Hi from Newbie!!

[Isikole]

I'd like to say Hi, and that I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and sharing the joy of homeschooling! :D

[ABall]

Hello, welcome to homeschoolspot. How many kids do you have? I have 4. How long have you been homeschooling?

Hope we can help you with any questions you may have.

[KrisRV]

Welcome I have the same question Amy does? My name is Kris and I have been homeschooling for 5 years, I have two dd's. Welcome and I hope you enjoy the board as much as I do.

[Isikole]

Thanks for the warm welcome!!!

I'm going to be homeschooling my DD - 9th grade!
Although this is the first time for homeschooling her, I did homeschool my son for 3 years back in 1995-1997. He was a very social kid, and desperately wanted to go back to school. My daughter, on the other hand, is not very social, does not get on well with peers her age, and generally likes to be on her own (like her mom!!!! :D ).

[KrisRV]

Isikole, Welcome it's nice to meet you, I understand your daughter alot. I have one just like that, she is 13 and going into the 8th grade. We enjoy homeschooling alot and have lots of fun. Join with any ideas you have. Once again Welcome.

[AmyU]

Welcome
I'm Amy and we homeschool our son, 11. We have been homeschooling for 2.5 years and loving it. I think my son is more social now that we homeschool, he is meeting lots of people of all ages that have the same interest as him. We also belong to a homeschool group which we love. I look forward to speaking to you again.

[Mom2ampm]

Welcome and glad you joined us! I'm Missy and I hs my 9yo and 5yo. We've been at it for 3 years and are loving it!

[Jackie]

Starting in ninth grade!!! WOW!!! What do you plan on using with her? I'm curious, because my oldest is 7th grade this year and I'm trying to shift my thinking from the easy-going attitude of the younger grades, to a more strict accountability attitude for the older ones. I'll start recording "transcripts" this year!

I'm Jackie. I'm starting Year Eight with three...ages 12, 10, and 6. Welcome!!!

[HsMomof4]

Welcome, I'm pretty new here myself, but this is a great group. These ladies have been lots of fun and very helpful in the short time since I've been here. Looking forward to getting to know you.

[Isikole]

Well, the whole curriculum thing is overwhelming! There are so many more resources available since I last homeschooled, but most of them are religion based, and I'm looking for more secular textbooks. I think I've pretty much decided on what to start with, although math and science are proving to be more challenging. I can't make up my mind with algebra 1 curriculum. Currently on my list is Saxon Algebra 1, Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1, and MathUSee. Can't decide which one I like the best, but I do think that Teaching Textbooks is presently the front runner...

Science has also been difficult because a lot of curriculum is christian based, and therefore creationist, so I might have to go with a regular publisher like McDougal Littel, or AGS Pearson. I do like the Power Basics though, and might use them, for both science and history, and supplement with library and internet research.

English grammar, and literature, I'm going to use AGS Pearson books, and WriteShop for composition.

What does everyone else use, who have kids in the highter grades?

[Jackie]

We use mostly Christian curriculum. I use "Mystery of History" right now, though I plan on "Streams of Civilization" eventually. I'm doing "Apologia" science, and two "Total Language Plus" book studies for literature. Math we're doing a secular Algebra I, using an old textbook the Public Schools got rid of. Also, have you looked at "English from the Roots Up"? It teaches Latin and Greek roots of English words. I started it a while back and then put it aside for a while. I REALLY like it, especially when my then 2nd grader tells me during math, "Mom, I think OCT must be Latin for EIGHT, because an octopus has eight legs, and an octogram has eight sides." Anyway, it doesn't have a Christian slant to it, and it's supposedly going to improve ACT/SAT scores because you can analyze unknown words and get a good idea of what they might mean.

[Isikole]

I've heard of "English from the Roots Up" before, and was very intrigued. I might get a copy.

Thank you......

[TeacherMom]

Nice to meet you Isikole! I am schooling my ds and dd, had home taught my oldest for k-8th, he cried to grandparents and went out to a private Christian school in 9th and will do so for 10th as well.
My dd is 12 and in 8/9th ( early starter and quick learner)
my ds is 8 in 4th ( almost 9 yrs there)
We have used Alpha Omega for all our grades, plus a few add ins from Horizon Math to start them off and then differnt attempts at adding to reading and spelling. I have them using homework helper Grammar books reading and writing an asignment where nessacary as well. This year we are using SOS for 4th grade, because we were blessed with the whole set from a friend who used it last year. ( they give you one time transfer from family to family) and mixed set of Life Paks and Sos for my dd.
so far we have only used Science in Sos, and thier assessment type test for seeing what level for the kids to do and my kids are very computor literate so it should be great! I am not sure I would make a habit of using it but will seem like a nice break for me from record keeping!
As you see I type books for answers!
Nice to meet you!

[HsMomof4]

Isikole, welcome. We've been homeschooling basically from the beginning, but we decided to homeschool when my oldest dd turned 4. We've pretty much used Sonlight from the beginning.

For math we've used and like Miquon and Singapore Math, however, your dd is beyond miquon and I think SM is hard to jump into. I hear good things about Horizons and MUS.

I can't help with science curriculum because I've only looked at those that are Christian based. I hope you find something really great.