Homeschooling

[Homeschooling]

I need help on how to make sure I'm teaching my kids the right curriculum and how to test them at the end of the year.

[lewelma]

Welcome to the board! You need to give us a bit of detail on their ages, needs, and interests to help us get you started. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

And country or state in the US. Different places have different requirements. 

[klmama]

The "right curriculum" and any end-of-year testing will depend on both your personal goals for your dc and the homeschooling requirements in your state. People will be better able to give suggestions with more info.

[Homeschooling]

I have a 7 year old who should be going into the second grade.

We live in North Carolina

In the cumberland County area 

He loves dinosaurs 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

Is he on level for first grade skills?  

[Homeschooling]

2 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Is he on level for first grade skills?  

I'm not sure

[Resilient]

Strong recommendation for The Well-Trained Mind.  It’s a roadmap with a lot of optional routes.  
Before you start a journey, it helps to know the destination.  What do you want to be the end result?  There are a lot of routes to the same destination.  

[Homeschooling]

Does the well-trained mind cost anything?

[Homeschooling]

I want my son to graduate and go to college.

I want to be a good teacher to him.

[Danae]

4 minutes ago, Homeschooling said:

Does the well-trained mind cost anything?

It is a book.  Your library might have a copy.

Are you planning on homeschooling your son through all of elementary and secondary school, or will he be going back to public/private classroom school at some point?

[Jean in Newcastle]

6 minutes ago, Homeschooling said:

Does the well-trained mind cost anything?

If you buy it, then of course. 
 

But many libraries have a copy or two that you can borrow. 
 

[Shoeless]

You're asking a really, really broad question.  There's no one "right" curriculum. The "right" curriculum is the one that you can consistently teach to your child, that he is capable of doing, (and willing to do), and is within your budget. And fits whatever legal requirements there are for homeschoolers in your state.  

I would start reading the below link. It has some options for all sorts of different curriculum. 

You need to find out what the legal requirements are for homeschoolers in your state.  That will inform your curriculum choices.  

 

[theelfqueen]

There are so many factors to consider - do you plan to homeschool all the way through? Are you likely to stay in the same area or move around? Does your child have learning challenges? Do you have a budget plan? Are you looking to participate in live or online classes in addition to teaching at home. 

I'd start by reading The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart and Rethinking School by Susan Wise Bauer. The Welll Trained Mind is another book by Susan Wise Bauer. All three are likely to be available at your local library. Your library is likely to be a wonderful resource for you. Contact them and see what they have on offer for homeschoolers. Also contact your local homeschool group for guidance on meeting local requirements.  

Edited August 9, 2021 by theelfqueen

[Homeschooling]

1 minute ago, Danae said:

It is a book.  Your library might have a copy.

Are you planning on homeschooling your son through all of elementary and secondary school, or will he be going back to public/private classroom school at some point?

Just until we get out of the area we are in 

[Shoeless]

1 minute ago, Homeschooling said:

Just until we get out of the area we are in 

Take a look at Core Knowledge. It's a free, downloadable curriculum that is good quality and covers math, science, history and geography, and English language arts. 

Core Knowledge

[Homeschooling]

I only started homeschooling him because of covid.

I think he understands better with one subject at a time instead of multiple subjects at once but that could also be because I am his mother. 

[Shoeless]

2 minutes ago, Homeschooling said:

I only started homeschooling him because of covid.

I think he understands better with one subject at a time instead of multiple subjects at once but that could also be because I am his mother. 

I'm not suggesting to teach multiple subjects at once. 

Over the course of a school day, kids learn multiple subjects. That's a normal school day.  Those subjects are usually math, history/social studies, science, and ELA.  So you'd teach him his math lesson and when that's done, move on to social studies, and then move on to topics within ELA, like reading. 

[theelfqueen]

And a second grader who loves dinosaurs? Go to the library and get a big pile of dinosaur books to read together to begin with - plan a visit to a dinosaur museum if possible. Search online for a unit study that might go online with it. Play some math games and be gentle with yourself while you figure it out. 

You will figure it out! 

Edited August 9, 2021 by theelfqueen

[Jean in Newcastle]

You need to do your homework. Homeschooling, even temporarily, is a job. It’s not necessarily difficult but especially when you are starting out it will have a learning curve.   Homeschooling is both very individual and general (in the sense that all young elementary students do tend to learn the 3Rs in the same series of steps). Homeschooling also takes some discipline. Doing some reading on the subject should help you see if it’s something that you want to take on. But I also agree with theelfqueen above. 

[Homeschooling]

I have abc mouse work books would those be good for teaching and helping with writing?

I'm still unclear on the whole end of year testing 

[Homeschooling]

The abc mouse work books that I have are in all subjects.

[kirstenhill]

3 minutes ago, Homeschooling said:

 

I'm still unclear on the whole end of year testing 

Here's a page with information about your state's laws:  https://hslda.org/post/how-to-comply-with-north-carolinas-homeschool-law

You'll have to read that and then find out specifically what the testing requirements are.  Unless someone else from the same state happens to see this and comment, it won't necessarily help for someone from another state to tell you what test they use, because it may not meet your state's requirements.  You might also have better luck with the testing question specifically by joining a Facebook group or email list specific to your state, as they will have a lot more experience knowing what tests you can use. 

Once you figure out what tests work in your state, you can typically find a number of different places to purchase tests in both paper and online formats.  There are a lot of old threads in General Education and K-8 sections on this board about standardized tests, but it will help to know what your options are in your state.

[Jean in Newcastle]

The ABC mouse workbooks are enrichment/practice books that you buy at somewhere like Walmart. It isn’t a sequenced curriculum that helps you to actually teach your child how to read, write and do math. They can be used alongside actual teaching but shouldn’t replace it. 

[Homeschooling]

Thank you all very much this has been very helpful and I'm going to try my very best to use everything that was given to me.

 

[Melissa in Australia]

Many years ago when I first took my children out of school I had no idea how to homeschool at all. I hadn't even finished high school myself.

 I followed The Well Trained Mind very closely, and it worked. My children have all done  tertiary education.  One is now doing a PhD . 

The Well Trained Mind hand lead me  to educate my children all the way from lower primary right the way to university entrance

Edited August 9, 2021 by Melissa in Australia

[73349]

Greetings from Wake County!

Please start by registering your school with the state Department of Non-Public Education if you haven't already, and keeping track of the days when you have conducted school. You can also request a copy of the child's vaccination record from the pediatrician--like other schools, we're supposed to keep a copy on file.

Within one calendar year of registration, and each additional year, you must administer (or pay someone else to administer) a nationally normed standardized test. (Homeschoolers don't have access to state EOGs and do have to start within the first year rather than at any particular grade level.) We get the ITBS from Triangle Education Assessments and administer the paper test at home each April, but there are also ones you can do online, or you can go to a testing site.

Whatever materials you choose, you just want to continue conducting school regularly--lower elementary grades can typically be done comfortably in 4-5 mornings a week--in a way that ensures your child is making progress in math, English (reading, composition, grammar/punctuation/spelling), science, and social studies. You have the option to add anything else you want (PE, a foreign language, art?). Everybody's choices look a little different. If you don't yet have a history/social studies book picked out, I'd like to recommend the Story of the World series. I read my child one section a day and we talked about it and made a timeline, but there's also a map/activity book available.

Cumberland County libraries have both TWTM and SOTW if you'd like to check them out for free!

Edited February 21, 2022 by 73349

[Spryte]

Thirding or fourthing the Well Trained Mind.  Also, the K - 8 board here was helpful for me when choosing curriculum in those younger years.

Also, I think it’s very important to know your own goals but to be flexible.  Do you want the freedom to put your child back in school later?  Especially if this is mostly Covid related? Then keep them on grade level or above. Personally, we planned to homeschool all the way through but wanted oldest to have the opportunity to go to PS should it become his best option, so we reevaluated yearly.  He’s in his senior year now, homeschooled all the way.

[alisoncooks]

I'm in NC. I also taught elementary public school before homeschooling. Like stated above, your first step is registering your homeschool ("notice of intent") online. 

End of year testing is super easy. I order tests from Brewer Testing; there are different test options. Don't worry about that until March or April, then place your order. The test arrives, the kid takes it, you send it back to be graded. Easy peasy.

As far as curriculum, those workbooks are usually supplemental (extra practice). They may not actually teach or have enough practice. If you're comfy winging it, you could use it as a guide. If I were homeschooling for just one year, I'd do something like: 

https://www.christianbook.com/lifepac-math-grade-2-complete/9781580957168/pd/72258?event=CPOF

or https://www.christianbook.com/horizons-math-grade-2-complete/9780867179682/pd/20060?event=ESRCG

or Teaching Textbooks (which is computer based). 

Read lots of fun books from the library (especially about dinosaurs!). Practice handwriting. Write about dinos. If you're planning on returning to public school, don't get tied up with  history cycles or all that. Read. Do math. Play. Hit up the library often. Get a spelling workbook.  

Edited August 9, 2021 by alisoncooks

[Homeschooling]

On 8/9/2021 at 12:02 PM, alisoncooks said:

I'm in NC. I also taught elementary public school before homeschooling. Like stated above, your first step is registering your homeschool ("notice of intent") online. 

End of year testing is super easy. I order tests from Brewer Testing; there are different test options. Don't worry about that until March or April, then place your order. The test arrives, the kid takes it, you send it back to be graded. Easy peasy.

As far as curriculum, those workbooks are usually supplemental (extra practice). They may not actually teach or have enough practice. If you're comfy winging it, you could use it as a guide. If I were homeschooling for just one year, I'd do something like: 

https://www.christianbook.com/lifepac-math-grade-2-complete/9781580957168/pd/72258?event=CPOF

or https://www.christianbook.com/horizons-math-grade-2-complete/9780867179682/pd/20060?event=ESRCG

or Teaching Textbooks (which is computer based). 

Read lots of fun books from the library (especially about dinosaurs!). Practice handwriting. Write about dinos. If you're planning on returning to public school, don't get tied up with  history cycles or all that. Read. Do math. Play. Hit up the library often. Get a spelling workbook.  

These websites would be great if I had the money for them. Do you know of anything that wouldn't cost me money maybe some free downloads or something like that?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Homeschooling is not free.  Public schools are.  I am sorry if I seem rude but we've seen so many people who want to homeschool without buying any actual materials or doing any actual learning in how to teach their kids.  And the kids are the ones who pay. 

Go to the https://www.nche.com/

(North Carolinians for Home Education website.  Read their free information on at least the basics on how to homeschool.

Go to  the library.  Look for books on how to homeschool.

You can get books at the library for teaching a 2nd grader content like science and social studies.  That can be "child led" - ie. tailored to his interests at this age. 

But you will need to actually buy a reading curriculum and a math curriculum.  Have you looked at the Well Trained Mind book yet?  It gives the names of some actual curriculum to choose from.  The links above from Christianbook.com are also good choices that might work for you. 

[Resilient]

28 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Homeschooling is not free.  Public schools are. 

 

Public schools are paid for with tax dollars.  This is part of the reason so many have favored vouchers for so long. Many homeschoolers have been irritated for years that they pay for both the public schools (while acknowledging the benefit of an educated populace) while they have to pay for educating their own children in additional purchases. 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

19 minutes ago, Resilient said:

Public schools are paid for with tax dollars.  This is part of the reason so many have favored vouchers for so long. Many homeschoolers have been irritated for years that they pay for both the public schools (while acknowledging the benefit of an educated populace) while they have to pay for educating their own children in additional purchases. 

 

While I get your point, I think for the OP's purposes, public school, which provides all the subjects for free, is really what she's after.

I wonder - OP (that means Original Poster) what exactly is it about Covid that makes you want to homeschool?  Because if you want a better education at home, you get what you pay for. 

[Shoeless]

CoreKnowledge.org is free. I posted about it up above.  It covers math, science, history, and ELA. You download and can print it at home. 

You have to read their web page and put some effort into this.  Sorry to be rude, but if you'd clicked the link I posted a few days ago, you would have found the free curriculum you are now asking about.  Here's the link, again: 

Curriculum | Core Knowledge Foundation

Homeschooling for free takes a LOT of work.  You have to hunt down resources, read through them, and evaluate whether or not they are appropriate for your child's abilities.  If you aren't willing to at least read the links that people have already posted, then maybe your child would be better off in school with a good quality mask.

Edited August 12, 2021 by MissLemon

[Jean in Newcastle]

PS - the top of this website (under articles and videos) has lots of information on homeschooling as well. 

[lewelma]

I think that if you educated yourself, you could use MEP maths for free, teach a kid to read from readers in the library, and use library books for history and science. But to do this would require time. If you want free, you must pay in time. If you are willing to pay for curriculum, your time requirement is less.  Free and no teacher prep time = a poor education. 

[elegantlion]

6 hours ago, lewelma said:

I think that if you educated yourself, you could use MEP maths for free, teach a kid to read from readers in the library, and use library books for history and science. But to do this would require time. If you want free, you must pay in time. If you are willing to pay for curriculum, your time requirement is less.  Free and no teacher prep time = a poor education. 

I agree with this. I always had a small budget for homeschooling so I had to put in more time. The library can be your best resource, but agreed you must spend some time putting it together. 

The wonderful thing about homeschooling is that you can tweak as you move forward. Do check out the links provided, Core Knowledge could be a starting point while you read more about homeschooling methods. This board is a wonderful resource, check out the education boards - but in small doses - don't let it make you feel overwhelmed.  As you learn, you can better structure your homeschooling environment. 
 

 

 

Edited August 12, 2021 by elegantlion

[Spryte]

Agreeing that homeschooling on a budget is a lot - a LOT! - of work.  You will need to make excellent use of the library, in addition to the above.  Jump in the car and go check out the Well Trained Mind today, for a start.  
 

I noticed last year that a lot of people who had kids home for virtual school called it “homeschooling” … my reality has been that homeschooling is very different from that experience, with no outside teacher involved.  It takes a lot of work, and is a full time job for the parent. Huge responsibility.

Edited August 12, 2021 by Spryte
Reworded awkward sentence

[alisoncooks]

10 hours ago, Homeschooling said:

These websites would be great if I had the money for them. Do you know of anything that wouldn't cost me money maybe some free downloads or something like that?

You can check out Khan Academy. They have grade level content, but idk how complete it is. 

I often hear about Easy Peasy homeschooling. It doesn't appeal to me at all, so I can't speak from experience...but it's free. 

Math is the one subject I would suggest you invest in. I'm definitely a minimalist in the early years, and especially if you don't plan on doing this long term. Reading/writing/spelling = the library and cheap workbooks can meet this need. But math...you need structure and sequence.  If you're comfy winging it, you could always go off the state standards (I think the below is a 1-2 yrs old, but it was easier to link to):

https://www.dpi.nc.gov/media/4009/open

Edited August 12, 2021 by alisoncooks

[Jean in Newcastle]

I homeschooled the early years on a shoestring budget.  But having said that, homeschooling the early years requires actual face-to-face interaction with the child.  You don't just print off a free worksheet, or discount workbook and give it to them.  You need to actually sit down with them and walk them though how to read or spell the words, how to see patterns, how to use place value, doing read-alouds together etc.  As others said, it requires a lot of time to educate yourself and prepare.  But it also requires time to actually teach your child.  It doesn't require the same amount of hours as the local public school (I schooled my young children in just a couple of hours a day) but it requires intentional schooltime together.  It's a labor of love but it requires labor and commitment and consistency. 

[kiwik]

The less money you spend the more effort it takes.  O P if you are still around it really doesn't sound like you are in a position to homeschool.  If you just have him home for a little while you will likely not do much harm but you must follow whatever the local regulations are.