[tjay]

Anyone do this? I think about it more and more. Wondered if anyone could share their experiences.....?

[jeeg]

HSLDA | Home School Laws

That link is one of the best starting places. Michigan is actually one of the easiest states to homeschool in.

Yes we homeschool but we are early in our journey (oldest child is 6yrs old). Just google homeschooling forums and you'll find out everything you've wanted to know and more.
There are so many different styles and techniques when it comes to homeschooling. You can ask 100 different people about homeschooling and you'll likely come away with 120 different answers!

We've been having a blast so far and are looking forward to the future.

[dweej]

We don't homeschool (yet...?) but there is a very strong homeschooling community in our area (north of Kalamazoo). It seems very organized, accepted and supported to homeschool here in Michigan, so you probably have a homeschool co-op very close to you that would be more than happy to help you out!

[canudigit]

Michigan is loaded with homeschoolers, with more and more joining the ranks every year. We have homeschooled our sixteen year old daughter since the fifth grade and she just took a practice ACT exam and scored a composite score of 32...homeschooling works!

Here is a link to the Michigan page of the HSLDA website, which the pp already made reference to. HSLDA stands for Homeschool Legal Defense Association and it is an invaluable resource:

Homeschooling in Michigan

Good luck!

[tjay]

excellent! thank you! i am a single parent and would like to do this for my daughter. i just don't know how hard it is and would not have much support from immediate family.

to canudigit: is it hard to teach the older ages (i can't remember all the math, etc. obviously i would have to re-learn it all too right?)

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by tjay

excellent! thank you! i am a single parent and would like to do this for my daughter. i just don't know how hard it is and would not have much support from immediate family.

to canudigit: is it hard to teach the older ages (i can't remember all the math, etc. obviously i would have to re-learn it all too right?)

There's no way that I would attempt to teach our daughter things like Algebra II and Chemistry, I'm way too rusty! We use a faith-based curriculum that is available either online or on DVD and is taught by the best teachers that I have ever seen in my life. It is supposed to be accelerated, and I can see where it really is, because our son attended a well-respected private school and our daughter has learned a lot more than he ever did at school, and her test scores reflect that. It's put out by BJU Press, a subsidiary of Bob Jones University in Greenville, SC. It is ultra-conservative and Bible based, so it may not be for everyone, but it has been great for us.

[idw2s]

I've got a 15, 8, and 7. The younger two were in school for all of 3 days before we pulled them back out. The 15 year old has never been to school (other than co-ops or entrepreneurial teachers that taught classes that worked well in a group format, like the sciences and sports and the arts).

We started out with a very regimented program and over time, a growing family, health issues, we became more relaxed. I was always fascinated by, and skeptical of "unschooling", but because of the more serious periods health-wise, we wound up unschooling at times.

We've always focused on teachable moments, the world as a classroom, grounding in the basics, and a little carrot and stick (in life, if you want a, you have to do b). There are great programs to teach almost any subject in a variety of ways, because no one person learns the same way. My son has always tested several grades ahead, he's got a solid understanding of key subjects, and because I've given him increased responsibility for his education (you want to do x with your life, you have to earn a good living, so you need to be able to sell yourself either to an employer or a customer, which involves being educated) he knows how to learn what he doesn't know. Some of our homeschooling experience was a leap of faith, but my husband got a great private education, and our son can run laps around him with half his brain tied around his back.

Half the battle is that much "togetherness" (which is key) and half the battle is stick-to-itiveness. Problems arise, if you're the type to keep working at it until you solve the problem, you'll do fine. Most wonderful parenting decision I ever made. My kids have enough time to study subjects in depth in a way most schools can't, and enough leisure time to really investigate the world around them and explore their passions, learn how to make things happen for them, instead of to them. They're learning a great work ethic.... We love it.

[tjay]

Been researching links, googling, etc. Feeling discouraged as I do not know how to make it work being a single parent. I HAVE to work. I have a physically demanding job and no support from father. Which isn't an excuse but I don't know if I personally have the strength. ugh!

[idw2s]

Originally Posted by tjay

Been researching links, googling, etc. Feeling discouraged as I do not know how to make it work being a single parent. I HAVE to work. I have a physically demanding job and no support from father. Which isn't an excuse but I don't know if I personally have the strength. ugh!

tjay, don't give up hope. What general part of the state are you in? How old is your child? There may be some ways over the road bumps....

[tjay]

in ortonville....north oakland county, near the south gennese border. my daughter will be 3 in july. i still have time, its just that i'm exhausted now and i don't know how i will squeeze that in too. plus she will still need someone to watch her when i do work?

i saw there was a group in genesse county i plan to email. even if i can't do it, i still plan on being as active as i can with her education.

i just wanted to avoid mixing her with a society that seems to have very low standards in the emotional and health department. i want her to think for herself and not have to deal with kids who are emotionally unstable and their parents don't care. i just hear alot of stories because the majority of clients where i work are teachers. i do think she'll be ok either way, if i am involved. i'm probably just freaking but this 'society' kinda scares me! i also feel that most of her younger years should be with me or family, not strangers. i don't think its natural to send your child off to daycare all day, to be apart most of the day at such a young age. people say they have to be 'socialized' but why in such an extreme way? they need their parents more than they need to be 'socialized'. its not to say you don't ever expose them to social situations, but to me the norm is extreme. i'm rambling.....sorry:}