Seeking Moms Who Homeschool - O Fallon,MO

I don't homeschool but I was homeschooled for a school year. The only advice I can give you is that you need to make a schedule and stick to it. Its extremely important that you do that otherwise before you know it you fall behind and are rushing to catch back up. Thats what happened with me. Good luck though

D.,
I'm also sending a copy of this to your email, since I don't know if you are checking the boards. :-)

You will quickly discover that there are MANY ways to homeschool. You can School-At-Home, Unschool, use a Classical or Charlotte Mason approach, and more, or do a mixture of approaches (we use a mixture). You can use Unit Studies, Living Books, Online Classes, DVDs and CD-ROMs, or just stick with textbooks and workbooks; you can buy a "boxed curriculum" (complete), or use an eclectic approach... with or without registration* in a homeschool program. You can buy pre-made lesson plans or create your own. With so many options, it's very flexible, but it can also be confusing!

Within the different approaches to homeschooling, there are plenty of ways of meeting requirements, so your teaching style and your daughter's learning style should be the main factors in deciding how to homeschool.

You may first want to find out what the school will require from you when she starts up again next year and then go from there (do they just want a portfolio of sample work, or do they want test scores, attendance records, and traditional grades? etc.). That will give you a starting point. Then get a basic idea of how your daughter learns best--for instance, if she likes to write in a journal and do things "hands-on," but hates typing and dislikes audio lectures, an online class might not work well for her. Questions like these will give you an idea of the approach you'll want to take.

I would also suggest finding and meeting with a local homeschooling group (or two). It really helps to have experienced mentors, along with others who are new to homeschooling as you are, to share concerns, resources, tips, and encouragement.

I don't know what area you are in exactly (I'm about an hour north of KC, not far from St. Joe), but the local library can often put you in contact with some of the homeschoolers in the area. If you're Catholic and near St. Joe (or willing to travel there), you're welcome to contact me for info about our Catholic Homeschooling group if you like. Of course, you can contact me even if you aren't Catholic, but our group probably wouldn't interest you in that case. ;-)

HTH!
--A.

*NOTE: I do NOT recommend homeschool "registration" with the school district or state. It may not matter if you don't continue to homeschool after this year, but if you do need to homeschool again in the future for any reason, it is just one more bit of annoying "red tape" you'll have to deal with! The school staff may try to imply that registration is necessary for homeschooling, but it is currently NOT REQUIRED by any local or state laws in MO or KS! You can look up the laws online; HSLDA is usually a good place to begin. :-)

My son begged to be homeschooled after 3rd grade, and as a single working mom it was a tough decision. I had to write out things at night for him to do during the day, then spend the evening talking and reviewing and prepping for the next day (he was a responsible kid, so no trouble getting him to actually do things without me - grandpa stayed with him but was a pushover, so we had to be strict). Finally I decided I didnt want to spend the little time together always doing school - I dont mind being his teacher sometimes, but I want to just be his mom too! So for 6th-8th grade he has been in an online private school he absolutely loves - wilostar3d.com (as close as you can get to going to school inside a video game!). We also do time4learning in the summers.

One other resource we used for a few classes may also help you... Missouri actually has a *public* school online from Kindergarten through 12th. It is free if you are accepted into one of the state-funded slots (just have to get in early, wasnt an issue for me last year). You can use it for just one or two classes or an entire grade level. It has live teachers you can call, some classes have required textbooks that are supplied if you return them i think. The schedule is somewhat flexible - you have to keep on track but it builds in two weeks of flex time each semester. The program is called Missouri Virtual Instruction Program (MOVIP.org). They like homeschoolers to use it because the state gets paid for each child in a public school, so they lose money when kids are homeschooled. Since movip is a public school, they also get state funding if your child attends there - even just one or two classes. It can be great if you dont want to mess with certain subjects, or dont have time to teach all day.

There are lots of other outside resources to supplement as well. There are many homeschool groups out there. My local one is ARCHE (arnold region) and they have workshops once a week at a local church, and have school colors and mascot and all so he feels like part of a regular school. There is a program called HomeLink that offers homeschool classes on Thursdays in the city. The Salvation Army in south city also offers PE classes for homeschoolers. I am sure if you check around for people homeschooling closer to you, you will find a whole new world and culture you didnt realize was there all along!

Good luck! Homeschooling is awesome! You can take vacations any time you want (meaning you can go during off-peak seasons and get great discounts!) and you can incorporate lessons on history and culture and science depending on where you go! I also thank God every time I hear abotu a school bus beating or school shooting - my son would have to get on the bus at 6:45am every day if he went to our local school. I am so thankful I can concentrate on his education instead of his safety!

I am a fan of staying flexible. We too use time4learning. If you use that, you'll find that questions will arise to create a need for extra projects or research of some sort. Today in my daughters lessons, they mentioned the Bill of Rights in passing. My daughter wanted to know what it was. I made her google it. She is 9 so the concepts are a little over her head. Each time she looked it up on a site she tried to come back and give me her own paraphrase. Her first attempts were pitiful and it was obvious she had no clue what it is. So I sent her back to look it up several more times. Finally, I felt she had at least a muddy idea of what it is. So I sat down with her and talked about it. I doubt I explained it very well. But if you study at all about how the brain works, you would know that today was just laying ground work for all the times that she'll learn about it again through the years. Each time she hears of it and learns a little more, connections in the brain will be made. The brain is a fascinating thing!

Tonight I am sitting here downloading a book for her to listen to. It's a book about the slave trade and the civil war. It's a dramatized version that is historical fiction. That's such a great way to lay more of a foundation for a subject she'll learn about again and again.

There is no set road to educational success. There are so many paths and so many types of learners. But I really wish taht no one would be afraid of doing it at home. I tell people all the time that homeschooling is not new. It's very old! Schools as we know it are what....around 100-120 years old? If you look at the shape of our schools, both public and private, how the students do there and a lot of the social ills that are created by the schools, it's obvious to me that anything a loving parent does for their children in the area of education is far superior to what they can get in a formal school setting. I am not just talking about public schools. I had my children in a private school once. I've done a much better job.

I won't say it's not tiring. Almost every week I dream of taking my daughter to school and enrolling her. It can be a lot of work and hard to keep her interested. But then all it takes is one really good day and I feel recharged.

With your daughter being a pre-teen, I'd sit down with her and make a list of all the types of jobs she might one day be interested in. Help her research what it takes to become each of those things. Help her make a list of hobbies or interests she is interested in one day learning about. Help her research that. Then help her make a list of countries or places she might one day want to visit. You get the idea. You can learn just about everything you want in books, libraries, internet, documentaries etc. Many libraries have a lot of documentaries to check out.

Also, thrift stores are a wealth of information. They have tons of books and these books usually include many textbooks. You can even give her days where she gets to decide all day long what she is going to study. She just has to choose something that fits in every subject in some way. Have her do the research and then write out a summary of what she learned that day. We did that for a whole year once. My husband hated feeling like it was somehow not enough. But the girls and I enjoyed that year so much!

If you have he patience for it, kids love science experiements. I HATE science experiements! I actually hired a college student once to come in weekly and gave her a budget to buy supplies and then paid her 10 bucks per hour to do experiments with the kids.

Just be creative and have fun. I hope you both like it as much as we do.

my son also had surgery during his grade school years: 1st, 3rd, & 4th grade - as the result of a degenerative hip disease. At one point, he was in a body cast for more than 6 weeks. Being a very social child, staying at home was challenging. We used our school district's home-tutoring program...the tutor gathered the work from his teacher AND best of all, she also regularly brought cards & projects from his classmates. It helped him feel a part of the group, & 15 years later - I still have those treasures in his stash of school memories!

Oh! & he also attended several "events" during this time period & went in to visit the class a few times. It kept the friend connections going & helped everyone involved understand his condition. Good Luck!

i have been homeschooling my son for 2 years, he is 7 and i have used a couple of different curriculums all of which have been good.
time4learning is an online curriculum, they dont even realize they are learning, its like games almost, its around $20 a month.
i have also used sonlight for a year - its pretty intensive, at the mo i am using bju press - it is the best i have ever used, but again really teacher intensive.
sonlight runs about $600 a year, and bju press around the same - i used the dvd version of bju press where the child watches a lesson on a dvd then does worksheets, its more expensive at around a $1000 and takes about 4 hours a day, the other 2 curriculums took shorter - it depends how old she is.
i am actually giveing up homeschooling next year as i have a toddler and i dont feel i am giving my son adequate attention

Hi D.,

First of all, I am sorry that your daughter is having surgery. My wishes of soon recovery for her.
I am willing to give you all the information I have about homeschooling, and all my support to help your daughter to be successful studying at home. I started last year, and I decided to keep homeschooling my 9 year-old boy this year as well.
I know you must have lots of questions and doubts, like I had them too, but I feel so confident now that I think you can do it, especially for the reasons you had to decide to homeschool your daughter.
I wanted the best for my child, and I realized that Homeschooling is not about isolation neither "doing whatever the kid wants to do, and do nothing", but is very flexible and complete. It is a great responsibility even if it's just for a period of time or the rest of the school years. I am taking it one year at a time. It has ups and downs, I have a toddler who needs me also and a husband, so homeschooling requires, in my opinion organization and scheduling to be successful; however yourself will be able to make your own schedule for your daughter and give her options to study and have fun learning.
I chose to use a classical curriculum from a Catholic Academy. You have plenty information about different curriculum that may meet your daughters' needs (internet, library, other parents, etc). Every kid is different and you can work at your kid's pace. You don't have to work with academies or any other, but it helps a lot! If you are interested in the way I started and I keep going, or just want to have further information or have questions (I had lots!!!!!!!) you can reach me at ____@____.com
Good luck and I am H. to help you!
Alejandra

Hi D.,

I am R.. I have three children, 6, 7, and 15. The 6 & 7 year olds have been homeschooled for 3 years now. Our oldest just started 9th Grade this year in a Charter School and he was homeschooled his 8th grade year to help him find his focus again. My husband actually is the homemaker and runs our school. He does a fantastic job at it.

If you are in the Lee's Summit area, I have attached links for a homeschool group in located in your local area. Here are some good starters.

Legal Matters:
http://dese.mo.gov/schoollaw/HomeSch/
State of Missouri's Input - Brush up on requirements so you can enroll her next year back in school as there are specific requirement to turn into the school.

You do not have to register with the state for your school. There are plenty of freedoms with Homeschooling that you may not recieve with traditional schooling. One that we love the most is the versitility. You have the ability to work on a scetion longer if your child is not getting it right away. Another thing I love is that we can break when we want to and study where ever we want to. The children have gone a year straight with a one week break every so often and we go all year round.

Groups:
http://www.fhe-mo.org/
An Association of Homeschooling families located in the Grandview area

Book Stores:

http://www.gsacademy.org/index.html
Good Shepherd Academy Bookstore
1105 W. Main Street Suite C
Blue Springs, MO 64015
A BLESSING OF A PLACE> Great Place to get started and very cost efficient

Mardel Christian & Education Supply‎
7102 W. 119th St., Overland Park, KS‎
They have a great section for workbooks and school accessories.
I do not know your specific religious preferences but we do not have a religous based cirriculum and we keep bible study separate from our education. Even though we may not be a highly religous practicing family, this is our preference. But this store is still really neat.

US Toy
2008 W. 103rd Terr., Leawood, KS 66206
http://www.ustoy.com/novelty/home/locationsKA.htm
Located just north of the Stateline and I-435 exit. Near Gates BBQ. Has some neat things.

There is also an Online School
k12 - Online based private/homeschool
http://www.k12.com/
I found this to be out of our price range. But from what I understand, ther entire cirriculum, work, lectures, activites, everything is included.

So it is really up to you.
I hope this helps.
Sincerely,
R.

I would, I have homeschooled my kids from k-12. I have curriculum to help you some for sale and some for free according to grade level. I love sharing with my kids and watching the excel not by just grades but seeing it when they got it for themselves.

Good luck on your decision

The school district we are in actually has teachers who will come to the home and work with your child on 2 or 3 subjects. They get information from the teachers and I believe come 2 times a week. I did this when I was home for 4 mos in High School and my daughter was ill for a year and we did fill out the paperwork but she kept up the work on her own and we did not use the service.
Good luck