Need Advice About Home Schooling My Teens

Coram Deo Academy offers private classical christian education two days a week and you homeschool the off days. very affordable and high quality. Look into joining a homeschool group to give you direction and guidance...like MARCH or RHSA. Great information on the internet. Awesome choices of homeschool curriculum....attend the NTHEN convention to look at the homeschool books out there. You can spend as much or as less at you want. I averaged about 200 per books and more on field trips for my young ones. Good Luck.

Wow, R., you are a busy mom! Here are my favorite local homeschooling links:

http://apconnect.org/LocalEd.htm
http://apconnect.org/InternetEd.htm

Hello R.,

I am a home schooling mother of four and have been doing this for a little over ten years in Plano, TX. My oldest is now a junior in high school. I want to let you know of a new e-book (order on-line) and then of a helpful free seminar in Plano at the Mardel store on Coit Road.

First about the book - It was written to summarize the experience of 200 homeschool graduates. I can’t say 100% of parents would benefit from reading it, but you may and I thought you also might like to know about this resource. The book is titled, "Straight Talk to Parents and Teens from Homeschool Graduates", by Jim and Susan Erskine. Below is an excerpt from an article in The Washington Times.

Jim and Susan Erskine of Canmer, Ky., are 13-year veterans of home-schooling who have long been involved in Web sites and publishing for home-schooling families. They noticed there were few resources available in which a variety of home-school graduates gave their candid reflections on what they gained -- or regretted -- about their education.
The Erskines sent out a questionnaire and received responses from more than 200 graduates. The answers "blew us away," Mr. Erskinesays. The resulting book, "Straight Talk to Parents & Teens from Homeschool Graduates," was produced as an e-book, downloadable from the Internet for $4.95 (www.moneyandteens.com).
This book gives a good sense of the impact home-schooling has on one's long-term life experience. Divided into sections of advice to teens, to parents, and "what I would have done differently," the comments give a pretty good sense of the strengths and weaknesses of various choices.
Most of the responses indicated the graduates value their educational experience, and feel they were well-prepared for college, travel, work and family. Several regretted being lazy, procrastinating on work, or not pushing themselves to take certain subjects more seriously. They were divided on the issue of "basics versus free exploration"; some wished they had focused more on algebra or grammar; others wished they had spent more time on study outside the prescribed curriculum.
What was conspicuously absent was any sense of resentment or negative feeling toward parents. It seems that by and large, home-school graduates feel connected to their families, and appreciate the work and effort made by their parents to prepare them for life. Many expressed deep respect for their parents -- and other parents -- for making the effort to educate their children personally.
Areas where the respondents felt they would have benefited are clearly mentioned, nonetheless. Readers may find their own home-schooling style dissected a bit, and see that certain habits may not be helpful: being either too permissive or too structured, having an "us against them" attitude toward others, or seeing it as a competition.
Good, solid advice from the graduates is helpful for families making choices about foreign language studies, math and science courses, opportunities for travel or community involvement or extracurricular activities.
The book does not advocate any particular curriculum or method; if anything, the graduates' comments refer more to the process of the education rather than the source of the materials. Some pointed out the need for parents to be flexible about changing textbooks or other resources when the student's learning style was not being served. Certain comments suggested alternative study methods, audio recordings or discussion-based instruction.
Many of the respondents refer to faith, Scripture or a religious framework when discussing their education. While this may reinforce the stereotype that links home-schooling with devout religious adherence, it nevertheless represents a significant force in the switch to home education for so many.
Raising a family is not easy, and religious faith is a strong source of guidance and values for parents striving to navigate through the challenges of life. It takes a strong commitment to educate children at home, and such strength is often the result of strong convictions about faith, excellence or governance.
This book offers a glimpse at how home-schooling affects students over time, and in a wide variety of circumstances: college, career, relationships and citizenship.

Second, about the "Homeschool, Who Me?" free seminar - it is scheduled for next Thursday, July 13th at Mardel at 1 pm or 6 pm. Terri Threadgill is the speaker and she has two sons now in high school, is a former executive banker, and just an all around great lady. She also started up a very successful, non-profit co-op in the Plano area. This would be a good place for you to learn the nuts and bolts of homeschooling and get questions answered.

If I can be of service to you any more, just let me know and I'll do what I can. May you and your whole family be blessed in your effort. Whether or not you decide to home school, I applaud you for even considering it with a house full and a full time nursing career.

Best hopes,
G. J
Plano, TX

I have 3 chlidren and 1 on the way. I have been homeschoooling my 2 older children since Kindergarten. I spent a great deal of money the first year and each year have spent less. This year I realized that there are a lot of resources online and at the library for free.

It would depend on how much you want to spend teaching them. Teenagers should be able to be more independent in this. You can give them a direction of what you would like to see done and not have to sit with them the entire time like you would a younger child.

There are homeschool groups in each city. There is also a homeschool fair in Arlington every year, but I have never been to that.

If you want to look at some materials, Mardel is a great store. I have been to the one in Plano and Lewisville. They sell all sorts of educational products.

Hope this helps.
Good luck!