Homeschooling in our House!
First of all, let me be honest. I started homeschooling out of sheer desperation, a last resort if you will. I did not ever intend to homeschool any of my children and quite frankly, though the whole idea was a little weird. I sent my first born off to public school with not a qualm (well, maybe a bit of wistfulness, but nothing magor!) and never suspected the great institution of *school* would fail her. Well, it did.
Kelsey did fine in the lower grades. Well, she was a *little* behind, but she made up the difference by going to a summer program and seemed to have caught up nicely. Once she hit the middle grades however, she began to struggle more and more. Her handwriting and spelling just weren't coming along and she was being sent to more and more *remdial* classes. Problem was the remedial classes weren't helping either as she was ahead of the work done there, but behind her class. She was upset that she had to do 2nd grade work in 4th grade and felt stupid. In the spring of her 3rd grade year it was discovered she has a learning disability, an auditroy learning style and short term memory issues. Accomedations in the classroom for her 4th grade year as well as OT, but it didn't help much.
Fourth grade brought other problems as well. Apperently this is the age of *cliques* and she was singled out as *different* by her peers. The accomadations she needed to suceed acedemically made her a target. One child in particular picked on her constantly and without mercy. I could see my child's beautiful spirit dying before my eyes and I pulled her out of public school.
I won't say it's all been rainbows and hapiness, but the change is her is so profound that I know she'll never go back to public school. Her kind and generous spirit is back and she is once again a joy to be with. Daily handwriting practice and learning to use the keyboard has brought her communication skills up and one on one verbal instruction has brought her math up to grade level in less then 6m. It's been very much a learning year for both of us, but we look forward to doing and learning new things daily and at a pace and style perfect for her! Next year we will be adding Ben to our school which is very exciting! Maddie continues to do well at public school in a specialized autism program and we intend to leave her there until that changes.
My advice to people begining homeschooling?
Learn your child's learning style. Basically people learn best one of three ways; visually (be seeing things), verbally (by hearing things) or hands on (by doing things). I'm lucky enough to have one of each ;) I myself am very visual, so I have to keep that in mind while teaching my verbal daughter!
Curriculum: don't buy alot at first. Finding what will work is very much trial and error and if you spend alot on one thing you may end up either wasting money or pushing on with something that doeasn't work so you don't waste money. Neither of these are a good thing, trust me! Buy one book, a couple of workbooks not the whole package until you get settled and get it used if you can.
Don't compare what you do (or don't do) to public school. Homeschooling is rarely *school at home*, the whole lifestyle is different. You will probably spend at most 3-4 hours doing instruction and the it's much more child led then public school. Learning will take place all the time (really it will!) so you won't need to spend so much time *teaching* and plus there is no need to fill up time with busy work. Scope and sequence charts are nice, but don't let them make you crazy!
Do your research! GO to homeschooling conferences if you can. Look up curriculum on-line and talk to people who have actually used it. Join a support group, either IRL or on-line.
Have fun!!!!!!!!!
Some Links for 'ya!
Miquon Math-We use this with Ben and I have two words for you *SO COOL!*. Very hands on and very different.
Rainbow Resource-These people have EVERYTHING! This catalog is as thick as a phone book and just as packed iwth information. An excellenct resource, not just for shopping but for reviews as they review just about every product.
Usborne Books-LOVE thier internet linked encyclopedias! Tons of great books.
Homeschool Defense League-Lots of legal information and help you need if you homeschool.
Worldbooks Typical Course of Study-a good listing of what topics should be covered when (remember, don't get too hung up on this!).
Our Wedding Pictures
Madison's Birth Story
Parenting From the Heart
Our Homeschool Page
Our GFCF Recipes