How does home schooling work?

umm, i guess you teach your daughters what you think they need to know...and maybe get permission?

I want to add(although I haven't read through any of the other answers) that as a homeschooled kid at that age, I didn't think much about it. I had my friends and I had public school playmates. We never talked about school. When I got older, my special friends were homeschooled, too. I also got my friends from church, so at that age, I don't believe the kids will care that much, except for being excited. Later on, you should ask them yourself.

Homeschooling works kind of like it sounds---schooling at home---but the twist is to remember that not all learning actually takes place in the home. A trip to the grocery store, Doctor's Office,zoo,park,museum are all chances for learning. Visiting the HSLDA website is a good start, but that will only provide you with a portion of what you need. You can check the Homeschool Laws of your State by typeing your States name and the Homeschool Laws after it (alot of info comes up, just be patient going thru it). If you live in Virginia, you have to give the SchoolBoard a copy of your High School diploma and a basic curriculum list (books used,programs used) for each of the girls (not the 3 yr old) for the school year. Alabama requires you to be a part of an Umbrella School in order to homeschool in that state (Umbrella Schools will cost you $$$, but they provide the curriculum and keep the records for you). In PA you have to follow the curriculum set forth by them (what to teach each year,how many hrs in each subject) even though you are homeschooling.(We thought about moving to Al. and Pa., but not after we saw their laws and we lived in Va and will eventually move back...my niece homeschools my great-niece there.) Do your homework first on your state laws, you can worry about curriculum later. As long as they have the basics (reading,writing, arithmetic), the rest is frosting. If they do any kind of sport that counts as your PE, if they play an instrument you've got music, cooking or sewing at home counts as Home Ec (not to mention math and science), going to the park or zoo or beach counts towards field trips. My daughter takes part in Flat Traveling (read Flat Stanley) which helps her with geography and writing (the flat traveler goes to different states thus the geography part--you host a flat traveler and your children keep a journal of the things they did with their guest---covers writing--which gets sent back to the original family). Being part of a club (4h, girls scouts, etc) can all count as part of homeschooling. My daughter is 9yrs. old and entering 3rd grade this fall (some families don't do grade levels), she does division,fractions and pre-algebra, lots of hands on science, Flat Traveling, Living History, Music lessons, lots of field trips, Girl Scouts plus is part of a Homeschool group for PE and Co-op. I use free online computer programs, Jumpstart (setback $20), workbooks(from bookstore about $40)<that's my decision to spend>, McGuffey's Readers (entire set $20 off ebay--you can get them at Amazon.com too<again my choice>) and Ray's Arithmetic ($50 entire set from Amazon). I use what works for my daughter and everyones choice is different (it took us awhile to find what was right for her). Explore your options and keep in mind how your kiddos learn (tactile,visual,auditory). As far as your youngest, while it's never to early to learn anything, if she is happy at preschool, then I would leave her where she is. Good Luck to all of you on your journey.

The requirements are relatively simple, however different for each state; just look them up on the Home school Legal Defense Web site http://www.hslda.org. The price tag can be as little as a few web site fee's, and a library card, or several hundred dollars for complete curriculum's. The best ones I have found are: http://enchantedlearning.com http://www.abcteach.com You can buy a curriculum, but since you have several children, I would not do that in the beginning, until I found out their learning style, and also your teaching style. To find out how home schooling works, and to get yourself acquainted with several methods, and options in curriculum's, not just our opinions, please check out http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8259/index.html

One of the greatest advantages of home school is you get back what you put into it. If you love your kids and work with them they're gonna do great. I can understand not wanting your little one to be taken out of preschool. My little guy who is four and reading and writing and doing simple addition and subtraction, is a very energetic and extrovert little guy. He loves to run and have a great time with other little kids and it's so much fun to watch him play/ connect with them. I have a friend who was sweating about taking her little girl out of kindergarten and when she finally got up the nerve to tell her daughter she was going to be home schooled her daughter said, "It's okay mommy I just want to be with you." If you are just starting home schooling it might be a good idea to leave the little one in preschool while you set the boundaries with your older children. Then when you have an established routine let the little one be at home and learn with the older ones. (Older ones are great for teaching younger ones! The younger ones need to learn to read and the older ones have to read a lot, so if they read to the younger ones it makes a simple two in one lesson. The older one feels like she is very smart and the younger one gets a lot of attention from an older sibling as well as a lesson in reading.) The first thing you would probably want to do is join a homeschooling group. Get input from other parents on what curricula they use and ask to see their books or attend a home school materials display. Most people will pick an entire curriculum from one supplier for their first home school experience. I never did because the first person I home schooled was a friend's child and she had already chosen a diverse set of workbooks, many I had to supplement with extra practice in letter formations etc... but it taught me quickly what to look for when teaching a specific kind of child. Since then I have home schooled five other children, four siblings and one of my sons. It's amazing how much I feel the schools shortchange the siblings I taught (two have returned to public school as I am now living away from home and my dad, their caretaker, is crippled), when I'm not even a teacher, but I guess even if you've got twenty kids, your class is smaller than the one that the professional teachers are forced to endure. Costly is a big question, it encompasses so much like you will no longer have to pay a preschool, your kids can learn a much better work ethic so they might actually get something out of college/university (they might anyway but home schoolers have a high success rate). They can eat a fresh healthy meal. They won't get the flu as often and if they do they won't fall behind. You will also have the experience of living and loving your kids day in and day out, it's hard but like anything worth having it's so worth it, because your kids are worth it. There are so many options out there for, how to home school, it's daunting thinking of curriculum choices, but most of them have been tried, most of them will work, and you'll find ones you like better, so keep an open mind, be flexible and don't forget to love your kids!

You need to learn about the laws where you live (visit http://www.hslda.org for that) and then find out how they actually work where you live (find a local or state-based homeschooling group/website for that). Each place is different, some vastly different from others. It doesn't cost anything to actually homeschool, unless you sign up with some program. It'll cost whatever you decide to pay for, essentially. You can follow guidelines like in the book "Homeschooling on a Shoestring" and spend very little, or you can purchase something like Sonlight, which can easily add up to $1000+ for the year. I'm homeschooling my two children, 6 and 9. They've never been to school. They love it. They know their cousins spend most of the day in school and they just can't (and don't want to) imagine having to spend most of that time sitting in a desk. They pretty much do their academics in the morning and then more relaxed educational stuff in the afternoon--this can include playing outside for hours, but might also be art, baking, field trips, etc. I've been around MANY homeschooled children over the years. All of them have enjoyed homeschooling. Some still chose to go to school at some point for various reasons, but they did enjoy homeschooling. The only girl I've ever been around who did not like homeschooling was a prissy 13yo who'd been homeschooling for a year--her siblings, all younger, had loved it but she hated it. She was "embarrassed" about being homeschooled, undoubtedly because it was different than what her friends were doing--and you could just take one look at her to see that appearances and being like other girls her age was hugely important. She didn't even want the homeschoolers around her to know she was homeschooled, that's how "embarrassing" she found it. I've encountered people in this forum who hated their homeschooling experience. But from the sounds of it, their parents went about it all wrong. They were too laissez-faire for their children's education or didn't make sure to find social outlets for the kids.

From my experience, most people try at first to replicate school in some way at home: workbooks, projects, educational visits etc. (but more fun). As time goes on, play becomes more important and, for my family, talking on the bus, at dinner and on walks became more important. I have home educated my children by creating a rich learning environment (books, TV documentaries, internet) and let them play and learn. Once they get to an age when they know what they want to do - around 14 or 15 for the first 4 of our children, we encourage them to find out what they need to get into the college or university of their choice, then go and get it. One got a full range of GCSE's, one went for 2 GCSE's and 3 open university short courses, the two boys have just done OU courses. All have been accepted on the courses of their choice, at HE college and University. It really works! It isn't expensive, providing you can afford to have a parent at home. The local authority will ask for either a report or a visit periodically, to amke sure the girls are well and learning (something, it doesn't have to be the National Curriculum). We have 6 children between us, and they are happier then they have been at school. More importantly, as teenagers they had more confidence and were more secure, free of the peer pressure of school. School for a lot of children is a series of tiny social and academic failures. Home is more relaxed, social interactions more likely to be sleep overs than 15 minutes snatched in the playground. I recommend you read widely and include John Holt, follow your instincts and join a group. Education Otherwise will have a contact local to you. And enjoy the slower pace of life and watch your children unfold. Best wishes, Reb