[fumbelinabumpkin]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

More info: Florida Homeschool / Unschool E-Mail Lists & Free Newsletters (Page One) - LeapingFromTheBox.com

Thanks for this link, too, Sunrico.
I'm so happy to be getting all of this positive info from everyone

[CelticLady1]

I homeschooled my son from sixth grade through graduation. The very first year I relied more on actual textbooks, (I pulled him out of public school in the middle of sixth grade, and I didn't know beans about what I was doing! So, I needed a little help, to get my feet off the ground). After that, it became much more eclectic, (except with math. I used textbooks and tutoring. I'm terrible with numbers). I used whatever came to mind, so long as he was learning something, without being bored out of his skull, (I remember my public-school years).

Up until his sophomore year, I just used the evaluation method, (portfolio review, I believe someone else called it), of the portfolio of his schoolwork. The last few years, I went with the testing, (namely so that he could become accustomed to that style of testing, which is used in colleges, etc.). Both methods were done with a certified teacher, (in fact, she was his math tutor. She also teaches in one of our local junior colleges). To my knowledge, (unless anything has changed since my son graduated, which was in 2005), it is required by state law to utilize some sort of record-keeping, for the evaluation, but you do not necessarily have to have them actually tested. I would suggest looking up the Florida statutes, concerning this. If I remember correctly, there were about five methods one could employ to satisfy the state.

[fumbelinabumpkin]

Thank you for the encouraging reply, Celticlady. We know we can homeschool our son, pre-school at home has gone very well. He loves to read books and is recognizing many familiar short words and memorizes books and "reads" them to me. He's only 3, so I think this is good progress. We do letters and numbers of the day with Sesame Street and write them on his chalkboard. He is always asking lots of questions about how things work so we are always looking things up on line. The other night his question was "why is it night?" So we went through the way the Earth spins on it's axis and how when we are facing the sun it is day and when we are facing away from the sun it is night. He got a pretty good grasp of it from what I could tell. We went to the Museum of the Rockies and he watched an hour long presentation on the geological history of the Earth and the formation of life on our planet, then later that night I heard him talking to himself about the Earth in the solar system and dinosaurs. How cute! I do know that for us math is going to be challenging, too. We can do math up to about the 4th grade level on our own, but then it is going to be tutors for us, too. Math is not my friend and we are planning to use tutors for that. We do recognize our limitations and will seek outside resources when needed. I really like your method of using his math tutor as his formal evaluator. We will definitely keep that in mind, thank you for that suggestion.
Have a great day, Peace Everybody

[CelticLady1]

Originally Posted by fumbelinabumpkin

Thank you for the encouraging reply, Celticlady... We do recognize our limitations and will seek outside resources when needed. I really like your method of using his math tutor as his formal evaluator. We will definitely keep that in mind, thank you for that suggestion.
Have a great day, Peace Everybody

You're quite welcome, (and isn't Sunrico great?! He always has these helpful links for folks). Having my son's math tutor do his evaluations really was good, because she knew him very well, and understood his strengths and weaknesses. It wasn't as though he was some kid that just walked in off the street, so to speak. It sounds like you have things well in hand, in your schooling adventure. You'll do fine!

[fumbelinabumpkin]

Originally Posted by CelticLady1

(and isn't Sunrico great?! He always has these helpful links for folks).

Yes! Everyone say thank you to Sunrico

Thanks, Celticlady, and thanks for all the great posts everyone
TTFN

[oceandreams94]

Hi there! I am homeschooling my children also. We just moved to Florida from Illinois 3 months ago. Illinois was very very easy going on home schoolers, there were no requirements.
I was under the impression that you MUST have your child tested???? What did I miss??

Help!
Jen

[beachgirl27]

hi....just curious...the bright futures scholarship for florida students through the lottery....is this available for home schooled high school/going to college students??

[Minniemom]

Hi all,

I have to say that this post peaked my curiousity. Currently, my children are enrolled in regular school. I have one in pre-K and another in K. I always said that I could never home school, because I know that I am not that diciplined to handle it. But this unschooling does sound intresting. I do have a question though. How does one transition from being unschooled to going to college. Don't they need to pass some type of SAT? Lets be honest, these days, you need a college education and I am just wondering how a college entrance would be related?
Thanks


Jenn

[fumbelinabumpkin]

I think that there are several methods one can use to satisfy the requirements for the state of Florida. I believe that testing is only one way of doing this, from what I gather on the FPEA website and other sites mentioned here in this thread. Check them out, they are very helpful. I started this thread for just this question and I have a lot more research to do on the subject myself. As far as college prep, we are planning to audit community college classes during our son's teen years which will give him a much better understanding of college life than highschool will. He will get his GED and take SAT or ACT prep classes and attend tutoring for these tests at a place like Sylvan learning center. Of course only if HE is choosing to go to college. There is no law that says a person has to go to college at age 18, one can attend college at any age. If he waits untill he is 30 and decides to go to college, that is fine with us. There are also alternative ways of getting an education such as trade school, career school, and apprenticeships. We will always support his choices in having control over his own education. These days college is not the end all be all of education. College students are strapped with crushing student loan debt and no guarantee of employment in their chosen field of study. I know plenty of people with masters degrees still waiting tables at the local mexican restaraunt. I guess that I would encourage people to go to college only if they KNOW what they want to do and are planning on getting at least a masters if not a phd in thier field. A bachelors degree doesn't cut it anymore, and college is a really expensive way of "finding yourself". I know, I went through 3 majors and graduated with an obscene number of credits in everything from geology to theater production. I guess it prepared me for unschooling
I guess that unschooling is really about letting your child explore the world in their own unique way, developing who they will eventually be in an environment free from the restraint of the expectations of others. I firmly believe that this will help the child grow into a person who knows and is comfortable with him/herself.
If you are a loving and attentive parent, you can home/unschool. The child will let you know when they are ready to learn what they need to learn. For example, every child will want to know how to read if they are read to and shown that reading is fun. It doesn't matter if they do it at age 4, 7, or 10. Remember, Einstien didn't even talk until he was 4. The only way you can fail as a home educator is if you don't engage the child or are not interested in watching your child learn and discover. I would encourage anyone who is thinking of homeschooling, and can afford it, to try. If it doesn't work out, you can always go back to public or find a charter school if they are offered in your area.
Yarg, this turned out to be longer than planned, sorry.
GO HOME EDUCATORS
Peace Everybody

[AT9]

Hey everyone, this is my first post on this forum and it seems like a good place to start!

I am a homeschoold high school junior and hopefully I can help answer some of these questions. First, you DO NOT need to test to pass a grade. My two sisters and I go to an evaluator and she looks over the stuff we've done throughout the year and then determines if we "pass" on to the next grade.

For college:

Yes, homeschoolers can receive Bright Futures, we just have to meet the same requirements that everyone else does (SAT/ACT, service hours, courses).

When it comes to going to college, it works pretty much the same way that any other kid would go to college. They look at your SAT/ACT scores, the courses you took in high school, extra-cirriculars, etc.....
For instance; I take dual-enrollment college classes at Pensacola Junior College, I play varsity basketball with a local school, I am involved in a homeschool Student Government group, I work with several commuinity service groups and I will be taking the SAT in a few weeks. When I apply to a college, they will look at this like any other public school student.