*I wrote this in another forum when I was asked about homeschooling. I know links don't work here. But I hope the information is still helpful.

I know there are lots of parents interested in homeschooling and it can be an overwhelming endeavor. I thought I would put together a list of resources and insights that might answer a lot of the most common questions. I'm a busy mom so I'll need to add to it in pieces as I have time.

When I first pulled my son out of public school after 1st grade I was terrified. We had just moved to a brand new state when I set out on my homeschool journey. I was completely lost, so I went online and started researching what to do.

The first step was to check the state laws. They are different for every state. State law in Utah says that I need to get a letter of intent to homeschool notarized and sent to our district office. I did it in less than an hour and that was all that's required to get us out of the system forever. I went to a homeschool conference that summer and it gave me the best starting point I could have asked for. I went to a session called Homeschool 101 by ToriAnn Perkey. Most of my advise for other homeschool moms comes from that session. Without ToriAnn's guidance I would have done it all wrong and burned out so fast. This is a link to her website. She truly gives the best advice and recommends really awesome products to enrich your learning environment.

http://homeschooltohomeschool.com/

I'll add more later! Stay tuned...

PART 2

Once you know your state laws you will want to set up your end goal. Why are you homeschooling? What do you want your child to get from it? What are your priorities? Write it down and post it up, if possible. Make sure you keep your goal in mind as you go.

Next you'll want to figure out your child's learning style.

https://www.noodle.com/articles/how-to-identify-your-childs-learning-style

Also, spend time observing their behavior. Take notes. Which time of day is he or she more alert? What subjects light them up and which ones are challenging? Are they homebodies or do they like to get out? Do they prefer one on one time with friends or big groups?

During this observation period, you can also begin learning about the different homeschool philosophies.

http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-quiz/

http://eclectic-homeschool.com/homeschool-philosophies-a-resource-list/

There are several books that you can read from each philosophy that can help you on your way. Once you pick a philosophy, it's easier to pick the curricula that will work best for your family. Remember to keep your goal in mind, as well as your child's learning style and abilities.

Next time I post I'll talk about curriculum.

As always, I'm here if you have any questions!

Part 3

Choosing Curriculum

As tempting as it is to pick this first, this should be the last step when you're starting the homeschooling process. Without knowing your goals or how your children learn best, you can waste a lot of time and money on curriculums that don't fit your family.

That being said, I will talk about what works for my family and some resources that I use when I'm looking for a new curriculum.

Here are some online educational websites that we have used in our homeschool.

https://www.khanacademy.org/

https://www.education.com/

https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/

https://code.org/

https://scratch.mit.edu/

https://www.teachyourmonstertoread.com/

https://www.prodigygame.com/

https://readtheory.org/

https://clever-dragons.com/

https://always-icecream.com/

http://www.indypl.org/readytoread/?p=6150

https://www.tynker.com/

https://bitsbox.com/

Part 4

Curriculum options

There are so many different options for curriculum it can be confusing and overwhelming. That's why it helps to do this part last. I do not buy anything without a good Cathy Duffy review. She has reviewed practically everything and I trust her analysis. https://cathyduffyreviews.com/

I also check YouTube videos of the curriculum in action so I can see how it works and how my children might respond to it. Curriculum can be expensive so I don't want to waste money on something that won't work for our family.

If you are looking for a religious curriculum these are the popular ones that I have heard about:

https://www.abeka.com/homeschool/

http://www.jennyphillips.com/

https://www.classicalconversations.com/

This is not the focus of my homeschool so I cannot vouch for them personally.

We did not need a reading or phonics curriculum because we went through a program offered in our state called Upstart. It is being offered in other states, so it's worth checking in regularly to see if it's offered in your area.

http://www.waterfordupstart.org/

Reading curriculums that I've heard good things about are:

https://readingeggs.com/

https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading/

For non-religious curriculum there are many options, although science can be hard to find. Here I will talk about the curriculum we use and why.

https://demmelearning.com/

For math we use the MathUSee curriculum. It's a mastery based program that is open and go. It goes from pre-K through Calculus and it uses manipulatives to solidify the lessons.

https://beastacademy.com/

It is a spiral approach to math concepts. It's slightly advanced and requires a lot of problem solving skills and logical reasoning.

https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/

All About Spelling is our spelling curriculum. I love that it also uses manipulatives to teach lessons. It teaches the rules for spelling and is very thorough. It was designed with dyslexic students in mind so it works well for my oldest son. My 6 year old has no learning disabilities and he enjoys the program as well.

https://www.rfwp.com/pages/michael-clay-thompson/

This is our language arts curriculum. I love that it's mostly open and go and that we work through it together. It is designed for gifted learners, but so far it has been great for all my boys. It combines grammar, vocabulary, poetry, writing, and some history. We almost went with http://iew.com/ but in the end MCT worked better for us.

https://www.readandspell.com/us

Touch-Type Read and Spell is a great all around curriculum. My son has dysgraphia and this helps him with his spelling as well as teaching him how to type.

https://eequalsmcq.com/

Last but not least, this is our science curriculum. The first year (Life Science) is free so we thought we'd give it a try this year. We love it. It's a 3 day a week program with one day of vocabulary worksheets, one day of observation, and one day of experimentation. It's completely non-religious. And it has a comic book feel which is a big hit with my boys.

https://gravitaspublications.com/

Real Science 4 Kids is a secular science curriculum. It's a bit more in depth than Mr. Q but it's also a bit more expensive.

We do Code.org and Scratch for coding and we use Hoffman Academy for piano. I linked these above in the resources section. And that rounds out our school day. We supplement with board games, books, online resources, community activities, libraries, museums, etc.

I hope this has been beneficial. As always, I am here if you have any questions or need support.

Happy Homeschooling!!!

Homeschoolers