How do I get started?

[farmerlor]

I started out by using an online charter school (please no bashing me, I DO realize it is a form of public school). I personally liked it as a tool to get organized and form a game plan for the years to come. Plus as a first year homeschooler we were not fully prepared for the outrageous cost of some of the materials. We received a loaner computer and a HUGE box of books/materials. It allowed us to see which aspects of the curriculum we wanted to spend big bucks on and which we would just supplement and "wing-it".

We have since bought pre-packaged curriculum suck as Saxon Math, First Language Lessons, Story of the World, A Beka, Compass Learning Odyssey (online program), and Calvert (which I love!!).

We also got books from the library about specific subjects the kids wanted to know more about.

Here in Ohio, you have to send a letter to the school district notifying them your intent to homeschool with a brief outline as to curriculum. At the end of each year you either have to complete a standardized test or have a portfolio review which consists of a brief interview of the child by a certified teacher (one you pick) and they go over samples of the work completed throughout the year. Both options cost about $30. Tests can be ordered online and took no time at all to complete with results back in 3 weeks.

The bottom line is do what you feel is right for your child. Figure out how he/she learns and go with it!!

NO bashing here. We started with an online curriculum too. I was terrified of all the paperwork, regulations and legal matters so I let someone else handle that. And around here if you're not a Christian you might as well not even bother with the local homeschool organizations because they will burn you at the stake. I loved the computer classes that gave us time to go off on little tangents and work in other courses that I thought were important. After doing the online classes for a year I felt like we could have gone it alone and done our own thing but the kids really liked what we were doing so we went ahead and did it for another year before we sent them back to public school all caught up.