Homeschool? (Jacksonville, Orlando, University: YMCA, school district, university) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

CajunGurl · 03-04-2008, 07:31 AM

Does anyone have any experience with homeschooling? We are considering it for our soon-to-be kindergartener. Are there any local support groups? What curriculum do you recommend? I would like to use a complete curriculum from an "umbrella school" at least the first year. Thanks!

travelingfood · 03-04-2008, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CajunGurl

Does anyone have any experience with homeschooling? We are considering it for our soon-to-be kindergartener. Are there any local support groups? What curriculum do you recommend? I would like to use a complete curriculum from an "umbrella school" at least the first year. Thanks!

*looks at Tim Tebow's history.

no experience here but know few people that homeschool their kid. biggest challenge is how to balance their social skills, as they won't be having daily kid-to-kid interaction.

1970pelle · 03-04-2008, 08:05 AM

We used the Abeka program.www.abeka.com.It (broken link) is very easy to teach.Gives you step by step programs.Both my boys have tested above there grade level for Clay County Schools.We keep active in a church that has a large youth group.They do alot of activities,so the boys get the right mix.

mawipafl · 03-04-2008, 06:47 PM

We homeschooled during the middle school years. No regrets whatsoever. We somewhat paralleled the public school curriculum, but did it our way. We used textbooks, software, and roadtrips. Socialization with peers was never a problem because of all the community activities available. We were in PA at the time, and we found quite a few homeschool groups. I'm sure these kinds of groups exist here as well. Had our daughter continued homeschool during high school years, she would have had a prom and a graduation ceremony through the group, so there were lots of opportunities.

littlefamily · 03-05-2008, 08:07 PM

I've been homeschooling my girls for 4 years now. The best advice I got when starting out was to focus on the basics the first two years - reading and math. If you have a solid foundation in the basics, all the rest will come. There are so many curriculum choices out there, it is easy to get overwhelmed and/or try to do too much when they are young.

There is a great homeschool conference in Orlando in May(put on by FPEA) and HERI (the Jacksonville group) puts one on in July. Conferences are a great way to look at curriculum.

Read, read, read about homeschooling... There is so much good information out there. Some of my favorites are:

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer (Gives you the outline for a Classical Education. She lists what subjects to cover and then gives you several curriculum choices with pros and cons.)
Anything by David Albert (Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery and The Skylark Sings With Me are favorites)
Anything about the Charlotte Mason Method

Spend K-garten figuring out how your child learns and what philosophy you feel comfortable teaching. The books I listed go from an unschooling philosophy to a strict classical education.

Our k-garten year was:
15min - Phonics Pathways
20 min - Singapore Math Early Bird and tons of hands on math activities
10 min - Handwriting Without Tears
Weekly trips to the library and lots of me reading to them! That was pretty much it.

I now have a 3rd grader and a 4th grader who now don't want to go to school because there wouldn't be "enough time to read and learn about all the stuff they want to..." My philosophy is - teach a child to love reading and you give them the key to all knowledge.

Don't even think twice about the socialization aspect. When was the last time you were with a group of around 20 people all the same age AND you couldn't choose who or when to interact with them? Sorry - that's my sarcastic answer.... Reality is that you can have as much or more socialization for your children while homeschooling.

Good luck on your journey!

CajunGurl · 03-06-2008, 07:24 AM

If you use an umbrella school, do you have to have anything approved by the school board? Are there any special rules I should know about homeschooling in Florida? We recently moved here from Louisiana but have never homeschooled.

littlefamily · 03-06-2008, 06:47 PM

We have only been here for a year, so double check the rules....

Florida Parent-Educators Association has very good information about the homeschool law in FL.

My understanding is that you do not have to report if you are enrolled in an umbrella or virtual school as long as it is recognized in FL. It would be similar to enrolling in a private school. Research your options carefully and call your school district to be certain it will be an accepted organization. Some of the virtual schools require you to "attend" a certain amount of days/hours which to me eliminates the flexibility of homeschooling.

If you do it independently, it is pretty simple to report. You need to write the person who oversees homeschooling in your district to declare that your child is being homeschooled. Keep a log & portfolio of the child's work. Then after one year (not a school calendar year...) you need to submit an evaluation which can be either standardized testing administered by a certified teacher, a review of the child's work portfolio by a certified teacher, or an evaluation by a professional (they list in the law what is considered acceptable for this option).

Hope that helps.

kimana517 · 03-12-2008, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by littlefamily

Don't even think twice about the socialization aspect. When was the last time you were with a group of around 20 people all the same age AND you couldn't choose who or when to interact with them? Sorry - that's my sarcastic answer.... Reality is that you can have as much or more socialization for your children while homeschooling.

Very well-said. The lack-of-socialization argument is used only by the uninformed. The homeschoolers I know here in Jax have far more interaction with their peers (and all other ages) than kids who attend regular school and get lectured at for 7 hours a day. I was the same way - my parents homeschooled me by their choice initially, but eventually gave me the option to go to regular school. I couldn't fathom the idea of being in school all day and then having homework, like my friends. (Yes, I had friends! Lots of them! Shock! /sarcasm) I was involved in many extracurricular activities despite the Illinois school system's dislike for homeschoolers. Jax seems to be much more homeschool-friendly (or maybe it's just that it's been 8 years since I graduated) than that town was, though. The homeschoolers I know here are busy with dance classes/recitals, youth group, volunteering, part-time jobs, karate, debate team, etc. And they are part of a homeschool co-op, which actually has a few "normal" classes, with a lecture and all, each week.

As you can tell, I am very pro-homeschooling. It was great for me (I had a very high ACT score, and graduated high school and started college at age 16) and it is great for a lot of people. The learning experience is invaluable. There are colleges, including Ivy Leagues, that actually seek out homeschoolers because they are often very intelligent, problem solvers, motivated, and well-rounded. Eventually, though, if you notice your child is not self-motivated, or learns better via lectures, you may consider putting them in regular school. Two of my brothers were that way; they'd sit at the table for hours upon end, staring into space, and no matter what my mom would say or do, they would not get their work done. They needed to be in a controlled environment like a classroom. Some people just learn differently than others - there's nothing wrong with that.

We used a few different curricula when I was homeschooled. We used some of the exact same textbooks the local high school used, but we also at times used Rod & Staff, Bob Jones University Press (I am not a big fan of BJU, but their materials were quite good), and Saxon. Abeka is popular, but we never used it.

Have fun teaching your children, and watching them learn. Good luck!

Christa LaFarlette · 03-12-2008, 09:36 PM

I have lots to say....and so little time!

I briefly read through all the posts but decided to give you our experiences....
My oldest son is almost 18, we graduated him early through American Schools of Corr out of Illinois and loved it. They do 9th grade through graduation, and your student is completely involved in their program. Prior to that we used Alpha Omega. Loved it. It had work books and he took them with us as we traveled. I corrected his work, and then we would review all the stuff he missed--amazing and awesome experience. We used the YMCA to augment his 'social skills' but I'll tell you what we missed not having him in public ed.....and, my disclaimer here-not every young person will have this--we have no problem with language, drugs, alcohol, trust, respect (for the most part), adherence to rules, taking care of younger kids, interacting with adults...and my list goes on. He is an amazing young man, and I'm extremely proud each time he is asked to take care of something.
My daughter is in 3rd grade now, we did homeschool her in K. I used Horizons, which is also through Alpha Omega...again, loved it. You pace yourself. A friend of mine also does homeschool her boys and she augments with 'CBS' bible study. I don't have alot of info on that but it works for them. If we were to homeschool her again I would use Alpha Omega,and we are currently looking at pulling her out for middle school. I'm fairly certain that my littlest will homeschool, only because he is a handful, and overly bright. If I had many age ranges I would use Weaver program. Weaver is a program that is one program and as the 'teacher' you adjust it to what your child/student needs. So for a Kinder you would do basic science, more intense for a 5th grader, etc. Love that they have this option.

So, as I'm sure you can tell we are hugely in favor of homeschool. Here in JAX you can have your student enrolled through the district and homeschool, so you are accountable to the district for your childs education (which is good, in my opinion) and still have some control. In 9th grade your child can start virtual school. And you might want to ask about the homebound programs....depending on your needs.

So, here's what I did learn through trial (and error). You need to make certain to have your child tested now and again. You need to participate in FCAT's and the standard testing. Check and keep checking with colleges on a long term plan to make sure you're tracking for their particular requirements...who knew you have to have 2 years foreign language? Not me, that's for sure!

What else? I'm not sure....but we really enjoyed our experience and have a remarkable (other's opinions) teen to show for it. I like that he learned about life through living it, and not in a typical teen and youth setting.
Sorry for my tome...hope it's helpful!
Christa

Christa LaFarlette · 03-12-2008, 09:41 PM

Almost forgot,...it's been a few years but if I recall correctly FL does not formally recognize Kindergarten as a must have. So, you really don't have to be enrolled for Kinder through the districts, but would start accounting starting in 1st.
So, take a deep breath, you have time to figure it out!