Still in the early stages

[tfleming]

My husband and I are still in the research phase of homeschooling. We have a 6 yr old daughter in the public school system right now and do not feel like she is receiving a proper education. We are our children's strongest advocate right? We could use any tips about getting started. What certifications are needed. There are so many different church organizations out there. It just seems so overwhelming at the beginning.

[bethandjeff02]

read pray plan, it is wonderful, but not to taken lightly. there are alot of awesome groups in town, to support you. good luck

beth e

[heatherh]

There are no certifications needed to get started. You need to register with a church homeschool covering to be legally covered. There are no "homeschool" education laws in the state of Alabama. We fall under the church school education laws. So as long as you register with the church cover, submit your registration papers with the school main office, that's all you have to do to be legally covered.

As far as choosing a covering, I think its best to find one that lines up with your own personal beliefs. Some coverings go beyond the state requirement of keeping attendance and require that you turn in grades, have your curriculum approved by the group leader, sign a statement of faith, etc. The list of requirements can go on and on, depending on the covering. I personally wanted a covering whose only requirement was what the state required. I ended up going with the UUFM covering here in Mobile.

For curriculum, yeah, it is overwhelming, there are so many choices out there. I started off with Sonlight simply because it was a one-stop selection process. I ended up sending it back b/c it didn't work for us. I've gone eclectic since then. I use Math U See, Applied Grammar, All About Spelling, and I've put together our own history and science programs. With reading, my boys are required to have a book at all times and read set times each day. But my kids are older than yours, so you may need a specific reading program to get her to the level of independent reading. All About Spelling also has a reading program that sounds like a good program, but I can't say from personal experience.

Hope some of that helps!

[Lesa]

There are about 9 local covers and a couple of statewide covers. Which you choose will depend on your needs. As Heather said some go way beyond what the state requires and others do the bare minimum.

When I started I went with one that was just a little over minimum, but there was not a lot of "cover" participation and I had not found any online groups or local groups to connect with so I was a little lost. But we made it and after 2 years of winging it I found mine and my children's likes and dislikes and did no harm. I had my oldest DS (youngest was just in kindergarten) tested and he was right on track.

I've always been eclectic with my curriculum, but I did enjoy and was greatly influenced (but only in a big picture sort of way) by Susan Wise Baurer's Well Trained Mind. We use Math-U-See, Rod and Staff and SOS for English (oldest was R&S and youngest SOS), Spelling Power, Apologia for Science, MOH and Total Language Plus. As I said very eclectic.