Thinking of Homeschooling?

If you are thinking of homeschooling, here is my advice of where to get started...

1.  Look for a Parent Choice Charter School in your area.  This is a homeschool based charter school. It is a publicly funded charter school, but allows parents to choose curriculum and direct their children's education (basically homeschooling).  The great part about these charter schools is that they pay for many curriculums, field trips, and classes for your kids.  You meet with a teacher every 20 school days.  She checks that your kids are on track, answers any questions you may have and helps you navigate educating your child at home.  There are some restrictions, they will not pay for any religious curriculums or activities, or high risk activities such as sky diving.  If you are local to me, I would suggest Sky Mountain Charter School or Sage Oak Charter School.  We have been with Sky Mountain since Tanner was in kindergarten and have been very happy with them.  I have many friends that use Sage Oak and believe it is great too.  These Charters exist throughout CA,  and I know other states have similar charters schools.  You do have to take the state mandated tests (like any public school).  I know some people do not want any interference from the government, so choose not to use a charter school, but personally I am happy to have my kids take a test once a year to see where they are at compared to their peers.  It is well worth the funding I get to provide many opportunities for my kids that I would not be able to do without the charter.

*If you live in a state where homeschool based charters are not an option, find out what the laws for homeschooling in your state are.  You want to make sure you are doing it legally so you don't get into trouble down the road.  Each state is very different, but this is very important.  I would start by searching your states department of education website for homeschooling.

2.  Friends!!  As a homeschooling family, friends for your kids and friends for you as a mom are essential!  If you already have a great network of friends through sports, church, or other activities, great!  But make sure you know as a parent you may need to provide a few more opportunities to get kids together when they are not always seeing each other at school.  If you do not already have a built in social network, you may want to look for one.  There are local homeschooling facebook groups you could look into.  If you use a charter school, ask your teacher for resources.  Sign your kids up for homeschooling classes so they can get to meet other kids.  If you are local, we have done EMH Sports classes, Claremont Chef Academy Classes, Art to name a few.  We have met lifelong friends (for the kids and for me) through these classes.  It is important to not feel isolated when you are embarking on a new journey!

3.  Curriculum.  There is a never ending supply of curriculum and it can be hard to choose!  I am going to give you a few places to get started that I recommend.  I don't claim to have all the answers for this, but talking to other homeschoolers is the best place to start your search for curriculum.

First off, to bring life and meaning to our homeschool, we pick a year long theme each school year.  We base all of our read alouds, writing projects, field trips, art projects, even vacations around that theme.  We incorporate our theme into all subjects as much as possible.  Last year our theme was the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.  So we read about knights, attended Medieval Times, and read fairy tales about princesses.  We read biographies about Leonardo da Vinci, painted like him, and visited Forest Lawn in Glendale where they have recreations of his work.  I try to take whatever our theme is for the year and give my kids the most immersive experience I can for that theme.  It is fun, and time consuming, but I love it.  I try to make what we are learning meaningful.  When we learned about MiddleAges/Renaissance we were knights searching for light in the Dark Ages, and talked about how we could apply those lessons to our lives.  When we learned about countries around the world, we also learned about missionary work and how to prepare to be a good missionary.  All of this is not necessary, it's just what I've done and its made a world of difference in our homeschool.  It unites the kids, even though they are different ages, learning different things.  The elementary kids get much more into the details of the theme, but the older kids still participate in field trips, read alouds, etc.  But if a year long theme isn't up your alley, which is totally fine, I'll share what we use to cover the basics.

Here is what we currently do for Elementary Curriculum:
For Language Arts, I love The Good and The Beautiful.  It is so comprehensive and easy to use. It covers reading, writing, spelling, grammar, art, and geography.  We also use their penmanship book.  It is a Christian based curriculum, so our charter school does not pay for it, but it is not too expensive.  Each child would need to get their own level.  The website gives you a test to see what level your child may be at.  Just because they are in 3rd grade does not mean they are in level 3, and that's ok!

I also love The Good and The Beautiful's science units.  I have tried so many different science curriculums and this one is my favorite by far.   You could just choose a unit you think you or your children are interested in and go for it!  I choose units that go along with our theme for the year.  I would strongly suggest to teach all your kids the same science-do not think you need to teach a 2nd grade science curriculum and a 5th grade science curriculum.  They will both get what they need from it if you teach it together!

History:  I use our year long theme to create my own history each year- we rely heavily on library books!  If you need something a little bit more simple, I would suggest Story of the World curriculum as a good place to start.  Story of the World focuses on one time period for the year, starting with Ancient Times.  It is not religious based, so a charter will pay for it.  It comes with an activity book that you can make as in depth or simple as you want but is very easy to follow.   The Good and Beautiful also has a history curriculum focusing on different aspects of world history throughout the year, from ancient to modern times.  It's not my favorite just because it is too broad, but you may love it.  Whatever you choose for history, I strongly suggest to teach all your elementary kids the same thing at the same time, just like science.

Math: For grades K-3 I have been very happy with Saxon Math.  It is open and go, very comprehensive, and your kids will get a very strong grasp on the basics of math.  It is a little slow, but I will combine lessons when I know my kids understand the concepts so we can go a little quicker.  Starting in 4th grade, the Saxon format changes and its not my favorite.  Each lesson is long, meant to be self taught, and a little dry.  However, it does lay a strong foundation for math.  We chose to stop using at 4th grade though because math was becoming a dreaded word in our house, for me and my kids, and I wanted something a little more lively.  Currently, we are using Beast Academy, both their online lessons for independent work and their books for teaching lessons, for upper elementary math.  It is more engaging than Saxon and is challenging.  If your child really struggles with thinking outside of the box, this may not the right curriculum.  Other programs I have not tried but have heard good things about include: Teaching Textbooks (can do online or purchase books), Horizons, and Singapore.  They may be worth looking into to see if its the right fit for you!

Teaching elementary kids can really be very simple though if you want!  If you make it a point to read good books to them daily, and have them read to you each day, write in their journals daily, and keep up with whatever math program you pick, they are doing good!  Discover nature together, read good historical fiction, and research a bit about whatever fascinates them in science then they will discover a love of learning.  All the curriculum just helps you know your i's are dotted and t's are crossed.  I really don't think its all necessary, especially in the younger grades.

What about High School? High school really is a whole new ball game, especially if your child is college bound!  I knew I couldn't provide an excellent college prep high school education for my oldest when I had 3 little ones I was teaching, plus all that goes into running a home.  I needed help!  We found an accredited online school that we really love.  At first I was set against an online school, but once I got to see how the classes were run, and my son's relationship with his teachers and the other students, I knew it was the best choice for him.  We chose Williamsburg Academy.  The classes are very pricey, but thanks to our charter school, it is all covered.  The classes are all online, but very interactive.  Kids can work together on projects, be on the student newspaper team, participate in Student Body Council, etc, just like a regular school. Tanner has had the opportunity to meet up with school friends at the school's outdoor summer camp and be in the Shakespeare Festival in UT, both of which he loved.  The teachers (they call them mentors) are fabulous.  They are available throughout the week to work with students in small groups, or individually as needed. When I listen in on classes, the students are having mature, deep discussion facilitated by mentors about real life issues.  They are reading and discussing high quality classic books and doing assignments that are meaningful. I feel these classes are truly preparing him for college and beyond.  The classes are not easy.  So if your child is not very independent with school work, or just needs a little more time to understand things, you may want to discuss options with the school before signing him up for a full class load.  Tanner is a go-getter, independent, check off the box and get it done kind of a kid and this format has been great for him.  Williamsburg's focus is on leadership and teaching kids to be true leaders of the next generation.  We have been very happy about our decision to use Williamsburg for High School courses.  And since both Williamsburg, and our Charter, Sky Mountain, our accredited schools, he will get a regular diploma and transcripts to use for his college applications.  Homeschoolers who choose not to use an accredited high school for their teens, apply to college a bit differently and most colleges don't look at their GPA and focus more on SAT scores and essays.  I wanted to make sure nothing was missed and Tanner would have real transcripts to be used on his college application. So, Williamsburg Academy and Sky Mountain was a great fit for us.  The downside to using an online school, is that your teen is on the computer a lot.  It takes a bit more monitoring by me, and also making sure I am scheduling plenty of non computer activities for him.  Between Scouts, Choir, church activities, County Youth Council, getting out to field trips, etc, I feel like he has a pretty good balance.  But other than that, I am very hands off about teaching Tanner.  So if you are looking to homeschool a college bound teen, I would suggest looking into Williamsburg Academy.  If you are looking into other online classes, make sure you know what you are getting.  Some are just videos kids watch then take an online quiz, or they send you a book with assignments and if you have questions you can email the teacher.  That isn't what we were looking for, so just something to look out for when looking into online classes. Williamsburg has live classes and self paced classes also.  The classes I am talking about are the live classes.  The self paced classes are not very interactive, more for kids who have a very tight schedule and can't meet at the online classes.  I wouldn't recommend these types of classes on a regular basis. 

What I do with my Middle Schoolers... 
For my middle schoolers I've done a hybrid of online classes with Williamsburg, and other subjects taught by me. Math is not my strong point, so by sixth grade, I am happy to sign them up for a math class so I don't have to worry about it.  In sixth grade, I also have them take a leadership class and typing through Williamsburg.  So I continue to teach science, history and LA as usual.  For seventh and eighth grade, we add a few more classes based on the child's interest, and less subjects taught by me.  I feel like this is a good way of getting them ready for high school without over kill!

These are just things that have worked for us.  Every homechooling family is different and you just have to find your flow!  I have cherished the years I have spend homeschooling my kids.  It is not always easy, but is always worth it!  Be patient with yourself and your kids.  Please reach out if you have any questions!