Homeschooling

Posts Tagged ‘Homeschool Supplies’

Question: how do you go about doing homeschool /getting started , anyone in Oregon that can answer this?

I want to homeschool my son. He wil be 5 and needs to go into kindergarten. I'm not sure what age a child has to be to get homeschooled , can you tell me? Also is it okay to homeschool him in kindergarten or not? where do I get started? I have no idea what to do, who to talk to , where to go, etc. what are the steps I need to take in order to do homeschool? PLease don't refer me to a site, because those don't help, could you just tell me what you did? Also, how much does home school cost total for supplies and all? Just wondering because I am poor and can't afford to pay for it. Someone told me that it could be free through the district, is this true and if so how do I get it? Thanks so much for your advice.

Answer: The first thing you need to do is look up the Homeschool Laws in your state, you can usually find these by going to the Department of Education website for your state. I know, you didn't want to be referred to a website, but learning the law really is the best way to start.. I own a legal accountability group in the southeast, so the laws may be different here than in your state. Once you find out the laws, it will be easier to find out how to get the information you need. I'll share what we do in our state, it may help you out, if you need help interpreting the laws in your state I will be happy to help.

In our state, your child must be five years old by September 4 to start Kindergarten the current year. You can homeschool through the district, although they don't always give you the books for free, or you can homeschool through a homeschool accountability association. I pay under $100 per year for my children's books, we like ABeka (ordered from a website) and Spectrum (widely available at bookstores such as Books a Million). My 14yo is in 10th grade, my 8yo is in 5th grade, and my 15-month-old is in 4k/5k. If you get books that don't have a set lesson plan, divide the pages in the book by 170 and that's how much of the book you will use each day (in our state you have to school for 180 days, homeschoolers do not get sick days, but we take 10 field trips per year to total 180 days). We do writing 3 days per week, science and history 2 days, reading every day, math every day except Friday, and Grammar every day except Monday... my children like to mix it up a little. Educational field trips (such as zoo, museum, gardens, et cetera) count as a day of schooling and you don't have to do bookwork those days.

Look on Yahoo Groups and type in your city and state, using "Homeschool" as a keyword and you will be able to find support groups for homeschoolers who can give you more information, they often do field trips together and maybe even have meetings to discuss curriculum and such. Although, you do need to know, that moms on those groups may not really know the laws, they may just go with the flow and do things like everyone else is doing (or what they've 'heard' they should do)... so make sure you are familiar with the laws yourself!!

If you need help or advice, please feel free to contact me through email or IM. We have been Homeschooling for 11 years, I own a legal accountability group for homeschoolers in my state, and we are passionate about Homeschooling!

Timmy Turtle Children's Book

If you are planning to homeschool your children, you will need Homeschool Supplies. There are many Homeschool Supplies stores you can obtain basic Homeschool Supplies such as writing materials and letter sets. If you are teaching sciences, you will need homeschool lab supplies, found in selected homeschool book and supply stores. Many Christian book stores are also Christian Home School Supply stores.

Tips before buying Homeschool Supplies

Before you go out and buy Homeschool Supplies, look around your house and ask your friends if they have any materials suitable for Homeschooling. Home School Support Groups in your local area should also be able to tell you where to get the cheapest and best Homeschool Supplies. There are free Homeschool Supplies and discount Homeschool Supplies you may be able to take advantage of.

Basic Homeschool Supplies

Below are some basic Homeschool Supplies for writing and reading. As you begin Homeschooling, you will find your favorite homeschool supplies to use. Not everyone uses the same set of homeschool supplies. Below are some ideas of what homes school supplies you may want or need.

Homeschool supplies for writing: Writing materials for Homeschooling include colored paper, big paper, little paper, lined and unlined paper, pencils, paint, colored pencils. crayons, markers, chalk and chalkboard, scissors, paste, tape, staplers and hole punchers. Homeschool books, magazines, and newspapers: these are good homeschool supplies for homeschoolers to expand their mind, knowledge, and keep up with current events.

Letter sets are also great homeschool supplies for young homeschoolers. Lettersets can come in magnet form, anagrams, letter blocks or scrabble tiles. In addition to lettersets, you can have alphabet and number strips in your homeschool supplies. These creative homeschool supplies will immensely help your children learn.

Other homeschool supplies

In addition to the homeschool supplies mentioned above, you can use any other materials you like such as a computer, a typewriter, any theatre props, stamping kits, scrap book tools, stickers, calligraphy sets, labels, posters, bulletin boards, coloring books, play dough, clay, puzzles, wood, fabric, string, charcoal, or anything other homeschool supplies. You get the idea! If you need more ideas, you can also visit any homeschool supplies, see what they sell and try to come up with something similar with the homeschool supplies you already have at home. Remember if you are going to buy homeschool supplies, look for discount home school supplies or free homeschool supplies.