<p>My son has been traditionally schooled (combo of parochial & public) up until next year(9th grade) when he will home-school. Any of you parents who have gone before me have advice that you wish you would have been given at this point? I would greatly appreciate it.</p>
<p>BTW- S wants to be a pharmacist.</p>
<p>I'm not a parent but I am home schooled and I can tell you this, this is the best thing I ever did for myself and I thank my parents for letting me do it and I love it!</p>
<p>I'm sure you already know this, but looking ahead and planning for a goal makes it a lot easier to accomplish it. If your son wants to go into pharmacy, check into the schools/programs that he's most interested in, find out what they expect by way of preparation and admissions, and devise a 4-year plan (or 3, or whatever) to meet those expectations. I would also say, also keep the option open for another, more open path should his interests change. He may find he wants to go to a good college without a specific field in mind, and so make sure he studies across the subject areas all through his high school years.</p>
<p>There are less structured, more student-led ways to approach homeschooling that are also wonderfully successful for many students, too. You might want to take a look at those approaches as well. There are at least a couple books available by Cafi Cohen that deal with homeschooling, college, and the teen years that you might want to track down. She has examples of a lot of different paths homeschoolers take through these years.</p>
<p>We went at it more traditionally -- my kids generally study, in one way or another (self-study, online, classes at the local univ or the Comm. college, etc.) covered each of the 5 core subject areas every year: math, english, foreign language, science, social science. They didn't load up on classes, and in the areas that held the most interest for them they found interesting ways to delve into them on a high level.</p>
<p>Sorry to weigh in late, but the first things you should do is to contact and join your state and local homeschool organizations. You can find the state one by googling or going to <a href="http://hslda.org%5B/url%5D">http://hslda.org</a> or any number of other sites. They can usually give you a local contact. Those groups will help you understand the law in your state, connect with other homeschoolers for fellowship and encouragement and point you to resources. In our area, there are so many homeschoolers we have a band and football teams, and a homeschool-only swim club, but I recently met someone who didn't know any of that because she hadn't sought out a support group.</p>
<p>The next thing to do is to seek out great curricula. Check out <a href="http://home4schoolgear.com%5B/url%5D">http://home4schoolgear.com</a> Home</a> Science Tools Rainbow</a> Resource Center, Inc. Tapestry of Grace and Veritas Press for ideas and materials.</p>
<p>Probably the very best way to choose curricula is to attend your state convention. Many conventions will be in the next 60 days - where do you live? Some conventions have as much as 50,000SF plus of vendor space selling books. This is a great way to actually look at the stuff and see what you like.</p>
<p>There are some great online resources as well for things like AP classes or speciality classes. In many areas there are co-ops for certain high school classes as well.</p>
<p>My advice would be: get connected, get educated, get good materials and get ready for a fantastic experience! The freedom and flexibility really allow your children to experience so much more!</p>
<p>Thanks huguenot-
"The freedom and flexibility really allow your children to experience so much more!"
^
That's what we are counting on.</p>
<p>believersmom you shouldn't worry so much about homeschooling it is truly an amazing experience and I don't believe you need the social experience with other people I truly don't so just do what you believe is best for your children</p>
<p>Social experience is still important...but you can get it in other ways besides school. I think i've become more social since I was homeschooled; I feel like I have more time to try things i've wanted to do and not be as limited by time, having to wake up super early, etc.</p>
<p>sueg- LOL^
I don't think there is a single person I know that knows me, that thinks I am ever deterred by the opinion of others from what I believe is right for my kids. LOL!!! Thanks for the encouragement.</p>
<p>Read The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jesse Wise, and check out the homeschool forum for the Well Trained Mind (it was my previous online addicition before CC)</p>
<p>The</a> Well-Trained Mind Forums (aka Hive Mind) - Powered by vBulletin</p>
<p>I found the parents there to be just as informative and helpful as the parents here on CC (many post on both boards).</p>
<p>Best of luck -- my oldest was homeschooled for three years before attending a United World College high school program and it was an excellent decision for us.</p>
<p>yeah haha okay yeah Well I hope it goes good for you :)</p>
<p>hsmomstef-
I'm envious of your location :)</p>
<p>If your kid already "knows" what he wants to do, you might have him start college early. It is hard to do science lab classes at home. (I've been homeschooling for 12 years, but sent my oldest to school his senior year so he could take AP chem/physics/calc). I have several friends whose kids went to community college at 15 or 16 and then finished their BA or BS at 18 or 19.
It really depends on the kid. </p>
<p>(I am in the opposite position right now--thinking about sending my always-homeschooled 8th grader to public high school for
9th grade, and depending how that goes, letting him continue there or start
community college the next year). </p>
<p>My advice after homeschooling 2 through high school: keep good records for your kid's transcript. (I didn't-- I'm more of an un-schooler, and that's not always a good thing!)</p>
<p>Consider taking Virtual School Courses. Florida has an award winning Virtual School, with a good variety of courses. Check if your state has a Virtual School. Connections Academy offers classes in several states. Again, check the list for your state.</p>
<p>Also consider joining a private homeschool, which will take care of your records and all that other good stuff that guidance counselors take care of.</p>
<p>If you can, get your child to take dual enrollment courses at a local community college.</p>