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williams2008 09:48 AM 07-08-2013
I would love to home school my 8th grader. Does anyone have any info they don't mind sharing about home schooling? Thanks in advance!
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Cradle2crayons 10:01 AM 07-08-2013
I have so much information you'd drown lol.

But FIRST, you need to check your state regs and see what they say. Every state is different. Some require HUGE amounts of things and some require nothing at all but a signed piece of paper at the local school district.

What state are you in??
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Starburst 10:07 AM 07-08-2013
Here is some information for Arkansas:

http://www.time4learning.com/homesch...arkansas.shtml

http://www.k12.com/arva

http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/...public-schools

http://distancelearn.about.com/od/on...nsasPublic.htm
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Cradle2crayons 10:09 AM 07-08-2013
If you are in Arkansas... Here are the regulations. Which are very lax, like here in MS. The only requirement I could find is they have to have yearly testing through grade 9 and you have to fill out the waiver and homeschooling intent form prior to August 15th. And you can't homeschool if they are under disciplinary violations from public school.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/...m#.UdrjsMu9KSM

Also, I fou pond out Arkansas passed the law that says that homeschoolers can participate in inter scholastic opportunities.

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ar/201305090.asp

Do you have any idea what curriculum you want to use??
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williams2008 10:09 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:
I have so much information you'd drown lol.

But FIRST, you need to check your state regs and see what they say. Every state is different. Some require HUGE amounts of things and some require nothing at all but a signed piece of paper at the local school district.

What state are you in??
Thank you, I will be sure to check into it! I'm in the state of Arkansas.
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Blackcat31 10:09 AM 07-08-2013
Here are a ton of other threads about homeschooling.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=homeschool
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williams2008 10:11 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:
If you are in Arkansas... Here are the regulations. Which are very lax, like here in MS. The only requirement I could find is they have to have yearly testing through grade 9 and you have to fill out the waiver and homeschooling intent form prior to August 15th. And you can't homeschool if they are under disciplinary violations from public school.

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/...m#.UdrjsMu9KSM

Also, I fou pond out Arkansas passed the law that says that homeschoolers can participate in inter scholastic opportunities.

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/ar/201305090.asp

Do you have any idea what curriculum you want to use??
Thank you! I don't have an idea of a curriculum right now..
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williams2008 10:12 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Here are a ton of other threads about homeschooling.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/tags.php?tag=homeschool
Thank you! My son has been struggling since the 7th grade and I'm just weighing my options.
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Blackcat31 10:28 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by williams2008:
Thank you! My son has been struggling since the 7th grade and I'm just weighing my options.
I'm sorry to hear about your struggles. I had issues with my own D when he was going to public school. He was what they consider a "non-traditional" learner.

Looking back now, I wish I would have taken the opportunity to homeschool him. I think it would have made a ton of difference for him.

We ended up putting him in a charter school where he did better but not equal to his skill level or ability.

Good for you for looking into all the options out there.
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williams2008 10:30 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I'm sorry to hear about your struggles. I had issues with my own D when he was going to public school. He was what they consider a "non-traditional" learner.

Looking back now, I wish I would have taken the opportunity to homeschool him. I think it would have made a ton of difference for him.

We ended up putting him in a charter school where he did better but not equal to his skill level or ability.

Good for you for looking into all the options out there.
Thank you so much!
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sharlan 10:30 AM 07-08-2013
Also, check into the K-12 virtual schools that are done on-line.
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Cradle2crayons 10:33 AM 07-08-2013
Homeschooling is a wonderful option. My daughter thrived in a homeschooling setting.

That said, it's not the easiest option but its very rewarding.

They don't offer the online public school here but even if they did I wouldn't take it. Personally, my reasons to homeschool is to give them a BETTER education than the public school so then why would I want to bring the public school home to my kids.

I do an integrated homeschool curriculum. Which means, I take bits of some curriculums and bits of others to make it a truly customized experience.

In my area and in my experience, the biggest challenge to home schooling is social. You have to be sure you keep the social area going since they will be in your home instead of at school. But honestly, that's easy to do.

My daughter has a HUGE science interest and I was able to keep her very interested and motivated by allowing her extra science packets when she completed the rest of her work.

The best things about homeschooling. I knew EXACTLY what she needed more help on and EXACTLY what she thrived and needed more work in. We on,y schooled three hours a day, four days a week and we had tons of time for field trips and extra curricular activities.

I loved homeschooling and after this coming year, she will come home to homeschool again and I'm very excited.
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williams2008 10:43 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by sharlan:
Also, check into the K-12 virtual schools that are done on-line.
I'm chatting with someone from there now! Thank you!
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Angelsj 10:45 AM 07-08-2013
I typically recommend you use a full curriculum for the first year as you figure out how your child learns and what works for them.
Alpha Omega has full curriculums, either on the computer or in workbook style that are easy for a parent to implement.
Time 4 Learning is a more secular full curriculum, but I have not used it, so I would not be able to fully recommend it.

If you are planning to just do one year, you might want to look into a K12 program through your state. These typically use the same curriculum as the kids in public school are using so he would easily be able to transfer back into a public school if you wanted.
Arkansas virtual academy

Another academy from Arkansas
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Angelsj 10:46 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by williams2008:
I'm chatting with someone from there now! Thank you!
lol I missed this in my first round.
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sharlan 10:53 AM 07-08-2013
I homeschooled my eldest granddaughter for 5th grade through the local school district. She had sooooooo much busy work that it was ridiculous. I would never go through them again.
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Angelsj 11:04 AM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by sharlan:
I homeschooled my eldest granddaughter for 5th grade through the local school district. She had sooooooo much busy work that it was ridiculous. I would never go through them again.
I absolutely agree with this, but homeschooling can be incredibly overwhelming, even for a veteran, but much more so for a first timer. Once you see what your child can and cannot do, and how much time is wasted on "twaddle," it is so much easier to pick and choose through all the stuff out there.

One thing the schools fail on horribly is the ability to think critically. If you do nothing else for your child, teach him to think. Everything else can be added on later.
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williams2008 12:05 PM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons:
Homeschooling is a wonderful option. My daughter thrived in a homeschooling setting.

That said, it's not the easiest option but its very rewarding.

They don't offer the online public school here but even if they did I wouldn't take it. Personally, my reasons to homeschool is to give them a BETTER education than the public school so then why would I want to bring the public school home to my kids.

I do an integrated homeschool curriculum. Which means, I take bits of some curriculums and bits of others to make it a truly customized experience.

In my area and in my experience, the biggest challenge to home schooling is social. You have to be sure you keep the social area going since they will be in your home instead of at school. But honestly, that's easy to do.

My daughter has a HUGE science interest and I was able to keep her very interested and motivated by allowing her extra science packets when she completed the rest of her work.

The best things about homeschooling. I knew EXACTLY what she needed more help on and EXACTLY what she thrived and needed more work in. We on,y schooled three hours a day, four days a week and we had tons of time for field trips and extra curricular activities.

I loved homeschooling and after this coming year, she will come home to homeschool again and I'm very excited.
Thank you for the info!

Right now I don't know if I will home school or not, just weighing my options. My son is struggling and I'm trying to figure out the best way to help him.
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SilverSabre25 01:19 PM 07-08-2013
i'm homeschooling my DD (she'll be six this fall) and so far she's thriving...I have yet to order most of the curriculua I'm going to use but she's rocking the math. She just blew through half the week's lesson plans in about twenty minutes. 4 sheets of math, done with only a couple minor mistakes. (both of which I could see WHY she made them, and explain, and give a chance to fix, rather than a regular teacher just marking it wrong without further thought.)

Good for you looking out for what's best for your son! Homeschooling is getting easier with each passing year for the most part, and more common and accepted.

My DD did fine in public kindy but has made more progress in one month at home than she did in 9 months at school. She's also happier, calmer, and less prone to crazy tantrums. She's playing more again. She's back to being the little girl I sent off to school a year ago.
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williams2008 01:54 PM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by SilverSabre25:
i'm homeschooling my DD (she'll be six this fall) and so far she's thriving...I have yet to order most of the curriculua I'm going to use but she's rocking the math. She just blew through half the week's lesson plans in about twenty minutes. 4 sheets of math, done with only a couple minor mistakes. (both of which I could see WHY she made them, and explain, and give a chance to fix, rather than a regular teacher just marking it wrong without further thought.)

Good for you looking out for what's best for your son! Homeschooling is getting easier with each passing year for the most part, and more common and accepted.

My DD did fine in public kindy but has made more progress in one month at home than she did in 9 months at school. She's also happier, calmer, and less prone to crazy tantrums. She's playing more again. She's back to being the little girl I sent off to school a year ago.
Thank you!!
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AcornMama 01:59 PM 07-08-2013
I'm still new here, but I'm going into my 13th year of homeschooling (my oldest will be a senior this year, and I've homeschooled since she was in Kindergarten). This year I will have a 12th grader, 10th grader, 8th grader, 5th grader, 4th grader, 2nd grader and 1st grader. And I'm getting licensed this summer and hope to be up and running for childcare by end of Aug/beg. of Sep.

I know, I'm crazy!

I'd be happy to answer questions or chat about homeschooling in general.
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williams2008 02:57 PM 07-08-2013
Originally Posted by AcornMama:
I'm still new here, but I'm going into my 13th year of homeschooling (my oldest will be a senior this year, and I've homeschooled since she was in Kindergarten). This year I will have a 12th grader, 10th grader, 8th grader, 5th grader, 4th grader, 2nd grader and 1st grader. And I'm getting licensed this summer and hope to be up and running for childcare by end of Aug/beg. of Sep.

I know, I'm crazy!

I'd be happy to answer questions or chat about homeschooling in general.
Thank you!!

I just PM'd you!
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