Homeschool Community

I guess you could say that I've been homeschooling all along as I believe that learning is a process that begins in the womb and continues perhaps even past death.  I read the Bible to my daughter while I was pregnant and also played music for her.  I've read to her almost every night since her birth and have worked with her on shapes, colors, letter and numbers since she was two.  Needless to say, my daughter is more advanced than a lot of kids her age.  She was born with a condition called PFV which is simply that the blood vessels that formed her lens in her eye are supposed to retract and hers didn't leaving a calcified vine in her eye which pulled her lens into a cone rather than the regular bowl shape.  She has had surgery and while it was great for a while, her vision is, unfortunately, becoming worse. 

 I called the school that she would be attending last year when she would have started preschool and talked with one of the teachers.  She told me, "Well, for preschool, she will be fine, but for kindergarten she will probably have to be moved into one of the special ed classes."  This was a problem for me since I was already worried about the fact that she was at least a grade level ahead of most students and our school system doesn't test children for grade placement.  Now they are telling me that she is going to be put into a class where she will most likely not get a lot of attention because the teachers there are so busy with children who have not only learning disabilities but physical limitations as well. 

 So, homeschool it is. 

 My main problem is choosing a curriculum.  I feel that this would be the best option for us as I walk with a walker and would really rather spend more time teaching my child than shopping for textbooks and books. 

 Do any of you know of a secular curriculum that also teaches values?  I am a Christian and we go to church regularly, but I know from experience with a friend of mine that only teaching student evolution theory can cause troubles later.  I had to tutor this young man with remedial science books because he had never heard of Darwin or his theories and, whether you agree with these or not, you can best believe the colleges expect you to know it. 

 Also, does anyone know of a private school that offers an online curriculum - that is what I feel would be our best choice. 

 Sorry this is so long...

 Angi 

Hi Angi, I am new on this site also!  I am not however new to homeschooling.  I have hs my daughter(13 and 8th grade) for 2 years now and we will start our 3rd year by bringing my 8 year old son out of public school and home to school.  Because I will need to spend more time with him(he has always been in public school and is super smart-maybe I will learn from HIM!), I chose Alpha Omega for my daughter.  They have alot of options.  It is a Christian curr. that you can do on your own with textbooks, on the computer or use their distance learning school which is what we are doing and that is called Alpha Omega Academy.  She will be using SOS through the academy.  She will have a teacher for the four core subjects at Alpha Omega and I chose to do Bible at home to tailor it toward a teen girl.  It cost alot more than just using SOS at home yourself but there are so many benefits also.  BUT, it doesn't cost anywhere close to the cost of a private Christian school.  I will pay around $1300 for the year.  She will be full time with science, math, LA and history.  She has unlimited access anytime she needs it to a teacher through email and 400 mins. of phone tutoring if needed.  You can tell I really like AOP and hope the Academy is a good fit for both of us.  Their website is aop.com  Good luck and let me know what you decide!  God Bless!

I forgot to mention there is another forum I am a member of that is alot more active and there is tons of info on there...homeschoolspot.com

Thanks, PoohBear!

 I had been reading about the Alpha Omega program yesterday and it really piqued my interest.  Now its at the top of my list! 

 I was speaking with my grandmother yesterday - God Bless her, she is 85 and just wonderful!  Anyway, she said, "Well, why don't you just teach her the bible lessons now with a Christian based learning environment and then later you can introduce her to the other side of it."  Such simple answers but it cleared things up...duh!!!

 I just want to get the best that I can for my daughter.  I don't want to be flip-flopping back and forth between curriculum because I feel that switching learning styles isn't good unless there is a problem - then I might switch, but only then. 

 I do have to say (and I'm probably going to open a big can of worms here) that I am amazed at the number of programs that don't want our children to use technology for learning but rather stick with books and one on one teaching.  Now, I do limit the amount of time my daughter spends on the computer and watching TV - just to get her outside playing.  But I feel that the future job market is going to be technology based - whether we like it or not.  Again, as the same with the evolution theory, we need to teach our children not only values (whether they be Christian or otherwise), but we need to teach them skills they will need in the future.  Not teaching computer skills would, to me, leave her lost.  Now I am weird to most people, I know technology....but I don't use it for the most part - except for things like this.  I live in a very rural community.  The opportunity to find homeschooling groups here is hard.  But, I get online and Voila!, lots of people just like me.  I also find that, when I am creatively sapped, I can find some great educational games online.  That is how she learned math so quickly.  I, of course, screen what she does, but it has been a great help. 

 I will definitely check out the other site, so look for me on there and, again, thanks so much!

 Hey I think Abeka is really great too. They are very God based, but they use real people in American history. They do things through the eyes of a Christian, and have a wonderful Science. Their Language is wonderful and very advanced. The only thing I don't like is the math. It's rather boring. They have a DVD school too that is very structured, or you can just use some of their books. It's up to you. A really good math program can be found through Bob Jones. They are also Christian based. I would not use Alpha Omega life pacs (the workbooks). They are very rote. I have heard the Switched on Schoolhouse is very good by them though. I hope this helps. I personally use a bunch of different sources. When we come across a secular idea, I just explain that it's what others believe, but not what we believe according to the word of God. I agree that our kids need to know what the secular world believes and know what we ourselves believe in order to refute the humanistic teachings out there.