My husband and I are raising our 8 year old granddaughter, who has ADHD. She does her school work much better at home, often sits and does nothing in class. I have been toying with the idea of homeschooling, but don't know where to begin. Are the books expensive? I'm sure the rules are different in each state, not sure what they are here in Colorado. Where do we begin? Some of you that are doing it, can you give me ideas on how you structure the day? Or are you given a strict schedule of classes to have at certain times? Just not sure where to begin asking the questions, so would appreciate any advice. Thanks! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), May 20, 2000

Answers

It's a wonderful idea! Your granddaughter will do SO much better at home especially if she struggles with attention and concentration. It's not hard it just takes your time and commitment. As to what is required in Colorado - the best place to start is the state homeschooling organization. Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Denver, 303-388-1888 or email them at office@chec.org. They are having a convention June 22-24 in Denver. The convention would be great! They could answer all your questions, you could look at curriculum, check prices and probably attend some workshop to help you. Just contact CHEC and ask for a brochure.

In the meantime look up:

www.TeachingHome.com

www.HSLDA.org

They will give you some info and have other related links to check out. It is a wonderful thing to homeschool. Not easy. But, anything worthwhile never is. May God guide and bless your efforts.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), May 20, 2000.

This is my 11th year of homeschooling in Wisconsin. I have 2 girls. You first need to contact someone in your state who would know the rules and regulations of Colorado. Call around to different churches and they can hook you up with someone who homeschools. Then from there, they can point you in the right direction for your state. As far as starting out, there are so many ways to approach it. Some tend to go with a certain straight ciriculum (sp?). For instance, they'll do all Abeka books. When my kids were younger I would always go to Goodwill or Salvation Army and find books to work with. Reading material is pretty easy to come by there. If you take the time you can find a wide variety of books from time to time. Here in Wisconsin, once a year we have a local book sale and all the homeschoolers bring any material they have to sell. It works great cause you get the discount of a used book plus you can asked if they liked using it or not. For me, most of the time I mixed material from Abeka, Bob Jones, Rod & Staff, etc.. Trying to meet the needs of my girls. If one was slower in math, I would have to adjust to that or if she was advanced in science, then the book would challenge her. You may want to get a real good idea where she is academically first. Does she know phonics, how's her reading level, what's her printing like? Get the idea? The BIGGEST thing is to NOT compare her with any other child! EVERY kid learns their own way and at their own pace!! When my oldest was having trouble with math a couple years ago I got so frustrated cause I felt I HAD to keep with the book and in order of what it presents. WRONG !! Other parents suggested to skip a section and go on, then come back and try again. It worked!! She apparently wasn't ready at that time but a few weeks later, she was able to handle it! For years, I got into a rut of having to make it look like "school". Now, we learn in every room of the house, even take the books out on the lawn on a nice day or go from the table to the couch. Discipline is a main factor in homeschooling but you don't have to be miserable at it!! Remember - you have the whole day to do school! We are advised not to go out in the stores during the school hours and draw attention to yourself. Only gets people asking questions. Here in Wisconsin, we have to keep track of everything the kids learn and the hours we spend each day. We also have guidelines of what the state requires for each grade. For example - history, biology, literature, etc.. You would think of subjects on her level. Just check around and ask questions. If you're in Colorado, contact James Dobson and maybe they can point you in the right direction of who to come in contact with. Just remember, if you don't make it fun, exciting, challenging and pleasant for everyone then you're just gonna be miserable!! Take time to plan it out! It really isn't that hard once you get the hang of it. HAVE FUN !!!!!!!!

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 20, 2000.

Thanks so much for the info and the encouragement! I broached the subject at school, trying to find out where to start, and they acted like I was a total loon for even thinking of trying to teach her at home, after all PUBLIC SCHOOL is the ONLY WAY TO GO, don't you know! She has expressed several times that she doesn't feel "safe" at school anymore, after all the school shootings, etc across the nation, and on the news. I am most worried about socialization skills, sports (not that I was a big sports participant when in school, so maybe not that important?) I will definitely check out the sites and info, thanks again! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), May 20, 2000.

Jan B, You mentioned you were concerned about socialization skills and sports. Extra-curricular activities (sports, band, choir) as well as special education services are available to those home-schooling, because you are a tax-paying citizen. Socialization skills can be developed in clubs such as Girl Scouts of America or 4-H as well.

-- Dione Mays (nealdione@arkwest.com), May 20, 2000.

Jan,

I have four children I homeschool, the oldest is ten. Both of my sisters homeschool their children as well.

My suggestion (depending on your state regulations) would be to take her out of school now- what is another month going to matter. Spend the rest of the year exploring her world and learning about homeschooling.

Whatever you do- make sure you do not try to recreate school at home. Most people who burnout and put their kids back in school were trying to do that. I would also make the same commitment to homeschooling as to any other life changing decision (marriage, childbirth). Don't talk about quitting (although it is always an option), talk about finding solutions. It is a lifestyle.

Also look up "Growing without schooling" magazine. There are as many different styles of homeschooling as there are personalities.

Email me if you want more thoughts.

Amy

-- Amy Richards (tiggerwife@aol.com), May 21, 2000.

I've been homeschooling for 11 yrs., have 5 kids, ages 17, 15, 10, 8, and 4 yrs. old. I've never wanted to do it different. I have a couple of catalog suggestions. www.rainbowresource.com and www.elijahco.com This is where I get my curriculums. First, definitely contact the local Homeschool support group and the Home School Legal Defense Assoc. We started out with Abeka, it was done just like school, and it was VERY structured, with step by step instructions. I liked it at first, but after the babies started coming again, I needed something with more flexibility with what was going on in our lives and where their interests were growing. There is NOTHING to take the place of a child being interested in something and jumping in and learning all about it. It's a "magic" moment. May I suggest you also do a lot of reading on the subject of homeschooling. Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore are my favorites, and the catalogs have a list of books that you just won't be able to resist. I can't remember the one about "Unschooling" (I know someone here HAS to know that one). You could do a structured curriculum, but I would aim for maybe next year a Unit Studies approach. Which is what we use now.

We're using Pathway Reading Program for the little ones, it's written for the Amish, with workbooks, instructions, and for a busy teacher with various age groups. The stories are about life on a farm, and they are wonderful stories. Saxon Math is the best! If I could change one way I did things was not going into Saxon by 3rd or 4th grade. (It's expensive, but worth it.) We do our Unit Studies around ancient civilizations. The older kids use Streams of Civilization, the younger ones use Ancient Egypt (there's also Rome, Greece, and so up into the time periods) coloring book, and A Day In The Life which has activities, costumes, study of religion, feasts, holidays with recipes, that we make and do. We incorporate Geography, writing and reading, art, music, sewing and home ec. And we're often doing these things at nite. It's play for them! The older ones like to help and play with the younger ones, too. But, my children love History.In the spring, we do weather studies, and the garden, we're getting ready to do some major work on the farm, and the kids help with everything. The oldest daughter actually helped clean a rooster...(Biology?) My oldest son loves astronomy and geology, and he has 2 very nice telescopes, and does a LOT of star watching and of course, the little ones want to do it, too! The whole family collects rocks and studies them, they always are on the lookout for fossils. (We live on a river) The Fish & Game & Wildlife have resource guides for free and we can rent videos, order coloring books and activity books for free, even kits for tracking animals by poo-poo or paw prints. For the study on plants and animals, they can't be beat. (We ran across them at the conference. Don't miss that conference!) We do some of our school on a picnic table down at the river, or just on the riverbanks. One year I read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to the older kids while the younger ones were playing with their dinosaurs and floating them on bark in the river, and then asteroids wiped them out, and they kept doing that. (ok, so they have a dark side....) I read to the older kids, still. Those books that are listed as "required reading" in high school, that they wouldn't be interested in reading, I read to them, and we discuss them, the style of writing, the time period it was written in, and the story line. We love biographies, and read a LOT of those here. Men and women. School does not and should not be a room with chalkboards and artificial decorations. It can and should be fun. My kids LOVE to learn. They thought my son had ADD and he definitely had a low frustration level, and when he'd get upset, he'd stop and just go run around the yard a couple of times, and he'd be good for another 2 hrs. There are so many ways of working around these "disabilities". A lot of them aren't disabilities, but the temperament of your child, their learning style and being forced into a "one size fits all" kind of teaching. They really don't learn, they're force-fed information to be monkeyed back to someone else. Please read all you can about homeschooling and email me, write to me, whatever you need. This will be the most fun you've ever had! I know some people aren't crazy about tv, but this year, my younger ones found the Magic School Bus on tv, and I have to say, I really like that show, and try to find the time to watch it with them. (They say I'm a lot like that teacher and am not sure if that's a GOOD thing...) They not only learn a lot from it, but they usually want to learn more. And I was VERY thankful when they had a show on how a chicken makes an egg. When our chickens started laying my 8 yr. old came in while I was fixing supper and with awe in her voice, said, "I watched her lay her egg, Mommy." I wasn't at all sure what to say to that, and then she told me about the Magic School Bus showed how an egg was made. I was grateful. Last nite, my 10 yr. old wanted to know how the sperm got inside a Mommy to get to the egg, but got distracted and ran off before I could answer. I was slightly thankful as I wasn't ready for the question, yet. Now I am. But, is He ready for the answer? We'll see... Life is all about learning and I'm 43 and still learning. I have to say, except for the reading and Math, school was a waste for me. A total waste... Good luck!

-- Louise Whitley (whitley@terraworld.net), May 21, 2000.

Go for it, Jan! You won't regret it. The actual schooling is easy compared to all the decisions involved in choosing curriculum. Spend as much time as you can reading up on different approaches and then just jump in. You can't do worse than public schools, and with very little effort, you will do much, much better. I've always winged math up through 3rd grade, but in 4th, we started the kids on Saxon and have never regretted it. I'm not a numbers person, but even I can get my kids through Algebra II and understand it. Good luck! Glynnis in KY

-- glynnis (gabbycab@aol.com), May 21, 2000.

Jan, Read, read, read...everything you can find. There is ALOT of good information out there. I can recommend "The Success Homeschool Family Handbook" by the Moore's, "The Ultimate guide to Homeschooling" by Debra Bell and The Curriculum Manuals by Cathy Duffy.I also like The Teaching Home magazine. You structure your day around your life. Once you find ot what the laws in your state are you'll have a better idea of what is required. And remember, you can get done in a few hours at home what takes all day at "school". And there is no RIGHT curriculum. We stop something if it is not working for us and try something else. We often do math on the floor and reading on the couch.The only thing they HAVE to do at the table is handwriting. Best wishes to you!

-- melissa (bizemom@netzero.net), May 21, 2000.

The desire to homeschool and the wish to help your granddaughter are your two first steps on your way to homeschooling!!!

We homeschooled our last two, the youngest girl for her last two years of high school and our son from basically third grade on and he graduated last May!!!!

Don't get discouraged! Don't try to stick to just one curriculum. And don't think that all the advice all of us give you is set in stone!!! Best of luck and keep us posted. If you need any more info just let us know....Your library and the internet are GREAT resources!!!!

-- Suzy in 'Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), May 21, 2000.

Thanks to all of you for your suggestions, support and ideas! I can't wait to get to the library tomorrow, and have already looked at some of the internet links. We will start out doing some more studying at home, as she gets out of school in three days, and then has a few weeks of summer school, after which we will just continue one. That will give me enough time to do some more studying, get the next year set up, etc. I'm feeling better about the whole thing already, the more I read, the better it sounds. I have to admit, though, a few years ago, I never would have even considered this! Thanks again! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), May 21, 2000.

There is a wealth of research out that shows how well homeschooled children turn out! Not only are they academically strong, but they are socially skilled with all age groups. The books by Michael Farris (sp?) outline the research data in support of homeschooling as a superior academic option. Our two boys are ADHD (ages 16 and 11) and doing extremely well at home. Both boys are bright, excellent readers, and enjoy science and math. One is a gifted artist. We are able to individualize their instruction and provide frequent breaks throughout the day to accommodate their needs. They did not do well in public school, however. We were told that ritalin was the answer for one "dreamy, off-task" son, and also for the one son who is hyperactive. I am convinced that ADHD children are prime candidates for homeschooling, where their unique needs can be ideally met.

-- Liz Rhein (merhein@shentel.net), May 21, 2000.

Good for you for wanting to homeschool. Farm C ountry General Store is a source for homeschooling material. 1-800-551-FARM, fcgs@homeschoolfcgs.com or http://www.homeschoolfcgs.com. There's a really neat book "Training Our Daughter to Be Keepers at Home" by Mrs. Craig (Ann) Ward. It's a 7 year course on sewing, knitting, hospitality, money management, cooking, gardening, and so much more. You buy other books to go along with it. You start out making a cooking mit and end up making a mans' suit. There's The Prairie Primer(based on the Little House series) A Literature Based Unit Study and a Little House Teaching Book you can get a teacher's supply store. It's got a lot of fun projects in it-can't remember the exact name. Grocery Cart Math. It's a workbook you take to the store with you, the child has to find pints, quarts, compare prices, practical stuff. Remember life is your classroom. In my short experience with homeschooling, I learned a lot. We planted a math garden, we studied beginning fractions by planting a flower garden.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), May 22, 2000.

Oh, I forgot. If you go to www.teachinghomemagazine.com you can sign on for a 1 yr. subscription of Teaching Home magazine for free. I love that magazine! There's a whole, wonderful world of learning out there and bonding with your granddaughter. The Little House Stuff mentioned is wonderful, I sort of wish I had more kids to do more of the curriculums with!

-- Louise Whitley (whitley@terraworld.net), May 22, 2000.

I've homeschooled for a total of 3 years now. I did let Eldest go back for a couple of years but ended up taking her right back out. She was also diagnosed as having ADHD. I have since found out that she has an allergy to Corn and all corn products. (We didn't figure it out until she started breaking out in lives.) Youngest will not go to a public school if I can help it.

Try doing a search on the net for homeschooling laws in your state. You could also search for homeschooling groups. This was how I found out how to go about it in North Carolina. We're a military family and the difficult thing for us is the fact that we move a lot. I started in South Carolina. I didn't have internet access then and went though the school to get the number for who to call. Your school SHOULD give you the information. I did find out in North Carolina that the school HAS to give you the information if you ask for it. I even had one of Eldest's teachers ask me about homeschooling because her daughter was planning on homeschooling her ADHD boys. I don't know if schools in all states are "required" to give you the information or not, but with the internet, it is easier to find out.

I do wish you luck. We just finished the standardized tests last week.

Oh, another note. Someone mentioned that making homeschooling "like" regular public school tends to burn you out and doesn't work well. This is very true, BUT many states require you to set yourself up like a regular public school. North Carolina strongly suggests a 5hour work day, so many "recesses" and a lunch break and so many days per year of official "class" time, etc. and so on. Standardized testing is also required. I have to turn in the results of the tests and a sheet marking how many days we had "class" time and how many days we didn't have "class" time, once a year. It's a pain in the butt. Maine has more requirements. They require you to hook up with another homeschooling parent who has been homeschooling for more than one year and/or a homeschooling group. Missouri requires almost nothing. They require you to register yourself as a homeschooler then they ignore you from then on.

-- Dorothy (bentpennyranch@yahoo.com), May 22, 2000.

You can find the requirements for all states; go to http://www.hslda.org/

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 22, 2000.

Thanks so much for all the info! I have researched the websites, ordered tons of books, magazines and videos from the library, and will contact the local support group tomorrow. I was hesitant, as I remembered a friend in Hawaii, who had been substitute teaching in the local high school (without a teaching degree/certificate), and decided to home school her 6th grade son. She was then told by the local school district that she WAS NOT QUALIFIED to home teach, as she didn't have the creditials! Her husband had a degree, and was allowed to be the "teacher" on paper, while she actually did the teaching. Very unusual requirements in some states! Thanks again to all of you who responded! Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), May 22, 2000.

We homeschooled 3 sons, youngest is now 18, nearly 19. The older 2 went to high school for a while, and that was a big mistake. We didn't use any more curriculum than was necessary to comply with Wis. laws regarding homeschooling, and basically let the boys learn at their own rate.

-- Jim (jiminwis@yahoo.com), May 23, 2000.

Just a suggestion -- the first year we homeschooled, we used a more structured curriculum that gave me a lot of guidance. Then I got more comfortable and confident, as I saw that the girls were really doing well (we started right at the beginning of the homeschooling movement, so there wasn't as much research data or as much help available), and started figuring out our own curriculums. But it really helped to have the extra structure to start with. I would recommend A-Beka, and the Saxon maths are excellent. One thing I wish I had done, though, is stick with one curriculum publisher more. We jumped around too much, and tried too many different ones, and as they don't all sequence the same, a couple of things fell through the cracks and had to be picked up later. The girls had their preferences -- they didn't like the workbook curriculums much, though they did make things a little easier for me. They hated math until we got the Saxon math books. Even in junior high and high school, it didn't usually take them much more than three hours a day to get all their work done, and then they could do other *real* things (cooking, gardening, riding ponies, sewing, reading, etc.!). An eight year old shouldn't need much more than an hour and a half or two hours of school each day, although each new school year, the first couple of weeks would take a little longer, until we got the routine down. They usually finished all their subjects by April, too. And sometimes we worked on school during the summer -- if we had odne that consistently, they would probably have graduated early. Anyway, good luck -- it's definitely a worthwhile endeavor, and will be a blessing for all of you!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), May 23, 2000.

My daughter is an unschooler...and has been for 10 years. I have a page of homeschooling links at http://PeaceandCarrots.homestead.com/morelinks.html

-- Wendy Martin (wsm311@aol.com), May 24, 2000.

Hi--my daughter homeschools my two precious grandsons! She lives in a large city--(wanting to find a small farm they can move to). But last night I called her & she had just received the results of their S.A.T. tests. My daughter has caught flack from most of her friends & family for home schooling--does she know what she is doing???? Is she qualified??? Will the kids get to socialize with others??? Well all of you have heard what she hears!--My daughter uses ABeka a Christain based homeschooling. My youngest grandson would have been in preschool this year in public school--going into kindergarden this next year. His S.A.T. tests scores were ALL above 2 grade level!!! Some were as high as 6th grade level. My next grandson would have been in second grade in public school. His S.A.T. were really high some to the 11th grade level!!!!!(can you believe?) I told my daughter, she needed to frame their tests results! And also mail a copy, to all those people who gave her so much grief instead of support!!! My daughter also belongs to homeschool organizations where the kids do everything from sports, to music to trips, etc., etc. She of coarse has fine tuned her teaching to where it best benifits the boys! I am so proud of my daughter & the job she does!!!!! And I'm so proud the boys are thriving!!!!!(healthy & so well beyond-- well adjusted, even if they are "homeschooled") God Has so greatly blessed me!!!!!! I just wanted to share that with a careing group this morning! Praise God for devoted mothers & Grandmothers who homeschool! Thank you, Sonda in Ks.

-- Sonda (sgbruce@birch.net), May 24, 2000.

Jan, My wife and I have home schooled our 3 kids for 9 years. ADHD was what started us also. Follow the good advice given to you by the respondents so far, HALSDA and the state home school associations' a good place to begin. Our 2 oldest graduated last week. One left going into high school this fall. Our experience is that the first year is sort of learning process for all concerned & don't expect a miracle. Depending on the child, finances, how structured you choose to be, will all effect the way you go. Don't be afraid to try something new if you aren't happy with the way things are going. We went through a lot of different systems as we learned. The kids will do better at home with a marginal curriculum than in public school. There are so many advantages to home school. Any interest the child has can be explored in depth. Field trips! Everytime you get in the car can be a field trip. Best of all is the time you get to spend with them! Don't worry about the socialization question. You'll get sick of answering it. Unless you live on the MOON they should be able to get plenty of interactions. Besides, who do you want them to act like. Resonable people or one of the green haired, pierced nosed Bart Simson types so common today. I generally tell people with the socialization question "I'm more worryed about your kids and I don't want mine growing up like that". Not a reccomended remark for the first response to someone you might actually care to speak with again, like sisters, brothers, etc. That whole issue is waaaayyyy overdone. Home school is fun, rewarding, character building for all, HARD WORK, frustrating, wonderful and a great challenge and family builder!!! I can't tell you exactly how to do it but from experience I can tell you it's worth it and I want to be able to encourage you. Any specific advice regarding curriculum, etc, please feel free to ask and I'll be happy to give you free advice(as long as you know how much free advice is worth).

Good luck, John

-- john mengel (jsmengel@freewwweb.com), May 26, 2000.

We have homeschooled for two years, my oldest son starting homeschool in his Junior year of high school. My daughter started her freshman year. Both of them went from being mediocre C students, to outstanding A-B students, actually interested in what they were doing. We use Switched on Schoolhouse, from Alpha Omega, a Christian- based homeschool program. DO IT NOW !!!! You will not regret it, and the children will be much better off because of it.

-- Bill Iannazzo (manager@mountainescape.com), August 10, 2000.

When I started homeschooling I was a little overwhelmed by picking the criculum. Then we had our two oldest sons tested to find out their learning styles and get some practical advice on cirriculum. There are usually people in the homeschool comunity that will work with you as a resource. They have alot of contact with homeschoolers and hear the biggest complaints and praises. It will usually cost you a some money but the peace of mind and a year without finding out "this and this" didn't work well makes it worth it! Cirriculum gets expensive so if you get something thats not working its hard to scrap it and start over.

-- Bethany Lowe (beth@thelowehome.com), August 07, 2001.

Does any one know where to contact the American Schools that teaches how to use the pace program? For a christian school? I think it is in Texas.

-- Rev.D.Multine (machosmama@massnet1.net), March 24, 2002.

Am going to try this again, tried to post earlier and it seems to have vanished!

"Does any one know where to contact the American Schools that teaches how to use the pace program? For a christian school? I think it is in Texas"

If you mean the School Of Tomorrow, try 800-925-7777 or CustomerService@schooloftomorrow.com. They use the pace program. Hope this helps!

-- Wendy@GraceAcres (wjl7@hotmail.com), March 25, 2002.