A very good friend and fellow "Homeschooling Lifeschooler" of mine suggested to me a long time ago that homeschooling can and should fit the dynamics and personality of your family. We can have it as "structured" and "regimented" as we like or as "relaxed" as we would like, in the house or out of the house, teacher-led or student-directed, it's up to you and you're in charge. The first thing you need to do though is to establish your intentions, so you would need to contact your Board of Education office and get the form "Declaration of Intent to Home Study Program". Once you have gotten it, fill it out and establish a name to identify your home study program. I chose "Pastures of Promise Home School Academy". You can call your program whatever you want as long as it identifies your home study program or home school. Check with your local Board of Education on Home Schooling. There may also be an attendance form that you can retrieve online or through the Bd of Ed's office. The attendance form is to be filled out at the end of the month and sent in if your local office requires it.
One of the most valuable suggestions I can offer you is to "RELAX" and get acclimated to this new found freedom you have in educating your child. If you are tense and feel that you have to conduct learning as the "brick and mortar" (public and private) schools, you put undo stress on your learning environment.
When I first started homeschooling it was with my eldest daughter. She was attending a new Magnet school that was an accelerated program. I had a teacher conference scheduled several months into the school year with 4 of her teachers. The teachers informed me that she failed 4 subjects, but they had not informed me initially of any difficulties she was having in their classes. Of course I was upset with her, this was after all her education, but I was truly upset with these four teachers who failed to show due diligence in informing before it became an absolute failure. I made up my mind and decided that I was not going to leave my daughter's education in someone else's hands. The very next day I went to the school and informed them that she would be home schooled, and that is how our journey began.
We started with Black History because I felt she needed to understand the people she came from, our history and what it took for us to have the education we now have. The very first day I recall passing her room while she was sitting on her bed looking out the window. I was on my way to the laundry room to wash clothes, and I paused to ask her what she was doing. She said, "I'm thinking about my future". I said, "good, it's not everyday that you get a chance to just "think", and I kept on with my mission to wash clothes. Eventually I bought all of my children home for those who were registered in public school at the time, in total there were 5. Now you know how I started out, it would be nice to know how you started:) Drop me a line or two!
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