Topic : Homeschooling

Hi, I am starting homeschool with my 5 yr old daughter this year and was wondering what is the best places online or some good websites to look at or use some materials from. I am ordering some stuff from Sonlight (I think that is what it is, the book is in my office). I am just mainly looking for anything on the internet that would help us at this early age. Games, printable papers, anything that someone thinks will help us out any. Thanks for your help. mW   :)

two of my favorite websitesa re www.starfall.com and Iknowthat.com. Check them out, I am sure you will enjoy them as much as your daughter, I do.

Thank You very much!

I just wanted to send a note of encouragement and praise to all of you who are currently homeschooling. It's a difficult endeavor, but it will be so rewarding for your kids.   I am now almost 30 years old and my mom decided to pull my brother and I out of private school in the 6th grade and 3rd grade, respectively.  As you can imagine, little was known about homeschooling at that time and it was not a "popular" or well-received decision for a parent to make.  There were some grassroots support groups in our area, but resources were scarce!  My parents were questioned on their decision by everyone from family members to nosy neighbors who considered it a personal attack on the public school system. 

 

I cannot thank my parents enough  for making the difficult decision to homeschool me.  Especially my mother who tirelessly headed up our education.  She constantly sought out different groups for us to ensure that we developed socially and academically.  She would tailor lessons to our interests in order to make them more interesting and engaging for us.  And because she homeschooled us, my brother did not have to go through school labeled as "learning disabled" , he did not have to be put on medication for the so-called learning disability, he was able to go back to high school (at his choosing) and was right where he needed to be academically.

 

I feel that I because of homeschooling I emerged from high school undamaged and was better prepared to go off to college.  I didn't do drugs, I wasn't involved in hurtful cliques, I wasn't bullied, I didn't have sex. My brother and I were not social outcasts or without friends, which is probably the biggest argument against homeschooling.  I  felt like I had a say in my education and was encouraged to persue subjects that I was interested in.  My parents involved us in their decision to homeschool us and we revisited that decision just about every year.    

 

So before I start to ramble, just know that you are doing a wonderful and incredibly unselfish thing for your childern.  It takes a lot of dedication and determination and I know it can't be easy!  But as I get closer and closer to the school years with my own son I feel so much appreciation and gratefulness to my parents for their decision.  

Hello, I am a mother of 4 sons.  I am homeschooling my youngest two sons and am loving it.  I get to be right there when they are learning.  I am amazed at how much they learned last year just by us playing and interacting with each other.  This year my 5 year old will officially start Kindergarten and my 3 year old will start pre-school.  I am looking forward to all we will be doing this year and I know that they will be safe and in an environment condusive to learning and exploring.

 

You may be wondering about my oldest 2 sons.  My oldest son dropped out of school this year; he would have been a senior.  My 13 year old is living with his dad and attending public school.  Both of my oldest 2 sons were labelled learning disabled and ADHD which made for a horrible experience in public school.  That is what happens to little boys who GOD made to enjoy the outdoors and exploring things with their hands.  The public school "labels" them as difficult and pushes to have them "doped" up with Ritalin.  Our public school experience has just been a nightmare.

 

I am looking forward to educating my youngest two at home.  It is going to be a fascinating journey.  I just know it.

 

Blessings to you,

Robin

I think we would all appreciate your post and thank you for it.

what a wonderful thing for your mom to do and what wonderful things you have to say about her. I am homeschooling my 12 and 5 year old and I would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind.

At what age did you go to highschool? Did you want to go to highschool? Were you given the choice to stay at home and continue your education without going to highschool.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. I hope you will.

Sherri

Hello,

 

Any insight to homeschooling my troubled child would be of great help.  Currently he attends public shcool however, we have struggled year after year with his ADD.  I'm a single mom and would appreciate help with any websites for free education material.

 

Thank you

Hi Sherri,  Good for you! 

We were given the choice.  Initially my mom told us that she would like to try it out and then after that the decision to continue was revisited just about every year.  Actually it was my brother who decided to go back to High School in the 9th grade.  I opted to homeschool all the way through.  I went to a community college my senior year with the Runnning Start program.  It was a great spring-board to college because in WA state if you have a 2 year degree from a community college you can transfer directly to a state college or university without have to show your highschool transcripts.  At the time they made it very difficult for homeschoolers to get their diplomas.  You had to prove everything you did and so on, so the Running Start program was a perfect way to get over the hurdles.  I sure hope it's easier for you homeschoolers now....I think it much more widely accepted.  I like in Colorado Springs now and am always hearing about different homeschool groups.  Best wishes to you this school year!

I could read your posts endlessly because I also plan to homeschool all the way through as long as that's what my girls want. I don't see my 12 year old wanting to go to highschool at all, but it's hard to tell with my 5 year old and I still can't get my hands on a crystal ball, lol. Too bad! LOL

I have never heard of the running start program, but it sure seems like a great thing for us homeschoolers if that's the road our children want to take. I take each year as it comes and we all re-visit our plans for the year and include the girls in all discussions.

If you can give any advice, I'd love to hear it because talking to you is like talking to my girls many years from now. I hope I'm doing right by them, but as a mom I always second guess myself even when logic tells me that this is what's right for our family, and I know it is.

nice chatting with you!

May I ask how old you are now and will you homeschool your children?

Sherri

Hi Sherri,

Thank you for your message. 

I am now almost 30 (yikes!).  So it was waaaaaay back in 1989 that we started homeschooling.  I am definately planning to homeschool my own kids at some point.  I'm not sure when I will start, if I will do it part way or all the way.  I have the most concern about middle school and high school.  I have a one year old now so it seems like a ways off even though I know it will come up much faster than I think. ; )  Just thought I would add a little more about Running Start in case you have something similiar to it in Canada that you could take advantage of.  It's where students can take community college classes and receive SIMULTANIOUS credit toward HS and college.  You can take just one class or a full credit load depending on what your goals are. It's a great program.  My best friend who is 3 years younger than I started it when she was 14, so you can imagine she had quite a head start on all her friends when she got to the university.  My mom liked it because I could take classes there that she wasn't as comfortable teaching like biology and math etc.  It was also a good segway between homeschooling and a 4 year college.