Homeschool World Forum

[everydaylou]

Hi! I'm Leah, and as you can see from my post count, very new here.

Trying to give you the long-story-short version here:

We had a horrible K situation w/ my oldest and I pulled him out and homeschooled- now he is in 2nd grade and thriving. We put him back in in 1st because I had a very challenging pregnancy, and being in and out of the hospital and too sick to move wasn't conducive to his education. He was blessed with wonderful 1st and 2nd grade teachers. He is now near the top of his class in all subjects, curious and eager to work ahead at home. We've been doing third grade math.

My daughter missed the K cut off by about a week, and she is doing half day preschool. It is only providing socialization- we are working on academics at home. She knows 40 fry sight words, counts to 25, knows all of her soft letters sounds and is beginning to read, as well as understand addition/subtraction problems. By the time K starts in 7 months- she will be ready for first grade, but is, in my opinion, not mature enough to skip.

My sweet baby is turning one and is just loving being a baby.

Aside from my DD being ahead, our local school district puts 38 students in a third grade class. It is just not possible to effectively teach 38 3rd graders- I don't care how good you are.

So, my plan is to start more seriously teaching DD now, get her in to the groove and routine, and then when summer comes, introduce DS into that same routine. I am hoping we can find enough social groups/friends to keep them feeling connected to peers. That is my only real concern.

Well, that and the fact that my husband deploys frequently, and school is a nice break for me. lol! (A selfish thing I can probably overcome and work around).

I'm thrilled that we'll be able to do things like vacation when we want to, visit cultural things on off days and especially have a family devotional on a daily basis. Between my DH's schedule and my school kids- they can go for days not seeing each other awake, let alone having family devotionals that include everyone!

I feel very convicted in this- truly my only issue is how to get DS and DD to not freak out when I say no more government school.

Any advice?

Thanks In Advance!
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Leah

Visit my blog: http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/

[elliemaejune]

Welcome.

How do you keep your dc from freaking out? You just tell them they'll be homeschooling. Don't be wishy-washy. Don't *expect* them to freak out. You just tell them.

Homeschooling in the military will be a great adventure. Think of all the different places they'll see and people they'll meet.

My *strong* recommendation is that you join Home School Legal Defense Association this summer (if you're leaving your dc in school).

Oh, and in the fall, when you must file an affidavit with the state, my other *strong* recommendation is that you list your dc as the grade levels they'd be in if they were in school. The state doesn't care, but IMHO, when it's necessary to put down a grade level, homeschooled children should be "in" the grade levels they'd be in if they were in school (I have a loooong story on why I believe this, lol).
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Married to Mr. Ellie for over 30 years
Mother to 2 dds and 2 dsil
Grandmother to 1 sweet boy
Caretaker of 2 dear kitties, 1 French bulldog, 1 dachsund, and 3 budgies

[everydaylou]

Thank you!
_________________
Leah

Visit my blog: http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/