuzz Fuzz. ;-)
As a new homeschooling mom who just pulled her kids from public schools 3 weeks ago- Thank you for sharing this. It really has been a great experience. although I would be lying if I didnt admit that some mornings I wake up and still feel like we need to spend 5 hours doing school!
ReplyDeleteThanks again!