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homeschool resources

homeschool resources questions and answers

Have your questions about homeschool resources answers at the best homeschooling resource site online.

Q: What resources, services, courses is your Homeschool support network lacking? What do u wish u could access?
What is missing in your home school life? I am looking to invest in creative solutions for home schoolers. I need to know what home schooling families need that is hard to find.

A: Hello WAHM! Here is a tough one for you! If you are familiar with (U.S. anyway) public schools, a program that is very common is called Accelerated Reader. If done right, it is a very effective reading tool for kids. Imagine, something like this for the homeschool market - web based, maybe subscription. You'd have to build the website but the tough part would be getting the content (quizzes for 100s of book titles). Another: Try to find any legitimate and recognizable national clubs or honor societies for homeschool students. There are a few but they are (pardon the cliche) far between. This is probably "heresy" but I think it would be great to have a YA type service just for homeschoolers. There are a lot of us on here... and answering the same "homeschool is bad" question gets old. Some areas that I think are crowded: homeschool magazines, general homeschool websites, curriculum, gradebook software, buy/sell/trade your homeschool stuff websites. Another area that I think is underserved (and it is a smaller part of the homeschool demographics) is high school aged homeschoolers. I personally believe that this is going to change over the next few years and we will begin to see more and more homeschoolers continue through high school. I'll try to think of a few more ... and update... Update: How about a Virtual Guidance Counselor. A good "GC" really does perform a useful service. You'd have to have or get the right combo of credentials / education I think to be credible (maybe?)... You could offer a lot of things: such as a reminder service - "Notice: The deadline for registering for the ACT is December 1;" monitor and report on scholarship opportunities; help choosing and getting into the right college, etc... A few adjectives that I think, at least generally, describes the homeschooling crowd: independent, confident, patriotic, practical, articulate, traditional. Happy to talk to you on the side if I can be of any help. Another update... I think as far as credentials / credibility. "Been there done that" means a great deal. BusyMom: Great answer! We would also pay a (reasonable) fee for a top notch service along the lines of what you describe.

Q: How many resources can you list for home-schooling besides those found on the internet?
I did a search on Yahoo and found "19,600,000 for homeschool resources". If we tried to use even one tenth of the available materials we would be studying grades K thru 12 until we are over 90 years old! It is wonderful to have so many great educational opportunities for an at-home education!

A: Internet: Searching only on "homeschool resources" does not include all the internet resources available. Lots of things available to anyone do not come up under that keyword... So, add to the list, searches such as: Educational shareware Educational freeware [subject] resources --- where [subject] is English, History, Biology, etc. Tutor Tutorial Webquest Learning resources Etc. Also - .gov sites are great for top quality free resources for kids! Many have great learning resources - try whitehouse.gov or loc.gov (library of congress), NASA is good, NOAA is good, etc. Your ~20Million becomes more like several billion Internet resources. How many educational resources are there in the real world? So many open to anyone ready, willing and able to take advantage of them! State and national parks (lots of free programs) Living history museums Plants, animals, rocks... Libraries Community centers Book stores Home improvement stores (many offer classes often for free) All the clubs (4H, Little League, Gavel Club) that are very affordable. DVDs / Videos Volunteering opportunities So much to do and learn! So many ways to learn! So much that is 100% free. Boggles the mind. Makes the head spin. ***UPDATE: Do this goodle search: "kids site:.gov" It returns nearly 1/2 a million .gov sites just for kids. Also, kids.gov looks to be a cool site...

Q: If you had the resources and time - would you try to homeschool your child to keep them away from bad schools?
Teenage violence and sex is now rampant in middle schools - would you do it differently with your children if you were able to? Do you think with homeschooling that a parent could preserve the dying ART of being gentlemen and ladies once again?

A: I do homeschool my kids. The resources are easy to find, doesn't have to cost much money at all, and time isn't much of an issue. When being homeschooled, they're pretty much done with their work in about three hours. Any parent can do this, even if they work. THEY DO NOT NEED SCHOOL TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS, that is the biggest misconception. School is for teaching academics. There's church, sports, dance lessons, music lessons, homeschool co-ops, neighborhood kids, etc. for social interaction. Homeschool doesn't mean locking your kids away. I'm not getting irritated with you, but with people's comments about something they know nothing about. In most cases, homeschooled kids are MORE social, because they're not exposed to the obnoxious, 'bad' influences that can turn an outgoing child into a child with low self-esteem. They are better prepared to handle to real world, because their focus is on academics, not who is dating who, who passed a note in class, etc. Anyway, it can be done. The problem is, it's easier to do it from day one than it is to pull a kid out of school and start doing it. By the time they've reached middle school, they've already grown used to the drama of school, and most would resent it. It's something to discuss with your children at that point. I would have LOVED it if my mom had homeschooled me, I wouldn't have thought twice about it. It just depends on the child. If you really think you might want to learn more, contact me.

Q: ? for homeschool teacher: State history resources online?
We are studying our state's history this year. I have purchased a great curriculum without the student workbooks. I want to do state notebooks not just write answers in a workbook. Does anyone know of any free resourses on line to guide us through? If you've done these, I would appreciate any guidance. TIA

A: Give these a try, the Yahoo one at the bottom has probably what you are looking for. History. Mr. Donn's history site - unit studies. http://members.aol.com/donnandlee/ http://www.touregypt.net/KIDS/monuments.htm http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/resources/ http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decades.html http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html http://www.brainyhistory.com/ http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Region/U_S__States/

Q: Help! Can't contact the person whose family publishes a homeschool resource guide?
I received an e-mail from a person who wished to include the conatct info about a Hispanic Homeschoolers Alliance I am starting. But I accidentally deleted the e-mail before I could respond!! I am frustrated because I can't remember the user's name and am hoping he/she will run across this posting. Any suggestions?

A: I bet it was from The Link :) think hard if you are going to put your own cell phone number in it or email addy cause you will get a lot of people asking stuff.

Q: Where do you find resources to help homeschool special needs children??


A: In addition to doing a websearch for general support sites (like the person above gave you), you should also go to your state Department of Education website, and become very familiar with their homeschooler page(s), and the state grade-level standards and benchmarks. Here is one of the best homeschool sites I've ever seen: http://www.brightword.com/homeschooling-special-needs.html

Q: Free or cheap homeschool pre k resources for age 2.?
I want to start homeschooling my 2 year old to give her a head start. All of the curiculums I have found online are atleast $150 or way more. Is there anyone out there that knows where I can find free or cheap curiculums for age 2?

A: Dear Amy, With all due respect, why in the world do you want to start your TWO year old doing school? She's only 2! Enjoy each other. There is so much you can do and teach just by taking her with you...grocery shopping, library, post office, etc. Then when you're home...READ! If you really feel like you have to DO something, get a hold of Ruth Beechick's "The 3 Rs". Those three little booklets are worth their weight in gold. They're not that expensive but are a wealth of knowledge. Here's what we did: http://www.homeschool-rewards.com/homeschool-preschool.html You'll find more ideas on the site. Take a peek, you'll be glad you did! Blessings

Q: Where can I find free homeschool curriculum?
I plan to homeschool my children. Can anyone give me some good resources for free activity sheets, workbooks, learning games etc.? To clarify, this question is about WHERE other homeschooling parents get some of their free curriculum; not WHAT I should teach or WHETHER I should homeschool at all. (I've already decided what's best for my children, thankyou!)

A: First of all I wanted to say, "Bravo" to your additional comments!! It drives me crazy when I see someone asking an honest question about homeschooling and people just get rude about it, even if it's something as simple as a misspelled word in their post (I had one of my old highschool teachers recently ask me how to spell a word, when we ran into each other at the local library. He says he always gets it confused). As for your question there are a lot of sites, just do a search of what you are looking for, ie; free math worksheets, etc. Also, check yahoo groups. They have groups where people list their books, etc. that they no longer need for just the cost of shipping. You can also ask questions or request books that you are looking for. Another place to check if you can't afford curriculum is www.booksamaritan.com They offer free books to families with financial needs. Join a local support group and they can probably help you too. Email me if you want a list of sites, there's too many to list.

Q: Can I homeschool my kids even if I am a foreigner and my English is not perfect?
I have a 4 and a 3 yr old , I was wondering if I can homeschool my kids. I speak Romanian and French and my English is ok but not perfect , I do not know a lot about education here in the US, but I heard the schools&teachers here don't have high standards of education , not to mention the moral values in the schools today . I heard the students don't have any respect for the teacher,are noisy in the classroom , they don't learn too much , which made me think about homeschool , but I am not to confident I can do it, especially that I am not a teacher. I consider myself educated, I went to nursing college in Europe , and know a lot about History,Geography,Chemistry,Biology etc but I still don't know how to teach my kids and what they should learn . Also I have limited resources to buy curriculums when the public school is free. What do you think about public schools are they that bad?

A: Well, I'm not fond of the public school system. Your kids will not be socially isolated if you homeschool, you know that. You won't let that happen. You can certainly homeschool your kids if your English isn't perfect. About half the kids that go to my local public high school don't speak English fluently, and your English seems fine to me. American schools are bad, it's that simple. At my local high school -and the elementary school I went to- kids are always loud, there are fights in the hallways, kids are getting high and pregnant in school. The educational standard is low, because the whole system across the nation is mismanaged, choked, and never intended to do what we think it's supposed to do today. You don't have to be a teacher to homeschool your kids. Many teachers don't know much about their subjects, they just teach from a book. The idea of 'should know' is actually arbitrarily decided by someone in an office who doesn't know your kids. Think about it. What gives that person, who's never going to meet you, the authority to decide what facts are valid for your kids? Trust yourself. Homeschooling is actually cheaper than public schooling, assuming you're a normal person and not the beau monde families that get on the news, who have better facilities than schools do. My family spends about $2000 a year homeschooling me and my twin sister. You can either buy a curriculum or make one of your own. It will be very cheap now, actually, since your children are young. You can go to any bookstore and buy some workbooks in at least English and math. Then you can go to the library and take out other books on other subjects, or get them from a used bookstore, or from other families. Homeschooling is very cheap and much easier than people think it is. You've taught your kids to speak, write, walk, and be human beings so far, why must you turn that responsibility over to someone whose only qualification is 'college' that's mostly crowd control? My cousin is a teacher in New Jersey, and she said that her teacher training -which she went through about two years ago- was 99% learning how to deal with fights among, keep a large group under control, and how to be authoritative. All things exclusive to the school system. You can do it. At least try it. If you aren't satisfied, you can put them in school, but I think you should give it a shot.

Q: Homeschool curriculum online free resources?
Last school year I used the lessons plans to teach my kids offered on the doe site for my district. They were detailed lesson plans with step-by-step instruction to teach your child/children. At a minimum I had to pay like $5-10 a month on materials and check out library books. The lesson plans are no longer being offered. The doe has gone to listing the criteria for forming lessons plans but not the lesson plans themselves. I'm in a panic with the school year starting again soon. Anyone aware of lessons plans and curriculum being offered online for free?

A: Is this a requirement for your state? If not, why not make your own lesson plans? You wouldn't need to make the whole year's plan, just for few weeks at a time. If you actually need some kind of guide line, you could use the public school's website for their goals and adapt them to meet your child's interests and goals.

Q: What are good, non-religious homeschool books?
I plan to homeschool my children. I still have a little time before I need to commit to anything, but I WILL homeschool them. While we have a vast library and wonderful resources, I am still on the lookout for good, secular (non-religious) textbooks or guidelines. Nothing against religion, I just want that separate from their main education. So many of the homeschooling series I have come across on-line, have a strong religious theme. I am looking for lesson plan ideas and texts that are completely secular, preferably beginning with the pre-school age. Thank you in advance. I am not interested in opinions telling me not to homeschool. I know all about socializing and already take appropriate measures. Please cease with such replies, they do NOT answer the question. Thank you.

A: K12 and Calvert are both secular. http://www.k12.com http://www.calvertschool.org/home-school/ We've used K12 for over four years and LOVE it!!! While it is secular, there are a lot of good, moral lessons and virtues. William Bennett was one of the founders of the curriculum, so think _The Book of Virtues_ etc., and you'll know of some of the stories. The origins of the ancient, and current religions are discussed in world history and in art. K12 doesn't start with preschool, but you could start their phonics at that age. I actually started my son in K12 while he was still in public preschool. He started with a Kdg/1st/2nd grade mix. Calvert does have a Pre-K program. Calvert starts in K also, except with their curriculum, you can't mix and match grade levels like you can with K12. My son has five different grade levels of courses right now w/ K12. Their planning and progress tools are also dynamic, since they're online, unlike Calvert's. Calvert is a "textbook/workbook" program, whereas K12 has the main delivery of lessons online, but with a good bit of projects and worksheets and offline reading/work added in. It appeals to all types of learning styles, which is a great fit for my son since he's a global learner. Speaking of that, the first thing you want to do is figure out your child's learning style, then select curriculum that fits it. A great program for one child may be a totally different issue with the next child. This is even true about schooling options and is why I HS one child and have the other in public school.

Q: Looking for a homeschool program in Ohio?
I am currently attending an online public school called ECOT but I am much more interested in a homeschool program with the ability to have books and paper (after a few years, internet-based school is tiring) that isn't too costly. I am 18, so I am hoping I won't need to have a parent around to "school" me. I have found a lot of resources, but it seems like a lot of searching for little to no answers. I would also be interested in possibly finding a person (tutor may be the word?) who would come to my house to school me, if schooling myself is impossible. Attending a regular school is impossible since I have a full time day job, and both parents work night (I have a young brother to watch.) Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! I am a senior this year, but I also have ADHD and after a few years of the online school, it is nearly impossible for me to concentrate when I don't have paper and a pencil in front of me. I have to do summer school to make up for failed classes and I also have 3 other classes to finish in a week, none of which I have started yet. I also feel that an online school is not preparing me for college, and the lax attitude of this school gives me the freedom to not do work, which I admit I don't handle well. I need a more structured setting that also offers a schedule I can adhere to. I could finish as a senior this year, but it would take my gpa down quite a lot since I have to do it my tomorrow and I would make D's at best. I talked to my guidance counselor and I've actually chosen to get my GED instead. Thanks for all of the answers!

A: I live in Ohio and I was also in ECOT. I hated it, I felt like it was holding me back from graduating early (which was what I wanted). So I switched to American School Of Correspondence. I went to them in February of this year and I just graduated last week. It is all books, there are two courses you can take. The first is the regular highschool course, the other is college prep. I think it was great. It sounds like you would benifit from it. If you are 18 you do not need a parent to co-sign. It is also pretty cheap for the curriculum ($50 a month until you graduate). There also are not any set dates for you to complete your school work by and there are no tests. The diploma is accredited, too. Good luck!

Q: Where can I find a free homeschooling curriculum for kindergarden/1st grade?
I need some teaching ideas for my child. I am NOT interested in the the Christian homeschool resources.

A: Try Connections Academy. Sometimes if Connections isn't avaliable k12 is (though I wouldn't use k12 again even if someone paid me) I signed my third grader up for Connections and he starts in September. The books were sent for free, you get set up with a teacher and they are accreddited. As far as I know, they go up to 12th grade. Good luck.

Q: I am going to homeschool my children. They are still 3 and under but I want to start really researching.?
I don't know much about homeschool philosophy, teaching methods and curriculum choices. Can you tell me of a good resource to read either on the internet or a book to read. We are Christians and want a christian Curriculum for sure.

A: It's really not too soon to start. They are little sponges right now and their ability to learn is probably greater than yours at this point. If you do decide to start now and would like it to be on some type of schedule remember that their attention span is only about 5 minutes when they are so young. So keep it short and sweet. Also since they are so young you don't need a curriculum just as an example you could do colors or shapes.

Q: What is homeschool exactly, what age to start this with kids, and what credentials do parents need?
Also, where to get more resources on what kids should know by what age so that kids are competitive with traditional schooling?

A: Homeschooling is when parents teach their children at home, without using public schools. Here are some general guidelines about what schools teach at certain ages. http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?curriculum However, a child who doesn’t know these things is not necessarily behind. Just as children learn to walk and talk in their own time, they also learn schoolwork at their own pace. And even public schools teach different topic at different ages depending on the state. Most homeschool curricula will teach at a level that keeps up up or surpasses public schools. The best way to find a good curriculum is to find out your child's learning style. Here's some information that will help: http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/learning-styles.html Then look at different homeschooling methods to see what fits your child and your family. Here's some info on methods: http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-methods.html Here's some general information about homeschooling: http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-information.html The specific credentials you will need depend on your state's laws. You can find info here: http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-laws.html Good luck!