i have homeschooled my 7yo for 2 years now...we love it...so flexible...i am so glad that i have been able to have him home with me, especially since moving from illinois to texas and then going through a divorce...

i do preschool activities with my 3yo, he likes to say that he homeschools, too!

my ex and i originally made the decision to homeschool when we were in illinois, in a not so good public school district...we sent him to school at montessori for a year, but then due to the fact that the cost of private school is rather high, and having a sister and two close friends who homeschooled their children, we decided to give it a try!

also, it has been great for my two boys...they have such an awesome relationship..

i am rather sad that our homeschooling experience will be coming to an end in the fall, (i'm putting 7yo in school and 3yo will do pre-k) but i think that they will have a great time!

anyway, i think that any of you moms out there who are homeschooling, especially while single...deserve a big hug and pat on the back!!

Mom_n_ems...I like that name, but am suddenly stricken with a hunger for certain candy-coated chocolates that melt in your mouth and not in your hands. None to be found 'round here...thanks alot!

I, too, am venturing into homeschooling. Always knew it was what I wanted to do despite the occasional nay-sayer. My oldest is only five, so I'm just starting out in the homeschooling journey, but am already thrilled beyond belief at how they're thriving. Wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything.

You know, if you're kids are entering the school system in Texas...they're gonna start picking up on that southern drawl pretty quickly. Don't be surprised when you start hearing words like "y'all" and "aint" in the ol' vocabulary. LOL! I moved to Indiana from New York about nine years ago and my NY friends tell me I sound like a hick. I just tell them that these Hoosiers be learnin' me (aka: ejumacatin') how to talk right.

By the way, do you have any recommendations on curriculum? I'm looking for an effective, secular, and proven set of learning materials. There are so many out there, it's tough to narrow them down.

Hope your "youngin's" enjoy school. Sounds like you've given them a sturdy foundation on which to build. Reach around and pat yourself on the back, mom_n_ems...oooo, there's that darn chocolate craving again!

lol...your post put a smile on my face..thank you!! needed that! in fact, i love your signature line! lol

how exciting that you are going to homeschool!! i think that you will really enjoy the experience...especially if you know for sure that's what you want to do, and it sounds like it is!

i won't lie..there are some really, really tough days! i have really loosened up though, from our first year...for example..

when my 7 yo can't sit still and keeps dropping his pencil, or launching it, rather, now that it's a piece of artillery, and tipping over his chair in the process of picking up the misfired weapon, (all the while making the appropriate sound effects, of course!) instead of me always getting upset, now i can take a deep breath and say to my son " let's take a 15 minute break" !

i had to learn to be flexible!

lets see...curriculum...we use saxon math and have for 1st grade level and 2nd grade...i love it! the first year...i followed the teachers instruction book ...but now i mostly just use the workbooks and teach everything to him in my own words...saxon has a kindergarten level, also, but i have not personally seen it...

oh, something that i highly recommend and is especially fun for your child's age is FIVE IN A ROW....It is awesome! it gives an opening eye to literature! and provides great fun in the process! a friend of mine uses it and i turned my sister on to it and they love it, too. www.fiveinarow.com In fact for a five year old it has it all.. the author uses books that can mostly be found at the library...

read, read, read! usborne books are great, too..

also, lots of art...

that's what i suggest for a five year old...remember at that age they still learn so much from play!

speaking of living in texas...my son has started saying "no more" rather than anymore...bout to drive me nuts! definately correcting that one! agh! so, he says to me..mom, is it ok to say y'all? lol oh...and they say, "i'm fix'n to cook dinner" or "i'm fix'n to go wash my car" lol..

and this summer a neighbor friend of mine said, do y'all wanna come on down to our house on the 4th, we're fix'n to pop firecrackers on the bayou and marybeth is cookin' up her gumbo soup!! i about bust a gut! in illinois we just say, blandly i suppose, "you guys are welcome to come over to our house..we're gonna have a cookout and do fireworks!" i love it, here!

good luck on your homeschooling journey!!

Thanks again Mom_n_ems! I'll look into the fiveinarow for sure and appreciate the advice. I also thought about hitting up ebay to see what kind of second-hand books are out there (I'm cheap, cheap, cheap).

By the way, I've run across some of your other posts on the site and sure do admire you and what you've gone through. Stay strong and ((((BIG HUGS))))

I'm glad to know there are other single parent homeschoolers out there. All the parents that homeschool around here live in big, fancy houses and drive the latest minivan on the market and have what seem to be happy marriages. They can keep their white picket fences, I'm thrilled to be doing this on my own in my fixer-upper house and chain-link fence. I'll probably hit you up in the future when questions arise...consider yourself warned...lol!

you are so welcome!! i love to talk about homeschooling, so ask away!

you may be able to find five in a row on ebay!

thank you for the cyber hugs!

have fun!

Hey just out of curiousity what does it cost to homeschool? My 16 year old wants to do that and as far as I've found out its like $600 to $1,000 for a year??

Hi mom-en-ems, I've been out of the homeschool link for many years, my eldest is now away at college. I now have a 5 year old and she is struggling with reading and handwriting and I was wondering if you could give me some insight into what the latest and greatest products are in the homeschooling circuit specifically to teach phonics and reading as well as better handwriting. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, Thanks so much for your help.
LoriAnn523

quote:

Originally posted by mom_n_ems:
[qb] i have homeschooled my 7yo for 2 years now...we love it...so flexible...i am so glad that i have been able to have him home with me, especially since moving from illinois to texas and then going through a divorce...

i do preschool activities with my 3yo, he likes to say that he homeschools, too!

my ex and i originally made the decision to homeschool when we were in illinois, in a not so good public school district...we sent him to school at montessori for a year, but then due to the fact that the cost of private school is rather high, and having a sister and two close friends who homeschooled their children, we decided to give it a try!

also, it has been great for my two boys...they have such an awesome relationship..

i am rather sad that our homeschooling experience will be coming to an end in the fall, (i'm putting 7yo in school and 3yo will do pre-k) but i think that they will have a great time!

anyway, i think that any of you moms out there who are homeschooling, especially while single...deserve a big hug and pat on the back!! [/qb]

quote:

Originally posted by Tam67:
[qb] Hey just out of curiousity what does it cost to homeschool? My 16 year old wants to do that and as far as I've found out its like $600 to $1,000 for a year?? [/qb]

I don't know where you are from but where I live it doesn't cost anything except for maybe some of the field trips. I plan to homeschool my youngest next year because he is struggling so much and the school he is going to doesn't seem to be helping him at all. I am excited and worried because I have never done anything like this before and I am worried about having the time to do it right. I work nights but its 12hr shifts so I only have to work 14 days a month. I just keep thinking of the "Little Engine that Could" and what he said "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can." I think that is how I will get through it.

Wish me luck! And good luck to you too!