*After thihomeschooling-New York

I'm not sure why you would send him and let him decided in third grade..but here goes.

I decided to homeschool my kids when their friends started school before their 2nd bdays. We unschool, so no curriculum or worry about "falling behind." The research shows that kids that don't even learn how to read until they are 9 read at the same level or higher than their peers at 12. In fact, all the research shows that homeschool kids do better, on average.

At this point my kids are still young, 3 and almost 5, so we play a lot. We watch videos, go to the park, and read books. We also participate in a play-based co-op I started. In fact, we are part of two co-ops, so they see the same kids over and over and over again.

When I realized I wanted to homeschool, I read a lot about homeschooling, and I still do. By doing so, I quickly realized the type of style I wanted to follow, and that was that.

First, I would think about what style of homeschooler you are and what would suit the learning style of your child - classical, workbook/textbook based, literature based, unschooling, and so forth. Within each type of schooling you can find many different cirriculums to choose from - these will help you stay on track with the material to cover and staying "at grade level". You can use different cirriculms for each subject, or use one program across the board. If one turns out to be a poor fit for the teaching/learning styles in your home, you change.

After doing some research, we decided we love both literature based and classical perspectives, and we are going to merge both styles inour homeschool. We use Sonlight as our curriculm for history/geography/social studies, a combination of sonlight LA and my own materials for LA (language arts/english), saxon math, apologia science, a hodge-podge for special subjects like music/art/gym, and we plan on starting spanish in middle school with rosetta stone.

Basically, start reviewing different cirriculums and get familiar with what you state requires - each state has different accountability laws and subjects required and so forth. Using a pre-estabilished curriculum can make accountability to the state easier. But you need to find materials YOU are comfortable with using and that will differ from family to family.

We started homeschooling with the pre-K level. I felt like this gave me time to try curriculums and get a taste of homeschooling with no pressure to report to the state and if it went poorly, I could always go back to the institutional learning with no harm done because, well, it was only pre-k. But it went better than expected, and my kids love learning together. What started as a "maybe we can do this until 2nd or 3rd grade" (between me and my husband) has become "why would we ever bother with the drama of institutional learning when this is so easy to taylor to our children's needs and our family's needs. Lets do this through 12th!"

So point being, there is a learning curve, and I personally felt more comfortable getting my feet wet with a preschooler than at a more serious level. It worked for me. Do what works for you - that is the joy of home education - it can be exactly what you want it to be!

Good luck Mama. PM me if you have any questions!

i started by looking into curricula and homeschool styles, and trying to find a community. and like most people, once i began, my curriculum choices, style and community changed drastically<G>.
do you anticipate NOT working when he's in 3rd grade? i'm not sure why that's the deciding line.
it will be hard for him to make a good decision at age 7 or 8. he won't have the life experience or understanding of what either choice entails long-term. i suggest you give him input and have plenty of discussions with him about it so that he's on board and knows his thoughts and wishes are honored, but the decision should be made by the adult who will be guiding his educational process.
'falling behind' was not an issue for us, because we homeschooled according to my kids' needs, interests and weaknesses. i didn't like the public schools' criteria so felt no need to apply it to our homeschool. by high school my kids were somewhat 'behind' in math and science, and way ahead in pretty much everything else. they took a couple of non-credit math prep classes to get them ready for college and did great.
please bear in mind that online classes is indeed schooling at home, but not really homeschooling, ie you're not the one in the driver's seat deciding what and how your child will study. no judgement- this is great for some parents, anathema for others. but i've met many a 'homeschooling parent' who was actually doing online schooling, and quit because 'homeschooling was too hard.' decide in advance whether you want the structure, support and accountability of online school, or the freedom (and attendant terror<G>) of doing it yourself.
either way, search out and begin working your way into homeschool groups and co-ops in your area. if you and your son have a network in place when you begin, you'll be that much far ahead of the game.
good luck!
:) khairete
S.

I really don't understand your reasoning behind letting him go up to third grade and then making a choice. Most third graders aren't going to choose to stay home without their friends, unless they are severely bullied. I think most people have a reason for homeschooling that doesn't just apply starting in third grade...it applies right from the start.

However, I want to share that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the K12 program, which is what we use...online schooling. My oldest is enrolled in MNVA...this is her third year, as she is in second grade. They are allowed to work at their own pace (so she is in third grade in a few subjects), you are provided with EVERYTHING you need, from lab equipment to a computer, workbooks, texts, literature books...everything except school supplies, really...and it is absolutely an AWESOME curriculum that's very advanced compared to public school standards. Just one simple example is that in K12, history begins in kindergarten. I know that in my local school district, they don't begin "history" until 4th grade and even then, it's just social studies.

I encourage you to check it out and if you are serious about homeschooling, consider starting him right with kindergarten. I could list so many reasons why I think that would be best, but I'm sure you know. I am all for homeschooling, if you have the time and energy to dedicate, and want to say congratulations if you decide to do it because it's very exciting and rewarding!!

If you have any more questions about K12, feel free to PM me or check out their website. I believe they have a school in almost every state.

I don't home school but would love to. I contacted K12 but NY doesn't pay for the program so it would be out of pocket aka out of our reach! Calvert School looks great but still costly for us (with aid). I wish you all the best! I am having a hard time with my fourth grader in Public. He says he is so board. I try to give him extra work but he has to 1st complete hw which takes up most of his night. <-- just venting..
I think you would have to be a SAHM to Home school. Look at sample lessons from Calvert. There's a lot they require a 4th grader to do plus trips to museums etc. And NY requires a certified teacher to "check-in" with you to make sure you're child is really being home schooled. Calvert offers this as well for an extra fee. I think waiting 'til 3rd grade is okay because your son will develop socially but you'd just have to keep it up there after with playdates etc, so he can continue to develop with his peers. Good luck to you!