Just wanting information/advice

[justmeca]

I'm new to this and have been praying about homeschooling my children for the past year and I'm really leaning towards doing it. My son is in the 9th grade and my daughter is in the 6th. They have went to public school all their lives but I'm very frustrated with the system. I live in Florida and I've studied up on the laws and have a packet coming my way this week for other information. Is there any certain curriculum that anyone suggest for my kid because of their age??? I really just want what is best for them and I"m sure you have answered this before but all the help is needed. Also, about how much per year do I need to get ready to spend on this?? I'm willing to do it, I just want any help/advice I can get.

Thanks

[Theodore]

It really depends most on learning style. Are your children visual learners? Or auditory? Or hands-on? What subject areas are they strongest in? Also, what is your budget, and how much time do you have available for homeschooling? It's possible to homeschool using nothing but borrowed curriculum and/or resources from the library, but putting together a full range of course material using this method will require a bit more work and time. On the other hand, you could buy a packaged curriculum that might cost as much as several hundred dollars per grade, but would come with everything you'd need all in one place.

Personally, I'd download online syllabuses for each course your 9th grader needs, then borrow or buy used copies of the recommended texts. After the course material is worked through, anything that's a prereq for college should be followed up with a nationally standardized test (AP, CLEP, DANTES).

Your 6th grader will probably do fine with a packaged curriculum. You might also want to check if there are homeschool groups in your area and if they offer some form of co-op classes, as this is another alternative to going with a packaged curriculum. Typically, each parent teaches classes in one or two subjects, allowing for more specialization (one person might be best at teaching math, another at teaching literature, so why do both yourself if you don't have to?)