Thinking About Home Schooling?

We are now in our 4th week of our 9th year of home schooling! I can't believe we have been doing it this long. Anyway, I get a lot of questions asked about home schooling and I thought I would answer some of those for you here.

First of all I will start with why we home school. When I had my first baby I honestly did not know for sure whether or not I wanted to home school, but as she was old enough to start kindergarten I couldn't imagine doing anything else. For us, we felt like the best way for my husband and I to raise our daughter (and others that would follow) was to educate her myself. We were concerned about issues like safety and academics but more importantly we were concerned about her spiritual growth. My desire is that my children would have a good education in a nurtured environment with God being at the very core of it all. I know that home is not the only place this can occur but we felt that it was the best place for our family. I don't think home schooling is for everyone. However, I believe that if you have a desire to do it you can make it happen.

The second question I get asked is, Where do I start? Talk to as many home schoolers as you can. You will find that there is a lot of diversity among home schoolers as to why and how they home school. This will help you focus on what is important to you and what your goals will be as you begin. You also need to check your state specific laws. For New Mexico you can find that here. Find support! There is a lot of it out there. I highly recommend CAPE-NM as a resource to get connected with other home schoolers and home school information here in New Mexico.

I don't know if I can teach. If you can read, you can teach. Who knows your child better than you? Once you have decided to homeschool and you know your state laws, the second step is to choose a curriculum. The resources and curriculum available to you are immense. You can choose from many styles of teaching. Many curriculum can be ordered in a kit with every subject provided in one package with lesson plans and daily guides all written out for you. All you have to do is go lesson by lesson. If you would rather make your own plans, you have the freedom to do that as well as many other styles that are available for you. Here is a helpful link to a list of a few of the widely used curriculum with reviews. This sight shows a limited view of your options and there are definitely a lot more great curriculum but it gives you a great place to start. I use A Beka Videos for some of my children and for some I use A Beka Book. I highly recommend A Beka. It is super organized and very thorough for both the teacher and student.

There is definitely a lot more information but I will try not overwhelm you. Hopefully this answers some questions you might have and gives you a place to start. Another resource that I want to mention is The Homeschool Lounge. I was recently referred to it and so far it seems to be a great resource for all home schoolers. It's great for online networking with other like minded moms. If you have any questions, suggestions, or sites that would be helpful, please leave a comment!