Homeschooling Philosophies

Here are a few of my favorite links regarding the different approaches families take to homeschooling their children.  Just wanted to share!

http://www.homeschoollearning.com/approaches/

http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/homeschoolmethods/a/methods.htm

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/methods/Methods.htm

*This last one is a neat article on how to choose your approach. It even includes a quiz but I can’t say I’ve used it!! 

http://www.homeschooldiner.com/guide/intro/approaches.html

You can read about how I became an “unschooling” mom here:

Why I’m an Unschooling Mom

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Homeschool Networking Sites

I’ve met a few families through this site:

Homeschool Social Register

And a few here:

CottageSchool.net

Home Education Magazine has a good national listing of groups:

Support Group Pages

Another good page of state-by-state listings:

Local HS Resources

There are many pages like this online.  I’ve had the best luck with going to groups.yahoo.com and just searching for my city (or the largest city near me) and homeschool.  Putting those search terms together and running a general search always pulls up tons of local groups.  If you do an exhaustive search on this site and google (with the same terms) and still don’t find anything, I recommend that you go ahead and start your own group on Yahoo Groups. It only takes a moment and it will give other homeschooling families in the area a chance to find you.  Meetup.com can be a good resource as well but it’s only free if there’s a group in your area that’s already established.

REMEMBER: You will also meet other homeschooling families when you’re out and about during the school day. We have met HSing families at the library, the science center, the local park, etc.  Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation if you see older kids out during school hours. They’re usually homeschoolers! 

Finally, remember that your children can interact with others if you get them involved in an activity like sports or some sort of class.  My son is only 4 and has already played basketball and soccer, has taken an art class, and is currently in gymnastics.  We participate in several local homeschool groups and have no problem finding opportunities for him to develop social skills.  I hope some of this is helpful!

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Excellent Website for New Readers

My son has been using this since age 3. It’s a phenomenal FREE site for new readers.  Great for those just learning their letters as well as those who are learning phonics. It’s very child-friendly and just plain FUN!  If you haven’t seen this one yet, it’s worth checking out.  It includes stories and games for more advanced readers as well.

Starfall

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Hoagie’s Gifted Page

All I can say is wow!  What an amazing page. The best gifted page I’ve found on the web.  Not specifically for homeschooling but has excellent information about giftedness.  Remember to check this site even if your child doesn’t have a “diagnosis” of giftedness.   Remember that some children who struggle in school are actually gifted.  What is giftedness? You’ll see that the definitions vary…And of course all children are gifted in some way! 

Hoagie’s Gifted Page

Oh..and remember that gifted children are often  visual spatial learners (remember that last post about Topsy-Turvy Kids).  The same can be true of many kids diagnosed with ADD. Hoagie’s has a page on visual spatial learners as well:

Hoagie’s Visual Spatial Info