Hi, I live in Portales, NM and find there are very few things to help me get going on homeschooling. I had originally wanted to homeschool my son around the third grade but decided to give the public school system another go. My son is going to be in the eigth grade next year and I think he would be better suited for homeschooling. I've tried contacting his teachers about his grades and his homework, even asking them to help me by letting me know that he's falling behind. By the time they let me know, it's too late to do the assignments or he's WAY behind. I think my son really needs the one on one attention from me teaching him in order to succeed. I really need some help on getting started. For instance, what I should buy, what I should be teaching him, how many hours a day we should go on a subject/schooling. (I've been told to teach as long as he's interested). Any support and help would be greatly appreciated!

You may want to look at the book "designing your own classical curriculum."  You may be able to find it at the library.  I wish I had homeschooled my two older kids in high school.  they both had very negative experiences and my daughter ended up dropping out.  I'm sure you could also find on-line courses for him.  Also, my fervent hope is to have mine in community college by the time he is 16. The curriculum in junior college is so watered down these days I think high school is a big fat waste of time.
Good luck
Claudia

Kathryn,

You have lots of options and there is a program(s) out there that will work for you and your son.  I think it's important to just jump in and start researching.  There are multitudes of curriculum and many ways to approach it based on your sons personality and learning style.  Unfortunately, the public school system is set up for one type of learning style and many of the "struggling" children actually have no difficulty learning - just not in that environment.

I would come to our park day and introduce yourself and begin to ask questions.  There is a multitude of wisdom and experience there for the taking.