It's fun. It's a good life.
First thing you do is go down to our local Board of Ed. When you walk through the front door there is a desk to your right and (should) be a person there to help you. Just tell them you would like to homeschool your child/children and they will either get you the paper work or send you upstairs and those people will get you the paperwork.
This link explains it further.
Paperwork. No pressure. Just sign a couple of form letters. There will be a part that asks if you will be reviewed by the Board of Ed. twice a year or if you are going through a state approved reviewing agency.
Here is the list of them (religious and secular). For the record, our family goes through the Board of Ed. and have had a lovely experience with both our reviewers. There are pros and cons to each way of doing your review. You just have to figure out what's right for your style of teaching. Which leads me to curriculum...
Step one. How different curricula are structured. Don't be intimidated, this is really neat stuff. Yes, there is a ton out there but pick around, try things out and see what strikes your fancy. You know your child best and really, what's the worst that can happen? You can always do something different when you realize something doesn't work as well as you had hoped.
Step two. Specific curricula. If anything is tricky, this is it (if you are going with a curriculum at all because you can always be eclectic or unschool). There are so many options here and then even more options when you look at specific subjects, it can make your head spin. Many of the families in Garrett County use
My Father's World. A couple of families go to
this conference to search different curriculum. I think it is one of the highlights of their year!
We are also becoming quite a connected group in the county. We recently had a curriculum swap and will most likely have another before September. There are people forming a History Co-op using "Story of the World" though
Peace Hill Press. We have a yahoo group "garretthomeschool" that people communicate through. If you chose to homeschool your child, you will not have to flounder out in no-man's land. You will a very welcoming, diverse, supportive community to connect into.
Here are two great links that talk about unschooling:
Great explainations for the reasons people go the unschooling route.
More links to reasons/descriptions of families unschooling.
I will write another post about what our family does for learning.
And feel free to ask any questions.
:)
