Archive for September 2011

Home Archive for September 2011

1. Find out your state laws regarding homeschooling.

The most important first step you can make is to find out your states laws. To do this you need to go to http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp. Some states require no notice that you will be homeschooling and some have strict requirements to submit curriculum, records, state testing and such. You will need to find out what your state expects and then decide for yourself what path you should take.

2. Read about the different methods and decide which is right for you.

3. Research all the different curricula and narrow down what you would like.
Your individual situation can change your curriculum course greatly.

If you've always known you will homeschool your children and they have never been in public school, then you can choose your own course and timeline according to what your child is capable of.
If you have just pulled your child out of public school, then they have already been introduced to a lot of subjects. You may need to specifically focus on areas they are behind in first, then go from there. The public school system has a spiral learning curve, for almost every subject, they go a mile wide and an inch deep. In other words, they cover a lot of territory, but don't expect mastery of a specific topic. They review what was covered the previous year and then build on it from there.
If you think you might need to put them back into public school down the road, then you may want to review the local school standards, to be sure there are no serious gaps.

Other Considerations:

Review sites such as Cathy Duffy are an extremely valuable resource. They help you decide what will be worth purchasing. It's easy to overpurchase, especially the first year.

4. Newbie mistakes

Do not attempt to recreate school at home. This will burn you both out. Relax, take a deep breath and remember you are homeschooling for a reason. If you are not sure about how to schedule or what to do, ask your child what their favorite subject or book is and create something around that. Unit studies that include science, math, language arts, and more are great for starting out. They include a little of everything and you can choose a topic they are actually interested in.
It may be tempting to buy a school-in-a-box set of curriculum, but avoid this if possible. While the individual pieces may be fantastic, all together they end up falling short in some aspects of what your child may need. By tailoring their curriculum individually, you are ensuring it is effective and interesting, which means less waste. In a school-in-a-box box set style, it is a shotgun approach, meaning, you may not use or need everything they send.

5. Join support groups

Just about every major curriculum has forum boards for questions. Check their websites, some authors will even respond directly to questions in emails. Homeschooling is a close-knit community, we rely on each other for information and support. The more you read and ask questions, the more comfortable you will feel.
Facebook Groups can be an information gold mine for new homeschoolers. If you are considering a certain curriculum, join their group, search your questions on the board first and see if it's been discussed, ask questions, respond to others, there are a ton of groups out there for you.
Local homeschool co-ops. Co-ops are your homeschooling neighbors. They are a great resource for having fun socializing with other families of similar values and providing a ton of ideas based on their own experiences. They can list local places to go for field trips and even go as a group for discounts.

Document your homeschool reading adventures by creating a reading tree. Each leaf has the title of a book read by yourself as a read aloud or your children. There are so many ways to do this, some temporary, some more permanent, painted, wall decals or with paper, let your imagination go wild.

Here are some ideas I've gathered as I work on mine.

Alphabet Tree by Dali Decals
How cool is this for a reading tree! You can choose the color of the trunk, 3 leaf colors and the size.

RoomMates RMK1319GM Dotted Tree Peel & Stick Giant Wall Decal

RoomMates RMK1319GM Dotted Tree Peel & Stick Giant Wall Decal

RoomMates Dotted Tree Peel & Stick Giant Wall Decal
Trace the leaves onto paper, for future cut-out use. Then write directly on the leaves with permanent marker. This one is colorful and the leaves are kind of chunky, great for if you want to add pictures or more information.

BIG Tree with Bird Wall Decal Deco Art Sticker Mural
This would be a more elegant option. You could write on each one with a silver or white permanent marker. This tree comes in all kinds of colors to match your room. Once filled you could create your own leaves to add color.

Giant 8 foot tall Barren Tree Decal by Dali Decals

Big and bare so you can add your own leaves. I like this one for a family tree option as well.

Ideas for adding your own leaves.

Print out your leaves and cut.
Print out labels of books with pictures and attach to leaf cutouts.
Write on decorative fall leaves.
Use a Large Maple Leaf Craft Punch.

Some Links of finished Reading Trees

Family Fun Reading Tree

Martha Stewart DIY Tree

Blogs

A Homeschool Journal

My Daily Find - A pure paper example

Satori Smiles

In the meantime what I've done is create a template of business card size tags and we're gluing them into his own reading book as we go. Every once in a while I will be asked to listen to a book, just to see if he can earn a tag. Here's a sample:

I made the reading book by printing a Dr. Seuss picture onto a piece of cardstock, folding it in half, adding blank paper and stapling in the middle. Super easy.
Here's the full PDF download.

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