Don't know where to start

[faith2raise]

I have a 4 almost five year old that I am considering to homeschool for kindergarten. I am doing home child care for 6 children ages 3mo., 3 2 1/2 year olds, one 3 1/2 year old and 1 almost 5. I already do a preschool program that I spend countless hours on and have two of my own children. Am I in over my head having to do another curriculum for a Kindergardener. I like the idea of COVA because they give you everything and for free. I just am not certain that I want to do public school Curriculum and being regualted by the school district, but I am afraid to go it on my own and mess up. I stink at record keeping and I am in over my head in it with my own bussiness. I am afraid that I will not be able to give my child the individual attention that she needs and freedom to really get out there and learn. We only have one small car so we do not go anywhere during the weeek. It stinks but it beats having to work outside my home. My major was child Development and I have a cerrtificate in Montessori teaching for 0-3 years old. So this is my chosen profession and I have a different idea then the pubic schools (and probably private) of what education really is and what I want my children to learn. I know what the kids are learning from eachother in the schools and it scares me. I want my children to grow up respectful, prure and loving God. I also want them to learn spanish before middle school. I am not worried about socialization because we go to church and have a group of people from church that we get together with every week. I am just scared and overwhelmed. I do not know if I want to just send her to public school, private, charter, virtual acadamy, private umbrella school, or go it on my own and maybe sign up with a record keeping company. If i go it on my own what do I teach? We have to have 172 days or 688 hours, do all testing, and do the subjucts they ask us to. I can't remember them all.

[Theodore]

In Colorado, you only have to fulfill the legal requirements for "every child who has attained the age of six years on or before August 1 of each year..." So forget all the recordkeeping, required subjects, etc., you can just teach whatever seems appropriate to you. In this instance, a 4-5 year old is generally capable of phonics (reading and maybe a little writing), basic math, and simple concepts in any other subject. You might look into Calvert kindergarten + some phonics program such as Sing, Spell, Read and Write, and move from there to books, Saxon Math, etc. I'm not a huge fan of Saxon for math beyond Alg II or so, but the repetition is good for learning earlier math. Similarly, Calvert may be a bit dry and secular in the later grades, but Calvert kindergarten is quite good.

Of course, that's only what I've seen personally. If you can, attend a homeschool convention or a meeting of a local support group and look over the various curriculums, see what looks good for you and your children.

[hscoach]

I personally would not want to do free online public school myself, because like you said, then you are answering to them. Here are a couple of articles about that.

http://www.characterbuildingforfamilies ... chool.html

http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/161/161.99_clmn_tch.html

Even though you have all the kids in your home, you can still homeschool your own and make it work! It may seem overwhelming but it doesn't have to be. For example, when a child is in kindergarten, the amount of time they spend on schoolwork can be less than an hour. The rest of the day, they will still be learning but not in a 'formal' way. I think you could accomplish a lot during the nap/rest time of the other kids. That would be a quiet time when you could sit down with your child and read to her and do some math, etc. It really does not take long. Then as your child gets older, they can use the computer for some lessons and they will work on lots of stuff independently.

Here is a link where you can see what you need to teach for K5 -

http://www.worldbook.com/typical_course ... guide.html

You can use this as a guide. You really do not have to have a formal, expensive curriculum for K5. You can use simple workbooks and take advantage of all that your local library has to offer. Even though you can't go there on weekdays, you could take your child in the evenings or on the weekends. You can check out books, books with tapes/cds, educational dvds, etc. Also, the internet has tons of free resources available.

If you want your child to grow up respectful, pure and loving God, then believe me, the best choice is definitely homeschooling!! You can make it work. You are so completely qualified and educated to do the job! Don't be afraid of record keeping. You can do that. Just keep it simple. Find out the best and quickest way by talking to other moms who homeschool in your area. I don't think that should hold you back at all.

Your children can work right along with you in your home preschool, so that will be a great learning experience for them!!

I would encourage you to join a local homeschool support group and begin connecting with other moms now. Here are two links where you can find one in your area.

http://www.home-school.com/groups/

http://www.localhs.com/

And this site might be helpful also.

http://www.chec.org/

You can do it! Best wishes!

[HSSpanish]

@ faith2raise,
If you would like your children to learn Spanish before middle school, we may have a solution for you.

My name is Ron Fortin. I am a former U.S. Marine, I.T. consultant, turned Principal of a school for impoverished kids in Guatemala, and now CEO of Homeschool Spanish Academy Inc.

We're a high quality online Spanish institution that offers affordable interactive immersion lessons with native Spanish speaking instructors in Central America using proprietary high quality video conferencing software to students ages 7 and up. Perfect for homeschoolers, or as a tailor made alternative to language software. We say 7 years old for disciplinary reasons, but if your child really has an interest in learning Spanish, we are willing to make exceptions, pending the (free) initial class.

For more information, visit us at www.HomeschoolSpanishAcademy.com

Also be sure to view our commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3BrP4enmUs

Below you will find a downloadable link to the full press release
PDF Version:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10871310/Final Press Release/For Immediate Release - Homeschool Spanish Academy %282%29.pdf

If you have further questions, please feel free to send me a message.

[nickklein]

@faith2raise

I believe you should create another curriculum for your own kids. Set a specific amount of time you want to work in creating the curriculum and you will find that gradually it will become easier to manage.

Also, use a filing cabinet/system when organizing the two seperate records for both your business and the newly created curriculum (if you choose to go ahead with it) and soon you will notice how many benefits result in being organized and well prepared. I know "Theodore" said you don't need to follow guidelines set out by public schools however I like to keep records of it anyway just to get an outline of the different things you should teach. But please make sure you are consistent. If you decide to work out weekly plans make sure you follow it up weekly. If you do not do this it is VERY easy to fall behind the pace and it may lead to more stressful problems in the future.

As for you being worried about not giving your own child enough attention, the first thing you need to do is work out a structure. I like the idea that "hscoach" presented, where you go through worksheets while the childcare kids are sleeping or having a break, but I also will add to this and suggest for you to maybe give reading stimulus or worksheets to your child throughout the day (based on the previous days teaching) and tell them that you will go over any problems they faced in the evening time as well a lesson for the day after.

I wish you good luck in your future teaching!

[sartasd]

I used to have a home daycare, and I did learning time with my son while the younger kids were sleeping. We also too advantage of the evening hours after the kids left for the day. Home-learning doesn't have to be only during the regular school hours of 8 to 3, Plan reading times in the evenings and also do some read alouds during the day by including the other children.

When I read aloud to my kids, they were allowed to play with dolls, blocks and other quiet toys while I read. Then we would discuss the story. It would amaze me how much they heard while playing at my feet.

have coloring pages for the little ones and the preschool pages for the preschoolers and K or 1st grade pages for the older ones. Do it like the one room school did a 100 yrs ago. 100 yrs ago, schooling was more literature based then it is today. McGuffery's 6th reader is a challenge for most high schoolers today! the Vocabulary in the 6th reader is very advance and far above the present day 6th grade vacabulary.

[ludwigwan]

hi
iam new here

[alwayshomeschooling]

There are a lot of great full kindergarten programs out there that will give you direction on just what to do every day. This is a great way to start out because you eliminate those fears of "am I doing enough?" or "am I doing this right?" Then, as you get your feet wet, you have the freedom to branch out and add your own creativity or replace lessons with your own.

Sounds like you have the perfect background for this so remember you have been your child's teacher since birth and have already taught so many incredible things--walking, talking, respect, etc.

With the daycare, it will be a challenge but get your child involved and you will be amazed at what even those little ones can learn as you teach your own children.

If you are really seeking some direction, a support person to pick up the phone and call when necessary and help with curriculum decision, record keeping, etc., check out Bridgeway Academy. There you will have help every step of the way and lots of extra resources that could be used to engage all of the preschoolers in your care.

www.bridgewayacademy.com