Homeschool

I find most of my resources on free online websites. Other things I have found in Dollar Tree and my local thrift store. My kids have lots of friends from the church they go to-there are 60 other kids around their ages. Of course there is always sports-if you can afford those-we cannot. We go to the park across the street a lot and they always meet new friends there. Also I provide childcare in my home so they meet new kids that way too. I had family members that didn't agree with Home schooling my children but that's just it-they are MY kids! No one else has to like what I do or don't do with them-it's none of their business. I use a lot of binders, cubbies, and folders to stay organized. I don't work outside of the home but I do know there are people that do it while working. Home School is flexible-it doesn't HAVE to be done at a certain time of day. You can Home School when you get off work. That's the awesome thing about Home Schooling-it's up to you how, where and when you do things as long as you follow the law where you live. I hope I have helped a little bit here! =) I Home School 3 of my kids, my youngest is a baby but I will Home School him as well when he gets older.

We use a lot of Abeka. But I guess that's considered "religious" curriculum. A non-religious History/Geography/Art/Science curriculum is Layers of Learning. We have a drawer for each school-aged child, to keep their individual lessons in. Our eldest two can basically go through their lessons on their own. Occasionally, they'll have a question they need help with. Sometimes it's a question that only dad can help with, so they have to wait for him to get home from work. That leaves me available to help the younger kids with their lessons. With them, I just take it as it comes. I get one started on a math sheet and start a reading lesson with another. There are a lot of pauses and breaks, but we generally get finished before lunch. I also have a planner for each school-aged child. It's where I write down every lesson that they do and every day that they do it. I keep it updated with their daily lesson scores. We have friends we hang out with, so the kids get their social interactions. We go to the park and some of the kids take sports. Yeah, my grandma really didn't like the idea of us homeschooling. She said it was, "Okay for starting out." Like pre-K or grade K. But as the kids have grown, she's become impressed with their knowledge. Our two eldest kids just took their state standardized test and blew it out of the water. So, eventually the nay-sayers see the benefit. Until they can see the results, you can look up statistics on how well homeschoolers do and be ready to defend your choice. Can't comment on that last one. I'm a stay-at-home mom.