Home Schooling - Greenville,NC

I think it's a wonderful idea! Just start now, and start slowly. Make it fun and very informal. For example, when you are playing with blocks, talk about the colors (Look! I stacked the red block on top of the blue one!), shapes (the rectangular one on the square one), numbers (I stacked one block on one block and now I have two), etc... and just have fun with it!

hi, my name is R., my good friend runs a home school in memphis and desoto county ms. she could tell you all kinds of stuff. her web address is
____@____.com her name is jill marr. she would be more them glad to give you info and maybe guide you in the direction you want to go. i know that with her little boy now five and learning a second language she tought him simple sign language really early so he could let her know when he wanted to eat, wet, etc. it was really cool. good luck and god bless, mom of 7, R.

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one more thing, jill will tell you they earlier you start the better. from birth untill a young age , i can't remember exactly is the best time to teach you child be cause the mind is so open to learning.

Sing, read, play with your child...which you will do anyways. Sing the alphabet song and other songs as you change the diapers. At two introduce the child to the alphabet and then when that is mastered, the sound of the letters. Once phonics is mastered, move on to putting letters and sounds together at age 3-5. Reading is the beginning of education. Teach the love of reading and you will find an open door to learning, homeschooling or otherwise. Numbers, shapes, colors and words will come naturally as you talk with your child. It's what moms do best. You generally do not have to register w/ the states until Kinder/First grade. You can choose to do it independently, with the schools/charter school or private schools. There are alot of wonderful options out there.

check :http://www.homeschool.com/artman/publish/Top_100_Websites...

Every state has different laws about homeschooling. Some states you have to have a college degree some you do not. You can go look up the Home School Legal Defense Association, they are a group that is up to date on all the states laws, current and upcoming legislation and you can join. If you join then they can represent you legally if you are ever in a situation that you need legal representation.

Well the standards may change for homeschooling in 5 years.
As of this year you need to contact the NC dept of nonpublic education. You fill out a form that states you will be homeschooling. We need to keep attendane records and you need to have a vaccination record. They will check up sometime during the 2nd year.
Since you have so much time you can start looking at currculums but you really have years to think about it and things will change.

Hi C.,

Homeschooling is a wonderful journey for your family. It will bless your house for years to come. In my opinion it is one of the best things that you can do for your child. I've been doing so for 3 years.

My first suggestion would be to just really enjoy your child. Play with him/her as often as you can. Don't get caught up in textbooks, what pblic school kids are doing, or pressure from others, including family. It is great that you are thinking ahead.

Not sure if you ar a Christian, but if you are I recommend praying about this decison first. It is a huge undertaking, but the rewards your family will reap are worth it. Ask the Lord to lead you in the path of homeschooling that is right for you.

For now I have reading suggestions. There are numerous ways to homeschool, and these resources may lead you in the right direction as well. Read The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell, The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson, and Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson. Also subscribe to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. It is worth every penny. Teach Magazine is great also.

Look around yahoo groups for a homeschoolers group in your area. The triangle area has a great one called spice_line. I'm sure Greenville has something similar. There is one called Southern Homeschoolers. You may start there. Here's a site with lists of local support groups for Pitt County: http://localhs.com/?Pitt,NC

Join the following organizations when your child is about kindergarten age NCHE (www.nche.org), and HSLDA (http://www.hslda.org/about/default.asp). Attend as many conferences as possible, especially the convention held every May in Winston by NCHE.

When your child is seven you will need to register him/her with the NC Division of Non Public Education as a homeschooled child. Here is the website with information: http://www.ncdnpe.org/index.asp

I hope this is all helpful to you...

I would wait until your child is at least born LOL

The earliest you would start with your child would be when he/she is about 4. So don't worry about it yet. Concentrate on those baby things! If I were you I'd look up preschool curriculum's online.

Rod & Staff has a good one and so does Sonlight.

I would say to not spend much time thinking about it for another couple years. Enjoy their babyhood while you can!! :) There's no reason to rush and you may wish later on you had spent more focus on their babyness instead of looking so far ahead. Once the kid is around 3 you can start looking into it more. There are plenty of free preschool curriculums online (just google it) that will help get your feet wet at that point. Then I would suggest finding a local "club" or support group for homeschoolers and joining it. They can be wonderful for encouragement and information. During the preschool years you can spend time researching kindergarten or first grade curriculum. There is plenty out there to keep you busy reading about them - and I'm sure there will be more and different ones by then. As someone else said, the laws in your state are very likely to change in the next 5 years, so you'll have to wait to look up your states requirements. If you are really wanting something you can do now, there are plenty of sites and books out there full of infant activities. I loved some of these with my kids when they were babies. They can provide all sorts of fun, easy things you can do with your baby at each stage of development to stimulate them, bond with them and just bring out their joy. So I would start there for now. :)