The school that DS went to at our old home was one of the best in the city we lived in, and he was ahead of the rest of his class when we moved here. Now, he is falling behind. He is drastically behind in spelling, as in, can barely spell on more than a 3-4 grade level (his reading level is on cue, thankfully) b/c he came from a school that doesn't teach spelling in elementary school. His school has never mentioned it to me as a problem and I didn't find out until this summer when he showed me a story he was writing. I think the biggest issue is that most of the children that attend that school do not go on to college, so the school does the very minimum in order to get funding. We WANT and expect our son to go to college, and we don't feel that he will have that opportunity if he continues to go to that school.
Anyway, my husband is looking for a new job out of state. He had one lined up and we were supposed to be moved before their school started for the year. Well, we found out today that it fell through. I REALLY do not want DS to go back to that school, so we are seriously considering homeschooling him.
My concerns are how hard it is to do, especially since I am jumping in at the 8th grade level rather than starting from the beginning. I have NO clue what I need to teach him, or where to find it. I don't know what he has already learned, and I don't want to waste my time teaching him something he has already learned. Another big issue is price of the materials and curriculum. We can't afford a lot. I'm the type of person that needs something that says "Teach him this, say this, do this, this, and this..." but from what I've heard, most of those programs are expensive. I'm NOT good at just winging it...but maybe after time I will get used to it. *shrug*
We do still plan to move, but it will be a while. We have some things here that we need to wrap up before we can move again. Depending on how it goes, we may put him back in public school once we move if it is a good school. If things go well, and I like homeschooling him, I may continue to do it. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I'm worried about the here and now.
I've been trying to search and look up about homeschooling, but it is all so confusing and overwhelming.
Any advice and suggestions for me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!