Homeschooling how to

When I started out homeschooling it was kind of scary. First you need to find out the requirements that your state has. Our home state has very few requirements. I filled out paperwork at our schools administration building and that was it. I'm responsible for their learning, record keeping, and curriculum. One requiement is that I do have to have them tested every spring. (That is for students in the third grade to ninth grade.) You can go to http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/gettingstarted/a/legalusa.htm and select your state to find out the specifications.

There are so many things to decide when it comes to how to teach your kids. I didn't know which curriculum to use, if I should unschool, or if I should buy the dvd teaching series. I decide that my inner teacher wanted to do it alone. I decided to go with a canned curriculum. A canned curriculum is a full course curriculum which will cover all of your students needs. Math, English, Science, History, and Reading. My kids had already been in school and liked the textbooks but just didn't like that pace or the unruly kids in their class. Unschooling is somewhat apart of our daily schedule. In unschooling you don't use books or rote learning. Unschoolers learn by living. I like unschooling but I believed my kids needed "school" skills. Check out http://www.unschooling.com/ for more information. We tried A.C.E. paces and they were not as challenging as I wanted and my third grader was bored. They are workbooks (36 books for each subject) that last about two weeks at a time and so you have quite a few to keep track of which can be hard to do in a camper. We then went to Alpha and Omega's Lifepacs. They are workbooks also but you have only 10 books for each subject. Each one of those listed here include teachers guides, tests, and students workbooks for about $250 per student(a years worth). We decided to come off our money and get Abeka this year and even though it was twice as much and alot more books my kids and I love it. It's challenging to them and is more classroom/teacher oriented which is what we like. The best advice I can give anyone is if your not sure on what you like or what your kids will respond to don't go and spend tons of money on homeschool curriculum. You'll just get discouraged. Do your homework and research all your options. I suggest checking out http://www.homeschool.com/ which has tons of information.

We had another family that traveled with us and homeschooling just didn't work for them. The kids and parents didn't see eye to eye on what was important and they weren't excited about it. You can make it happen if you want to. Your attitude and approach can make it work for you. I think that's what has helped us. I love to teach my kids and we learn from each other all the time. Homeschooling is very rewarding and I'm glad I made the choice to teach my children.