Guest Steph111 Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 We are a military family and have decided to homeschool our three little ones. They are five, three are 4months. We are moving to Flordia and will be there for three or four years. I am just looking for some advice. How are the laws in FL? How do you keep the little ones busy while doing school work? Are there any programs that you highly recommend? Thanks so much for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nscribe Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Bumping for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendag Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Some questions you might want to think about. 1. Are you looking for secular material? 2. Are you looking for a complete curriculum package or are you ok with getting different subjects? 3. Are you looking for something literature based? Unit studies? 4. Have you read The Well Trained Mind or any other books on homeschooling? If not, I suggest going to the library and checking some out. When my kids were 3-4 I used Peak With Books which is what comes before Moving Beyond the Page. I know that BFIAR (Beyond Five in a Row) is popular and often used before FIAR (Five in a Row). I've since moved on to using different programs for different subjects. I'm sure you will get a lot more suggestions. I don't have any knowledge about FL homeschooling as I am in a different state. Welcome to homeschooling! :) Brenda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talk2ham.1 Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 We are a military family and have decided to homeschool our three little ones. They are five, three are 4months. We are moving to Flordia and will be there for three or four years. I am just looking for some advice. How are the laws in FL? How do you keep the little ones busy while doing school work? Are there any programs that you highly recommend? Thanks so much for the help! Those are some big questions and I'm not sure I can answer all of them. First place I'd go for laws about my state is Home School Legal Defense (HSLDA). We are in NJ, the state where everyone has an opinion about how you conduct your life. Opinions that they don't mind sharing . . . anonymously . . . with the law (with or without evidence), but certainly not directly with you because that might be considered rude. Ahem. So one of the first things we did as new homeschooling NJ parents was to get a lifetime membership to HSLDA, and we didn't blink at paying the price because we knew by experience that it would pay for itself easily. HSLDA was there for my folks when they were homeschooling me and my sisters K-12 many, many moons ago. We had a run-in with a local school administrator that probably nearly gave my mom and ulcer. HSLDA put it to rest in a jiffy. HSLDA's reputation and experience is unmatched in the realm of both educating you concerning the laws that pertain to you and defending you against those who might try to intimidate you into following more rules than you have to. How to keep little ones busy? I really recommend giving that question its own thread. You will get lots of great ideas if folks know what your specific question is. Also, there are tons of HSing blogs out there for this age group. I Can Teach My Child, 1+1+1 =1, Mama Jenn, Confessions of a Homeschooler, are some of the blogs I followed most for the K level. They have lots of ideas for what to do with the little ones. Look up "Busy Bags" for some great ideas for keeping chillin's quiet for 10-ish minutes at a time. For the 5 year old, I would recommend doing most work while the littles are sleeping (assuming you can kind of synchronize their naps, LOL). And then just post alphabet and number things around the house so you can grab any moment and make it teachable. Life skills are so important at that age. From character training to learning how to make the bed and pick up toys, it all takes forever to teach and has to be taught ALL DAY LONG. Teach by playing at that age as much as possible. It helps to include the little ones in all the reading aloud that they can stay still for. One thing that worked with my kids was to let the little ones play on "quiet mats" for a few minutes at a time while I would teach my oldest. Quiet mats are just an afghan on the rug that I'd lay out with some toys. Have them stay on the mat. Drill that for a few days rewarding them for staying on the mat. It's worked for some moms, though I know of more than one toddler that would likely not comply. Still, it's worth a shot for a few moments of peaceful focus, anyway. When you say programs, do you mean curriculum? Or methods of approaching homeschooling? Or extra curricular activities? Or something else entirely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susankhan Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Florida is SO easy to homeschool. We belong to a umbrella school so legally our kids are not homeschooled, however we do choose our own curriculum. The cost is very minimal and there are even some FREE ones here ;) The only thing we do have to do is send in our attendance and medical forms, that is it.... Susan Khan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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