Homeschooling Moms

Yep!! We do.

There are only about 1001 curriculum choices out there (wheeeee....& yikes). I'd very very highly recommend the following websites:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/ general information... + HS laws by state
http://www.homeschooldiner.com/ general info... + a fantasitic list of philosophies
http://groups.yahoo.com/ just search "homeschool" or "_______ homeschool" (Secular, Christian, Jewish, Islamic, adhd, Tennessee, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Well Trained Mind, Curriculum, 2e, Gifted, LD, you name it, and you can fill in the blank with it... there are a LOT and some amazing groups/message boards... I think I'm on something like 10 yahoo homeschool groups that range from a local fieldtrip group, to specialized groups -like 2e-, to many thousands of members strong nation wide boards ).
http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/ Curriculum browsing & purchasing

Hi! I have been homeschooling for 3 years and am also halfway through a Masters in Teaching. The best thing to do is check your state's standards for Kindergarten, and see where your son ranks according to the standards. Then for next year (first grade) you can use the standards as a teaching guide. There are several good curriculum's out there. The books from Sam's are not worth your money or effort.
www.fiar.com
www.sonlight.com
www.heartofdakota.com
www.mfwbooks.com

The above 4 are all good quality curriculums, with Sonlight being my personal favorite.

Good luck and God Bless!

Sam's Club has "Comprehensive Curriculum" books for levels Pre-School through 6th grade that provide a good foundation for all the basic skills. They cost less than $10 a piece. For reading I would highly recommend "Hooked on Phonics." You can get those for K through 4th grade levels. My 5-year-old started the K level about a year and a half ago (he already knew his letters, but not their sounds, so that's where we started) and he's more than halfway through the first-grade level now.

i know a wonderful home school called veritas classical schools . i don't homeschool but it will be very important that your child be reading when they enter first grade. it might help to call the school that they will attend next year and see what that disdrict requires a kindergardener to know by the end of school. they do very. we had that problem with our youngest child. one county didn't teach reading till fiirst grade . then we had to move across the state for work and they expected then to already be reading by the end of kindergarden. she is in forth now .she REALLY stuggled grades 1 and and 2 . we tought maybe she had a problem. thankfully she didn't. once she got cought up . now she is in the excelleralted reading group and reading on a 6th grade level. it was all her hard work that paid off and she loves to read now. good luck and god bless, R. mom of 7,R.

you could try ABEKA
my son has graduated from high school, already, :'(
i miss homeschooling
i love helping people like yourself get goin, though, :)
we loved the abeka materials because for the elementary school years it keeps them challenged and the books are so colorful, that it keeps them visual stimulated as well
if you have any more questions feel free to email me
i will help in any way possible
____@____.com

We homeschool and LOVE it!!!! Kindergarten is a great starting point b/c it is sooo easy to do. If you are looking for curriculum, you can just do a generic search for homeschool curriculm but you will turn up a TON of stuff. I like the site www.homeschoolreviews.com it is a great resource, and has reviews by people who actually used it saying what they liked and what they didn't like. Hope this helps, good luck.

Just so you and Riley J. know you're not alone, I'll chime in too! We homeschool and it's pretty hard not be be on the right track with kindergarten, so no worries. I'd recommend doing a google search for homeschooling, and you'll find all kinds of resources. The sites that I rely on may not work for you, but a web search will give you all kinds of options. Trying to connect with other homeschoolers in your area is another idea.

I homeschool and have for many years. One curriculum I used, that's free, with my youngers was letteroftheweek.com We had a lot of fun with this concept and learned a great deal as well. Best of luck to you.

Hello,

I have been homeschooling for 10 yrs. and the best start off programs that I have used is Abeka Books- it is very christian based and hooked on phonics. Both great programs.

Hi T.,

I taught both my girls to read using The Phonics Game. I have passed it on to many friends that have had success. When the girls got into "regular" grades I used several different curriculum but ended up using Switched on Schoolhouse computer program more often. (We had moved my elderly parents into our home, we had a business and the sequential order to the teaching helped me a lot) There are a multitude of good curriculum out there and you just have to find theo ne that is right for your child.

Google homeschool groups in your area and talk to some of them. They, as well as the state, can give you the requirements that TN has as well as resources. We have a curriculum swap in our area once a year so you can try different stuff for almost nothing. They may have something like that in your area as well.

Homeschooling has been a blessing to our family and my girls wouldn't have it any other way....

M.

EnchantedLearning.com is a wonderful resource for craft units.
Sometimes the library will have the books the schools want kids to read by age groups. See of they have the schools Accelerated reader lists.
Check your states educational website and see of they have a list of what the children should know by the end of every grade.