# Any suggestions?



## Rain~Dancer (Jan 14, 2013)

Hello 

I'm rather new to the website (this being my first post )
Anyways, I was browsing around looking at all of the forums and showing off my delight to my mother, when she pointed and demanded that I check out the homeschooling forum.

She's been interested in the idea of homeschooling my youngest brothers for several years. However, being new to the whole internet scene she's at a loss as to where to begin her search.

Any suggestions or ideas will be greatly appreciated 

Thanks


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## jcatblum (Dec 15, 2009)

Spring early summer most areas have a large homeschool conference. Encourage her to attend. Any questions you have about local laws & every type of curriculum you can imagine will have vendors to explain things & show you the offerings. Best wishes!

ETA--- Welcome to the forum!!!


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## Canning Girl (Jan 13, 2010)

There are many companies out there selling curriculum. I am using (and loving) Sonlight. It is a history/literature based Christian curriculum.


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## farmerestes (Jan 6, 2013)

I'd say to Google "home school law" your state. Look for a website that actually quotes the law, and then explains it. It always helps to know EXACTLY what is expected of you. Then hit the library for some free reading material. Good luck!


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Too many possible suggestions for you right now -- it will blow your mind (or your mom's). 

Help us narrow it down:

What state are you in

How old are the boys

What kind of curriculum -- secular or non-secular/Christian

Looking for individual components for each subject, or a full package kind of thing (which tend to be more expensive)

Is she interested in a very structured program, or a looser to totally unstructured type of program?

Interested in computer/online subjects or not?

Is money an issue? (I mean, of course it's an issue, but if you're on a strict budget it's useful to know that)

What are the boys' strengths/interests?
What are your mom's strengths/interests?


There are soooo many options out there, which is a good thing....but it's not very easy to try them out without buying them, and it adds up fast if you find that something is just a bad fit. 

Personally, I use different materials for every subject in a secular, semi-structured format. And we belong to a co-op as well. So my recommendations would be totally different from someone who wanted an all-in-one, Christian based format.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

Here is a link to the Tennessee Home school association that you should explore:
http://homeschooling-tennessee.org/
What I would suggest is finding one of the closer conferences (look under the events) and attending it. Usually there are sessions on beginning home education, as well as many other topics that may be of interest. Note that sometimes sessions are basically advertising for a particular curriculum, so it's best to get several other people opinions on a curriculum before you fork out the money.


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## Rain~Dancer (Jan 14, 2013)

Wow lol 
Thank you all for the information 
@offthegrid: you totally scrambled my mind lol, as I am only on my second cup off coffee of the day lol 
However, in response to your questions:

Tennessee

10 & 14

She's unbiased on the curriculum but would like to incorporate bible studies into it.

I didn't know you could do individual components ?? Which would be easier for a beginner??
Probably More of an unstructured type program. Of course there would be times for all subjects to be addressed during the day but, she wants to pull it all together around what is comfortable for the boys.

Online could be an option. As long as it's a user friendly program lol She's working on her computer skills  She just discovered the game mahjong lol

10yr old has an extensive vocabulary and is very much interested in all of his subjects and does well in all of them.

14yr old kind of does what is expected of him. No more, no less.

It has to be reasonable, monetary wise. Which is hard because, we don't know a reasonable amount to expect to be charged for this :shrug:??

My Mom has the strength of my brother and I willing to pitch in and help in areas that we ourselves excelled in.
Her weakness, her job which keeps he out of the house during the day. However, she gets weekends off and also has my Aunt, Grandmother, and Brother to help watch the boys during the day.


@halfpint: Thanks :} I'll check that out


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Definitely get to a conference and also find a local homeschool group where she might be able to meet with some homeschoolers to pick their brains.

I've been homeschooling for 16 years now and it's the best decision I've ever made, hands down.


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

Rain~Dancer said:


> Wow lol
> 
> I didn't know you could do individual components ?? Which would be easier for a beginner??


Easier-harder really depends upon the child/teacher and how well the curriculum fits them. Also, some curriculum are only available in specific topics.

For elementary, I've never really liked science or history curriculum, and prefer to do a study of history over a 4 year period, repeating that 3 times for each child and going to different levels depending upon what grade they are in at the time. When each child began school, they started in on whatever period I was teaching the older ones, although some times even as toddlers they helped and learned some things. Our periods were: Creation to Middle Ages, Middle Ages, Renaissance - Reformation, and Reformation to current times. We did spend one entire year on the civil war with my last two since my son loves the civil war and my daughter loved studying the dress of the period as well as all the activities we did (we visited a lot of battlefields and reenactments and a dance)
For elementary science we did lots of projects and reports and 'delight directed' studies and I used a full elementary science scope and sequence to make sure I covered the majority of the topics. 

I do usually use a curriculum for math, english/reading and Bible. Our favorite Bible was the 4 year Bible study guide for all ages - which we've gone through 4 times, but it has changed significantly since I purchased it so I'm not sure how good the current version is. 

There are also many co-op and tutorials programs available now. You'll have to check with your local area to see what is available, and signup usually begins for ours in April and often some classes fill up the first week. In a co-op usually a parent has to be onsite and help or teach something, but in the tutorial situation usually students can be dropped off. We have an all day tutorial offering several classes each period so most of the students stay all day, but some only come for 1 or 2 classes. We also offer a study hall for those who have a break in classes and a lunch period (students must pack lunches) where parents are paid by the families who attend them. It works out well for us as I teach one subject, but my two children take 3 or 4 classes that I only have to help them with occasionally.
Dawn


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

Here are some things I've used and/or are using that I like a lot:



Free online courses:

https://www.coursera.org/
https://www.khanacademy.org/

Other resources online:
http://howtohomeschoolforfree.com/

Math:
Life of Fred Math Books
http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/index2.html

Singapore Math
http://www.singaporemath.com/Mathematics_s/1.htm

Teaching Textbooks (CD-ROM + Books for Math)
http://teachingtextbooks.com/

Joy Hakim books
The Story of US (US History)
The Story of Science
http://www.joyhakim.com/

Language Arts
http://www.bravewriter.com/

Science
Science Logic (PDF unit studies)
http://academiacelestia.blogspot.com/p/science-logic.html

Supercharged Science (Online/interactive program)
http://www.superchargedscience.com/

------------------------------

Right now we are using Science Logic unit studies (very reasonable price), but in the past have used Supercharged Science.

Both my kids are using Teaching Textbooks right now which is pretty expensive; my older dd used the Life of Fred math books for a while and loved them, but now that she is getting into harder math & algebra it's nice to have the solutions provided in a different format (CD ROM) rather than just reading it. My younger dd hated Life of Fred - which is math taught by reading - more like a story. Some kids love it, some don't. When they were younger we used Singapore Math, and that is also very reasonable - the books are about $15 each, so if you use it for a semester and absolutely hate it, you're not out much money.

History is always our hardest subject - I get a lot of documentaries on Netflix and it helps. Joy Hakim's books are great, though, and worth buying.

Bravewriter is a language arts program that has different ways to use it. They offer online writing courses, but they also have printable downloads for literature study for about $10/book. So they give some grammar, writing, and literature exercises to you to work on with a specific novel or book. I am pretty sure there is a sample one on their webpage so you can see what it's like. 

My older dd is taking Genetics through Coursera.org and we are really impressed with it. Since she's not taking it for "credit" (as she's only 14) I'm not making her do all the assignments, but if you wanted to do more you can. We are going to have our kids and some friends all sign up for Intro to Philosophy coming up soon and plan to just watch the videos and have some discussions about the topics. 

We take a foreign language through a tutor, that is probably the best way if you can do that. We are lucky that we also belong to a co-op so we have a choir, and the kids do some art, and also take piano to meet music & art requirements.

My suggestions are to read your homeschool regs and see what you need to do (esp. with regard to testing, if necessary), and just peruse some of the sites listed above to see what you think. For our first year of homeschooling, I just got all the materials that one of my friends got. We liked some, and not others. It's hard to know what will work for you until you start doing it; so I would suggest not spending tons at first until you get a feel for what works for your family.

Good luck!


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

offthegrid said:


> Joy Hakim books
> The Story of US (US History)
> The Story of Science
> http://www.joyhakim.com/


We are using the History of US right now for 7th grade history with Sonlight.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

There are tons, and I mean TONS of homeschool co-ops in TN. I used to live there. Check out THA (Tn homeschool association). You used to be able to find everything you needed there, from the law, to where the co-ops and support groups are, to where to get music or art lessons or etc...


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## Bob Huntress (Dec 17, 2012)

Rain~Dancer said:


> Hello
> 
> I'm rather new to the website (this being my first post )
> Anyways, I was browsing around looking at all of the forums and showing off my delight to my mother, when she pointed and demanded that I check out the homeschooling forum.
> ...


Where in Tennessee are you and your mom? I'm near Jackson. We have Homeschool groups where students do activities and field trips. As far as the law goes, there are basically two, though the law actually states 3 different homeschool classifications. If your mother writes the curriculum herself and teaches your brother from old used text books and internet worksheets etc, she has to give written notice to the school district, along with her lesson plan etc for review and get approval etc. If she uses a premade curriculum, such as Gateway in this area or Bob Jones, Omega etc, the company maintains all the documentation, except notifing the school district (county in most parts of the state) that the child will be homeschooling. The testing requirements for if she writes the curriculum is to either take the test at the local school at the states expense, or pay an outside company for an approved alternate test. The approved alternate test has a market because many local parents feel that the standard tests administered thru the school are slanted against Christians (Evolution etc) and homeschoolers in general. If you use a company, which I often hear refered to as an "Umbrella", the standard test are administered thru the company. Another big reason for the umbrella companies is that in Tennessee if a student completes one of the umbrella programs, their high school diplomia is accepted thru the state as accredited. My daughter is a senior and she has been using the Gateway program, and her Coast Guard recruiter tells her that her diploma will be accepted by the federal government as a state accredited diplomia. The law reads the umbrella companies as being "religious affiliated". Most of the companies around here have a curriculum that is based on generic Christian. They do have memory verses, and they will expect the student to learn Bible facts, such as list the names of the tribes of Israel (age level considered), but not any specific docturine. There is listed in the law a third option, but I am not familiar with it. It sounds like a church school. If you are in West Tennessee, I can help you find a local homeschool coop for the activities etc, as well as help your mom with either finding an umbrella or developing her curriculum and getting it thru her local school district. Your mother is in good luck as homeschooling here in Tennessee is well accepted, and most school districts are not looking to deny anyone the opportunity. May I ask how old your brother is, and how this has been going for your family? Send me a PM & I'll put your mom in touch with local homeschool group if you are in the western part of the state. If you are in the eastern half, especially around Knoxville, I know some of the parents involved in their homeschool groups. I'ld like to welcome your family to homeschooling, and hope it works as well for your family as it has for ours. Tell your mom to PM me, and I'll put her in touch with my wife, who can help her out, also.


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## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

Homeschooling can be as varied as homesteading. Each child is different, so IMO it's trial and error to find what fits. I have homeschooled my DS from the start, he's 14 now. He is a special needs child and I was unable to find the right fit when it came to curriculums, so we have an eclectic style of schooling with a lot of hands on projects. We also homeschooled a girl we took in when she was 14. She had been in public school from the beginning. I started her out with the Abeka program and she seemed to do well, until I realized she wasn't retaining anything. We switched to a couple of thematic units, just to get her out of the mindset of learning to the test. I wanted to get her to the point she was actually learning and not memorizing. I had to come up with our own curriculum the first year. The following year we went back to Abeka and the difference was like night and day. She ended up graduating 6 months early and enlisted in the USAF.

Bottom line, let the kids guide you in how to teach them. As long as they are learning what they need to it doesn't matter how you get them from point A to point B. Make sure you know the laws in your state. Some require yearly testing by a licensed teacher, others only require an attendance report. I would recommend yearly testing whether the state requires it or not though. That way you have an idea on how they are progressing.


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## Rain~Dancer (Jan 14, 2013)

@Sonshine:
My youngest brother,10, has high functioning Asperger's (SP??) 
I'm curious at to how we would address that in a homeschooling format.
His previous attendant was an amazing woman who helped him keep up with things that slipped his mind during the day. She also made sure to explain things to him and to make sure that certain teachers didn't railroad him.
His current attendant is kind of wishy-washy.

Which is one of the reasons my Mother is looking into HS.

@Bob: East TN
We prefer Knoxville, however we're almost directly between Knoxvegas and Chatty


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

I can highly recommend NATHHAN for help with special needs kids.

http://www.nathhan.com/


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

www.hslda.com
Home School Legal Defense Association

That site will give you all the laws for your state, plug you into local home school groups, and tell you when your states annual home school convention is.

I HIGHLY recommend the Annual Convention in your state.
You can walk around, and talk to veterans.
You can do workshops.
You can talk to folks who have been doing it for years.

That Annual Convention was an answer to prayer for me!!


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## Annsni (Oct 27, 2006)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> www.hslda.com
> Home School Legal Defense Association
> 
> That site will give you all the laws for your state, plug you into local home school groups, and tell you when your states annual home school convention is.
> ...


I agree about the conventions. They are an amazing resource for homeschoolers!


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## TexasGunOwner (Nov 26, 2010)

Check the "find a school near you" on http://www.k12.com/


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## EArevalo (Jan 29, 2013)

First thing to do is make sure you are aware of all of your state laws regarding homeschooling. If you don't follow the laws exactly, it won't matter what curriculum you use because the school will get shut down by the state and in some states you can actually get it in trouble with the law for not having them in a registered school. 
We use the ACE(Accelerated Christian Education) program. Its offered through LCA (Lighthouse Christian Academy). The program is fun for the kids and super easy for them to understand. It offers computer programs for them, but most of the curriculum is off-line (which we love). It incorporates Christian values and Bible studies into their every day studies. You can order everything through them and won't have to go to several places to put a curriculum together. It is actually very reasonable cost wise, and the curriculum doesn't change. So when my daughter starts Kind. this year, I will be able to use my old teacher workbooks and just have to order student books.
Another thing LCA offers is record keeping. We don't use them for ours(we keep track of all the records ourselves), but you can use them for record keeping and it grade tracking. This is helpful if you don't want have to deal with transcripts and the diploma at graduation. They would actually graduate as part of LCA, with a diploma from them. 

You can go somewhere like School Tools and buy several different workbooks and do it that way, but I was always worried that I would leave something out. I wanted more structure.

The BEST part about homeschooling is that as long as your children are learning and are engaged, you can't screw it up. You do it YOUR way and you tailor their lesson plans to fit their needs. Good luck!!!


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