Two years ago I began to do research on homeschooling my children. At the time we were seriously thinking of moving off-grid where that would be our only option if we wanted our children to learn anything academically. Well, we didn't move off-grid but I continued to learn all I could about homeschooling. I figured it would be better for my children as I would be the one to control the environment in which they learned new ideas. When your children come home with new "words" that they should not know, you will start to understand what I am talking about.
This past Thursday I finally jumped in feet first. Depending on which state you live in, the rules enforced on homeschooling is different. I happen to live in a state that has very lax laws pertaining to homeschooling. All I have to do here in my state is sign what is called a homeschool card for each child with the attendance officer of our school district at the beginning of each school year. Since signing those little cards on Thursday I have been pretty much a nervous wreak! Why? Because the one thing I did not prepare for was what exactly I was going to teach! I don't know about other states but in Mississippi there are not any regulations on what you teach your children. They do not even do state testing of the children to ensure they are getting what they need from the learning experience of homeschooling.
Since I didn't really know where to start with the whole planning of what to teach, I signed up with Homeschooling sites on Facebook. I also happen to have a couple friends who homeschool their children that have really been very helpful through all of my crazy questions. My new sister-in-law also used to homeschool up until this school year and is being very helpful by sending me some of her homeschool curriculum books. Until they get here, I am going to be using resources that I found online that are completely free! I am also going to hit the Salvation Army Bookstore! Besides it gives me an excuse to go!! I LOVE books!! My house already looks like a bookstore and I am in desperate need of more book shelves!!
Until Next Time......
This past Thursday I finally jumped in feet first. Depending on which state you live in, the rules enforced on homeschooling is different. I happen to live in a state that has very lax laws pertaining to homeschooling. All I have to do here in my state is sign what is called a homeschool card for each child with the attendance officer of our school district at the beginning of each school year. Since signing those little cards on Thursday I have been pretty much a nervous wreak! Why? Because the one thing I did not prepare for was what exactly I was going to teach! I don't know about other states but in Mississippi there are not any regulations on what you teach your children. They do not even do state testing of the children to ensure they are getting what they need from the learning experience of homeschooling.
Since I didn't really know where to start with the whole planning of what to teach, I signed up with Homeschooling sites on Facebook. I also happen to have a couple friends who homeschool their children that have really been very helpful through all of my crazy questions. My new sister-in-law also used to homeschool up until this school year and is being very helpful by sending me some of her homeschool curriculum books. Until they get here, I am going to be using resources that I found online that are completely free! I am also going to hit the Salvation Army Bookstore! Besides it gives me an excuse to go!! I LOVE books!! My house already looks like a bookstore and I am in desperate need of more book shelves!!
Until Next Time......