# New to homeschooling



## Rob30 (Nov 2, 2004)

We are looking for some basic information on homeschooling and curriculum. Can anyone give us some ideas for 6-7 yr children? Our goal is to maintain minimum standards equal to or greater than the provincial standards. Our girls are very bright in our eyes and the schools eyes. We are hoping to keep them stimulated. The school is not doing this. In fact our 7 yr old is on self directed study according to her teacher. That way she can consentrate on the "problem children " in the class.
We have decided to focus mostly on reading, writing and math. If they can master these skills, all other topics should come easily. 
We also want to incorporate the homestead into their education.


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

It's so hard to recommend anything without knowing more about your family. I'll just tell you what we do in my household.

We use a Latin Centered curriculum ( http://www.latincentered.com/node/7 ) and find it works out well. We modified it a bit from the norm to suit our family better. We use a combination of math programs since no single program has suited all of our four children. 

As far as integrating the homestead ... just being on the homestead instead of in a school somewhere will help incorporate it into their education. They get to see the parents interacting on the farm, which is a great education in its own right.

It won't be hard to maintain minimum standards .. they're pretty low. The hardest part is keeping up to your own standards and the insatiable drive of your children. Once unharnessed from the public education machine, they tend to go forward as fast as they can.


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Rob, we are Classical home educators in Manitoba. We recently moved from Alberta -- all provinces are different.

Check with your provincial education department for Ontario's home education regulations. It should be on their website, but expect it to be hidden somewhere, and expect to have to do some looking.

Adhere to the regulations, and no one can say anything. Home education is legal in all provinces of Canada -- don't let anyone tell you differently.

Join a home education co op or support group. Check at your library, or at a home education supply store for these folks. A woman with three school aged kids in the library or at the pool in the middle of the day might just be a homeschooler. Ask.

There are many, many good home education suppliers in Canada. My favorite is CHER -- Canadian Home Education Resources, owned by Brenda and Gary Baradoy, and run out of Calgary -- they do more mail order business than retail from the storefront, I think -- and if it's out there, they know about it. Brenda is a home ed guru and always willing to give advice when asked.

As I said, we are classical home educators. Basically, this started when we got hold of the book The Well Trained Mind by Jesse Wise and Susan Wise Bauer -- it was an outline of the education we wanted for our kids. We have since gotten much more independent in our choices (much of the suggested curriculum is very American), but is still a fantastic resource, and would probably be good for someone who wants a rigorous academic education for their child but doesn't know where to start. It should be available at your library, but you can also get it through amazon.ca -- well worth the purchase price.

Where in Ontario are you?


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## ovsfarm (Jan 14, 2003)

I don't know how things are in Canada, but here in the US there is a thriving trade in used homeschool curriculum materials. I would suggest buying as many things as possible this way. I think most homeschoolers have a tendency to purchase things early on that they later don't really need. It hurts to have spent a bundle on those. If you buy used, you can try things out to see if they work for you and often sell them on to someone else when you are done with them. Also be wary of buying expensive resources that you use for multiple children for multiple years unless the curricula are extremely flexible. What works for one child may not work for the other and what works for one child this year may not work for the same child next year.

When I started homeschooling, I stuck a little closer to the public school model, as that was all I had ever known. The longer I have been doing HS, the less our schooling resembles homeschooling. There are lots of good books on the subject and it does really help to be able to talk with other HS families in your area.

Construct your school with the endpoints in mind. Long term, what education would you have wanted your children to have? Mid-term, how do you want to interact with the children, how much prep time do you have to preplan lessons? And short term, how much do you expect them to cover this year, this semester, this month, this week? Then select the daily activities that will produce the end results for which you are aiming. For example, if you know they want to attend a certain university, find out now what the university is requiring as far as academics, community involvement, social activities. And plan your schooling accordingly. Don't wait until late secondary school to find out that they need to be fluent in a second language or have taken a zillion years of a particular math.

And finally, have fun! Take full advantage of all of the special benefits of homeschooling, which include learning tailored to the individual's interests, ample time together as a family, extensive home-ec and farm management opportunities for study, home businesses for teens, etc. It can be a wonderful educational choice for those who pursue it diligently.


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