# homeschooling?



## raisingarrows

Who's homeschooling?? We just started this year! Live in Indiana and have a soon to be six yr old(kdg though we're teaching her 1st grade) 3.5 yr old being taught preschool and a one yr old who actually participates in art, sensory, and most everything. I love doing it but I'm so new!! So please share something about yourself?? Thanks ladies!!


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## MrsEdwards06

I homeschool my son. He is 9 and had never been to school. We live in Englanf


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## wish4baby

We homeschool! Have for 9 years now...but my second oldest began public school this year & my oldest will be in a public high school next year (their choices). The littles will still be home with me for the foreseeable future. 

Its been so rewarding seeing my 12 year old excel in 7th grade! Such a pat on the back for me, since so many in my extended family doubted my homeschooling decision! It has truly been the biggest blessing for all of us.

Straight As, all pre-AP/honors classes, star athlete (football, track & field, soccer), tons of friends...all the teachers love him & tell me what a good leader & great student he is!


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## DueInMay2015

Hey ,

I'm from England , I'm not home educating as of yet as my little boy is just under 1 ( few days ) . But I decided when I was pregnant and very early on that I will be home educating him .
I'm very happy with my decision and so is my partner . It's nice to talk to others that are already doing so . 


:flower:


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## sewing_mama

Hello, I am planning to home educated my 3 year old here in the UK too. :)


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## DueInMay2015

sewing_mama said:


> Hello, I am planning to home educated my 3 year old here in the UK too. :)

Oh are you , won't be long and you will be starting to do bits and bobs with your little one . Where abouts in the uk are you ? 

I'm really happy we've decided to home school our little boy when the time comes I'm quiet excited about it all actually . 

What made you decided to home educate ? 


:)


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## DaisyDreamer

I will be but have a long way to go :haha:


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## OnErth&InHvn

My kids are 11, 9 and 8 and we homeschool 2 of the 3. They have never been in daycare or public school! :flower:


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## sewing_mama

DueInMay2015 said:


> sewing_mama said:
> 
> 
> Hello, I am planning to home educated my 3 year old here in the UK too. :)
> 
> Oh are you , won't be long and you will be starting to do bits and bobs with your little one . Where abouts in the uk are you ?
> 
> I'm really happy we've decided to home school our little boy when the time comes I'm quiet excited about it all actually .
> 
> What made you decided to home educate ?
> 
> 
> :)Click to expand...

I love the idea of child led learning, time to play, spending time outdoors & in nature, encouraging creativity and freedom. Having a one on one teacher to help her follow her interests at her own pace... So much exciting potential really! 

I also feel like school can knock the confidence and enthusiasm from some children. My little girl is So confident and excited about learning, I wouldn't want her to lose that spark. We're already having fun learning about dinosaurs and the solar system! :)


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## PitaKat

I'll be homeschooling next year, my oldest is almost 4 so he'll be starting preschool/kindergarten work. He already knows a lot that would be taught in preschool. Most of what we do right now is pretty informal, next year we'll start getting more into a routine.

I was homeschooled and am very excited to be teaching my kids :thumbup:


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## flyingduster

We are home schoolers too. My oldest is only 4.5, but I'm firmly in the "unschooling" (natural learners/life learners/child led learning) camp though, so while technically we aren't schooling yet, our life won't be changing so we ARE already home schooling! We won't be touching any curriculum nor do any formal bookwork at all. 


I'm in New Zealand. How does it work legally for overseas?? Here, kids tend to start school at 5, but legally they don't have to until 6. To home school, I have to apply to the Ministry of Education when my son is between 5 and 6 (they won't accept it prior to five, and it must be in before he's six).

The application is lengthy and involved, requiring me to very explicitly explain how I will teach my child as well and as often as if he were in a registered school. They frequently request more info, often dragging the process out for some months.

Once my application is processed and they're happy with it, I get an exemption to home school him. I will have to apply again for every child as they come of age. 

Twice a year the MoE will mail me a form to sign and return that merely confirms I'm still home schooling, and they will then put through the small twice-yearly allowance they give to home schoolers. Other than that, I'm left to do as I please! Very occasionally they do an audit on a family, but it's literally a few families in the whole country a year. It's involved process then too, but once done you're left alone again.


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## misspriss

We plan to homeschool, DS is 3 now so we will be starting kindergarten not this fall but the next. I am super excited about it, but I'm also anxious about it. Not sure how I'm going to handle having a 2 year old running around while I'm trying to teach DS. Once they are both in school I will probably find it easier. That is, if we don't have any more kids in the mean time....


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## SarahBear

We'll be homeschooling. Next fall though, we'll be sending Violet to preschool. She will go for two years and Leo will start the fall after she ends.

Preschool will offer a good social experience as well as give her the opportunity to meet some fiends. When that's over, we will find another activity to get her involved in. Something like 4H or club sports. Again, plan to do the same for Leo.

As for "homeschooling," We won't be doing anything different from what we're doing now since we plan to follow an "unschooling" philosophy.


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## SarahBear

Ah, flyingduster, another unschooler! Here in the US, the rules vary from state to state. In Oregon, you just register with your local school district as a homeschooler. Then in 3rd grade and above, students participate in state testing. That's it. Oregon is one of the looser states when it comes to regulating home education.

As for curricula and workbooks, I think they're great resources to have around. Some kids really enjoy them when they're not forced to do them.


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## SpringerS

Yes and no. I had planned to fully homeschool DS, who is 3.5 but recently signed him up for a forest playschool starting in September. I wasn't going to do pre-school at all but then I found this place. It's acres of woods, mini-farm and play areas. There are obstacle courses, tree-houses, tree swings, a huge sandpit, all sorts of animals, a polytunnel for growing fruit and veg. The children are outside all day long playing as they choose. If the weather is too bad for outdoor play, there are numerous rooms and barns set out for different types of play, like an art room, a music room, a play barn, etc. DS is really, really excited about it. So he'll go there a couple of days a week for the first term and can do more days next term if he wants. I'm treating the school like a fun outdoor activity and we'll homeschool at home with the unschooling method. He is obsessed with reading and writing at the moment and enjoys doing writing workbooks. It's actually pretty amazing because 2 weeks ago he hadn't even any interest in doing colouring books or drawing but now he wants to write letters and practices most days.


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## EcoMama

How do you do it and get everything else done too?...
I feel like I need a break from my dc in order to wash dishes, tidy/clean/do jobs etc.
How do you fit it all in?


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## LoraLoo

I home educate my 11 year old, I won't lie I find it extremely difficult and we've only been doing it since the end of april.


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## SarahBear

EcoMama said:


> How do you do it and get everything else done too?...
> I feel like I need a break from my dc in order to wash dishes, tidy/clean/do jobs etc.
> How do you fit it all in?

It looks like your son is nearly 7, right? Could he not do something by himself while you do some chores? You could also have him involved in an activity or daycare for a few hours a day. Another key is to just have lower expectations around the house as far as cleaning goes.


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## EcoMama

Thanks Sarah. Yes he is nearly 7, he's currently in school but I'm keen to pull him out as I know he would develop better at his own pace at home.
But when I look at out weekends it's mostly taken up by being outside, riding bikes and walking.
When we're inside I go in to hime maker mode and leave dc to play with toys. I can't seem to grasp doing an activity in the house &#128533; I need to change my mindset.
Also... Do you think it is possible to exclusively homeschool outside of the home, such as in forests, lakes, beaches, town, park, NT sites etc or is there a certain element which needs to be done sitting down at the table? 
Thanks x


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## flyingduster

I personally am in the "life learning"/unschooling camp, where we don't really actively teach any bookwork. We do sit down with writing at the moment, but that's cos he wants to. If he didn't want to write and he didn't ask us to teach him, we would leave him to play freely. There are no rules, and yes you can just play outside for years and still learn a lot.


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## SarahBear

EcoMama said:


> Thanks Sarah. Yes he is nearly 7, he's currently in school but I'm keen to pull him out as I know he would develop better at his own pace at home.
> But when I look at out weekends it's mostly taken up by being outside, riding bikes and walking.
> When we're inside I go in to hime maker mode and leave dc to play with toys. I can't seem to grasp doing an activity in the house &#128533; I need to change my mindset.
> Also... Do you think it is possible to exclusively homeschool outside of the home, such as in forests, lakes, beaches, town, park, NT sites etc or is there a certain element which needs to be done sitting down at the table?
> Thanks x

You can homeschool anywhere!


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## SarahBear

flyingduster said:


> I personally am in the "life learning"/unschooling camp, where we don't really actively teach any bookwork. We do sit down with writing at the moment, but that's cos he wants to. If he didn't want to write and he didn't ask us to teach him, we would leave him to play freely. There are no rules, and yes you can just play outside for years and still learn a lot.

You can also squeeze in mini-lessons anywhere and any place that your child asks questions or work certain things that your child enjoys, into your routine. For a while now, Violet has enjoyed spelling and rhyming in bed before sleep. I've recently asked her if she wants to add and subtract. So we do that (with fingers as visuals) as well. Since it's sleep-time, we just do one of each and then it's off to sleep. But questions can be asked and answered anywhere - in the car, at the park, at dinner, hanging out around the house, while watching a movie, et cetera. Or even answering questions with "I don't know, let's look it up."


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## minties

I was looking into homeschooling my son, but the application process is daunting (you have to apply for permission for 6-16 year olds as school is a legal requirement) and I'm not sure if I have the ability to make myself into a good treachery. I never did well at school myself, despite being told I had a lot of potential and smarts. I just slacked off.


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## jessmke

I'm curious for those who won't be using workbooks as teaching aids, how do you teach math?


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## SarahBear

jessmke said:


> I'm curious for those who won't be using workbooks as teaching aids, how do you teach math?

Life experience, conversations, card games, board games, spending money, computer games, paper and pencil, fingers, manipulatives, following and altering recipes, the list goes on. I plan to get workbooks, but they'll just be resources around that my kids may choose to use or not.


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## LoraLoo

minties said:


> I was looking into homeschooling my son, but the application process is daunting (you have to apply for permission for 6-16 year olds as school is a legal requirement) and I'm not sure if I have the ability to make myself into a good treachery. I never did well at school myself, despite being told I had a lot of potential and smarts. I just slacked off.

Here, if they're slready at a school, you just write a note stating you are deregister ing them and home educating.

If they've not started school yet, you don't need to do anything.


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## flyingduster

LoraLoo said:


> minties said:
> 
> 
> I was looking into homeschooling my son, but the application process is daunting (you have to apply for permission for 6-16 year olds as school is a legal requirement) and I'm not sure if I have the ability to make myself into a good treachery. I never did well at school myself, despite being told I had a lot of potential and smarts. I just slacked off.
> 
> Here, if they're slready at a school, you just write a note stating you are deregister ing them and home educating.
> 
> If they've not started school yet, you don't need to do anything.Click to expand...

Here we have to do a fairly in depth essay style application to prove you'll teach your kid as well and as often as if they went to a registered school. That then gets reviewed and considered by the ministry of education, often wanting more information before they then grant you an exemption to home school. 

Once you get your exemption they leave you to it though! So it's totally worth it.

Minties, where are you located in the world??




As for math, I agree with SarahBear! Life!!! My four year old already has some of the basics just by general conversation And life.


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## SarahBear

The US has different laws in every state, but in Oregon you register with the local school district and do statewide testing at select grade levels.


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## misspriss

In my state you have to file a "notice of intent to home educate", and take various standardized tests. They have changed them many times, I think it is just 3rd -9th right now, used to be every year, was 5th, 7th, and 10th for a while...


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## NDH

I'm another unschooler. My eldest did spend one day a week during one term at a forest school last year which was lovely but we cant afford it. 

I am planning to be naughty and be one of the many home educating families in Australia who is not registered... My state the registration requirements are way over the top and once registered you have to show how you fulfilled everything you laid out in your application plan, submit examples of your child's work etc in order to be able to re register for another 6-12 months. Totally incomparable with unschooling without a lot of work. I cant apply to register to home educate until 6 weeks before she turns six anyway so I still have a year to decide if I will do it all above board after all, but its easy to be unregistered if your kids have never been registered for school anywhere and since I can only see regulations getting more restrictive I think I would rather just stay out of the hoops and red tape as long as I can get away with it.


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## flyingduster

Oh wow Natalie I didn't realise the regulations were so strict there! I'd totally be considering touting that too in your case.... Xx

As for us, I'm totally doing the happy dance today, cos Calebs exemption application was accepted today! On the first try, with no additional information needed, AND heavily unschooling. So excited to have the all clear now!!!


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## Rhea Santiago

I also want to homeschool my 4 years old son. As he aged 3, I just teach him the basics like how to write, how to differentiate colors, etc. But I know I cannot do it now since I am working full time and my schedules are totally stuck up so I think its better for him to be homeschooled as of now. Then later on, have him regular schooling.


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## NDH

Just wanted to update that while I I am still pretty much unschooling I have joined an awesome Steiner co-op using the earthschooling curriculum with BEarth Institute. We're having a lovely time incorporating a few Steiner rhythms into our days. Mostly doing it for the crafts t be honest haha


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## OnErth&InHvn

Alrighty, i need some recommendations!!!!!

I need:
-Reading curriculum for 11yr old who is too smart for her own good. 
-Social Studies for 9 and 11yr olds. ( one is VERY visual and is not a good reader). 

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Our homeschool convention is coming up and i want to get them then! 

:shrug::shrug:


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## MoldyVoldy

My son learns at home. We do public school virtually :) He has chosen to continue with this virtual school for the coming school year as well. He hasn't been to a brick and mortar school at all yet and I would love to keep it that way for as long as he likes!


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