# Homeschooling



## wannabfarmer

I'm trying to talk my wife into this. There are many reasons for me wanting to homeschool my kids. I'm trying to find a system that is not religious to read up on and show to my wife. I would prefer something that wasn't online, meaning has actual books to buy as I am not extremely computer literate.
Thanks


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## NEfarmgirl

There are a lot of possibiliites out there and if you have time to create your own curriculum you can. I don't know the ages of your kids, but when my oldest was younger I created his curriculum based on state guidelines and went above and beyond that. We went to the library for books, I printed off worksheets and created my own worksheets and assignements. He will be a junior in high school now and I still create my own assignments using library books and create worksheets. We do use a religious based curriculum, but there are a lot of non-religious ones out there. You can teach around your kids' interests at the time, have a very structured school day or have very little structure and use opportunities during a normal day to teach lessons. There are companies that have secular curriculum available, and some publishers that sell to school also now sell to homeschoolers. There is a lot available, but it depends on what you are wanting to do to make it easier to decide on what you plan to use.

My oldest will be using a computer software program this school year instead of books like last year. Our youngest will use the curriculum I created and we will be visiting the library a lot to avoid having to purchase books. Most of their worksheets for homework and busy work were free off of the internet.


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## gibbsgirl

I recommend you visit a large Homeschool convention. Most are in the spring and early summer. There's a huge one in Cincinnati. I think you said somewhere else you're in Ohio.

There are lots of vendors that sell curriculums m and you get to look through it. There are also workshops. A lot is Christian, but not everything. And, some curriculums have just a small portion that is religious and could be skipped.

You don't have to buy anything there, but it does cost to get in.

Also, many of the larger conventions have websites up year-round where they have lists of vendors. You can click the links in the lists from their site and review and purchase curriculum materials online too.

Try Facebook if you gave that. You may find some groups that are homeschoolers in your area that you can go meetup with at their events to gang out and chat with.

Don't worry if f your kids aren't school age yet. It's not unusual for people considering it to ask to visit. Plus lots of mams usually gave some school age and some younger in Homeschool groups or co-ops.

Eta. There are some good books about homeschooling in general and classroom education. I've enjoyed john Taylor gatto and Susan wise Bauer.


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## wannabfarmer

Good memory Gibbsgirl I'm about 15 miles north of cincinnati. My daughter is 3 and son is 1. They are both very advanced, mainly my daughter. But I'm worried that a typical school setting might ruin that lol. Thanks for the advice!!!!


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## gibbsgirl

The Cincinnati one is in April I think.

There's one in Nashville and Indianapolis in Feb/Mar if I remember right.

Seriously, if either of you are readers, checkout some stuff written by the two authors I mentioned. It gives you a lot of good info to ponder.

Also, remember you don't have to do it forever. We started and did it for a year then reconsidered each year. After a few years we got pretty settled we'd do it for the rest of school years. But, we've also remained open to discussing it with the kids as they became teens to let them have input into decisions.

It's been awesome for us. And, every time we've ever struggled, we ended up realizing the issues would not be resolved like magic by simply sending them to a classroom school. So, we just got to working through the issues and got them resolved.


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## wannabfarmer

Yea I'm going to look into it. We are concerned with college acceptance of a home schooled child. I have a feeling we will cover through elementary school then discuss actually going to school with them. Highschool is what I'm worried about. But we will just tackle what comes at us readjust and keep going.


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## gibbsgirl

I think YouTube has some videos of gatto speaking and being interviewed to.

If it helps as far as college, I've read more in recent years about some colleges assigning staff to only process Homeschool apps. If I understand the logic, they have found they're doing well and have higher graduation rates than average and they're getting a higher volume of apps anyway.

Also, please join www.hslda.org its a group of lawyers and costs about $100 bucks a year. Or $1000 for lifetime of schooling. They send info in email and magazine. Their website gives you info for how to do it legally in your state. Their lawyers give advice to members, and they even help some people with lawsuits. But that seems to depend on how much resources they have. Also, they try and fight court cases and legislation to help preserve Homeschool rights.

They're a really good resource, and worth supporting with membership for your own advantage and for supporting the legal work they do. They've been around a long time. They're Christian, but they help anyone who homeschools.


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## wannabfarmer

That is an amazing piece of info thank you so much! My fear is I'm going to have ridiculously smart kids ready for college but according to the state they are at a preschool reading level, or in order to "graduate" they will be forced to take a GED test to prove it. Not that getting a GED is bad but when we put all the time effort and money into it I want them to feel accomplished rather than chopped at the knee before they can even start ya know?


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## NEfarmgirl

If they take an ACT or SAT test, which a lot of kids do to go on to college, they should do really well and prove they are capable. Our oldest was reading at the age of two, but as he has gotten older he is more average. He is still a bright kid, but refuses to apply himself. Most kids that are homeschooled do much better than their public school educated counterparts. You will be fine!

There is a line of books written by E.D. Hirsch Jr. They are What Your (insert grade) Needs to Know. The books cover K-6th grades and they are inexpensive.


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## wannabfarmer

Awesome thanks. My wife and I had a long talk last night about this. We are going to go visit that thing in cincinnati next year and keep looking into this. She was skeptical of me being a stay at home dad when we moved here but I've shocked her my parenting skills she didn't think I was capable of so I have a good feeling this will happen. We both have fears of school shootings/violence and other terrible things adults feel they have a right to do to other people's children. She is scared they will miss out on childhood friends and memories. I just keep reassuring her that they can do a lot of group activities and will be fine. She is more of a ocd planner and I'm more of a go with the flow everything will work out. We are perfect for each other lol. Thank you all for the great info.


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## Crankin

Gotta chime in here,

My son and daughter-in-law live in Northside, a suburb of Cincinnati. My son was a stay at home dad for the first 6 years and now they have switched roles. DIL has a Masters in Environmental Biology Education and My son has a degree in Fine Arts. They are down to earth and were sold on public education most of the first 6 years of their kids lives. The oldest grandson was in a Montessori school. They started homeschooling two boys last school year. 

We home schooled 2 kids. They always took the California Achievement Tests at the end of the grade. This let us know that what we taught was working well. Our oldest took all college courses in the 12th grade. 

Join a home school group. And Gibbsgirl has great info. https://www.greathomeschoolconventions.com/locations/cincinnati-oh/
The Cincinnati Show is BIG!

I wrote a basic engines curriculum for home school. I am sold on it. 

Crankin

www.crankinengines.com


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## cfuhrer

Here is a great thread on home schooling high schoolers. You've got some time before it's really a concern but I see you are already thinking about it.

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/co...ighschool-no-online-public-school-no-ged.html

As for "socialization" don't forget kids socialize based on who they spend time with and home schoolers spend more time with adults and thus are usually better socialized than kids who go to school.

Glen Beck ( I know, I know) wrote a book about common core but he had some very good pro-home school points.

All I can say is that in my mid-thirties I still thank God every day that He gave my parents the good sense to home school me. That and raising us girls on the farm are the two best parenting decisions they ever made.


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## wannabfarmer

Thanks guys. I was home schooled for a year and a half in middle school due to my mom being semi psycho. Thankfully I'm smart because I was left home alone to due my own studies and complete my own tests. I read then just took the tests. ALL of my books including math books were scripture based or somehow plugged it in. For that year at the age of 13 I would do my work I had to get done (usually took 3 hours) then screw around doing whatever I wanted. Then my friends would come over to play my video games and I would have them bring their school books over and I would do their homework and ask questions so I didn't fall behind. That's the only reason I'm not wanting the religious based books. Now my mom didn't look into it enough nor did she teach me or even check what I did so that has a big influence on the route I obviously would take. My only fear about highschool is that I will struggle teaching the lessons if I'm not versed in them. I'm sure by the time they hit hs I will be a Rockstar teacher it's just beginning jitters I guess. Thanks for all of the info guys I wasn't expecting this many replies!


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## NEfarmgirl

One of the things that you will learn is that if you don't remember or know something well it will come back or you will learn with your kids. I struggled in algebra and geometry, but when our oldest started taking it, everything made sense finally. I think everyone has fears and are nervous to start, but once you get going things will fall into place and it will become easier. We removed our oldest from public school half way through kindergarten to homeschool because he was being bulllied and physically hurt. What kind of socialization in that? We are part of two homeschool groups and a homeschool social group so there are a lot of things going on for us, even during the summer. Our area is trying to create an un-accredited school for k-12 under a church in an attempt to protect our rights. There has been threats of the state trying to really crack down on parents to make it difficult to homeschool. So far every bill they try to push through is being shot down. 

If you choose religious based curriculum or not is your choice. There is no right or wrong. If you use books or the computer is your choice. For a while we didn't even use books when our son was younger. We did a lot of hands on learning and applying math, reading and language into everyday life. He did not have a clue he was actually learning, because it was fun.


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## Crankin

We bought a lot of books at thrift stores $1.00-2.00. Usually math, science, history...etc. are available. The publication dates don't really matter.

Crankin


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## londov7

When you send in your letter of intent to the board of education stating that you are wanting to homeschool your child, you have to state on it what kind of curriculum you will be using. If you write down that you will be using state curriculum, you will be sent a letter that you can take to the school and they will supply you with books from the school. You can also talk to the teachers and ask them to get in touch with you when they go on field trips and as long as you pay the fees, you are allowed to go with the school on field trips. The reason why most homeschooling stuff is church related is to make sure that there is proper socializing for the child and most church groups often help each other out with homeschooling.


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## Kristinemomof3

Every state is different as far as homeschool laws, just make sure you check what you need to do. High school is easy, by that age, they know their 3 r's and they really can learn just about anything they set their mind to. I know so many people that have graduated successful adults and my dd is a senior now and doing 3 dual credit classes at a community college and taking a co-op class to start the fall semester and will continue the same in the spring.


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## Dusky Beauty

I wanted to chime in here; make sure your wife comes to the understanding and agreement that homeschooling is best and fire up her passions about it, or you should be the one to be teacher. 

I've seen a few situations where the dad/husband decides the kids should be homeschooled and leaves his wife fully responsible for the actual schooling while he goes off to work everyday when the poor woman had no interest in; nor clue of how to go about homeschooling. 
Makes no sense to me, but it happens.


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## wannabfarmer

Yea my wife and I are a team and we both have to agree on something before it gets done. I'm a stay at home dad so no worries about me dumping it off on her.


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## Dusky Beauty

Excellent! 
Yeah, I just talked one of those ladies down from a figurative tree last week lol. 

If you get stuck on curriculum or need some inspiration, I always share allinonehomeschool.com. 
It's a full day by day curriculum for all grades accessible online. 
I know you wanted book work, but you can get a look at what the grades are learning. 

In our nearest metro, we have something called "homeschooling resource center" which is a collection of homeschool texts and materials on every subject being sold at non profit prices. It would be worth a google search to check for one near you.


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## NEfarmgirl

We used Easy Peasy for some of our oldest's classes last year and are using it for this school year. He seems to like it and it doesn't take long for him to complete assignments.


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## wannabfarmer

Awesome thanks for all of the info!!


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## Kristinemomof3

I think guesthallow.com is really good too.


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## Ohio dreamer

Check our Rainbow Resources.....order a catalog!! http://www.rainbowresource.com/ You will be overwhelmed on all the possibilities!! Rainbow Resources will be at the Cinncy homeschool convention, too.

I've never seen a "religious" curriculum that wasn't at least as good as what public schools are using. What you used "back then" I don't know, but anyone that takes at least some interest in what their kids are doing will be just fine. 

Homeschool kids DO NOT need to get a GED to go on to college. Just take the SAT or ACT like everyone else. Some colleges ask for a sample of the kids high school schoolwork....so just keep records (few math papers, a paper they wrote, etc). Homeschool kids in Ohio are eligible to take college classes for free during High School....just like public school kids. Use to be Duel Enrollment, now called College Credit Plus.


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## Dusky Beauty

Ohio dreamer said:


> Homeschool kids in Ohio are eligible to take college classes for free during High School....just like public school kids. Use to be Duel Enrollment, now called College Credit Plus.


....and nine times out of ten, if you have college credits, the transfer enrollment process is a cake walk compared to regular admissions. 

Although, within reason I still plan to send my kids to conventional high school to get them used to working with other people and hard deadlines.... That's the plan anyway.


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## beenaround

homeschooling is designed to teach kids how to learn, after that foundation is laid try to keep up. 

Youngest son is working through a program designed to help kids with the ACT. His first attempt netted a 31. Apparently according to the program, the tests are more difficult than the actual tests and a bump of a few points normal. Wife bought it at the last convention. She has been down to the Cincci convention several times.

Another kid among the local HSchooled kids produced a 36, several colleges offered him a full ride. HSchooling and college is not a problem. We have 2 in college now, never a problem and they are well liked despite their lack of socialization, haha.

There are probably others around you who would love to help you get started and who will help you file all the necessary paper work. Wife has helped many.


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## beenaround

Wife and I were talking today about our kids, the shortest is 5-8. They go from 6-7, 6-5, 6-4, the youngest is still growing @ 5-9. We believe rest is part of the reason they have grown well. Homeschooling is designed for the child's development, not a government schedule. 

just saying.


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## beenaround

Ohio dreamer said:


> Check our Rainbow Resources.....order a catalog!! http://www.rainbowresource.com/ You will be overwhelmed on all the possibilities!! Rainbow Resources will be at the Cinncy homeschool convention, too.
> 
> s.


Many around here have used it, ours included. Good stuff.


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## Dusky Beauty

beenaround said:


> Wife and I were talking today about our kids, the shortest is 5-8. They go from 6-7, 6-5, 6-4, the youngest is still growing @ 5-9. We believe rest is part of the reason they have grown well. Homeschooling is designed for the child's development, not a government schedule.
> 
> just saying.


My fondest regret is that I can only like this once. 


I ran into one of my kids' teachers in the store today. She taught both of my two oldest for two years each and left to work at another school down the road this year. Good move for her, and she was thrilled when she found out I was homeschooling. Had nothing but nice things to say about my ability to outdo the district and how bright and teachable my kids always were under our home influence.


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## PrairieClover

We've homeschooled our kids (7) and the oldest is now 30. Our two youngest are teens. 
Check out Educator's Publishing Service; we used Explode the Code for the early years which is put out by EPS. These are write-in workbooks. My kids enjoyed these. 
I used the Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for one of my kids who just couldn't seem to get it. It is suggested for kids who haven't been using other means to read and do phonics. It worked for him. Using games is an excellent way to teach them phonics. 
Love to Learn, an online company, has a really good beginning readers kit. 
We also used some materials from Critical Thinking Press.
I think that homeschool conventions can be very overwhelming, especially for a beginner. It is a good place to check out materials but then check on Rainbow Resource's website, as suggested. I think they might even sell used materials. 
Once you know what you want, check Amazon for used stuff, and at much lower prices. 
I haven't used it (but have looked at it), is the highly recommended Rod & Staff. Even though it may seem preachy or religious, I don't think it is overly so, others may disagree. The point is, it is highly recommended for getting the job done, teaching your kids Language Arts. I believe it is published by the Mennonites in Kentucky.


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## MichaelZ

Teaching Textbooks is great for math. What we use for our 8th grader. It is about 10,000,000,000 times better than the online core math my daughter had last year. My daughter actually is learning something and doing math with pencil and paper, with a nice computer tutorial to help as needed. Then, she transfers answers to computer and it is auto-graded. The computer portion has multiple choice options so answer entry is not an issue. And the assignment is auto graded. No internet needed, just a computer. If your student grades too low on an assignment, you can go over the assignment with them, delete the grade and have them try it again. The problems are appropriate in difficulty and there is sufficient practice. Core math last year gave her 4-8 problems per week (no kidding).


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