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Where to Start
Always remember that
teachers study how to teach and what to teach for several years before
they get their teaching degree. If you plan to homeschool your children
successfully, you must be committed to doing several years of research
yourself (this can be done while already starting to homeschooling your
kids by using a pre-packaged curriculum like: The Well-Trained Mind, Sonlight,
or Calvert). Remember to research many different methods, such as: Classical
Education, Montessori, Waldorf, Charlotte Mason, and Unschooling. You
will need to do a lot of experimentation in the beginning to discover
your own personal teaching style and each of your children's personal
learning styles. If you're interested in learning more about homeschooling
and are starting your journey or havn't yet made a decision. I recommend
the following resources as a good starting place.
The Well-Trained
Mind
This book teaches you how to homeschool your child from pre-school until
university using the Classical Education method. It lists every resource
you need to teach every subject and detailed explanations about exactly
how to teach and organize your homeschool. It will tell you what to teach
when. It gave me the confidence to teach my children my way. Once you
know the outline from K-12 you can research and substitute whatever you
want to make a unique homeschool curriculum for your own child.
The
Elijah Company Catalogue
Some good advice about why to homeschool. Starting out with your families
goals and making sure you fulfill them. Understanding your priorities
(i.e. character development over math).
The
Sonlight Curriculum Catalogue
Sonlight is a Classical Education pre-packaged curriculum. I use almost
all of their resources. I have confidence in their choice of materials.
If you want to start with something pre-packaged and slowly customize
your curriculum as you gain knowledge, experience, and confidence -
I
suggest you buy this curriculum. It's very high quality and flexible.
Their website also contains sample pages from several different curriculum
(specifically in their math section). It will give you a better idea
of what to expect from these programs.
Calvert
Homeschooling Website
Calvert is another Classical Education pre-packaged curriculum. There
are public schools which also use their materials. I personally don't
think it's the best quality, but lots of homeschoolers begin with this
school-in-box package.
The Absorbent
Mind
This book by Maria Montessori describes her philosophy of education. It
is very inspiring and similar to my philosophy of education. I have incorporated
a lot of her philosophies and methods into my own homeschool.
Foundations for
a Spiritual Education
A wonderful resource of Baha'i Writings on the topic of education. I use
this as my standard and my guide.
www.homeschoolreviews.com
This is an excellent place to find out what other homeschoolers think
of certain curriculum or resources.
The Following Resources
I have not read myself but they come recommended by other homeschoolers:
Your Child's Growing
Mind
Homeschooling for Excellence
The Relaxed Homeschooler
This book is about the Unschooling method.Understanding
Waldorf Education: Teaching from the Inside Out
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