hi all! i have 2 boys, 2 and 10 months. even though were not technically ready for "school" yet, my husband and i have been tossing around the idea of homeschooling. the schools in our town are still considered safe but the next town over has gone down hill in the last 10 years :( its gotten frighteningly bad. i am looking for the very beginning basic of where to start when considering homeschooling? i feel overwhelmed with all of the information! is 2 even a place to start? (informally it is, i know. but i mean formally)
ok, so according to what i read, i do not have to notify anyone if i chose to homeschool. i do not need to be certfied as a teacher. and my children do not have to take any of the state tests. however, they would not recieve a state accredited high school diplomia either. is that how it works in most states?
Yours are still very young and will be doing most all their learning by informal process of play, observe, experiment; all comes natural with some structure from their environment. You have plenty of time to educate yourself between now and the time you're kids are ready for actual school days. In order to build a comfortable foundation, I'd recommend finding our all the basic requirements for your state (Home School Legal Defence Association is a wealth of knowledge on just about anything you'd want/need to know). Once you get that all down, I recommend you start reading and preparing for when they hit formal school age. Start getting familiar with the homeschool lifestyle; playgroups, co-ops, online support, homeschooling sites, free stuff, curriculum's, etc. There are tons of books, sites, blogs, and groups, so get too googling :) and asking questions on here! In the meantime, experiment with you're kids as you learn and start the process of getting to know how best they learn. My best advice is to be realistic with yourself and patient. I've found that my kids learn the most when I take time to answer the questions they're asking me. Bests~
Here is a page on my blog for my advice on where to start. http://cowsdontmoo.com/homeschooling/how-to-start-homeschooling/where-to-start/
Seems you're off to a good start by agree with your spouse and seeking suport online.
1st stop should be HSLDA to learn your laws. Once you join they'll also offer support, advice and answer any homeschooling questions, not just legal ones.
Each state law is different, so we'd have to know what state you are in to answer your legal questions.
Sonita-Homeschooling mama to Ephram (7) & Malachi (4)
Forgive any typos-I have a broken finger!!!
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hailnbray is so right about checking out the laws first. The easiest way to do that is through your Stat's Home School Association. They will usually help with that, help you connect with other homeschool families in your area, and provide an annual convention.
I highly recommend attending the largest Convention in your State. At the Convention you will be able to network, attend workshops, see and choose curriculum, and its fun too.
Here is a link where you can find your State Conventions (Scroll down to your State, and click on it)
http://www.read-phonics.com/homeschool.html
Also Home School Legal Defense Association assists with legal issues. They can be found at the following link:
http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp
NEED HELP WITH HOMESCHOOLING INFO. WHERE I LIVE IS NOT HOMESCHOOLING FRIENDLY.
- Mom2MasonNRyder
on Jun. 24, 2011 at 9:12 PM