This post was originally written Summer 2010.
How long have you been homeschooling?
I'm never sure how to answer this question. I've always homeschooled my kids. Natalie did go to a private preschool for 2 years (2 days a week, 9-2), but we still did lots of learning at home. I "technically" homeschooled her for K and 1st (so far). Erica has not reached "school age", but I'm homeschooling her as well. So, I guess, I've just homeschooled them from the start.
How long do you plan to homeschool your children?
My ultimate goal would be to homeschool them through high school, until they went to college. However, I take it all day by day. I don't foresee them going to public (or private) school in the future, but that doesn't mean they won't.
Do you plan to homeschool all of your children?
This has a similar answer to the previous question. Ultimately, I do plan to homeschool all of my children. I don't foresee not homeschooling any of them, but we take it day by day.
Are you part of a homeschool support group?
Technically, yes. There is a homeschool group at our church, but I was not involved in it last year because most everything was planned at 2:00pm, and that is in the middle of naptime for us. The leadership has changed for this coming school year though, and I'm hoping to be able to get more involved.
How do your kids get socialization with other kids their age?
Mainly from church. They're involved in several different things at church. Natalie is also on a soccer team, and Erica will be taking gymnastics this fall.
How many hours a day do you spend doing school work?
It varies. Some days we spend several hours doing school work and some days we don't spend any time at all. Flexibility is one of the things I like most about homeschooling. I'd say though, on average, we spend probably 2 hours a day doing school work.
Where in your house do you do your school work?
We do have a dedicated school room. It is our upstairs loft. That is where I keep all of the curriculum and supplies we use. There are desks, a small table and chairs, bookshelves, tv, computer, and other stuff up there. It is where we do majority of our school work. We still do things downstairs - in the kitchen or living room, or even outside. But most of the time, we work in the school room.
What curriculum do you use?
I use a little of this and a little of that. I've tried different things over the past couple years. For this coming school year, I'll be using:
Natalie - 2nd grade
Explode the Code - Phonics - Books 5 & 6
Alpha Omega LIFEPAC - Language Arts - grade 2
Alpha Omega LIFEPAC - Math - grade 2
Five in a Row - Literature Based Unit Studies - Volume 1
Erica - Pre-K
Get Ready/Get Set/Go for the Code - Phonics
Rod and Staff ABC Series
Plus I also have a ton of misc. workbooks that I've collected that I use to supplement as needed. Most of them are from the dollar spot at Target, Dollar Tree, and Costco.
Please feel free to comment or email me with any other questions you may have! I'm more than happy to answer your homeschooling questions to the best of my ability.
