R.J.
This is our 3rd year HS'ing.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that HS'ing is easy, it's parenting that's hard.
There are SO many different options out there for people, and the one truism amongst HS families is that none of us do it identically. The flexibility to do what works best for each of our children is one of the biggest reasons many of us KEEP doing it, regardless of the reasons we started. <laughing> I NEVER thought we'd spend 5 months a year doing school up in the mountains when we started. But I've got an adhd kiddo who needs a LOT of action in his life, and we discovered snowboarding. So now, when the snow hits, we go up 3-5 days a week and do school on the mountian during breaks. Last year we moved 3 years "upward" in kiddo's reading level in just one snow season. It just worked out. It's a big up front charge every year, but it breaks down to less than $50 a month per person. I can budget that.
Point being, there are as many ways to HS as there are families out there.
Idaho (if I'm remembering correctly) may actually be one of those states where you get your tax money BACK if you homeschool (aka you get money for each child out of your taxes the way public schools get money for students, you just have to prove it's going toward education expenses). Only 1 or 2 states do this (every STATE also regulates homeschooling differently, Tx being one of the easiest and Ny being one of the hardest). If I'm remembering correctly, it's around $1200. Not a ton, and nowhere near what the schools receive per student, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. All in all we spend about $150 a month HS'ing... so that 1200 would take care of about 2/3's of our budget. ((ALSO, because families all HS differently, and because thing vary so much by region... we all spend different amounts. I know people who HS for free, and those who spend $500+ a month)).
I'll list off what *we* do in a moment, but probably the best place for you to start would be looking into philosophies and curriculum and getting on some homeschool boards (like mamapedia but for HS'ers). Here are some links to start researching through:
For philosophy and general info, these are my two favs:
http://www.homeschooldiner.com/
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/ - this site can be a little confusing, because it's payed for by ads. The ads are in the center (mixed in with articles) and to the right. The links are on the left. HOWEVER, there is soooo much info on the site, including legal schtuff, and it's the best "per state" site I've come across. She compiles not only HSLDA stuff but acres and acres of local groups, support networks, tons of things. Plus some killer articles and links. I personally like HS Diner more as a site and the depth of the info presented, but there is just MORE info on more topics on a-z homes cool. Just type your state in the search bar and see what I mean.
For curriculum & curriculum reviews
http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/
http://www.grovepublishing.com/
For homeschool boards.. my personal fav is Yahoo Groups. I'm on over 10 of them. Ranging from a national Secular Homeschool board, to 2 local boards (one fieldtrip group and one support group). Just type homeschool plus a qualifier (like secular, christian, ADHD, special needs, Boise, etc.)
For a common sense LAUGH
http://www.secular-homeschooling.com/001/bitter_homeschoo...
esp... check out the bits on socialization v socializing
Personal Schtuff
We're "eclectic HS'ers" which doesn't actually tell you anything except that we do a lot of different things. <laughing> And there is a *wonderful* mum here on mamapedia that she and I do almost the exact same things (rare), but we describe them differently. What works, works. Regardless of the name. My only piece of advice here, is NOT to spend a bunch of money off the bat. Try as many things out at you can BEFORE purchasing. It's the number one complaint of veteran HS'ers... how much money we waste the first year, because we're nervous and want to do things "right". It's because we're parents, we ALL want the best for our kids (whether we homeschool or awayschool, we all just want what's best). Unfortunately, "best" is hard to find, and even harder to quantify. It's a learning experience. So regardless of how any of us describe this educational adventure, it's something that changes and grows as we do, and as our kids do.
Last thing (I promise) before getting into what we personally do... is college. 20 or even 10 years ago, college was an unknown quantity with HS'ers. These days, it's a VERY known quantity. Our kids not only have a better chance of getting in, but are actually sought after, and even actively recruited (like sports). Don't take my word for it. Look up the stats of homeschool entry into the ivyleagues and state schools. Look into the articles claiming "unfair advantage" by away school parents, becuase our kids have so much more time to become well rounded or to pursue a passion or because our kids get to present "portfolios" of their work for entrance into most schools... which DOES present a really strong advantage for entry (although not an unfair one imho), and (joys of the internet) go onto school websites and look up admissions. Most of the teens in my area who HS, aren't actually schooled at home anymore. Between the ages of 14-16, most are starting community college (in our state it's FREE for any highschool student under the age of 18 to attend community college, it's called "Running Start"). Those shooting for ivy leagues use those 100 & 200 level courses as their highschool credit, and those shooting for state schools do a direct transfer and hit the state universities as juniors. It's a BIG difference from the days when if a parent didn't jump through hoops of fire their child had to get a GED and would have a harder time than an awayschooler at getting into school. <grinning> This is one of the aspects, that while in the future, I just LOVE about HS'ing, and am so grateful for all of those parents and students who paved this road with their hard work and determination.
Okay our schtuff:
We do about a 40/40/20 split between Montessori, Charlotte Mason, and "whatever works". (For example, we do "unit studies" for history, and do 3.5 entirely different math programs at the same time. Singapore for ME -so I can keep up, but singapore doesn't work for my numbers guy, who sees numbers in a way I could never understand- is the .5. For my son we do Montessori, Borenson, & computer games.. links below)
Maths:
- http://www.freemontessori.org/?page_id=9 (free)
- http://www.borenson.com/Home/EducatorsHomePage/tabid/933/... (algebra, $35 total)
- http://www.amazon.com/ search math in software games. Kiddo's favorites are cluefinders and carmen san diego ($10 apiece)
- plus a ton of online games
Science
http://www.noeoscience.com/
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/
http://www.montessorird.com/index2.php?cPath=1&osCsid...
English / Lit / Geography & others
http://simplycharlottemason.com/basics/started/charlotte-...
Latin
http://www.minimus-etc.co.uk/
Art & Music & Drama
- Outside classes. Ironically, I'm an artist and my H is a musician. But we're too "close" to these subjects to really do them well at this level. Plus it's great for our kiddo to be working with peers and other teachers. And these really provide that for him, in addition to all the sports he does.