A more specific answer would be possible if we knew what state you were in…

Most states don’t require certification. Even those that do often have a loophole of being overseen by a certified teacher.

Go to http://www.hslda.com on the left hand side of the screen you will find the words “In your state” click on those, then choose your state, then click on “laws”. That will tell you what you are legally required to do.

As far as what to do, I recommend Teaching Textbooks or Saxon for math. If your daughter is a little behind in math, but not terribly (knows the basics about addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions) but still needs some review to cement these in her mind, go with “Saxon 8/7 with Pre-Algebra” be sure it is the 3rd addition of 8/7- the older one doesn’t have much pre-Algebra but the 3rd addition does. It will review all arithmetic very thoroughly and then go into Pre-Algebra. If she isn’t behind at all you could probably put her right into Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra. Either way when you get to Algebra 1 I recommend Teaching Textbooks unless you are really good at math yourself.

Now for science, what to recommend depends a little on your belief system, if you don’t mind a Christian oriented approach then Apologia is THE BEST. For 8th grade your daughter should probably do either General Science or Physical Science, which one depends on how strong a background in science she already has.

Of course all of this is just suggestions, you might find something else you like better.

Hewitt homeschooling resources has a great English program called Lightning Literature and composition.

A Beka has a great History curriculum.

Drawing on the Right side of the Brain is good for Art, so is A Beka’s art course.

For P.E. I recommend just setting up a workout schedule, joining sports activities, or joining a gym with your daughter. My daughter and I go to Curves, I pay full price for me, but she is a “family add on” and only costs $10 a month.

Teaching Textbooks:

http://www.teachingtextbooks.com

Saxon Math, Apologia science, (and lots of other stuff):

http://www.rainbowresource.com

Hewitt Homeschooling resources http://www.hewitthomeschooling.com

A Beka books:

http://www.abeka.com

If you want to piece subjects together from library resources and such, then go to http://www.worldbook.com to see a typical course of study so you have a framework to go from.

Good luck! I hope homeschooling is as great a blessing to you as it has been to my family!

Oh, if cost is a problem check out http://www.booksamaritan.com if you are flexible on what you use they will give you as much as they can for free.

Because I don’t know what State you are in, I can’t tell you if you need certification but it is very UNLIKELY.

You can check the HSDLA (Homeschool Defense Legal Association) or you can type the State you are in followed by Homeschool Laws.

I can tell you for a FACT that Virginia requires you to give them a copy of your High School Diploma; Alabama requires you to join an Umbrella School; Penn. requires you to follow what the schools are teaching at each grade level; Florida only asks that you submit a Letter of Intent (req. everywhere) and attendance is 180 days ( how you teach, what you teach other than the basics is up to you).

You will need a place to keep all the work she does ( I use a Legal Sized plastic file box with Legal sized file folders labeled with each subject), and a calendar (pocket or wall your choice) for Attendance.

Here are some websites you can check out (for the most these are FREE):

***www. in front of all****

pecentral.org

Iknowthat.com

OBDK.com

math.com

theteacherscorner.net

printablemaps.net

funology.com

polytechnic.com ( US History practice quizzes)

Krampf.com

Set yourself a budget and try to stick as close to it as possible. If you can find a homeschool group, you can network with them as most run co-ops, field trips and so on.

Good luck

First you need to check with your state laws. The homeschool legal defense is a great place to start

http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

It will let you know what the laws are in your state.

Next would be to find a curriculmn. Find out what she has been studying and go the step up this year. I am sure your daughter is old enough to help you here.

You need to her give in to you not the other way around. It’s hard at this age to change the behavior of your child because she’s been doing this for so long but nothings impossible. I think you guys have spoiled her, given her too much, and she thinks she’s grown and doesn’t have to follow your rules, and what do I say to that WRONG! You need to be stern and persistent, show her your the boss. If she doesn’t do something right take it away, everything, her phone, laptop, everything that’s valuable too her, if she says she doesn’t care take it anyway, and the bike, too go to the extremes her clothes, maybe even a little food. I know your thinking i cant do that, but it’s just temporary the extreme stuff, anyway. If she doesn’t want to get up in the morning repeatedly turn on the lights she’ll have to get up to turn back on, and then she wont be able to go back to sleep, and start early too. Hope this helped.

I wouldn’t buy any expensive software, because the vast majority of it doesn’t help. I use edhelper.com to print out any worksheets that I think I will need. They charge 20.00 for most of the worksheets and that is for a whole year. Contact the school board, you can get her the textbooks that the public school is using.

Please remember to send in your Notice of Intent to homeschool. If not you could get called by the board. Also check to see what the qualifications are for your state. You can find them by doing a search on HomeSchooling laws and your state.

Saxon Math are very good books and they break down math so that its easier to teach. You can find these sets online or on Ebay.

Teachers manuals are expensive, and ebay forbids them (Although you can occasionally find them on there) so search hard for them if you think you will need them.

Last but not least, look for yahoo groups that deal with Homeschooling in your area. The parents help so much!

Here are a few links that I found on-line about homeschooling. I’ve heard great things about homeschooling, but one thing I think that is important is that you continue to socialize your daughter with other students/kids her age.

Good luck and a star for bravery!

Go to the hslda.org website. This site has the laws for homeschooling in your state.

As far as programs, there are a few that you can use.

You don’t have to be certified but you have to let your public school know and they will tell you what to do in your state. You can get on-line and check homeschooling. There is School of Tomorrow and Abeka. They are both good.

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I just left this for another parent, so please forgive me for plagerizing myself. ;D As far as the legality, check out http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1 for help with this.

Congratulations on your decision, it’s the hardest but most rewarding thing your daughter and you will probably ever do! Oh and don’t listen to those who worry about the socializing. This is a touchy subject with me. Perhaps all that “socializing” your daughter was receiveing at public/private school is one of the reasons you are going in this direction. Stay tough mom and know what’s truly the most important thing here and it’s not the dances and football games. Email me if you want… ;D

We h.s. with “a la carte” curriculum, never adhering to one particular program. I have never seemed happy with just one way of doing things anyway. You may agree, that’s why you’re making the sacrifice you are. 😉

I go with Horizon Math for the arithmetic portion and for the 6th grade you’ll probably need the teachers edition to help you answer questions and correct her work. (hint: have her correct her own work if you can, it teaches them to be responsible for this area. All kids are different though so go with your gut on this) You can get new consumable math books for around $11-$13, you’ll need 2 per year, one for each ‘semester’. You also should have a good selection of used teachers editions at the homeschool store you use for these and it’ll save you a few $’s not buying the boxed set. Just make sure the T.E. matches the workbook, sometimes they revise these every few years. Horizon is a wonderful program, inexpensive and proves you don’t have to go with a pricey “A-Beka” type to get a thorough system.

For science we use Apologia Creation series. (Right now we’re on Exploring Creation through Botany) A little pricey but you may be able to find it used. $30 for a hard cover that’s good for the whole school year and I use it for a group session with my 5th, 3rd, and kindergartner. So think about it being used for more than 1 child, it’s not too bad. It’s very well written and very organized with a complete list of needed supplies and the option to purchase a kit instead of following the shopping list.

History for us is Story of the World. Some folks like it, some don’t. We do, so review it some afternoon in the bookstore and see if it fits with what you’d like to do.

The grammar we use is Easy Grammar. Super easy for them, they just love it. You probably won’t need a teachers guide if you’re good at this subject, or you may be able to find a used T.E. Once you’re done through 7th grade, that’s it. No more grammar because it’s time to move on from there.

We splurged on Spelling Power 4th edition, maybe you could find it used or on Ebay for less. We paid about $65 for the main book and 2 consumable study books for the 5th and 3rd graders. This program is AMAZING! I would highly suggest it. Once you’re done with the book, that’s all you have to do. It’s good from about 8 yr old through adult & you tailor it to your child’s skill level.

As far as a formal writing program, I’m still searching for one. Daily journaling is important is is very inexpensive. The writingfix.com site at the bottom can be a springboard for you to use if you’re at a loss for ideas, I know I do sometimes. It also has many ideas you can use for teaching this important skill at home.

We are going to start Latin soon and have narrowed it to a few to choose from, this is just our personal preferrence and is a precursor to the Spanish and French we’ll do later on… The name of those programs defy my memory right now, but they are audio books I know. $40-$60 total I think…

Surf the web for sites that give free printable templates. There are many to choose from.

About the capitals and states. There is a great series of childrens music that teaches states and capitals, presidents and government, ABC’s, numbers, letter sounds, division, multiplication, adding, subtracting and is available in both tape and CD form. They run $10-$13 each, but the investment was worth it for me. We listen to them non-stop in the car and my 5 year old is well on his way, the older girls memorized all 50 states and the capitals in 2 weeks. The president’s song gets stuck in your head, but what better way to learn? Put to song, these drills become enjoyable and addictive. It seemed a lot to me at first, but I realized that weeding out some of our unnecessary expenses, we could afford these.

Now, affording these things takes money. Easier said than done sometimes, I know. We have 1 income and 4 kiddos. I don’t get my hair or nails done, or have a house keeper, or name brand clothes. We don’t eat out and we pack a snack on outings. Be creative.

1. When the holidays come around and the grandparents/aunts/uncles/cous… ask what to get you or the kids? Be honest. School curriculum is just as good if not better than $ being put into a college fund because if you can’t get to college, what good is the $ going to do you?

2. Have a fundraiser. I’m personally going to do this in the fall to teach savvy money skills, savings, budgeting and charity. There’s a website that you can get T-shirts for your very own findraiser you can do with just 1 person. The link is below. What we’ll do is figure out our budget for the next school year (we school Jan.-Oct. and break for Nov. and Dec. Our family is in CA so an extended Christmas break is ideal). We’ll then figure out how many T-Shirts we need to sell to reach our goal, and any extra $ we make will be donated to a local at-risk childrens home in my children’s names.

3. Sell back your curriculum after you’re done with it. Obviously if you have more children to teach, you may want to hang onto them. But it can help defray the cost of the supplies and the store may give you more of a credit towards purchasing the next set you need vs. getting cash.

I’m in Texas too so if you would like, email me. I’d love to send you more links I have. I have them saved on my laptop, not on my Mac which I’m using right now…

Many Blessings!