I was *very* briefly homeschooled. About three weeks, I think. Learned a good bit of German in that time, and actually got further in fractions than the abysmal teacher I’d had before..

Ithink there is a new curriculum now that is basically the same stuff from the public school system, if you weren’t concerned with *what* they were teaching, just the level they were teaching at, it might be helpful.  I think it’c called k-12.  I have a friend doing it now (I can’t recall which state she’s in…just that it snows there).  Her daughter had a lot of medical problems that kept her out of school frequently…they finally figured it out, but needed to not only catch her up, but keep her from missing so much school.  She gets a packet of stuff, and a lot of information can be submitted online.

ALso, try to find a local homeschooling group, or Umbrella school.  An Umbrella school might also offer things like electives and sports.  There is a lot of sharing of curriculum.  SOme people pass on their old stuff, or sell their kits cheap.  I know you’ve had issues with church in the past…but try to find a non-denominational church, and see if they have homeschoolers.  They are often a really good resource for where and how to get stuff…plus they often set up events to get a group rate for field trips (think zoo, performing arts mostly).

ETA:  Here is the k-12 program:  http://www.k12.com/

Here in Missouri K-12 only appears to be free for those in the St. Louis school district.  I will look into everyone’s suggestions, thank you.

My first wife was home schooled almost entirely.  This was in the 1980’s, of course, so things were probably set up a bit differently then.  But she turned out well enough, so it can certainly work well!

Dr. N E O - 18 November 2009 06:42 AM

Here in Missouri K-12 only appears to be free for those in the St. Louis school district.  I will look into everyone’s suggestions, thank you.

In addition, go to the school, and ask to be issued a set of books for his grade, or the grade after (if he’s in 3rd, ask for 4th grade stuff).  They may issue the books to you at no cost, or a small fee…or just charge a fee for the use of a teacher’s manual.

Okay, NEO, I got a hold of my friend.  To give you some background, she has two boys she is homeschooling. She has a daughter about Sydney’s and Maria’s age she will be starting soon if she hasn’t already.  (And a another boy just born.)  She has monetary issues, too, and is very resourceful about making ends meet and finding cost-effective ways to get things done.

Here is what she sent to start:

I can be very low cost. Almost everything can be found online for free.  The key is to search specifically and “free”.  IE. 3rd grade math printables free or something. There is lots of free/low-cost interactive stuff too.  Most school systems will have their educational requirements by grade that will give some sort of a guide for what a 3rd grader should be learning. THis site might be good too: http://www.internet4classrooms.com/grade_level_help.htm

Probably the biggest thing to start with is to figure out how the child learns best (hands on, computer/digital interactive, worksheets, self-study etc) and what teaching style is going to work best for the parent/child (structured learning, independant study, unit studies, box curriculums etc)  this website is a good place to start for that:

http://www.homeschooldiner.com/
or
http://www.homeschoolingonashoestring.com/

I have gobs of links and sites for information and actual teaching/learning.  Your friend can email me himself if he wants more specific stuff, but that should get him started.

PM me if you want her email for further information.