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Read "Why Homeschool?" below, to get started homeschooling!
Or, read How to Use Our Site
Subscribe Today to access Weekly Lesson Plans, Daily Educational Activities, Virtual Field Trips, Unit Studies, Hands-On Activities, Articles, and more! Just $15.95 per year, per family!
Why Homeschool?
A multitude of reasons abound for homeschooling! Some of the more popular reasons include:
To provide our children a superior education
To provide a safer, calmer environment that is more conducive to learning
To instill important morals and values in our children
To strengthen the family unit
To ensure proper social skills and socialization opportunities
To allow children the joy and freedom of learning and exploring
To help children hone important thinking and reasoning skills
To help our children learn how to learn, now and in the future
And much more!
Right now, right here, you'll see how you and your family can start homeschooling and make your homeschool experiences positive, enjoyable, and stress-free -- and provide an exceptional, well-rounded education for your children.
Whether you are a stay-at-home parent or working parent; the parent of an only child or of several children; whether you have a kindergartner or a 10-year-old, a pre-teen or a teenager, or you're helping your child prepare for college, you can start homeschooling today.
Homeschool families are wonderful people who love to share their experiences, their discoveries, and their ideas with all parents!
There's no "mystery" to getting started homeschooling! There are no "secrets." All the information you need is right here. In fact, here's how you can start homeschooling right now!
Start Today!
Perhaps you don't have a lot of time to develop lesson plans right now. You just need something quick, but solid and dependable, to get your homeschool off to a fun, fabulous, flying start.
Something to keep your children learning, thinking, and progressing in every subject area. Something that's truly affordable.
Later, when things are more settled, you'll have time to consider the different types of curriculum programs available or research distance-learning schools, if you choose to do so.
For now, though, the information included right here on our Web site will help your family get off to a great start! (To subscribe, Click Here.) You'll quickly be on your way to the exciting and wonderfully rewarding adventure of homeschooling!
Weekly Lessons
If you're eager to provide fun, learning activities today -- and for each day this week, next week, and all through the homeschool year -- click on the Weekly Lessons for the desired grade level below. You can easily subscribe and immediately access all the pages on our site. (We also offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!)
K-2 Weekly Lessons: Click here for Kindergarten to Second Grade Lessons.
3-8 Weekly Lessons: Click here for Third Grade to Eighth Grade Lessons.
8-12 Weekly Lessons: Click here for Eighth Grade to Twelfth Grade Lessons.
If you'd also like to provide fun, hands-on activities for your children, you may click the links below.
Hands-On Activities: Click here for New Hands-On Projects.
Daily Creative Writing: Click here for over 300 Writing Ideas and Story Prompts.
Educational Activity Calendar: Click here for our Daily Educational Activities.
Unit Studies: Click here for a variety of Unit Studies and Thematic Studies.
Where To Start
If registration and requirement information is not readily available, you can contact your local school district or State Department of Education for the information you need, regarding homeschooling rules and regulations in your state.
Since regulations can change periodically, it's always best to contact your state or county educational department to verify current requirements. Some states have specific dates by which you must register, while others will accept homeschool registration at any time during the year.
Most school districts and departments of education have a Homeschool Division, which is usually quite helpful to homeschoolers. To contact them, look under "School District of __[Your]__ County" in your local Yellow Pages phone book.
If you can't find a Homeschool department, try contacting the Superintendent's office, the Assistant Superintendent, or the Educational Services department. Many school districts have a Curriculum Services department, too, which can be helpful in providing state curriculum guidelines.
Note: You can also visit the "Homeschool Laws" link (on the left) to learn more about your state's regulations. However, don't let the "legalese" wording of the laws intimidate or overwhelm you. The laws are usually much simpler to follow than they sound!
Contacting Support Groups
Local homeschool families are a great source of information and support. They can help you understand your state's laws; explain what their typical homeschool days are like; describe their experiences with various curriculum, lesson plans, or unschooling methods; and provide valuable get-togethers, social activities, field trips, and more!
To find homeschool groups in your area, contact your state's homeschool association. (Several are listed under the "Homeschool Groups" link on the left.) Another way to find local groups is to call your local public library, school district, churches, park and recreation departments, bookstores, local magazines or newspapers, etc.
Homeschool support groups can provide information on registering with your particular school district, local umbrella schools or homeschool co-ops, and various types of curriculum or correspondence schools, which they've had experience with. They can provide first-hand information on complying with laws, keeping portfolios, and helpful insight on what their homeschool days are like.
In homeschool support groups, you will find families who have been homeschooling for many years and families who are just starting out. You'll find families with young children and families with pre-teens and teenagers. In addition, your own children will make new friends of all ages, who are actively involved in their homeschool adventures and homeschool groups.
The support group often offers curriculum fairs, a homeschool library with books to borrow or rent, educational field trips, and nature and science projects. Many offer drama, art, and band, sports and gymnastics, bowling and skating, picnics, dinners, and graduation ceremonies.
You can also attend monthly meetings to discuss any concerns and to share your family's homeschool experiences with others. When you are in a homeschool support group, you are never alone.
Ready to Begin!
Now that you have contacted a homeschool group and researched your state's homeschool regulations, you are ready to begin your homeschool year. Relax and enjoy! Don't try to do too much your first year, and avoid turning your homeschool into "school at home."
Let your children enjoy this learning experience. You'll be surprised at how much fun they'll have as they're learning -- and how much learning they'll accomplish because it's fun!
Your Educational Philosophies and Goals
You don't have to spend a lot of time determining your educational philosophies and goals. However, it's helpful to devote a few quiet moments to consider these. The Educational Philosophies Form (as well as other forms on our "Homeschool Forms" page) will help you think about and further develop your philosophies and goals, such as what you want your child's education to accomplish, how your child learns best, and more.
Keeping Homeschool Records or a Homeschool Portfolio
We make record-keeping easy! Just follow our Weekly Lesson Plans and jot down the activities and lessons you do each day (or each week) on our printable Weekly Planner Log Sheets. These are free for our Subscribers, on our "Homeschool Forms" page.
Other printable forms include the Reading Log Sheets, Report Cards, High School Transcript Forms, Diploma examples, Notice of Intent to homeschool, and more. It couldn't be easier! And that's our goal -- to make homeschooling easy and affordable for your family!
The Curriculum and Lesson Plans
The fun begins! Your curriculum can be as easy and inexpensive, or as complex and costly, as you'd like! Or use our Weekly Lesson Plans to keep costs to a minimum. A few things to keep in mind as you proceed:
- Always observe and consider how your child learns best
- Allow your child to provide ideas and input on what he or she would like to learn
- Remain flexible day-by-day and week-by-week
- Remember that homeschooling is not "school at home"
- Keep it fun and interesting!
Read How to Use Our Site
Or Subscribe Today to access Weekly Lesson Plans, Daily Educational Activities, Virtual Field Trips, Unit Studies, Free Gifts, Articles, and more!
Just $15.95 per year!
NOTE: Read Weekly Updates on our Lesson Plans and see what others have to say on our "Homeschool Message Board" by Clicking Here.
Weekly Lesson Preview
Here’s a preview of some of our New Weekly Lessons for Week 17:
Language Arts:
- "A literate person is an educated person."
- See why - and how - in our "Language Arts" section.
- Just click the buttons in the menu on the left for Grades K-2 Lessons, Grades 3-8 Lessons, or Grades 8-12 Lessons for Week 17's Lessons (or for past Weekly Lessons).
Social Studies:
- Integrate literacy and history with this week's Social Studies activities.
- Have fun - and learn history - with the "Historical Treasure Chest" and see how to build your own!
- Become inspired with project ideas on combining History and Language Arts.
Math:
- See how to use Literature with Math activities.
- Try the fantastic Problem-Solving Math Strategies designed to help your children in all areas of Mathematics.
- Work out the many real-life Math Problems provided for Week 17's Lessons, using easily explained Math Strategies.
- Children gain a wonderful sense of success when they see HOW to work out and solve real-life Math Problems!
Science:
- This moment, your child can be a designer, inventor, or engineer - right here, right now!
- See how in Week 17's Lessons in the "Science" section. (Just click the "Lessons" button on the left for your child's Grade level and go to "Week 17 Lessons" - then start designing and inventing!)
- Learn about "Mystery Inventors" and their inventions. Draw, duplicate, and redesign the inventions!
- Read the online biographies of the famous inventors covered in This Week's Lesson.
- Print the included Venn diagram for comparing and contrasting the inventors and their inventions.
Life Skills:
- See why chores are important in our lives.
- Help your children compare chores today with chores performed by children of yesteryear in Week 17's Lesson.
- Use the printable charts for comparisons and for improving organizational skills, too.
Music & Art:
L- earn to read music right here, today!
- Plus, create your own music now and apply it to your musical instruments or talents.
- Create artwork and collages online this week, and learn more about famous artists here.
- Crafts! Choose from a multitude of Crafts and Art Projects, for all ages!
Note: All our lessons are geared toward the proper ages. Lessons can also be adapted according to your children's skills, abilities, and comprehension levels.
Yet, our lessons provide stimulation, inspiration, and further extension ideas to keep your children active, thinking, and progressing in their learning experiences.
Begin by clicking the corresponding button in the menu on the left for Grades K-2 Lessons, Grades 3-8 or Grades 8-12 Lessons.
Remember that our past Weekly Lessons are available, too, with fun learning activities, hands-on projects, worksheets to print (if desired), and much more for all subjects and grade levels.
Record-keeping is easy! Just follow our Weekly Lesson Plans and jot down the activities and lessons you do each day (or each week) on our printable Weekly Planner Log Sheets. These are free for our Subscribers, on our "Homeschool Forms" page.
Enjoy!
More Sample Lessons: For more Sample Lessons for Grades K-2, Grades 3-8, and Grades 8-12, Click Here!
Subscribe Today to access Weekly Lesson Plans, Daily Educational Activities, Virtual Field Trips, Unit Studies, Hands-On Activities, Articles, and more!
Just $15.95 per year!
Continue to the Curriculum page.
Or Read More About Us, our Mission, our History, our Goals, our Books, and our FAQs.
Or See Sample Lessons for Grades K - 12.
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