need advice on homeschooling......

[Momto7loves]

hello,
I am christine . We are presently deciding to home school our 3 children at home with an online public school. I am very nervous about how this will go. Our school system is crumbling and we have known for a while that we wouldn't send our children to the public highschool here. while they are mostly still in grade school, we feel they're not getting the education we would like and they are being exposed to alot of bad ideas, events and so forth through school...most of which are just inevitable i suppose, with a big city school system thats falling apart. I would like very much to hear from moms who have made the switch and are schooling multiple children and how they do it.
ty!

[TLewis]

Hi !

We only have one child, but I wanted to post and let you know that you will do great! The most important thing is that you love your children enough to do this for them.... and no matter even if you make a mistake... it is okay.... we all do! But you will have another day to keep working hard to teach your children and show them the love they need from their mom. To me, it sounds like you already know what you got to do and it sounds like you are ready for the journey.

We are all here if you have questions or need help.... enjoy! God Bless...

[janet4kids]

As a "retired" homeschool mom of 4, I say go for it and don't look back! I homeschooled for 26 years and was able to pour my life into them. You will see a big different in their behavior, plus the time you have with them will be so precious. They do grow up so fast, and I am blessed that I have a wonderful relationship with them, partly because of all the time we had together.
There will be days (or weeks!) you ask why in the world you decided to do this, but go back to the original reasons and see the benefits that you now see in your children and in your home.

blessings!

[earlyknowledgeforkids]

Online schools make things pretty easy. I did the California Virtual Academy for a year and found it very easy to do. They had tracking, so I knew exactly what had to be done to finish the school year on time. My child knew she had to get her work done because the teacher would email us if we fell behind to know what was going on. I liked it but decided to move to an independent program offered through a charter school. I find it easier to choose my own curriculum.

[blessings2all]

I think you'll like using an online school. It is a bit easier than buying your own curriculum. We've been using an online school for 8 years now and have been enjoying it. I have 2 dds that I'm homeschooling. I agree with what you said about public schools crumbling. Good luck with homeschooling.

[SharonProsperity]

I remember how fearful I was 8 years ago when my 2 kids came home for school. I thought I was going to make a mistake and my kids were going to be ruined because of me. The first year we used a lot of differen curriculum, no real system and a lot of worksheets. I caught on to buying an entire system but only did that for one year before I got the confidence to mix and match. When the kids were young, we used edHelper.com - Math, Reading Comprehension, Themes, Lesson Plans, and Printable Worksheets a lot. Then we moved on to Alpha Omega aka AOP.

My kids are both in highschool and doing CLEPS now and look back on the whole experience as very positive! There are TONS of support groups, supplies, and curriculum that is superior to most school systems. I am in AZ and it is one of the easiest states to homeschool in as far as being audited goes. Finally, I just want to end by saying that all of my fears were completely unfounded. After 8 years of homeschooling, it really is not as scary as I thought once upon a time. Keep us posted on how it all goes for you.

[Sloane Rossi]

I did a virtual academy through our school district for 2 years with one child and 1 year with another. This year we are doing it on our own, to see if it works better for us. My kids are in K, 1 and 3. I let two work on our a site like SmartTutor or Time4Learning, while I do one-on-one with the other. Then we rotate like that until all kids have done math, reading/LA and writing. For other course like science and history, I log into BrainPOP and let them watch a video, do the worksheets, etc. I think homeschooling would be easier if I didn't WAH, but we make it work.

[jacimytch]

I think you will do great with home schooling your children. I only have one child that I homeschooled. I brought my curriculum but nonetheless my daughter enjoyed it. Just relax, plan your day and try to stay on schedule as much as possible. Make it fun using videos and doing small field trips. You will really be glad you did as you see your children progress. You can do it!

[KamaWilson]

We use Switched on Schoolhouse for our oldest--they have an online option. Love it. My daughter takes 2-4 hours to do her school. My friends use the public school system for homeschooling their kids, and it takes them 7 hours or so each day--but is lots of busy work. So...just know there are lots of methods out there for homeschooling...they all teach, but some take more time than others.

[goldengoal]

First of all I admire your concern for your kids. Home-schooling your kids can be a major stepping stone in your life as well as your children's lives. There are many schools that provide on-line schooling options for parents interested. I would advice you to explore your options and then make a decision of your own because only you know what's best for your kids. I would like to add one thing, home-schooling may deprive your children of the opportunity of interacting with other students and become socially active. So be sure that you give your kids enough time to interact with other children in a variety of environments.