Hello everyone,

My name is Molly.  I am mother of two...8y.o boy and 4y.o girl.  I am SERIOUSLY considering taking the step to homeschooling my kids.  We live in the East Mountains and to me the future of public education looks very grim...besides I really want to be more directly invloved with educating to their individual strengths....they are so amazingly individually creative!  Thought I would start here and figure out where to go from here about getting educated on how to educate.  Where do I start?

Molly, congrats on considering homeschooling!  The amazingly liberating and sometimes overwhelming truth is that there's no right or wrong way to do it...  I think the way I got into things was by reading- there's TONS out there that may help you feel more comfortable with the decision.  I also joined a HSing group as soon as I found one (when my oldest was still in diapers), just so I could meet other homeschoolers and see what they did.  I'd encourage you to come to a park day and meet some of us, and you can get to know about all of our unique approaches- we love to talk!!   There are 2 weekly park days, the info scrolls at the top of the main forum page (http://www.abqhomeschool.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl).  

Here are some books I found really helpful, inspiring, etc.:

The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson
The Homeschooling Book of Answers by Linda Dobson
Deschooling Our Lives by Matt Hern
Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

The "What Your _____ Grader Needs to Know" series by E. D. Hirsch is a really great resource, too

There are many, many more that could be added to that list, I am sure!  

Hi Molly,  I read The Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling before I started homeschooling, and it gave me a simplistic but broad overview of various stlyles and reasons for homeschooling.  My kids were going in to first and third gade when I decided to homeschool.  This is our sixth year!  You will be amazed by all the resources available, and it would be really difficult for you to fail to teach your kids what they would learn in public school.
Best wishes in your decisions.

Hi there, Molly!  Once we made the decision to homeschool (last year), I went to the library and checked out every book I could find on the subject - (and there's A LOT of them) and spent weeks reading them.  I was provided w/ a great sense of the many different styles of homeschooling out there.  There was one book called, "Things We Wish We'd Known" that I found especially helpful - seasoned homeschool parents expressing what they wish they knew when they first started out.  

Also, the annual Homeschool Convention is coming up in mid April.   You can attend the Thursday class - "Getting Started Homeschooling" free of charge.  I went last year, and I got lots of great info as well as validation and determination.   The website for info on the convention is http://www.cape-nm.org

Don't get overwhelmed - there's so much info and oodles of resources out there - especially online!  Have fun getting your feet wet and know that you can do it!!

Hi Molly,

Welcome! Oh, how VERY fun and exciting for you!!! I guess my first question is: Is your 8 year old already enrolled in public school? If he is, I would pull him out ASAP and take some time off to "de-school" as some call it. Trust me, it's not wasted time, while you find and put together your curriculum, you could spend your days cooking, playing, doing some fun crafts, maybe reading a good book outloud together at night (my top choices for that age are 1-The Egemeiyers's Beginners' Bible story book (I know I totally mispelled that, but I don't have it in front of me and 2-Boxcar Children or 3)Charlotte's Web).

How fun! God bless you on your journey!
claudia lee

Hi,
I agree with the others about attending a getting started seminar and on checking out every book about homeschooling you can get your hands on.  One book in particular I highly recommend is The well-adjusted child : the social benefits of homeschooling  by Rachel Gathercole.  Many people believe children need to be in school for socialization, and that homeschoolers miss out.  This book shows otherwise, and so do park days   .  

Good Luck!

Molly, it was so good to talk to you today.  I'm glad you joined us at the park.

Here is that link about deschooling I told you I'd look up http://www.homeschooloasis.com/art_deschooling_tips.htm

I look forward to hanging out with you again