Home school post

I have had several people asking me what curriculum I use for home school and also why I do it.  Here it is folks, my first official home school post. 

First, I decided to home school for many reasons.  It was an accumulation of many problems in school with teachers, other children, and curriculum.  As most of you know, I had my kids in a British school for nearly 4 years here.  We were extremely happy with the school.  I was even a governor there (like the school board).  We loved the teachers and the headmaster, we loved the curriculum, and we loved the fact that the kids were learning so much British history.  The first few years in British school are very curriculum intense.  The kids learn a lot and we were very happy with their progress, after a couple of years I realized that we would need to supplement with American history, money, measurements, etc., but I was quite willing to put that time in after school and weekends, because the school was so good.  About two years ago our headmaster left and we hired a new headmistress.  She was a really nice lady, but David and I felt that things went downhill in the school when she came.  Bullying started happening which wasn't there before, and Brittany became one of the prime targets.  When I spoke to the headmistress about the bullying and how unhappy Brittany was, she looked me right in the eye and told me it wasn't an issue and Brittany was blowing things out of proportion.  In my heart I felt that if an 11 year old child cried when I dropped her off in the morning, and went to her room every night and cried after she came home then there was an issue.  Also Gabby was there and witnessed many of the bullying events that happened and told me Brittany was not making it up. 

We also started to notice huge gaps in the girls education, not just the American stuff, which I had been trying to work with at home, but also the math, spelling, and grammar.  I'm not sure if this was school specific, but it was almost like after the first three years of school the teachers started slacking off on teaching those things.  The kids would have months of studying one thing and the other things would kind of be left in the background.

Anyway, last spring was when I pulled Brittany out.  Between the issues with bullying and some other things class specific that I wasn't too happy about, David and I felt it was the right time.  The other girls started at the beginning of this school year.

The curriculum I am using is Christian Liberty Academy.  It is a comprehensive curriculum using ABeka, Christian Liberty Press, and Modern Curriculum Press.  As the kids get older they will use Saxxon Math.  The program I am using this year is an umbrella program.  The kids do the work, I grade the daily work and I send the tests back to Christian Liberty (also known as CLASS).  They keep records at their school and the kids could evetually graduate there and will have a diploma.  I am not sure if I will keep on using this program for next year.  I know a little bit more what I am doing and may want to pick my own curriculum so that the girls can do some subjects together.  This will make it a lot easier on me.  I keep very good records using Homeschool Solutions software.  It is very comprehensive, from medical records, to curriculum used, lesson plans, attendance, and grades.  You can use it to keep track of your field trips, software used, videos watched, books read and different school terms.

We are also part of a home school group, which is lovely.  Though it is small, we have done many fun things with them this year.  The girls have regular instruction in music (Gabby and Kassie in violin, and Brittany in flute) and have been involved in soccer, and tae kwon do this year.  The only thing I think they are missing is art.  I just let them create things whenever they want to, keeping many supplies on hand.  When we get settled somewhere back in the states I will look into art classes for them.  If you are looking in to home school, remember that a lot of local schools are required to let home schoolers come to do "extras", i.e. PE, art, music, band, extra activities like spelling bees, and a variety of other things.  Don't forget to check into these things as well. 

The girls and I spend anywhere from 2-9 hours a day on school.  We count any cooking, babysitting, trips that can be considered in any way educational, and other things as school.  When I take them bowling, that is PE.  Cleaning the car over the weekend was a lesson in car maintenance (something they will need to know when they get their own cars).  The regular home work that we do every day of the week takes an average of five hours, not including breaks, which I give them a lot of.   Sometimes it is a strain having four on different levels and it takes a little longer because I need to help each one of them separately, but it is very rewarding for me seeing their wonderful progress and knowing that everything they learn is from me.

I have included a bible class that I make them do each day as religion and christianity was one of the deciding factors on me home schooling.  The best thing about home schooling is you get to decide what you feel is important for them to learn.

This wouldn't be a complete home schooling post without mentioning two helpful websites, a website where you can find all the different state laws on home schooling and the other is HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) this is a group that helps out people who have problems with the local school district or the government concerning home schooling.  I don't know anyone who has ever had to use them but it is good to know they are there.

A little side note about Christian Liberty Academy, if you sign up for their umbrella program it includes legal advice and help.

Comments

[Lizzy]

Hi Angie...thanks for the info. This will certainly help with my research into homeschooling!

[Philip]

Great informative post.

[Amber]

I still don't know how you do it! I will refere back to your links later. Len and haved decided to teach the kids English from home. Their French is excellent now, and they seem read to be able to take it on.