I’m not a homeschooler. So, you’re probably wondering why I’m writing for a homeschooling site then. Well, I’ve thought about it before but I never felt capable enough to take on such a huge commitment. I know that sounds really bad considering this is my child’s education I’m talking about. But, there’s so many reasons why homeschooling wouldn’t work for my son and I but I’m researching information to find ways I can supplement his education because he struggles in a few different areas (reading, writing & math).

So, that’s why I’m here! I’m going to share with you all the cool homeschooling sites and information I come across as I do some research!

Why Research Homeschooling Options If You’re Not Going To Homeschool?

As I wrote above I’m looking for ways that I can work with my son at home to help him in the areas he’s struggling with. To give you a little background:

My son was diagnosed with ADHD back in kindergarten (he’s now in 6th grade). If you’ve had any experience with public schools you probably know that they, at least most of the ones I’ve had experience with, don’t handle kids that can’t sit still very well. They ‘push’ you to medicate and a lot of parents are against medication. It was a really hard decision to make to agree to medicate him. To make a long story short he’s been on numerous medicines and even after all this time it’s still hit and miss.

He’s been labeled a ‘problem’ child because of the ADHD and his inability to focus for long periods of time and his inability to sit still and learn like all the other kids. He’s been shuffled from grade to grade and falls farther and farther behind in reading, writing and math. So, homeschooling even if not on a full-time basis is a way that I can work with my son and help him.

Where to Begin

I have to admit, all this homeschool stuff is a bit overwhelming. I don’t even know if it’s possible to just purchase text books/curriculum for only a few courses. Of course, that’s the goal of the research I’m doing – to find all this out. With that being said, today’s internet scouring brought me to the Design Your Homeschooling approach website.

This week’s homeschooling resource:  Design Your Homeschool

This site recognizes that all families are unique and have different needs when it comes to homeschooling. It helps you design a program that fits your families needs, your child’s personality, your educational goals for your child and much more. It’s definitely a site worth checking out.

What is your picture of the perfect homeschooling family?

Dad works a solid job, forty hours a week with occasional overtime.  Mom stays at home full time, takes great care of the home, keeps a beautiful garden and schools their smart, well behaved, totally happy to be homeschooled children five hours a day.

Right?

LOL!  Maybe this attractive picture of a perfect homeschooling family exists in a few situations but there is actually a lot of variety in the homeschooling community.

I homeschooled my son from the fifth grade through to graduation. As a single parent, it wasn’t always easy.  For most of the time I was holding down a full time job – thankfully a flexible one that allowed me to bring my son to work a few days a week.

Fortunately we had two other homeschooling families with kids the same age to turn to for extra support.  My son spent time with them every week, it was a huge blessing.

If my job were less flexible, if we didn’t have friends for support – I don’t see how we could have accomplished what we did.

If you’re a single parent and really want to homeschool, you’ll want to develop a solid support network and never be afraid to reach out for their help.  It won’t be easy, but it can be worth it!

Thinking of using a textbook approach to teach your child  Language Arts? I personally used the Saxon textbooks in the past. I found them to be very thorough. However, the childs learning style needs to be taken into consideration. Some homeschoolers do well with textbooks while others struggle. Test out the samples below and see how your child does. Here is a brief explanation of what the program offers:

Homeschool Grammar and Writing kits are available for grades 5th-8th. The kit comes with a student textbook, student workbook, and a teacher packet.

The Saxon Grammar and Writing program consists of daily lessons, reviews, and tests.

The daily lessons will include capitalization, punctuation, spelling rules and correct word usage.

Textbook and Workbook

The student textbook instructs students on key grammar and useage concepts. Students will be guided through the writing process by using a workbook.

Here is what the Grammar and Writing programs cover:

• English grammar, spelling, writing, punctuation, and vocabulary development.
• Embeds content from other subject areas.  Students will develope English language skills.
• Textbook and workbooks available for student to work out of.
• Teacher packets allow parents to monitor their child progress.

Test a few samples out before deciding if this is the right curriculum for your child.

Samples are available in PDF.

Grade 5 Grammar and Writing

Grade 6 Grammar and Writing

Grade 7 Grammar and Writing

Grade 8 Grammar and Writing

What are you using currently for Language Arts? Share the curriculum that you have found to be most helpful.

If you have children between the ages of 8-12, mark your calendars for the week of Sept. 6th. There will be a reading comprehension class that will start on September 6th and will continue on through the rest of the week.

This class is for ages 8-12 years.

The cost will be $25

There will be 5 classes, each class is 30 minutes in length.

This class starts 1-1:30 CT. The dates are as follows:

Sept. 6th: Definitions in context

Sept. 7th: Recognizing important information

Sept. 8th: Paying attention to detail

Sept. 9th: Author inreferences

Sept. 10th: Review of strategies

This online class uses the Curriclick Virtual Classroom.  Read more about the Live Class Reading Comprehension Strategies.

The goal of this class is to give your child the ideas needed to develop their own set of comprehension strategies.

photo credit: arrathoonlaa@att.net