Homeschooling 101

The first thing one must to do when considering or beginning to homeschool is to learn your state and local homeschooling criteria and laws. To find information and support for homeschooling laws in your state visit the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).

I have been homeschooling since 2001 and here I will share with you what works for my family. For starters I use an eclectic mix for homeschooling my 7, 9, and 10 year old sons. Respectively they would be entering 2^nd, 4^th, and 5^th grades if in public school. Teaching multiple ages or grade levels can seem daunting at first but as you will soon come to realize many subjects can be taught consecutively with all the children.

In our homeschool each child has his individual assignments in Language Arts and Mathematics based on his skill level. The remaining subjects (Bible study, History, Science, and certain Foreign Languages) are taught as a whole to all three boys. Follow up work such as writing assignments, worksheets, map work, etc. is assigned based on each child’s skill level. Following is our list of subjects and the curriculum or texts that we use and plan to use:

Language Arts

·Reading – The Original McGuffey’s Eclectic Readers reprinted by Mott Media

·Spelling/Phonics/Vocabulary – McGuffey’s Eclectic Spelling Book Revised Edition available free online at Google Books and Gutenberg; 7^th – 12^th Bob Jones Vocabulary

·Writing/Grammar – Primary Language Lessons by Emma Serl reprinted by Lost Classics; Intermediate Language Lessons by Emma Serl reprinted by Lost Classics; and Harvey’s Grammar reprinted by Mott Media; 7^th – 12^th Bob Jones Writing & Grammar Series

·Penmanship – Zaner Bloser Handwriting

·Literature – Selections of interest per child from the 1000 Good Books List; 7^th – 12^th Bob Jones Literature Series

Mathematics

·Saxon Math Homeschool

Bible Study

·Foundations by Anne Elliott

History

·Mystery of History by Linda Lacour Habar; 9^th – 12^th Bob Jones Histories

Science

·Apologia Exploring Creation series

Foreign Languages

·Latin’s Not So Tough from Greek n Stuff and Introduction to Latin Pronunciation from Wheelock’s Latin

·Korean – Tae Kwon Do terminology

·Japanese – Tae Kwon Do terminology

Many of the texts can be purchased new from local homeschool supply stores as well as the many online homeschool supply stores. A few of my online favorites are Currclick, HomeschoolingBooks, Bright Ideas Press, Keepers of the Faith, and The Schoolhouse Store.

For those of you who want or need to homeschool as inexpensively as possible and don’t mind used books I recommend shopping online at AbeBooks, Amazon, Ebay, and Half.com.

For reviews on different books, curriculum packages, and texts I recommend Cathy Duffy and The Old Schoolhouse.

Diligence

Are you a diligent person? I am by definition but when it comes to actual application I am lacking. Merriam-Webster defines diligence as 1) a perservering application 2) the attention and care expected or required of a person.

I’ve let four weeks elapse without any entries on our homeschool progress. This has happened in part because I’m a procrastinator and because I have started working outside and inside the home. So now my next post is going to be on the curriculum we’re using this school year. Further more, I’ll be posting once a week from here on out.

Homeschool Forms

Following are the forms that I use to plan and schedule our school subjects and days of study. If you find them useful please feel free to download and use as you please. More to be added soon.

Attendance Record

Attendance Record with WV State Seal as a watermark

Blank Course of Study