Homeschool Help
This part of my site is going to be the most fun to do. I started homeschooling my son after working at a 3rd shift factory job. When he was approaching kindergarten I realized I would never see him. By the time he came home I would be getting ready for work and then off to Nana's he'd go. Well, YEARS ago I was a teacher for young children. A pretty awesome teacher is memory serves me right :D
I knew it couldn't hurt either of us for me to take a swing at homeschooling and juggling a full time job. Ya know what? It turned out pretty awesome. By the time I had enough seniority to go to day shift I chose not to because our life was working pretty good. I've never been a morning person and I was able to spend more time with my son this way than if I worked days. We worked 5-7 ten hour shifts. Doing day shift I would have come home for dinner and then put my son to bed. This way I worked while my son slept. It was one of those sacrifices that we benefited from.
From there, we both loved it and felt a freedom with homeschooling that you can never have otherwise. We chose to homeschool all year 'round so we could take fun days as needed and field trips as needed and/or wanted. Sick days and holidays would never be an issue. We could start with one curriculum and if something did not work or if there was a way of teaching I disagreed with or teaching that my son did not understand we had the freedom to change it. In public school or even private school you better like the curriculum at hand and understand it. There is no room for change with either one of those environment.
My son had the funniest phobia with timed tests. Do you remember those? I think it is just a way to see how much you REALLY know because you don't have time to think about it but just respond. He would actually freeze up and stare at the timer. LOL. Oh my, I was able to laugh and then not do timed tests anymore. At ANY school he would have just received a big ole' "F".
Another example: At his 5 year old doctor visit where they do the eye exams and stuff to prepare kids for school HE FAILED. What??? He had no problems seeing. Well, it turned out he is amblyopic. Where you only use one eye to see. Kids usually have a wondering eye and wear a patch over one to help strengthen their weak eye. He had outstanding control over the weak eye so we had no idea until he took the test covering the strong eye. He had 20/20 in the 'good' eye and 20/400 in the other. AAHHH! Anywho, he struggled to learn to read and would get frustrated. There is no doubt the the school would have labeled him with a reading disorder instead of calling for glasses.
I had a step-son when I was married who needed glasses and the school labeled him 'slow' and opted to put him into special school. I through a fit and called the school and MADE them look into it. I agreed to get his eyes tested and they warned his mother to get a complete physical on him. This is why I know how schools do the kids. Well, he needed glasses AND had an inner ear infection. If you do not wish to homeschool that's fine. It's not for everyone, but do you kids a huge favor. Always, and I mean always double check whatever a school should tell you about your kids. Make sure NO ONE labels your kids slow for it is not God's will or plan for anyone to be 'slow'. We are the righteousness of God and can be anything we desire according to the will of God. Some people need more encouragement and some need more assistance but NO ONE needs to be talked down to or belittled!
Tell your kids every day how smart they are and how amazing they are. Tell them everyday. Hug them, kiss them and make sure they know without a doubt you love them and will always be there in their corner for them. So, now you see how many reasons you can have for homeschooling. Now that my son is older he chooses to keep homeschooling. He has a new curriculum and loves it. He says he doesn't want to go to school because the kids curse and talk about sex all the time. Wew. I love him. I love that I have successfully en-stilled in him the desire to be better. I feel like he is ahead of the game already. Woo Hoo! So, any reason for homeschooling will do. If you have the desire to homeschool do not let anyone talk you out of it. Likewise, I never try to talk people into it. Like I said, it's not for everyone. That means not every child should be homeschooled and not every parent is cut out for you'll homeschooling. It's that simple.
Now for the fun part. I have made lists of great free resources to add to your homeschooling resources. You can use them to help teach certain subjects or just use them for a fun day of learning. Some days you'll need a break from the usual books and tests. I do believe kids learn a lot through play and fun. So, these lists are FREE RESOURCES for all ages. Just click on each subject and you will see a straight list of links to click to. I will try to put down ages, but I have a lot and will not be able to do it for all links. Maybe little by little I can add that information. However, at the bottom of this page I will list the paid curriculums I have personally used for my son. I will NOT list any paid curriculum I have not personally used. So, enjoy. If you have used something I do not have listed and would love to share it just add it to my comment area.
HAPPY HOMESCHOOLING TO YOU!