Homeschool Advice

I posted a ton of suggestions and websites at the thread previously suggested. We homeschooled from Grade 4 to Grade 12. Our daughter just graduated from High School and starts college in the fall.

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/6584527060348370945

****My best advice is****

1) Research & find out the laws for homeschooling in your state
http://www.homeschoolers.org/minnesota_law_and_forms

2) Network, Network & Network with other homeschoolers. Join homeschool groups in your area or start one yourself. Join any on line homeschool support groups.

3) Relax and make it fun. Learning is fun. I learned a lot during my 9 years of homeschooling

4) Don't forget to take time for YOU! This applies to all Moms.

**MN HOMESCHOOL SUPPORT GROUPS IN YOUR AREA**

http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/Minnesota.html

WAH - Waconia Area Homeschoolers
Monthly meeting, plus scheduled field trips and playdates. Preschool to high school. ____@____.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=MN+HOMESCHOOL&so...

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/usamn/Minnesota_Homesch...

**CHECK OUT THIS ARTICLE IN THE WACONIA PATRIOT ABOUT A HOMESCHOOL ORCHESTRA IN YOUR AREA**

http://www.waconiapatriot.com/articles/2012/01/03/carver_...

**HERE ARE SOME GREAT KINDERGARTEN BLOGS & SITES**

http://www.besthomeschooling.org/articles/lillian_jones_p...

http://godmadehomegrown.blogspot.com/2010/08/where-do-i-s...

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/4470.php

http://homeschooldiscoveries.com/2012/07/10/10-pieces-of-...

**THE BEST MAGAZINE EVER FOR HOMESCHOOLERS IS "THE OLD SCHOOL HOUSE" IT IS PACKED WITH VALUABLE INFORMATION.

http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/Homeschool_Reviews/4470.php

**GREAT HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM WEBSITES(SOME FREE)**

http://www.connectionsacademy.com/minnesota-school/home.aspx

http://www.k-12freehomeschool.org/free_home_school_philos...

http://www.freeworldu.org/static/index.aspx

http://www.theheadoftheclass.com/

http://www.softschools.com/

http://www.time4learning.com/

http://www.lessonpathways.com/

http://www.neok12.com/

http://www.starfall.com/

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/content/simulation/

http://home-school.lovetoknow.com/Free_Homeschooling_on_t...

http://homeschoolingadventures.com/grades/homeschoolhelpf...

** HERE IS A PUBLIC SCHOOL OPTION IN MN THAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME **

http://www.k12.com/participating-schools/minnesota

awww, I just read your about me section and it sounds like we have some things in common :) I have a recently turned 5 yr old, a two year old and an eight month old :) Only I have all boys! So I am also going to start out with homeschooling this year, so my advice will be in 'the what I have sort of gathered' category ;) I am going to use a curriculum called 'My Father's World'. It is awesome, they have a website it you want to check it out. It is not too expensive and I wanted a pretty comprehensive curriculum my first year bc I am still nursing and sort of just getting a handle on raising three kids! It only takes 60-90 minutes per day so that is awesome. It has twenty six 6 day sections, they each have a story book associated with them and focus on one letter of the alphabet. I am very big on reading so that was huge for me in choosing a curriculum. 26 books the first year of school sounded awesome! It also has an option to have an ant farm and a butterfly garden, so we are doing that as well. Anyway, you may want to check it out. I am a very hands on person. I like field trips and science projects :) I have a friend that is not like me at all and likes to use videos and her kids do well with that. So it takes all kinds. So I guess we will have to see how we do this year! I am sure you will get lots of help on here :) I google 'homeschool groups' in my area and found an awesome one that is a group of 150 families. I do live in Houston, but maybe if you google it you can find some people near by. Wish you the best, it is going to be crazy and fun!

Yahoo Groups is where I've found the most homeschooling support. From curriculum review groups, to local firldtrip groups, to specific interest (religious, secular, special needs, philosophy: Montessori/welltrainedmind/etc.). 90% of my resources have been through these groups. I have over 1100 homeschool related links, and most have been found via the parents on these groups.

HomeschoolBuyersCoop has tons of freebie trials and HUGE discounts on electronic stuff. Like 1 year subscription of DiscoveryEdu for $50 instead of $700 through Discovery Channel.

Cathy Duffy is a good place to start off on curriculum reviews

AnneZeiss (A-z homes-cool) has tons and tons of regional info (just search your state in the search bar).

Read through this thread:

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/6584527060348370945

Good luck,
Dawn

I have been homeschooling going on my fourth year. I love ABEKA for phonics and language arts. I only use it for K and 1st for a great foundation for reading, etc. I have used Heart of Dakota unit studies for one year.....it was good, but I wanted more fun things for my younger kids to learn about than american history. They will learn alot of history in their later years and so I switched to Winterpromise. Last year we did Animals and their worlds and this year hideaways in history, which will take them all over the world and they will get to make hideaways and fun fort type things.. I love their curriculum as it has everything laid out as what to do each day.
For math....I am a big believer in Singapore.
As mentioned....get involved in a co-op in your area. Just remember at this age.....the most important thing is phonics and math.

Your child is still very little. The most important thing is to decide your philosophy and method to create a strong foundation. Method is everything. You need to maintain a continual sense of wonder and imagination for the child. Too much academics to early will harder the intellect later in life. He needs mostly at this stage of life to Be with mom and bake and cook and clean and draw and paint, sing and build and play and listen to stories and the like. E groups are great support, mine sure helps me. Have you checked into Waldorf or Montessori?

see if your school district offers resources (mine did). internet can be mind boggling with choices but i would recommend trying different curriculums for different subjects until you find one you both like. they can get expensive and you don't want to make a big investment in something that ends up not working. that's the benefit of homeschooling is that you go at your own pace, teach what you want, and have access to a variety that determines what helps your kids learn. not making a room full of kids adapt to one teacher's teaching style. don't get me wrong, i only homeschooled to get my daughter thru middle school and my parents were both teachers, but i would do it again in a heartbeat. good luck and hopefully you'll find other families to connect with in your area because that helps. we went on field trips together and everything. an area children's theater gave homeschoolers a discount to come watch their final dress rehearsal before the public saw their scheduled shows. it's great touring different places during the day when everyone else was at work/school.

S.