[Big Mama]

I am getting ready to start homeschooling my 15 year old son. He has ADD and I have ADD so it should be fun. My sun was bullies to the point of having to take a knife to school to defend himself. He has been at a small private school and will not be going back there. Just personal choice not huge reason. We are going to give homeschooling a try. Do anyone here do homeschooling, ever been a homeschooler, or teach your own kids at home?

I am asking because I want to know others peoples experience w/ this. Please I do not want a bunch of negitivity. Homeschool is often controversial. I need facts, experiences advice and encouragement. If you have "Are you crazy" words please skip on to the next forum.

[Perna]

I would join a larger association that can help you for your state as each state has different laws, etc. They often have local groups and things so your son won't be wholly isolated from other kids and can do field trips and group assignments, parties, etc. with others:

http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/law/

http://heav.org/

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/va/

There's a lot you can explore online too nowadays, so you yourself wouldn't have to do the teaching, etc.

http://keystoneschoolonline.com/

[Krose]

Depending on where you live, some school districts have homeschool divisions that you can educate your son through them. You have their guidance and expertise and yet they are still part of the school district. They would help you make sure he graduates with a District diploma.

Also, school districts may also have on-line programs that they can do at home. There are also separate on-line programs such as K-12.

I would look into those to start if you do not feel comfortable doing it on your own at first.

Some districts also have night classes.

Also see if there are any charter schools in the area. They are generally free. You just have to really check them out closely to see that they have a "decent" student clientele. Unfortunately, sometimes they are filled with students who couldn't follow the rules in their school district and they are using charter schools to dodge disciplinary action. But they aren't all that way. You just have to do your homework.

I know there are some computer-based homeschool programs you can enroll in on-line that might be a good option for a high schooler. Personally, I'd have trouble homeschooling a high schooler in math, for instance, and probably would be doing them an injustice without some more expert mathematics help. Seems like my sister-in-law used some sort of on-line homeschool system for her boys once they hit high school age.

[Big Mama]

Thank you all. I have found a wonderful homeschool curriculum. Son Light. The math is on the computer and I have a friend who is a math teacher that said he would be hore than happy to help my son if he needs it. I have some experience teaching. Not high schoolers though. jTeaching different grades is not that much different. My son and I both have ADD so that may complicate things some or it may help because I know how I learn and it seems to be similar for him. I am very excited and so is he.

[Perna]

You did all the legal things, notifying the school division superintendent of your intent to home school and courses you'll be teaching and figuring out how you will evaluate/test his progress for the state?

[catrules]

Hi, I am new to homeschooling my five year old son as we started this year. However, I have heard great things about the Son Light curriculum from some of my homeschooling friends. I think that what might be really great for both of you who are living with ADD is that my experience has been that I can cover our school day in only 2 or three hours and that is with lots of breaks for my active little guy. You get to decide when he is losing focus and when to take a break. There are also more opportunities for you to do some hands on learning that he might not get at school and that might work well for him. The real blessing for me has been knowing that I get all of this extra quality time watching his face light up when he learns something new. In fact today is Saturday and he is begging to do school today even though we usually take the weekend off.

Do some research to see if there are homeschooling groups in your area. I joined a group last year, and have learned so much about homeschooling from people who have been doing it for years. I also belong to an online forum called secularhomeschooling.com.

I chose this one because we are not homeschooling for religious reasons, but there are online groups that have more of a religious perspective if that is what you are looking for. Google is your friend. I also recommend your public library as a great source of info. I have found resource to use with little man, but I have also read some great books for me, that reinforce my decision to do what I am doing.

Whatever you do, try to tune out the negative stuff you are going to hear from almost everyone about the pitfalls of doing it. I am certain that you did not make a rash decision and that you are doing what you know is best for your son. I try to just let that stuff roll off my back. I don't even argue with people or try to justify it to them. It's just not worth it. Be strong in your own convictions and you will be fine.