We are seriously considering homeschooling for our kids. But I have no idea where to start and if I will be a good "teacher" for my kids. I have thousands of questions, and if anyone who is homeschooling can help me I will be really really appreciated.
Where do I start ??? What should I know before I start?
What are you currently using, what works best for your children? What curriculum and textbooks ?
What is approximately cost ? What materials will I need?
I know , I have many questions, but I really have no idea if I can do this. There is so much information out there about homeschooling that I am lost. We would prefer christian materials.
There is many reasons we are thinking about homeschooling. I just feel that my boys don't' learn as much as they should learn at school. They come home and do their homework almost till bedtime, and most of the days they don't' even finish, and don't' have any free time to play. I think this is sad, and it shouldn't be this way.
Danilka does have most homework, and he is not doing well with it. Every day, with new school material I have to go over with him at home, because he doesn't understand at school, and need more time, different way to be explain it to him. Danilka is doing great in math, he is getting a and B, but when he gets a math problem with written instructions, or he needs to explain something in writing, he is lost.
Danik and Stasik don't' seem like they are doing much at school. Everyday when I ask them what they did for a day, their answer is ...playing on computer, coloring their book, they are taking coloring books from home to school. I really do like boy's teachers, and I think they are doing great job, but also I know that they have 25-32 students in classes, and don't have time to work individually with boys.
There is no English Second Language programs in school. And there is many reasons why we are thinking about homeschooling.
First you need to find out what the laws are in your area of the country. Which state you are in will determine home education laws. We are in Texas, where we are pretty free to choose curriculum and school how ever we wish to. Some states require testing and monitoring.
ReplyDeleteHSLDA has a good website to find out what is required in your state. (you can google them)
If you CAN use Rod and Staff materials in your state, I have been using them since 1992 and they are WONDERFUL. The reading program, spelling, phonics is EXACTLY what your boys need. I can't imagine trying to learn a new language and being expected to keep up in a class when you have no idea what is going on. AND PLAY is a great way to learn. It is how ESPECIALLY BOYS process information they have learned. They MUST have play time.
I would urge you to have them tested before you start so you have a base line to go on if anybody were to ever question your decision. Meaning, they were behind BEFORE you started. :)
And frankly, they are NOT behind! They are learning a difficult language and will eventually be at grade level. But as long as they are LEARNING SOMETHING, they are moving ahead! :)
And yes, you are qualified. You are their mom, and a very sweet and kind mom at that. :) You couldn't ask any more. :)
If you decide you cannot home school, I would urge you to check out the rod and staff website and look at the first grade readers and phonics books.....That is where we have started all of our girls and then they QUICKLY move along in to higher grades.
In the older grades like 4-10, the books are quite advanced and the teaching of sentence structure and diagramming is heavily emphasized... You cannot go wrong having those books around.
Christie, thank you so much for so much information. Thank you for typing it all and post it :) it helped a lot, now i know where to start. I been reading, researching a lot lately about homeschooling. Thank you thank you so much. Huge help
DeleteI did homeschool some of our children for short periods after they were adopted. While I do enjoy homeschooling, the reason why I don't do it is that I don't speak Hebrew well enough to be able to educate them in Hebrew or teach them Hebrew to the level that they will be able to pursue higher education in Israel. My Hebrew is way way way worse than your English, so don't worry about this aspect.
ReplyDeleteMany beginning homeschoolers prefer to go through a charter school at first. You might also want to check out a local homeschool community, and familiarize yourself with your state's requirements before you decide on a curriculum. The thing about hoimeschool is that you can pick and choose what you think will work for each of your children for each of the subjects!
Thank you, I will try to find more information before we make final decision on homeschooling. We have one charter school, but looks like it's almost impossible to get in. This is last option, if our boys will not get in, we will move on with decision of homeschooling them.
DeleteDefinitely check out the state laws on homeschooling. We are usuing A Beka, which is a Christian program. My daughter loves watching the videos each day and feeling like she is part of the class. They also have ways to track and record your grades if your state requires it. Our state does not, so it is very easy for us. There is about 3 hours of video a day (3 hours covers the following: Bible, Math, Science, Penmanship, Language, History and Spelling). Our daughter loves that she works hard for 3-4 hours a day and then she gets to play or run errands with Mom. A Beka is a challenging course, but it will teach your children very solid English and language skills that will help them the rest of their lives. The teachers are very animated so your kids won't even realize that they are LEARNING because they are having so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThe cost was $750 for the whole year, and that includes everything--videos, text books, quizzes and test, teacher grade books and registering their grades for transcripts (if your state requires this).
The only hard thing is keeping our daughter on track if there is other activity going on in the home (like this past week when the other 3 were off school).
I am seriously considering teaching all 4 at home next year. It would give us more flexibility to travel or even just be together as a family when my husband is off. He has a busy schedule and it seems whenever he is off, the kids are in school. We could go to the park on sunny days, or the nearby beach on nice days instead of always having to wait for weekends to have fun.
You have my email address. Email me any time, if you have other questions.
Thank you, I do worry about keeping our kids on track when they are at home and have to do school work. Because we have little ones, and they all run around all day.
DeleteThis is also a problem at our house, my husband works swing shift, and when kids are home he is at work, and we never get to go and have fun during a week.
Thank you for this information. If I have questions I will e-mail you :)
I would start with just one child and see how it goes. That's what we did in our family. As for the curriculum, I would not order entire expensive package in the beginning. Start with core subjects first: math and english (reading/writing/grammar/spelling). That way you won't get overwhelmed and later you can always add secondary subjects as needed.
ReplyDeleteIf you decide to go with Rod and Staff, Christian Light Publishers, Abeka or ACE remember that you don't have to order the entire package from them. You can always try just one subject like math or spelling and see how it goes for your child. That's save you a lot of money if for example you see that curriculum does not work with your particular child's learning style.
As for math, I've heard good reviews about Math U See for elementary grades and Saxon for older kids.
If you sign up with homeschool charter school you can check out curriculum from them for free or for the nominal fee.
I don't remember what state you are in. Is it in CA? I am pretty sure there is Russian/American homeschool support group in Sac. area. (I can ask around). Go to one of their meetings and talk to real parents who homeschool in your area because a lot of your school depends on your state laws.
Thank you, I e-mailed you and you did helped me a lot! We will start with one child, and hopefully in month or two will homeschool all kids.
DeleteThank you
Blessings
If your community has Montessori charter schools, look into them. These schools were started with orphaned children in mind and they are excellent. Blessings, Kelly
ReplyDeleteThank you Kelly,
Deletewe been looking into charter schools. This is one of the plans :)
Check out http://russianhomeschool.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteWe have most of the questions answered there, in Russian. God bless you!
Thank you!
DeleteBlessings
Not sure if you have found very many resources but I'm in the Sacramento area and I homeschool my three boys (ages 2, 4, & 6). We are learning Russian for a move to Ukraine (God-willing) in the next six or so years to work at a foster home there. If you'd like more information, you can email me or respond here and I'll check back. -Jen
ReplyDeleteJen, Thank you so much for your comment, and yes I still looking for more information. I didn't find many resources yet, and still need help. Please e-mail me tacipe at yahoo.com
DeleteThank you so much
Blessings