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Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/28/2008 6:16:45 PM
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scrappy11
Posts: 8
Joined: 3/13/2008
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I had always believed that homeschooling was NOT for me. However, at a Ladies' Retreat at our church this weekend, I talked to a few ladies and I truly believe the Lord has turned on a light for me, showing me that any objections I had to homeschooling are far outweighed by the objections to leaving my kids in public school, particularly my dd, who is 12 and has had the "joy" (not) of starting junior high this year.
She has no objections to be being homeschooled - she would love it! I do believe I would have a large support group through my church and other groups in town; someone even mentioned there is a woman in town who mentors people who are starting out.
I am looking for some feedback from you experienced homeschoolers with regard to switching to HS after the school year has started. Right now, they are about one month into it. Someone suggested we wait until the semester break, which would be January. I'm not sure I want to keep her in public school for that long, now that I've had such a change of heart!!! That being said, I wouldn't know what curriculum to choose, what it would cost, where to get it, etc. Would it matter if I didn't start out with the "perfect match" curriculum? She has always been a good student, so I think she could adapt to whatever method we used. Someone told me our public library has unit studies available for checkout.
I would love to hear your opinions/advice. I can't seem to stop thinking about this and how to get the ball rolling. I hope it's not just an idea that I'm revved up about and the "glow" will fade, like sometimes happens.
TIA!
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/28/2008 6:57:44 PM
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shadowspring
Posts: 1622
Joined: 5/27/2006
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My opinion- never hesitate to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. 
In other words, there is no need to wait another day to begin home schooling. If you do your homework, you'll see that most experienced home schoolers recommend a period of "de-schooling" of anywhere from a few weeks to a few months for your daughter anyway.
What is meant by that, is that you give your student tremendous freedom at first, while you yourself research the possible curricula and methodology you would want to pursue as a home schooling family.
Let her know that you plan to follow a schedule and a set plan starting (future date). Ask her opinion on the educational plans you think might work best as you discover them. You'll get your students buy-in, and your year will go a lot easier.
In the meanwhile, ask that she read everyday, but let her choose the books at the library. Pick a set amount of time that is agreeable and doable. For a slow reader, it might be thirty minutes. For someone who loves to read, you wouldn't even need to set a limit, but just let 'em rip.
I would also suggest some sort of daily math (no more than thirty minutes, all review) just to keep up computation skills. A workbook from an educational store should do the trick, or spend thirty minutes playing around with a math web site each day.
I would (depending on the child) encourage drawing, sports or creative play. When my daughter was in middle school, she would role play on Neopets, and she really honed her writing skills. A more outdoorsy kid might want to build a fort in the back yard.
Have her keep a daily journal of her educational activities. (Or you could keep it for her if she's not super organized.) I think you will both be pleased at how much learning has taken place during your "de-schooling" season.
This way when you start your new routine at your pre-determined date in the future, you will both be used to being together all day and having fun while you learn.
And while you will have spent awesome bonding times with your student, you will also be observing how she chooses to learn when it's left up to her. This will help you choose a curriculum that works for both of you, and hopefully keep you from buying something that's not right for your school.
That's my input, and I have been home schooling for 13+ years.
_____________________________
"Blessed is the man...whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by rivers of water..." from Psalm 1
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/28/2008 7:19:30 PM
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ezri
Posts: 2904
Joined: 3/31/2005
From: Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Point B, NC
Status: offline
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Would agree with Shadow-
#1 thing is that homeschooling is not public schooling. The actual percentage of students that thrive on sitting in a room with a whiteboard at a desk with a textbook and a worksheet is very very small.
Your daughter has come so far with this bucket filling idea of schooling it may take a few months of just chilling, reading, and researching to get into the swing of the whole idea of Education being about starting a fire for the love of learning than the filling of a bucket and the checking off of a list of "everything your ------ grader needs to know"
Question- does she like to write?
a fun project for a writer might be the National Novel Writers Month Young Writers Program. you can find their workbook HERE
This is about spending November writing a novel. the workbook can be used during October to help the student get the story in order in their head and ready to write. It is not about grammar, or spelling, or even a cohesive storyline but about just doing it and telling the story. how often does the world tell us we cant do something because you have to have a, b, & c to do so. Writing is fun and can inspire new horizons and research! Oh lots of research because it is YOUR story and you want it to be real.
But then that is coming from a literary based life form with children that are very much the same. We spend the entire month of November WRITING. we all write something- poetry, short stories, novels... Yes, Novels! My girls 18 and 16 have both written at least 50,000 word novels. 18yo has 2-one she really likes the other EH. but she will spend hours of her free time editing and revising the one she likes. my 16yo is more of a writer than my 18yo. she has four novels waiting revision and is working on a 5th with a friend via email and has been working her outline for this November since June!
Find out how she learns, have fun. Living is learning.
_____________________________
*only* 8,985,600,000,000,000 Nanoseconds til I get to touch him again---
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/28/2008 7:32:48 PM
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his_chosen
Posts: 1054
Joined: 4/11/2005
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We started hsing ds2 in the middle of 1st grade. We were able to take his workbooks and used those as a starting point. However, within a few weeks we realized that just wasn't going to work. That year we used mostly books from the library.
With your dd, I'm assuming she's in 6th or 7th grade. I suggest you start with basic review of math. Let her read to her hearts desire. Have her write every day. Have her help with home ec stuff (cooking, etc). Then, from there do lots of field trips. State and local history sites. Science museums. etc. You get the idea. See if there is a co-op in your area and if they might be a good resource.
By maybe Christmas, perhaps not until the begining of next year, you will have a better idea of how she learns adn what type a curriculum might work the best. And when it comes to curriculum, you don't have to spend a lot of money!
Please do hang out here! Check out our monthly chat thread. YOu'll get an idea what our home school lives are like--and you will see that we all do it our own unique way!
_____________________________
You have a choice. You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off your face.
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/29/2008 9:57:42 AM
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roligirl
Posts: 162
Joined: 8/4/2007
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Why wait! What Shadow said is such good advice. It takes time to get into your own groove, educate yourself, and see how this will work as a family. It is great to have support, hs moms are so supportive and encouraging. There are lots of choices for curriculum, what you do right now might not be what you decide to do next year, but just go for it. Barnes and Noble has great workbooks available, or if you could find an educational supply store you will find a lot of resources.
Some of the curriculums have placement/diagnostic testing to help you place your daughter and see her weak areas.
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 9/29/2008 10:01:28 AM
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roligirl
Posts: 162
Joined: 8/4/2007
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Just get a good handle on your state's hs law so you do what needs to be done.
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RE: Switch to HS after start of school year? - 10/23/2008 7:06:28 PM
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mschickie
Posts: 10
Joined: 4/21/2008
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We started with sd in the middle of 9th grade. We were luck that my sister had some books we could use. We also borrowed some books from the school district. My first suggestion is to check with HSLDA to see what your state regulations are. You might also want to see if there is a local support group. They can help you through the legalities as well as some resources for curriculum. If it takes a few weeks to get curriculum up and running that is ok. Use the library and the internet for resources in the mean time. You can find all sorts of worksheets (especially math). You can check to see if there is a teacher supply store (like Holcombs) in your area. There you can find some workbooks and such to use. Good luck and I hope it all works out well for you.
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