How to Homeschool your Children

When Freestyle Homeschooling isn't Enough Anymore...

2010-08-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

Join an internet group for homeschooling in your area to find out about co-ops where your homeschooled child can do labs or even earn college credits for AP classes. Many homeschooled kids are Christians so these groups are a great way to make friends of like faith if you're in a very small church. Some larger independent fundamental Baptist churches now offer a homeschooling-through-the-Christian-school option which is a great opportunity for your older students to get to know teens of like faith and earn an official diploma. Don't give up on homeschooling when all you need is a little outside support!

Because you never know...

2009-10-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

Even when you carefully follow the homeschooling laws in your state, you may face some problems if you ever need to enroll your children in public school. If your homeschooled student is in elementary school or entering middle school or junior high, a placement test might be all that is required, but it is still good to save all school work from the previous year if you want to avoid raised eyebrows during the enrollment process. A report card written by you will be looked at suspiciously--especially if you gave your child straight A's.

If your child is homeschooled for junior high or high school, use the same brand of curriculum for every subject. For some reason, they tend to expect this. To the establishment, what you consider to be "eclectic" or "customized" equals unorganized or even fraudulent.

In a public high school, it is usually up to the individual administrator whether or not to accept your child's homeschooling credits. Even students coming from small, non-accredited Christian schools have been known to have problems getting their credits accepted by government schools. Public schools only seem to have respect for other public schools or large Catholic schools that are just like them.

You may be thinking that you will absolutely never put your child in a government school, and that is a noble goal, but nothing ever stays the same. You might be overwhelmed after the birth of yet another baby or you or your spouse could become ill or die. Just trust me, and keep good records as well as "work samples" and all quizzes and tests. Also, it is better to start your child in public school by 9th grade to prevent issues with transferring credits. Think long and hard about your plans for the next four years before your child begins doing high school course work at home. One option is an online homeschooling program, since public school officials like the official documentation that they provide as opposed to parent administered workbooks.

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate position of having to put your child in school for 10th grade after homeschooling for 9th, and the high school won't accept your documentation, there are a few things you can do.

Ask if your child can challenge the classes he took in 9th grade by taking the final exams. This can be difficult since you probably used a different curriculum than they did, but some counselors will show leniency by accepting a 70 percent instead of a 90 percent. A score of 90 percent or better is usually required for students who have never taken the class but they want to challenge it. This is not fair for a child who completed the subject but used another curriculum.

You can also order quizzes and tests from your curriculum company and have them overnighted. You'll then need to crumple up the papers a little, back date them, and have your child use different pens and pencils to complete them. Hopefully, you'll avoid this kind of last minute scramble by saving everything and not scrimping on all of the "extras" to save money. Yes, it's cheaper to make your own tests during homeschooling, but this won't look good when you're trying to transfer the credits. If all else fails, your child might have to take "credit recovery classes" aka summer school which you might be charged for anyway, so it's worth it to invest in the official tests and keys as well as expedited shipping costs if you need to produce the tests in a hurry.

When done right, any homeschooling you do is beneficial. Sometimes, after laying a good foundation, you might have to put your older child in school, so please be prepared just in case. My high schooler is extremely bright and has gotten most of the ninth grade credits by testing. We're working on a couple electives right now by gathering more documentation. It can be done, but I hope this helps someone to avoid a lot of extra work and stress...

Mom of 5

New Feed in the Sidebar

2009-05-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the new True Born Sons of Liberty radio broadcast feed we've added to the sidebar under the heading Civics / Political Science. Your older students will learn to look at these subjects from a Biblical perspective by listening to this educational new show.

Homeschooling and the Bible

2009-03-25T08:25:00.001-07:00

Click here to learn what the Bible teaches about education.

Reading List

2009-02-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

The following is a recommended list of books for your homeschool library:

Textbooks and Workbooks:

Most Abeka books

Harcourt Math

More info to be added soon

Classics:

The King James Bible

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (unabridged)

Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss

The Count of Monte Cristo

Other Educational Books:

Landmark Books (historical books for 9-15 year olds published between 1950 and 1970)

Note: The Landmark books have not all been pre-screened yet but are popular with homeschoolers who like the learning through literature approach to history. We recommend that these biographies be used as a recreational supplement to chronological textbooks and believe that all reading materials should be previewed by the parent. Be sure to skip the one with the word "prehistoric" in the title.

This list is a work in progress and will be updated frequently.

Online Baptist Spanish Class

2009-02-24T13:21:00.000-08:00

Studies show that learning a musical instrument or a foreign language at an early age will make your child smarter. Click here for a free Spanish Class that parents can take along with their children online. Print up the weekly text or have your kids copy it down and keep it in a notebook. Have them watch each video more than once and test them on the vocabularly, grammar rules, and verses cumulatively. Be sure to have them sing the songs along with the video which is a great exercise in reading and pronunciation.

The next course to be offered is Norwegian. Younger children can repeat the same course year after year, while older kids can move on to another language. Why stop at the typical one year of a foreign language in high school? Start early and your kids can learn several languages!

Introduction to Homeschooling

2009-02-24T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Law

Check the regulations in your state and do your best to comply with homeschooling regulations.

Supplies

You will need to purchase curriculum, school supplies, and record keeping supplies. E-bay is an excellent place to find curriculum at an affordable price. You may want to get your child a special desk, but the kitchen table is adequate. Your older kids may prefer to do some of their work on the floor or on their bed just as many kids do their homework after school. Bookcases, cubbies, and filing cabinets are nice things to have to keep track of all of the materials.

Time Commitment

You should expect to spend 30 minutes to an hour per day working one-on-one with each homeschooled child. During this time you will teach new concepts, have the child read aloud to you, check his or her work, and set daily goals for him or her. Kindergarteners and first graders will complete all of their work during this one-on-one time, but as your students get older, they will have several hours worth of work and will probably do a lot of it independently. The reason homeschooling takes less time than the traditional school day is that children can work at their own pace instead of having to wait for other students. There is also more one-on-one help with the smaller class size. You will also want to allow time for transporting your older children to extra-curricular activities like field trips, martial arts classes, music lessons, church youth activities, and such.

Get Qualified

If you struggled with certain subjects in school or have forgotten a lot of what you learned, bone up on your academic subjects or at least stay one step ahead of your oldest homeschooled child by reading ahead in the curriculum. Your kids are worth it, and you'll be setting an example by being willing to do the work needed to get qualified.