Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Homeschooling Here We Come?

It�s looking more and more like I�ll be quitting my job and homeschooling DS7 and DS9 next year.

We asked for what we thought were some pretty reasonable assurances about next year from DC�s current private school, and they declined to provide them, so we�ve elected to be �possibly returning� for next year pending acceptable info.

Frankly, I'm vascillating between excited and terrified at the thought of homeschooling, and have about a zillion questions. I plan to check out local homeschooling requirements and homeschool groups. I recall some advice here about either getting one of the �What every Xth grader needs to know� books, or else a list from our county of the public school curriculum for each grade to ensure we don�t fall behind in anything. And another thing that sticks out was to try to avoid spending a bundle on any curriculum when you get started, because you won�t know yet what will/won�t work for DC. I've also bookmarked the curriculum review website that Grinity recently posted.

Does anyone who's BTDT have any advice that they wish they�d known when they started homeschooling, or that has been helpful to them?

Also, I couldn�t find an �Ultimate Curriculum thread� or "Ultimate Homeschool Thread" (for resources/curriculum/ideas) when I searched this forum. If I started one, would anyone would be willing to participate in it? Or if there is something similar that I missed, could someone post a link here?

Can't wait to feel a little more in control about all this.

I would go to your library and see if they have The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It's a neo-classical method which may or may not strike your fancy but you'd either rule it out or in. If you rule it in, it's a good roadmap. You then decide where you want your focus to be and trim and expand where it suits you and your kids.

You can also check out Charlotte mason materials, there are many websites.

I think Rebecca Rupp has a Homeschooling the gifted Child book??????

I concur on not buying a lot of things. I would go to Singapore Math.com or Saxonmath.com (not sure if that's the correct url) or mathmammoth.com and download a placement test for whatever grade level you think they are at and give to your kids to get an idea of where they are in math and if they have any holes which can be quickly filled.

Then if you like history, I'd think about how you'd like to do history....interest led? Topic led? Chronologically? Then ask for advice about books and just get some good non-fiction history books. I'd do the same with science....although most do science at this age via interest. Ask them what they want to learn about. Human Body? Go to the library and start looking what they offer.

I'm HSing a 10yr (almost 11) old DS and a 7yr old (almost 8) DS along w/ a 4yr DD so I kids are close in age.

Ask any questions you may have!
Dazey

I second the Well-Trained Mind book and Singapore Math. There is a forum for homeschoolers who follow classical curriculum:
http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/index.php
You can get good advice from parents who have been there and done that

Also, check out the Veritas Press website: http://www.veritaspress.com/
They provide Christian classical curriculum. Even if you don't want to follow the religious parts (Biblical based science or religion), you can get good information on curriculum for other subjects (literature, grammar, etc).

We don't homeschool, but we have used Bauer's book and Veritas Press website to have a better idea on supplementing our kids. We are also using Singapore Math at home.

This can be a great resource to see comments and feedback on many, many different curriculum. I don't consider us classical homeschoolers by any stretch, but I do consult the search function on that board regularly. Many people there are eclectic in style.

Discussions quickly can get heated there, so don't take anything personally!

I'm homeschooling a 6 and a 10 year old right now. This is our 3rd year. It's ever evolving, but it's been a great fit for both our kids.

It not quite an "ultimate" thread, butthere are good resources listed here.

The Well-Trained Mind is a must have. Just buy it. You won't regret it. It's valuable for the reading lists alone. Also, please come over to the Welltrained mind boards.

I'm not homeschooling now, but I have in the past and feel it might really be the best option for us.

May I ask where you are located? I am in southern RI and now on the lookout for compatriots.

Oooh! Mamma, you gonna have your hands full. How exciting!

We're not homeschooling but we're very much enjoying Kahn Academy

I would love to have "The Ultimate Home School Thread"!

As you are thinking of getting started:

I found Creative Home Schooling by Lisa Rivero (http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Home...mp;s=books&qid=1302386243&sr=8-1) to be the most useful book for me when I started home schooling. It methodically walks you through the choices you need to make, provides clear information, and has quotes from kids who have been home schooled. People have some many specific suggestions, and that is great and I use a lot of the resources folks have mentioned here (Khan Academy, Well-Trained Mind, Singapore Math). But this book helped me get started so I had a priorities and more confidence.

Also, there can be great local or state homeschooling groups--they can help you understand your state's law, contacts with local groups, provide support for you, etc.

Good luck and best wishes!

I want an ultimate Home school thread too!

I would definitely second the recommendation of Creative Home Schooling by Lisa Rivero. I found the review of the pros and cons of all the different home school methods really useful. I also found the general chapters about home education, and giftedness useful.

I really want to like the classical method, I really do, but I just can't!

Anyway, what I found the most useful when I was starting out was just to talk to as many home educators as possible about what they were doing and why and how, and it all just seemed so normal, that it stopped seeming so scary. BUT, just as a warning, some home school groups are a bit anti-gifted, so I would use the g word with caution.

I have found that there were lots of advantages to home education that were not apparent at the beginning. You may find you like it more than you thought!