Home-schooling resource help

quite a few years back. It is a workbook program for the basics. All my kids did well when going into traditional schooling in their later high school years scholastically.
The good think about it is that it doesn't take a lot of time out of your day, or your child's day to get the work done. This should work well for a short attention span, and then you can supplement other subjects to conform to the child's interests.
We discussed homeschooling on this forum yesterday:
http://www.dailypaul.com/...

http://www.angelfire.com/...
It looks like it may help. Also, since you are a Paul supporter, may I recommend a book on Austrian economics, that I am sure he would approve of, written for children. It is called "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?" It isn't just for kids, as it is interesting enough for us adults. All my children have read it and liked it.

homeschool requirements for your state.

I have always used Seton (Catholic). They provide everything and the staff (teachers & counselors) are available via phone and/or email 6 days a week. It is also one of the least costly of what I looked at. I have used it for 9 years now. From kindergarten through 8th grade. They have high school also.

Not sure what you're looking for, but that is a place to check out. They even have a special education needs department.

Legislation has been introduced in TN that will mandate that all home schoolers, Private, and church related schools be subject to state testing and we will not be able to select our own curriculum.

I'm moving most likely, because reguardless of all the protest, this will pass. This is just like Germany. They took a young lady out of her home just recently. The court "basically" said HS was causing an alternate culture in society. We must ALL be on the same track right?

HSLDA revealed it's self when they endorsed Huck. Just another organization saying one thing, doing another, while taking $$ out of your pockets.

This is yet another reason we sincerely need Dr. Paul. He would have us out of the UN/UNESCO and support home schoolers. They are determined to control every thing in our lives.

http://www.worldnetdaily....
Parents of 166,000 students could face criminal charges
'Breathtaking' decision on homeschooling now moving to California Supreme Court

Posted: March 05, 2008

By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Excerpt:

Justice H. Walt Croskey, whose opinion was joined by two other judges, then ordered: "Parents who fail to [comply with school enrollment laws] may be subject to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program."

The determination reversed a decision from Superior Court Judge Stephen Marpet, who ruled "parents have a constitutional right to school their children in their own home."

Depending on what state you live in, you may have access to this curriculum as your school of choice. Children are schooled at home, but provided all of the curriculum and teacher resources. It's a virtual school.

Personally I found it mysteriously difficult to even think on the subject of how best to teach a kid. I had to "unlearn" heaps before I figured out what to do with my son. I put it down to the fact that I myself was a typical product of our current system which just dishes out facts facts facts, day in, day out, year after year, in effect preventing the student from thinking for himself. I suspect the end result is supposed to be someone who knows just enough to keep the wheels of industry turning; a "good" citizen. (baah baaaah) Fortunately for me, there are such people as Ron Paul.

From experience and various sources I've been researching, I've come to believe the important points are these:

1) A student's right to think for him/herself can't be violated unless you're training a slave. For this reason, "Compulsory education" is a contradiction of terms, because the moment any information is forcefully delivered, before the student personally reaches for it, it becomes much the same as brainwashing and of no future value to the student.

2) Any subject to be taught must first be presented with a purpose which is understandable and desirable to the student (within his own frame of reference). An educator's job is not to coerce the student into learning something just because someone says it's important. If the student can't be enlightened as to the necessity of it, then it probably shouldn't be taught at that time. Kids are very eager to learn when THEY discover the usefulness of something.

3) Allowing them the right to think doesn't mean let them do whatever they please. They do better with an orderly schedule and clear rules. They need to be encouraged, challenged and helped.

4) There are four R's, not three: Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic and Research. The ability to gather and quickly correlate information is crucial in this day and age. There's not much to teaching research, but they do need to start doing it and discovering they don't need to depend on you for answers to everything.

5) Things such as manners and morals are best taught by setting a good example yourself.

Thanks for starting this thread. It's great to see all the other stories here!

I'm SURE I would have been diagnosed as ADHD or some "disorder"!!!! ha ha ha!!!! I have a short attention span, so I am diverse in my projects. I have BIG HUGE projects, and I have little projects going all at the same time to keep me feeling like I am accomplishing things ALL THE TIME. Accomplishment is a huge stimulator to keep one going, child OR adult. I teach now, and you can't believe HOW HUNGRY ADULTS ARE FOR CREATIVE OUTLETS. They take away our recess, our arts, our music from schools - and wonder why kids are upset or uneasy or "don't fit in."
This whole subject gets me going!!!! I have been turned down by more than one banker for loans to follow creative pursuits, but then they say, "But MY GOD, DON'T EVER QUIT!!!" Of course I want to knock them on their asses at that point, but I have found that for me, staying away from business types (who are probably the same bean counters that want you children to FIT IN) and spending more time with MY PEOPLE, the creative types gives me more peace of mind. I always have a PLAN. I always have creative projects on my agenda. As a mom, encourage your kids. Deepak Chopra (a great name to get familiar with) says to encourage your children to seek out their mission or passion or reason for being here in this life - don't encourage them to just keep going to school. (of course these are not his exact words). Look for your own purpose - even children have enthusiasm for their own interests - and keep going after it. I just recently left another attempt to "fit in" to the business world, I closed down a store in a highly visable area - the bankers wouldn't allow me the money to operate, thought I could do it my way - but I was trying to fit into their world - I just got out, have been detoxing for the past 6 months and am now finding so many opportunities for my creativity!!! People and jobs are coming to me, without even a listing in the phone book or a major sign in the yard.
One thing that is important here, for all of us, is to keep pushing the energy. Sitting on your kiester will get you nowhere. Be grateful for what you have, and keep pursuing what you want to do. People and situations WILL come to you. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF. You and your children are here for a reason, don't doubt - it's a waste of time and leads to depression - just face each day with hope and keep going. when you get frustrated, feel grateful for what you have, take a moment, then go back at it. THIS STRATEGY REALLY WORKS. You have already found a huge huge resource here on this blog forum, and you will find more, I'm proud of you for stepping out of line and starting the journey to CREATE your own line!

to start with would be "A Thomas Jefferson Education" and the companion book, "A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion".

My brother and his wife, along with several other coupes, started a faith based private school, utilizing other home schoolers in the system. So they could share their talents and the kids could also. These kids graduate at 14 and 15 with much more knowledge that public educated kids.

Public school are like baby sitters - not much of the day teaching classics and challenging the students. Their school is three half days a week, and they get the same thing accomplished much sooner. They do have reading assignments outside the classes too.

So, contact others who are doing this and share the duties and the rewards!

You know your child better than ANYONE. Once a child is labeled, the road gets tougher if she remains in public schools. She is TOO smart for them!!

Don't forget your public library as a resource for materials. Most have
teaching materials onhand, or you may request them to order it. The fees are usually small.

Also secondhand book stores, consignment shops, flea markets yard sales,goodwill stores can be a good source of inexpensive materials. You know what interests your daughter. When she picks them, she values them. And it's so much fun to come out of that store with an arm load of books at such cheap prices!!!

There are tons of sites online to help as well. Some have a small fee, but after you check them out, I'm sure you'll agree they are worth the $20.00!! You have access to worksheets galore to suppliment any subject.

www.abcteach.com
www.donnayoung.org
www.enchantedlearning.com
www.gardenofpraise.com

Hope these work but a quick search is easy. God bless you and don't get discouraged!! <><

Ps: Ebay can also be a good source ..........HAVE FUN :)

this sounds sooooo familiar!! haha

Both of my sons were in public school until this year...my youngest was in Kindergarten last year, and because he didn't fit neatly into one of their little labeled boxes, I was told repeatedly that he probably had Aupsberger's....funny, my pediatrician never told me any such thing!

My decision to homeschool was based on that, plus the fact that my oldest son WAS left behind in school...I volunteered a lot in the classrooms, and saw that the kids working at or above grade level were basically ignored, so the teachers could focus on the "slower" kids...(here we go with the labels gain....sigh....)

The notion that all kids are the same and all must learn the same way has been refuted time and time again, and yet....

I have a book called "How to Learn Anything Quickly"--it evaluates your learning style and tells you how best to learn things in that style. I gave both of my kids the tests within, and lo and behold, they were night and day....(the book is by Ricki Linksman)...Once I unlocked their learning styles, they absolutely soared---they are both working a full grade level ahead of where they are "supposed" to be... go figure... ;)

Also--look into the Core Knowledge series by E.D. Hirsch...it's a very useful supplement to any curriculum you choose.

I am also on a tight budget, and the used bookstore has become my new best friend!! You'll be surprised what gems you can find in there with just a little digging...you'll save GOBS of money!!

:D

John Gatto (highly recommended) believes that the 3R basics can be taught in 100 hours.

Then, how can we have our children in "schools" for 12-16 years and still have them functionally illiterate for reading, writing, and arithmetic?

But they sure have been indoctrinated!

*

get ready for the ride of your life! We have homeschooled for 14 years. You will love it; you will hate it; you will cry; you will laugh;you will want to throw in the towel; but you will succeed when you carry through, and there will be days when you feel that you haven't accomplished anything. But remember,life is more than learning from books. Don't get me wrong, our kids have for the most part scored above average, but the life lessons they have learned are priceless. Our youngest boy who is 13 can tell you more about Ron Paul's ideas, and has a good grasp of our rights as imbedded in the constitution; much more than his public schooled friends can. But the best part of all is that more often than not, your relationships with your kids will be pretty good. They may not be the best academically, but you can teach them more about successful and right living, firsthand. God bless you in your journey and never be afraid to ask for help. There is a whole network of us out there willing to lend a hand and encourage.

The best advice that anyone ever gave me was to take out 6 months to de-school my children. Of course I didn't listen and struggled for a year with various curriculum's and methods. It was a nightmare at first. My daughter would cry and my son would rebel. I finally realized that not only did my children need to be de-schooled, but I did as well. So I took the original advice offered to me and decided that I would take all the pressures and expectations off myself and my kids and begin finding our own way to learn. It took us a year to really get on track (mainly because of the failed efforts). There is no magical curriculum or personality test that will help you. All you need to do is teach you child how to learn. Once they master that, they will be half the way to getting an education.

The public schools like to throw truckloads of facts at kids. This is not the way. They also like to put incredible pressure on them to retain these facts and tend to shut their brains down. It will be your task to open her brain back up. Don't start any heavy curriculum until this happens. You will know it when it does.

Here is some examples:

Spend as much time at the library as she wants. Let her pull a book off the shelf and read it.

Take turns reading to each other. Increase the time you read a little bit each day.

Go to a discovery center and spend time doing the various experiments and learning activities there. No pressure.

Take nature walks and talk about what you see and hear. Eventually take a field guide to identify some plants and animals.

Visit monuments, museums and historic places. Don't go there with a mission to learn. Just walk around and talk about what you see and read.

When you find something during these activities that peaks her interest, make a note of it and tell her that we can go to the library and find a book on it to learn more. When she asks a question you don't know the answer to, tell her good question, lets look it up.

If you don't put pressure on yourselves, the results will be astounding.

After you see her mind open, then and only then will she be ready for any heavy studies. Don't forget that she is 8 yrs old and the most important thing you can do at this point is improve her reading, writing and vocabulary. If she becomes a strong reader, then later you can cover so many subjects with the books you give her to read.

At first you might fear that you are not keeping up with the public school system. But believe me you will make up for it later and surpass any expectations.

I was public schooled, but most of what I remember to this day I learned from just spending time and talking with my parents as a child.

Good luck and congratulations.

Although we are all different, and would prefer different curriculums for the various subjects, since you are a Ron Paul supporter, I would suggest looking into Sonlight Curriculum at least for their Basic Curriculum, which is different than most basic, as it covers History as its center and includes readers which go along with the period you are studying. They integrate the language arts with these books, but that is optional, if you find another which is better. The teacher's manual is the heart of it, and just incredible, as not only do they outline everything for the teacher on a daily basis (saving the mom hours), but the writer of the curriculum also comments on the history books (which all history books are not NEUTRAL), and biased, and he has done plenty of research, and I am sure he is in line with Dr. Paul. For instance, when studying American History and Andrew Jackson, he tells all about the bank thing with him and even Davy Crocket in Congress. The writer of the curriculum, John Holzmann is very educated on the stuff you learn about here, and puts it in a way easy for children to understand. Also, the books chosen for kids are wonderful, and everyone in our family can't wait to read the next grade's books, mom and dad included. I like Saxon math, but some others don't.

Congratulations... You are about to embark on a really special journey. Sometimes you will think you just made a huge mistake and will wonder if you really know what you are doing or what you got yourself in to. I'll tell you that you just got yourself in to one of the most wonderful things you can do to have a truly great and lasting relationship with your child. I spent years listening to them tell me mine needed meds, needed this program, that program, this is the answer, that is the answer, and I had ENOUGH!! I got sick of them telling me what I was going to do and finally told them what they can do. I will never look back. My children would never "conform" and are all quite intelligent (the youngest on a genius level). Since leaving public school, he is less stressed and almost a different person. Because of my interest in what's going on in the world and dedication to preserving our freedom, he has a renewed interest in history and many other things that he had just about thrown away completely. I would send him to school with the truth, and they would tell him that they aren't teaching that here. So I told them if they can't teach him what's true, then they have nothing to teach him. Our personal relationship is getting better by the day and he is more willing to see that there are things that he needs to learn whether he wants to or not. The world is more open to him now. I still have some trouble getting him to do some of those things he isn't to interested in doing, but he is working like mad to accomplish them. Especially since I bribed him with his first new rifle. heh heh heh. We are somewhat new to this ourselves, but have made huge strides in both de-schooling ourselves, and approaching his education on a level that we can both handle comfortably. Prior to this decision, I was concerned that he was headed down the path to apathy for everything and would end up making poor choices that would find him in the "system" with not such a bright future. It sure is a great feeling when you know you have turned that around. There are great avenues for you to discover out there and home schoolers have a huge network of support in just about every area I did research on. Believe me when I say, I was scared silly to try and take this on and it is turning out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. I am personally very happy with the Global Student Network for a basic curriculum and we add and subtract as I see fit. Hurray for you !!!!

lynnopoly,

Listen, I am an educator in an art department of a large school district in the south. I am very aware of the problems you are discussing here and I am equally disgusted with the false hope given to parents when they are told to dope their kids. The truth is ADD / ADHD are largely constructed by the pharmaceutical companies to sell product to the masses. Very disturbing and morally bankrupt.

Do some research on a guy called Gardner who developed (and is still working on) the theory of multiple intelligences. This is very exiting newer research that should be balanced with older (but solid) constructivist and behaviorist theories postulated by guys like Vigotsky and Skinner. Look them up and buy a few books. Some are dry but there are always great pieces of really usable methods to implement.

Make no mistake here, if you are going to take on the responsibility you are talking about, you have to study some things beyond the material you will be teaching her. You must have a solid theoretical basis of how the brain develops and works in order to design and engineer lessons that will be effective for content delivery.

The thing is, there are no tests which will effectively measure your child's ability to learn (you should just know that she can already - because she can) or give you a blueprint for how to design lessons. You have to have a meaningful relationship with a person to assess those things. Luckily, you are in a unique position to do that. Engage her on a personal level and gain access to her in this way and she will tell you how to do it herself! Back this up with a good understanding of the theory, pepper in the actual content (the math, science, art, etc..) and you will have your blueprint. And remember, to love her is to teach her.

Best wishes,
danimal

Why is it that a so-called ADD kid can sit at a computer or video game for hours, but can't sit in class? It is because they are not challenged. If kids are not challenged, then they are bored. I agree that there are some kids that are more hyper than others, but to drug them is incomprehensible. There may be other factors, such as no Dad in the house, or look at their diet. If a kid is all jacked up on Cocoa Crispies or donuts in the A.M., then yeah, they are going to have a hard time concentrating.

Hi lynnopoly,

Check out the National Math Bee. It's a fantastic resource for homeschoolers - www.nationalmathbee.org

Get informed, get motivated, and get involved!

There might be some kind of test out there but I've never heard of one. The Big Book of Home Learning is a huge series of books that lists most publishers and talks about the pros and cons of each. It helps to narrow down which curriculum might be best for your child, but when it comes down to it, it will be trial and error. During the first year or two try things out and stick with the things you like and move on when something doesn't suit you. Your child will learn even if you don't spend big bucks for each subject. For younger children the library is great for science, literature, history, and much more. Music, art, composition, p.e., are only limited to imagination. Stick to things that your child is interested in at first. For science, if she likes butterflies, check out books about their anatomy and habitat. Take walks. Keep a nature notebook with drawings. You can look at the table of contents of books for her grade level and cover that information in other ways rather than purchasing a text book. Cover events in history by reading books by authors that have a passion for the subject. Your daughter will remember it better and you will too. Text books tend to be boring (making it hard to keep children's attention) and your homeschool does not have to be bound to them especially in the early years. Math is probably the subject that does require a text. But you don't have to drug your child for her to learn. And Yes, learning can be fun.

You can visit HSLDA.org to find out the homeschooling laws in your state. If you will be withdrawing your child from a public school it is important that you do it correctly so that you don't get hassled.

Hope this helps in some way!

It sounds like your daughter is just too bright for boring old public school. The bright ones are usually labeled early on because they are BORED. A program that would be great for her would be study units. I haven't home schooled in several years but they are great. You pick a unit of interest to your daughter (like Indians or animals, etc.) and there are unit studies that incorporate all of the required elements into the program. They learn math, science, history, language, etc. Check it out and have fun. I loved home schooling. I learned a lot while I was at it, too.
I love these people. They have great materials and do a lot for children.

http://www.moorefoundatio...

Healthnuttie for Ron Paul

I've been homeschooling my kids for five years and started out with programs that told me what to do and when to do it, so that I could be sure I was schooling correctly. I quickly found that I could branch out on my own with much more success.

These are just my own reviews from my own perspective based on my own experience teaching my kids, so take them for what they're worth to you. For science, we use Noeo, which is a multi-age program I found online. They use "real" books, as opposed to stuffy textbooks. The kids create amazing notebooks and do experiments almost every week. My kids beg to do science. I actually use science class a reward for getting their chores done. Amazing. Check it out online.

For math, I like Singapore. In this country, we tend to teach kids how to do math, but not how to "think" math. This curriculum is actually reprogramming the way I think mathematically and I'm learning new concepts about numbers as I teach the kids--and I have a teaching degree! Scary. Other people say my son has a mathematical mind, but I know it's this great curriculum.

I'm still looking for a good language arts curriculum. So far I hate ABeka, Alpha Omega and Horizons. I'm a language arts teacher, and these programs are all hopeless. My next trial will be with Write Source. It integrates grammar and writing, which none of the others do well. I used it with older kids when I was teaching in public schools and it was great, but I've never used it with elementary kids. We'll see.

For history, we use Story of the World, by Susan Wise Bauer. My kids absolutely love this curriculum, and know and understand things about history that would put most adults to shame. We use the whole program--text, activity book, and test book. In their free time, my boys play out things they've learned in history.

Power Glide Spanish rounds out the purchased curriculum. This is great, because we can learn together. The lessons are built around stories. NO boring vocab drills. The kids learn very easily and I can look at the printed transcripts to boost my confidence in pronunciation. The workbook is attractive and easy for the kids to do alone.

Hope this helps.

Probably every State has a home school curriculum fair. That would be a good place to go to investigate what all there is out there.

When I started home schooling mine (who are now long since grown and gone) in the early 80's, there was only one home school curriculum on the market, which was not very good. I had to invent my own for a few years until there was more available. Even after I began buying a curriculum I had to make changes to it to accommodate each child. There is no perfect packaged curriculum for any child, so even when you buy the closest thing for your needs you will have to count on amending as you go.

who is at her breaking point with her daughter's public school and considering pulling her out as well.

copy pasted here :

http://www.enochnj.org/pa...
This is the homeschooling convention (NJ) information.

http://www.thegraceacadem...
This is an online option for homeschooling

http://www.enochnj.org/pa...
Frequently asked questions about homeschooling

Curriculum companies will send you out sample packages with sample books. One is called Rod and Staff and they sent us about five sample books. Their web address is:

http://www.rodandstaffboo...

They'll send you several books for free and will not pressure you. There is also Abecca, but they are expensive. Then there is Alpha and Omega. They too may send you a sample book.

You would also want to look at having legal representation in the event you do decide to homeschool. The company I use is called Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Their fee is about $10 per month, but if you ever have a homeschool issue, they will defend you for no extra fee. They have lawyers in every state. Their website is:

http://www.hslda.org

My wife and I have been members for over three years. It's great.

I hope this helps.

The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny. James Madison