Homeschoolers........

[minimule]

My older brother is in a BAD situation. He has 3 kids, 1 boy and 2 girls. The kids are in the middle of all the garbage. The boy is the oldest, 16, then the girls are 15 and 14. The one in the middle, is having the worst part of it all. She is at "that" age where she is interested in boys and is not getting any values from her mother. LONG story there.

She wants to be a good kid but her mom is pushing her.

My mother thought if we could get her out of the situation she is in, we could help her be a good kid and have a chance. She is not happy in shcool. We were thinking that maybe if we brought her to us, we could home school her and help her to have the right values and NOT get into the trouble she could get into now.

She told my mom she would love to come live with us and help me with the horses. She's basically a good kid. She just needs some direction.

My brother is a good man. He is a minister in a small church, works hard there and at his full-time job and is taking college classes to get a BA in business. I won't go into what his wife is (or isn't) on a public forum, privately maybe, not here.

Now......

For those that do homeschool....how did you start it? What system do you use? Would it be worth it to try with this kid? She is my niece and we love her. We want her to have a good life and a good chance at being a good person. I just want to get information about it all before we try it.

 

[Shari]

HI,

I homeschool my son and do a Combo of Unschooling and Homeschooling. Homeschooling is not as hard as you think.

When I first took him out I did the same courses they did in school. He finished in two hours and did everything correctly. Makes you wonder what the kids do in Public school.

There are many Computer programs and work books you can buy to help you out at the start.

The Advantage Middle and High School CD's are good. High School Success by Topics CD, World Book, among many others.

Some folks like Saxon Math, while I do "Straight Forward" workbooks.

What is so neat about teaching children at home is you can go at any speed the child needs to,, be it slow or fast. I find they learn better this way.

Anyway, here are some good web sites to check out. I do not want to Over whelm you so I will only post these. There is a lot of support out there for Homeschoolers.

http://homesteadingtoday.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=34

http://www.unschooling.com/

http://www.homeschool.com/top100/1999.htm

http://www.hslda.org/

 

[~Palomino~]

When I first took him out I did the same courses they did in school. He finished in two hours and did everything correctly. Makes you wonder what the kids do in Public school.

OMGOSH this is EXACTLY what i think, i wish I could stay home, I could go threw the lesson of the classes, in like 15 miniutes, do the work and would be done in two hours, instead there worried about P.E. and band and other stupid classes that I dont even need for me life!

School is a good experience (for most kids, but not me, I would probably do better at home) and meet lots of people, but what is the purpous at waking up at 6:00 am going to school for seven hours, and then coming home and having to do more work, when you can do it in two hours!! blows my mind!!!

-Gage-

 

[RNR]

Oh this topic is right up my ally!! Firts thing I was homeschooled all the way through Middle school and High school! I truely think if my parents would not have pulled me out of school and homeschooled me I would have droped out of school!

Now to help you out! Our first year we went through Christian Liberty Academy I hated it!!!! So after that my mom just bought books that were recomended! For math we tryed several and love the Saxton! For everything eles we used Abecka! This was wonderful! My little sister is 16 and has been homeschooled the whole time!

Next I would suggest you check with your state laws to see what you have to acomplish! If I rember you are in TX right? If that is the case MY best friend who just got married lives there with her family of 10 sibilings! They are or were all home schooled! If I rember what her mom told me TX has very very relaxed laws!

Also do a Google search for homeschool groups in your area! These are great they will be able to hook you up with local resourses! I know our group which was 10 families 12 years ago is now at least 800-900 families! We have a learning center for things that parents may have trouble teaching such as art classes, Math, Biology, spanish and many many other classes! My parents run the Soccor group and we had 200 kids this semester!

Ok sorry to ramble! But Had to share!

If you need any more info please feel free to post on here or PM me!

RNR

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I applaud you Shawna. I have homeschooled my 2 kids for the last 9 yrs. It has it's good and bad. Glacia needed more and got bored easily so giving her other things like "Marine Biology" was fun. Shain takes twice as long to grasp any new concept. Once he gets it it's his. He'd drown in a public school.

When I pulled the kids out of school the teacher told me it was best. She said she only has X amount of time to teach X amount of things and if the kids don't "get it" the only hope is the next teacher may get it to them. Totally unacceptable.

Initally the school gave me an outline of curriculum necessary to teach. Yearly forms, monthly forms, quarterly forms. Honestly I quit sending them in and taught them my own way. I know they aren't getting enough science or history but they have the basics down. I buy alot of things ie. workbooks, textbooks etc from ebay. Barnes and Nobles also has great stuff. Find what they love and use it to death. Shain loves stars and geography. On bad days, he doesn't feel like it or maybe I don't...we fill it with a minimum of the basic math, reading & english and then fill the rest with the things he loves. I bought him Carl Sagen's "The Cosmos". Imagine 14 and lovin it. Shain also works best from a workbook.

At 14 ( is she?) she is about the same as Shain maybe. Some schools will give you curriculum some won't. You can ask but I'm a maverick and hate the system telling me just what "I" have to teach my kid. They don't do a very good job so I do it my way.

I'm available for anything you need. I have some great CDs for subjects like math, science and history we have used already and you may like. I think with you as her mentor/aunt this little girl has a great chance.

 

[~LadyBug~]

Go for it! I was a homeschool kid from 2nd grade all the way to graduation!!

2-11th grade, i was regular homeschool where my mom taught me. We used ABeka and Saxon curriculum. The way homeschool books are set up, mom dosent have to know all the stuff. it explains everything and you learn it together.

You need to have structure to the school day though. alot of homeschool kids get away with being real slackers.

my senior year, i did the pennsylvania cyber charter school. it is a state public school, but it is dont over the internet and computer. you are provided with an instructional supervisor that you can contact for help at any time, you are provided with books and a computer and internet access if you need it. It is completely free of charge because it is a public school. You can pick the courses you want/need for graduation. You can choose to do the book work in a more homeschool style, working at your own time and pace, or you can do the virtual classroom where you actually can talk one on one with your teacher over the internet, while they give the lesson. This requires a more time consuming schedule, but you can mix and match virtual with non. the reason i did Cyber School my last year, is because it enabled me to get a diploma that is equivalant to one from a public school. Homeschool diplomas are not always accepted by all colleges.

GOod luck!!

Ashley

 

[lilhorseladie]

Ok, don't discount my information as I am a public school teacher. I have looked into home schooling and I would have done it, if I hadn't accidently become employed

. That is a whole different post.

Anyway, we got my step son when he was sixteen. He was supposed to be a junior, but his mother had let him drop completely out of school. I had taught him in the class room and though he wasn't a discipline problem, he did nothing.

When he moved in, we made a deal, he would pass all classes his junior year and at the same time, I would home school him through his sophomore classes and other's he had failed. We used packets we bought and paid for.

The one thing I will say is that you have to be very structured and make a list of deadlines. Also, there is not exception to school it comes first. It isn't easy, but if you lay down the law, and stick to it, she will do fine.

My Jeremy graduated in 2002. I always said, "I can't give him everything, but getting him through school was one gift I could afford."

He has since learned that even the most basic jobs require a deploma and the "wicked" step-mom has been thanked many times over.

 

[Buckskin gal]

I applaud all of you mothers who home school your kids. You have very lucky kids. I wanted so badly to do it and yet thought I wasn't capable. So many school systems leave it to the parents to teach anyway and often spend a couple hours with each child in the evenings to see that kids are a taught well enough to do all the homework that is given. I sure do wish that parents could at least choose which schools their kids go to and not have to pay extra for it. Yep, home shooling is the wonderful way for many kids to learn well.

 

[minimule]

Thanks for all the inputs. At least it gives me a start. I still need to talk it over with hubby. He is a smartie pants so would be a great benefit to something like this. His strong points are math, physics, and history (loves it) We will have to figure out how to handle all this if I go back to work (need to....don't want to

)

I just want this kid to stay out of the trouble her mother could get her into.

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Now how are you going to go back to work with your pain levels? Question from someone who cares.

 

[minimule]

Now how are you going to go back to work with your pain levels?  Question from someone who cares.

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Welllll...........the next injection (yes, another one

) they are hoping will make the pain go away. I'm not holding my breath BUT I really need to go back....that big paycheck sure makes life a little easier.

 

[minimama]

Hey Shawna,

I homeschool two of my kids too. Now we have laws here that say the child must be enrolled in a school or taught by a certified teacher of some sort. So, there are a few ways around this but here is the route I found.

We are enrolled in a Charter school. The Charter school gives us (not actually handed to us but on account) $725 per semester per student to spend on curriculum, tutors, classes and what ever else we might need to teach our children what we want them to learn and what the state mandates they learn. My daughter is taking horse back riding and the state is paying for it. Our curriculum comes from a company called Glencoe and it is wonderful!!! All the work and the answers come and are very easy to go over and correct work. Once every twenty days we have an Education specialist that comes out and visits. she gets us our curriculum, helps us deicde on classes, find classes, and get tutors when needed. Unfortunatly the way our laws work here you have to live in a county in California that adjoins the county that the main office is in for teh charter school to atten that school. Otherwise I would say you should get in on this place. But, i am sure there are others near you that are similar. Maybe ask at church, or someone that you know that goes to church if you don't(Mormon churches usually know the best systems that are local).

Best of luck. It is very rewarding. My daughter that was always a straight A student, fell to d's and f's in this new school district, that is when I pulled her out and started to home school. she is now back to being an A student again.

 

[CAM]

I too homeschooled my middle child, though only for one year. She missed the cutoff to start at the public school system by 8 days here in Oregon so we decided it would be best to school her at home. We started with the Abeka program and really liked the organization of it all. It was very straightforward and easy to follow. It really helped her get off to a solid start in school and she was able to test into the grade she missed by being born 8 days too late. Homeschooling can give kids a strong foundation and confidence they may not get in the public school system.

I believe homeschooling is a wonderful gift you can give to your child but it is important to also give them the foundation they need to survive in this harsh world we live in, much of which is learned by trial and error or failure. I have seen many homeschooled families that shelter their children from life outside their four walls and the kids certainly suffer later on when having to pick up the pieces of their life.

Congratulations to all those who have made the sacrifice to homeschool. It can be time consuming but also very rewarding indeed.

There is alot of good information from folks here that is sure to get you off to a good start if you choose to go that route. Good luck!

 

[crponies]

I was homeschooled all the way, K-12. My mom used mostly Bob Jones curriculum with us but switched to Saxon Math later on. Now, after going to college, I am a teacher in a little Christian school. Here we use curriculum from A.C.E aka School of Tomorrow. It is an individualized, mastery-based system. I like it pretty well. I really like the fact that the students take diagnostic tests when they first enroll to see exactly what level they need to be at and the fact that they must pass one section before moving on to the next. If I get married and have children, I definitely plan on homeschooling them.

 

[Sanny]

I am curious about homeschooling but just don't know if I'd be capable. I sure love watching that school bus pull away in the mornings

Both my oldest kids have told me several times that they want to be homeschooled - to the point that I was concerned that maybe they don't like school, didn't understand their schoolwork or had kids picking on them. Both their teachers said they seem well-adjusted and happy and are getting mostly all A's. At the end of the year last year for special awards my daughters class voted her "nicest person", "funniest person" and "prettiest smile" and yet she is the one that is most vocal about wanting to be homeschooled.

I am mostly afraid she will turn into a hermit on me because she is such a homebody already. At 10 years old, she doesn't like talking on the phone with her friends when they call and want to gossip, she doesn't like to go to sleepovers, she just prefers to do everything with the family and likes to spend a lot of time with the horses.

My son has a lot of friends in school and REALLY likes going to school and takes pride in being an excellent student, but he wants to be homeschooled too.

I am going to take a look at the links you all have provided and see what I can learn about it.

What about sports and afterschool activities, can they still participate in those within the school districts? I guess I need to find out what the restrictions and requirements are here locally.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Sanny I think your position with your Family is unique. I think it far more likely that your daughters "clingyness" is more to do with a quite natural emotional regression due to the foster kids and the new , unexpected, baby, than with true feelings. You might also look into her being gifted as this is also a very natural "red flag" for gifted child. She may well be getting straight "A"s- how long does it take her to do the work?? If she does in five minutes what it takes the rest of the class a whole session to do- there's your answer.

Speaking also as an ex-public division Teacher, I can say home schooling can and does work for a lot of kids. Some need a set routine, some need a routine whereby they can do the work when, but not if, they please. ALL need a deadline, as the real world is FULL of deadlines. They also need a very structured social life- this is the main thing home schooled kids can miss out on if you are not careful. If you are an active member of a Church get them into the Youth activities, or something similar. Oh and, please, take a good look at your Husbands knowledge, (and yours) Just because you know something does not mean you can teach it!! I had the worst Sign Language teacher you can imagine- I had to go off and teach myself in the end. He was fluent (and hearing) but he was an AWFUL teacher- far too self absorbed. Teachers , good Teachers, leave their ego's at the door!!!

 

[Shari]

What about sports and afterschool activities, can they still participate in those within the school districts? I guess I need to find out what the restrictions and requirements are here locally.

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Most school systems will allow Homeschool kids to take PE or after school sports.

However there are a lot of areas were there are so many home schoolers that they can make up their own Soccer or Baseball league!

In this area Homeschool families get together to go to local theaters, sports, archery, fishing.... all kinds of things.

What is so neat about Homeschooling is that you can be flexible.

Say if you have a bright sunny day out, there is no need to stay inside to do school work. Make it a day to go for a nature walk, id, plants and trees....there are so many things to do.

I find Home schooled children more respectful to not only adults but to each other.

One of the web sites I posted will be able to get you the info you need to contact your local school district to see if there are any requirements.

 

[Shari]

Sigh Computer problems again...

 

[Boss Mare]

I completely dropped out of school at 13. Between a lot of arguing with my parents I finally decided to at least try and do the homeschooling thing....

Anyway, without going into detail I'd highly recommend American School. It's an actual school ..... and once completed you get an actual high school diploma, not a G.E.D. They send you examination booklets and textbooks for each subject. There are numerous self check tests you do for each chapter at home. Then there is a final exam for each subject you mail into American School and the exams are graded and returned.

American School

2200 East 170th. Street

Lansing, IL -60438

708 418 2800

They do work out payment terms.

 

[Crossbuck Farms]

I see nothing wrong w./ home schooling but I enjoyed school. I was in band and marching band. I went to all the football games, dances, and prom.