Homeschooling question

**Laney** · 10-10-2011, 08:50 AM

I have a 7 year old daughter in 2nd grade in public school. I want to start homeschooling her next year, but have no idea where to start. does anyone here homeschool their child or children and have any advice or information that could help? we live in North Carolina and have read the laws regarding homeschooling, but other than that, I have no clue where to start. TIA

~Kathy

**freebs** · 10-10-2011, 08:57 AM

we use Free Online School from Home: Connections Academy it is a public school/homeschool program. they provide the computer and all the books and the curriculum. You are required to put in 20 hrs a week. It is a good way for us to homeschool without the large fees for the complete curriculum's. There is also K12 | Online Public School, Online High School, Online Private School, Homeschooling, and Online Courses options

**valerian** · 10-10-2011, 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by freebs

we use Free Online School from Home: Connections Academy it is a public school/homeschool program. they provide the computer and all the books and the curriculum. You are required to put in 20 hrs a week. It is a good way for us to homeschool without the large fees for the complete curriculum's. There is also K12 | Online Public School, Online High School, Online Private School, Homeschooling, and Online Courses options

Free? I can't believe that! I wish I'd known about this when we homeschooled.

**freebs** · 10-10-2011, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by valerian

Free? I can't believe that! I wish I'd known about this when we homeschooled.

Yep its free and i know connections academy also mails out prepaid visa cards 3 times per year with an internet stipend on it, so not only is the materials free but they pay you~ you can use that money for anything you want too!

**zakity** · 10-10-2011, 01:40 PM

In our area, if you do Connections, you are considered a public school student.

**Nishu** · 10-10-2011, 02:33 PM

I would think most of the 'free' online academies are going to be an offshoot of the public school system. Some states allow tax dollars to be spent in that way. In Washington we had an offcampus branch of the public school that involved getting all your curriculum for free, free tutoring and guiding by the professional teachers and a weekly enrichment for fun things like PE and electives.

The upside is the support, and the fact that it's cheaper. The downside is that it normally involves having to answer to the state and being 'in the system,' which some people do not care for.

Homeschooling in North Carolina

If you're set on homeschooling, it's actually pretty easy at that age. Personally I'd pull her out now and get started. (I'm very pro-jump-right-in when it comes to homeschooling though, especially at that age.)

We have found a couple programs that we like for our kids. For our second grader we use Singapore Math and Wordly Wise in addition to a couple others that are kind of unremarkable. Singapore math I think is really good.

Sometimes the hardest thing about homeschooling is figuring out how to explain something. It seems easy, but sometimes you just hit a brick wall. What has been most helpful for me when that happens is that I google, literally, "how to teach...." Last time I had to do this was with long division. After 3 days of wanting to kill each other, it took about 5 minutes to get it after learning how someone else explained it. I don't know how people homeschooled before the internet.

**Lindsey** · 10-10-2011, 03:25 PM

I agree, most of the "free" online schools are through the public school system.

Alpha Omega has an online curriculum if you are interested in it. That is not through the system. I don't use it.

We're eclectic, as we pick in choose our stuff, but I follow a very loosely Our Father's World and Charlotte Mason stuff. We use Math-U-See for the math. I can't explain math at all, and MUS is done on DVDs.

**2ndGenGranola** · 10-10-2011, 03:36 PM

We use Singapore Math, Apologia Science, Spelling Power, and Alpha Omega Lifepacs for the rest.

**MaryCarney** · 10-10-2011, 04:16 PM

I've been homeschooling for 24 years now (one more to go

)

I would recommend Rainbow Resource Center, Inc. online catalog and start buying and reading some books ABOUT homeschooling.
I can also recommend without hesitation HSLDA: Homeschooling Advocates since 1983 - the Home School Legal Defense Association's website. From there you will find links to tyour state organization - and from there get in touch with a local support group.

Good luck, and remember what Marva Collins said "Anything works if the teacher does"

Feel free to PM me if I can be of help to you.

**zakity** · 10-10-2011, 04:34 PM

We used Singapore Math. The rest of it was just all just cobbled together.

**Nishu** · 10-10-2011, 05:00 PM

I jus realized that your daughter is in the second grade. Another thing you might consider is how easy 2nd grade is to homeschool compared to third grade. In my experience, 3rd grade was a lot harder in comparison. Ive heard other parents say the same things, and that it's typically he point the unschooled types have to break from the conventional homeschool. Prior to the third grade, school was pretty breezy and it was kind of an explain it once and move on type deal. Third grade was when we got to the point of needing repition and practice, practice, practice. The concepts were also a little harder.

It still wasnt that bad once we got he hang of it so I don't want to scare you away. I just want you to know that if you start at third grade and feel like youre getting your butt kicked, it's not your fault. It might seem like your daughters second grade teachers did better than you, but its really just the grade level.

Your mileage may vary, obviously. This was just my experience.

**joyofsix** · 10-10-2011, 08:53 PM

I would pull her out now. Second grade is easy. Read some books, frequent some websites, find your personal education philosophy. I tend towards a classical/ Charlotte Masonish approach. We use Heart of Dakota withe CLE math and LA and add in Latin and Writing With Ease. Really, lurk around the Internet and see what books your library has.

**daylily** · 10-10-2011, 10:06 PM

We homeschooled our three through high school. If I were just starting out, I would try to get a copy of the NC "Standards of Learning" for each grade. This will tell you what the state expects a 3rd grader, for example, to learn in each subject. You don't necessarily need a store-bought curriculum unless you are more comfortable with that. I found that we did better and the kids learned more when we didn't use a particular one. I liked the Unit Study method. You might find info on that by googling that phrase. I need to mention that my kids are now 38, 35 and 33 so it's been awhile since I was in the home schooling mode!

But back to the SOL's for each grade. Once you find out what the child needs to know in each subject, you can go to the library and check out books on that topic or subject or find it on the Internet. I also recommend getting a book on different learning styles and see which your daughter has and also which you have. If a visual learner is trying to use visuals to teach an auditory learner, there will be difficulties! If you know both your and her learning styles you can work better together.

Also find out what her interests are and use them to move into other topics.

Another thing that is lacking in public school education is practical stuff. Decide what a person needs to know to be a responsible member of his/her household, community, state, world, etc. i.e., how to clean up after herself, how to cook, how to do simple repairs around the house, volunteering in church or community, etc. Decide what is age-appropriate and add that to your school curriculum.

I may think of more suggestions later and if so I'll post them.

Homeschooling is a wonderful adventure and so worth the time and effort it takes. Raising a confident, responsible person is a special privilege and an exciting journey. Best to you in you adventure!!

**zakity** · 10-11-2011, 01:45 AM

This is what I used to figure out what they should be learning at what age:
Typical Course of Study

There is a site called "starfall" that is for reading. Also, if she isn't reading yet, there is a book called "teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons".

**valerian** · 10-11-2011, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by freebs

Yep its free and i know connections academy also mails out prepaid visa cards 3 times per year with an internet stipend on it, so not only is the materials free but they pay you~ you can use that money for anything you want too!

Who is paying for this? Taxpayers? I don't know if we would have used something like this or not, but it would be nice for some people. Obviously your family likes it. We used an eclectic approach mostly when we homeschooled. I think that worked best for both the kids and myself.

For the op...NC is an easy state to homeschool in...not many requirements. Bayside School Services on the Outer Banks is awesome for your standardized test requirement! They are very accommodating.