Ok guys, talk to me about home schooling...

[savin$$]

I'll see if I can offer a few suggestions and hopefully some others will chime in soon. We've homeschooled from the beginning, so my perspective may be a bit skewed on some things, as we have not dealt with coming out of public school. I have one going into 11th and one starting high school in another year, plus 4 younger ones.

This is what I would do:

1st: Check into your state's homeschooling laws if you haven't already. Things such as record-keeping, curriculum guidelines, required subjects, attendance may or may not have an impact on your choices. HSLDA's (Home School Legal Defense Association) website I think has that information.

2nd: Consider if you would feel more comfortable with a packaged curriculum that has everything spelled out for you & DD as far as subjects/books and lesson plans. Or are you comfortable doing that yourself? Would you/she prefer all subjects from one company or would you/she prefer to find curriculum that suits her learning style/needs individually for each subject?

3rd: Once you have a fairly good idea of that, then you can check out HomeSchoolReviews.com -- Homeschool Curriculum Reviews which allows you to search by subject and curriculum. People who have used the various curriculum can write their opinions about it. It is not all inclusive, but there are quite a few there. I use that site to get a feel for how the curriculum works and to get an idea if it is something we could use.

4th: Also keep in mind outside activities that could count as schoolwork too. For example, my kids are in 4-H and they are getting speech-writing, public speaking, interview skills, critical thinking (judging events which require them to clearly state their opinion and be able to back it up), research skills (for their projects), plus many others.

5th: When it comes time to purchase your materials, keep in mind that you do not have to buy new. In my area we are fortunate to have many used curriculum sales, a homeschool resource center which carries used curriculum, and there are online websites that have used curriculum. I usually decide on curriculum and then look for it used, and only as a last resort will I buy it new.

Hopefully this will at least give you a place to start.

[CouponAngel]

I'll see if I can offer a few suggestions and hopefully some others will chime in soon. We've homeschooled from the beginning, so my perspective may be a bit skewed on some things, as we have not dealt with coming out of public school. I have one going into 11th and one starting high school in another year, plus 4 younger ones.

This is what I would do:

1st: Check into your state's homeschooling laws if you haven't already. Things such as record-keeping, curriculum guidelines, required subjects, attendance may or may not have an impact on your choices. HSLDA's (Home School Legal Defense Association) website I think has that information.

2nd: Consider if you would feel more comfortable with a packaged curriculum that has everything spelled out for you & DD as far as subjects/books and lesson plans. Or are you comfortable doing that yourself? Would you/she prefer all subjects from one company or would you/she prefer to find curriculum that suits her learning style/needs individually for each subject?

3rd: Once you have a fairly good idea of that, then you can check out HomeSchoolReviews.com -- Homeschool Curriculum Reviews which allows you to search by subject and curriculum. People who have used the various curriculum can write their opinions about it. It is not all inclusive, but there are quite a few there. I use that site to get a feel for how the curriculum works and to get an idea if it is something we could use.

4th: Also keep in mind outside activities that could count as schoolwork too. For example, my kids are in 4-H and they are getting speech-writing, public speaking, interview skills, critical thinking (judging events which require them to clearly state their opinion and be able to back it up), research skills (for their projects), plus many others.

5th: When it comes time to purchase your materials, keep in mind that you do not have to buy new. In my area we are fortunate to have many used curriculum sales, a homeschool resource center which carries used curriculum, and there are online websites that have used curriculum. I usually decide on curriculum and then look for it used, and only as a last resort will I buy it new.

Hopefully this will at least give you a place to start.

Great advice. I second it especially checking with your state laws . A great start for me was the HSLDA's website.

[savin$$]

I just found another website that might be helpful Home School Marketplace: Your Home School and Home Business Resource Center It has many helpful articles as well as a page full of resources for charting your way through high school (click on homeschool resources to find that page). It is from a Christian perspective (which I personally like), but even if you don't agree with that, the advice they give in the many articles is good, sound advice for homeschooling.

[Jiji]

No advice, just kudos to you for doing something that is probably out of your comfort zone because it's the best thing for your daughter.

[aclowers]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Homeschooling. What an exciting adventure you have ahead of you. I also have one going into 9th grade. Some of the resources I use are

yahoo groups;
Homeschooling high school hshs : Home Schooling High School

Mary hood has homeschooled thru high school ARCHERS-HS : ARCHERS, The Association of Relaxed Chri

There are of course tons of sites on the web just google homeschooling, home school, homeschoolers, etc.

I order my curriculum thru ebay, half.com, amazon, as well.

There is a lot of homeschoolers on the board and we will help you anyway we can. Just ask.

[wolfpup]

wow - thank you so much everyone! i literally made the decision this week and i already know this is the answer to a lot of problems we have had.

i am off to look into some of those sites (a couple i have seen and learned quite a bit of info).

thank you again everyone!

[TheWoman]

You might look into online charter schools, at least for your first year. They provide all the curriculum and have teachers to assist you. It is a big help if you are unsure of what to do and how to do it. K12: K12 Inc. - Home schooling curriculum, public school options, virtual academy schools, virtual charter, distance learning programs for elementary & high school grades, in Science, Math, History, English, Language Arts and more! is available in Georgia. One benefit of online charter schools is that they are free--funded by the state just like a regular public school.

On online school would be good if she just wants to do regular school work just not at school, however it is not as flexable as homeschooling. If you are the kind of homeschooler who prefers to teach fractions by cooking and arithmetic by having the child make change at your garage sale it will not work well for you.

[wolfpup]

[quote=TheWoman;950604] One benefit of online charter schools is that they are free--funded by the state just like a regular public school.

quote]
unless i cant figure it out - each time i went to k12, it said that it wasnt in my area - but i could do the k12 international for only $4200. YIKES!
i am real excited at all the info posted here. its making me more confident about doing this. thank you everyone!!!!

[TheWoman]

unless i cant figure it out - each time i went to k12, it said that it wasnt in my area - but i could do the k12 international for only $4200. YIKES!
i am real excited at all the info posted here. its making me more confident about doing this. thank you everyone!!!!

Ohhhhhh, I see. As I got further into the site I find that in georgia the charter school only goes from K-8th grade. Sorry

You might find this interesting:
Home Schools

During fall and spring semesters, registered home school students can take up to one unit of GAVS high school-level courses using state funding. (One unit in the fall and one unit in the spring.) State funded seats are limited, and enrollment is granted on a first come, first served basis.

It isn't a full curriculum, but it might help with one class.

[cbobylev]

Which state are you in?