Homeschooling, where to start?

[hbridge]

So, we are thinking about homeschooling at the early elementary level. I can't find any specific resources on curriculums or requirements. Does anyone have any suggestions about where to start?

Thanks so much.

[MacMacMoo]

DS is too little for us to have looked deeply into this. However we have been keeping an ear to the ground.

My best suggestion would be to check your states department of education most have a website. It probably wont give specifics but will give you a start place and probably a contact number to someone who could direct you further

[vonfirmath]

Why are you homeschooling?

What does homeschooling look like to you?

You might see if there is a local homeschooling group that has a "Introduction" type class.

You could also peruse lots of curriculum to see what they suggest.

Find a homeschooling board to read for a while and get a feel for what you believe.

[Raidra]

One of the best ways to get information is to join local homeschool groups. Many states have state-wide email lists for general info, as well as websites with articles, tips, and resources.

You can also check out the homeschooling forum on MDC.

If you're looking for good books, try Linda Dobson, Mary Griffith, and John Holt to start.

[crl]

I'd definitely check out the homeschooling forum at mothering.

Catherine

[JTsMom]

Also, try googling homeschool and your state or area. You'll probably find some good local resources, along with all of the legal stuff you need to know.

[daisymommy]

Here's a couple of websites where you can look up your states laws and requirements:
http://www.homeedmag.com/groups/state/laws-regs/

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

And Linda Dobson and Mary Griffith have great introductory books as well.

I second the Mothering.com forum as well, I got a ton of information over there!

[SkyrMommy]

I actually have been looking into homeschool resources myself and found that my local library has several magazine subscriptions as well as an entire book area set aside for a home school section. Check your library & ask your children's desk librarian for the local homeschool group contact information. That launched me.

[firstbaby]

We HS and love it. I started by networking with friends of friends that I knew homeschooled and picked their brain. I also looked into local HS groups, read up on the different "approaches" - classical, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, etc. I spent some time on mothering.com to get more exposure to different aspects of homeschooling and I researched my state requirements. One of the most meaningful things I did was attend a LARGE HS convention in my state. They had free one day seminars for those new to HS'ing and the shopping let me see IRL lots of different resources I had read about.

I recommend The Well Trained Mind book by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer. It is a road map for a classical education which you may or may not be interested in. In my opinion, they do an excellent job mapping out and breaking down what to cover in each year, how much time to spend and good resource recommendations. JMHO. Good luck!

[Katigre]

Agreeing with the others - asking 'what should we use to homeschool?" is like asking "What should I major in during college?" The answer depends on your own unique family situation and your child's learning patterns.

So start with this...

1. Why do you want to homeschool?
2. What is your style - do you want to be more relaxed in the early years, do you want to do 'school-at-home' or Charlotte Mason or unschooling or Classical Homeschooling or Waldorf or something else?
3. What is your child's learning style - a kinesthetic child will do better with different tools than a child who is very auditory. A child who loooooves to read will be bored by a currriculum that is just perfect for a struggling reader. Same goes for math.

Anyway...here is one link that has some helpful resources for how to start picking: http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/CCstepbystep.html

Another good idea is to attend a homeschool convention so you can see curriculum up close and talk to distributors.

I have quite a bit of experience with the Classical Method of homeschooling and can talk to you about the pro's and con's of that. But that is just one option of many that is a great fit for some families and not others .