Homeschooling in NY? Info needed....

[bufforp89]

My parents are interested in homeschooling my 9 year old brother...We are having issues with his current school district and they are considering just pulling him all together and getting him on some sort or online program and working with a tutor...We know there are rules, registrations etc. that have to be considered. Can anyone point us towards some good homeschooling resources? We really don't even know where to begin, I and my other siblings all went to public school k-12...I know there are alot of homeschooling familys on BYC...

Also can anyone suggest a program that they have used so we can start researching this a little more?

Also pros-cons of homeschooling? I would really appreciate some firsthand info from familys that homeschool.....

 

[itsy]

Hey Buff! I'd suggest asking folks fromone of the NY Threads if you don't get much response here. I know a couple folks that do there, but there may be more I'm unaware of.

 

[WooingWyandotte]

I am homeschooled.
So it sounds like your school is giving you a trouble, eh? Contact the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Attorneys) or check out their website.
As for a program, you could check out Sonlight. I did that for a couple years. Now, my mom just pulls my materials together math, science, language arts, reading..etc. from what resources she has. I think....one of them was Timberdoodle.com? Not quite sure, I can ask her.
I'd say the biggest 'pro' for me in homeschooling is being with my mom. Instead of her handing me over into a schools care, she decided to keep me with her and teach me, which was no summer day; I can tell you that much. But in the end, all worth it. Home schooling is valuable for parents to teach their children their values.
I know a lot of people think that home schoolers are 'weird' or 'un-socialized'. Some people think that the parents just want to shield their 'precious babies' from the perverted world.
Fact of the matter is; all home schooled families are different. Some are rather awkward in public, a little nervous around other kids. Some are very involved in community groups such as 4-H, others are shy at first but warm up real fast.
I could give you complete lists of what I believe are "Pro's" and "Con's", but that list may come off as offensive to some BYC members who view homeschooling in a different light. So I'll shut my trap.
Just keep in mind, homeschooling comes with challenges, somedays you get all your school done - other days are just plain hard. But one of the treasures of homeschooling is that you get to learn as you live. You can take daily experiences and learn from them, you can go on field trips and hikes, take care of your animals...it beats sitting in a dull classroom any day!

 

[Jane Jill Jack]

I take two of my hardest subjects online: math and science. I get to work at my own pace because the schedule is much more flexible, and I think I learn just as well as the kids who go to a regular classroom.

 

[awesomefowl]

Quote:
Where do you do online math? I am homeschooled, and really struggling with algebra.

 

[Happy Chooks]

For online math help you can use this website. It does individual topic videos and it very easy to follow.
http://www.khanacademy.org/


I started homeschooling my son this year (6th grade). I go through a local school here in CA that provides the curriculum.

 

[Lothiriel]

Like WooingWyandotte suggested, check out HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association). Their NY State Laws should answer a lot of questions and will be a BIG help if you ever have legal issues with your school district. Also see if you have a local LEAH (Loving Education At Home) group to connect with other home schoolers in your area. A lot of the groups will have gatherings, field trips, pot luck dinners, art fairs, etc. to help you get involved.

I was homeschooled all the way through high school, same as my older sister. My younger siblings are being homeschooled as well. We did Sonlight for a few years and then had an eclectic program. Sonlight helped a lot with history book ideas. Math was Saxon and then Teaching Textbooks, which has CD-ROMs with the lessons. History was a bunch of different stuff. For the most part, we used TruthQuest as our spine, and read a lot of the recommended books in there. In high school I read Albert Marrin's historical books, and they were very engaging. TruthQuest is for all ages, but for the American history they have Younger Students and then the trio of the Age of Revloution, just so the older students can delve deeper into the more thought-provoking issues. I did Calvert School's Spelling CDs, but for my brither it didn't work, so he has a workbook. Writing was based on the Institute for Excellence in Writing, and we would use the history cards from Veritas Press to make keyword outlines, and combined writing with history, and did what we called a History Notebook. English/grammar was Shurley Grammar and then KISS grammar. Shurley is a good starting place, and gives you a good foundation to jump into the KISS grammar, which is free online (you can print off the worksheets and teacher's guide). Science started out with the Usborne books from Sonlight and then graduated into Apologia Science in 8th grade. (Highly recommended if you enjoy science at all!)

I agree with what WooingWyandotte said about pros/cons. So I won't restate it all.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[MaryMouse]

I am not from Ny state but I did homeschool my DD from 9th grade on. My biggest regret and fail as a mom was not doing it sooner. I wanted to from 3rd grade on, but DDs parents were dead set against it. They made him doubt me, himself, and our better judgement. Hence the wait. However when we finally did do it, we were so happy with the results. I can not to this day ,believe how held back by her class my DD was. There were no cons for us at all only pros. I can not say how great the experience and the benifits of homeschooling were for us. It is just a shame we waited so long to start.