How invovled do parents get in the teaching part of home schooling?

This generation is more advanced in the academics department than my generation. I wasn't taught things the same way they teach students now. Would that become a problem if I was to have my children home schooled? I was also wondering where is the best place to look for information on home schooling?How invovled do parents get in the teaching part of home schooling?
Most teachers teach how the textbooks tell them to teach or how they just naturally teach. If a 12yo knows how to do large multiplication after being taught way A and another 12yo knows it by way B, does it really make a difference? No.





For homeschooling, once you get into advanced material, there are plenty of resources for the student to learn from on their own if there isn't an adult present who can fully explain the material. Keep in mind that knowing how to learn is more important than learning itself. If you do your job and help your children figure out stuff on their own, then the more advanced stuff won't be much of a problem.





For information on homeschooling, I started with my local library. Then I sought out a homeschooling group (I looked in Yahoo Groups plus just in general online) for my area and learned more about homeschooling, and the specifics of homeschooling in my province, through them. That then led me to reading more online, discussing more with others, etc.How invovled do parents get in the teaching part of home schooling?
I would begin with hslda website for your local laws. Then it depends on how your children learn and what is most important to you. Do you want them to be able to fill in a correct circle on a standardized test? Or would you rather see them develop a love of learning so they will want to participate? Personally, I would get a math text for their grade level and books at their reading level. Then let them decide what to learn. Unit studies are wonderful. If you use an Ancient Egypt Unit, for example, every lesson pertains to that subject. Spelling, writing, reading, etc. Our first one was dinos, but that was at a 1st grade level.


Don't worry that they aren't learning the right things. How much do you really remember from Elementary school? There is a ton of cheap used curriculum on ebay . Or new on homeschoolsupercenter.com Hope this helps.
I would hope that the PARENT(s) would be very involved in the teaching.


For the record, we use the 'hands-on' method here at our house since that is how my daughter learns best. We also use McGuffey's Readers and Speller, Ray's Arithmetic, Spencerian Writing, flashcards, workbooks, chores, cooking, sewing, Flute lessons, Horseback Riding lessons and whatever else fits into our lives and helps her to learn.





The Public School system is intent on teaching the children things that will NOT help them in life but is what the GOVERMENT wants them to know--which is knowing but not REALLY knowing anything at all.





I could go on a rampage about what the system does to our children, but I simply won't get on that soapbox at this time.





For books on homeschooling try your LOCAL library or a bookstore like Borders (children's section for both).
The great thing about homeschooling is, you don't have to teach like ';they'; do - you can teach in a way that makes sense to you and your kids.





Classroom teachers teach in various ways, but their methods are generally aimed at trying to teach 25-30 kids at once. Obviously, you wouldn't use those same methods to teach just your own kids - neither would they. They would probably use parts of those methods, but they wouldn't do it the same way.





Every homeschool parent teaches differently, because every child has different needs. I use a lot of unit studies, great lit from the library, videos, audiobooks, and projects (usually art, model building, or cooking). I have friends that go very strictly by a scripted curriculum, because that is the structure that their kids excel in. I also have friends that use a little bit of everything to meet their kids needs. There are so many ways that you can go about teaching your children; it does take a little trial-and-error sometimes - which is fine - but you'll find what fits your family.





I suggest you check out some books on homeschooling at the library; my favorite, the one that really helped me when I got started, is The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell. She is a former classroom teacher who decided to bring her kids home, and teaches both at home and in a co op. She answers pretty much everything, and gives great ideas for resources, teaching and learning styles, curriculums to check out, and weblinks for everything.





http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Hom鈥?/a>





This is out of print right now, but available used at Amazon and stocked in many libraries. She is currently updating it and it will be re-released in 2008.





Hope that helps!
Check your library, I reccommend John Holt highly.





there is a wide spectrum of home schooling approaches, from re-creating school at home to the very rigorous and regimented to child-led and unstructured.


here are some suggestions to google to give you an idea of the range of options:


Waldorf


Montessori


Classical Education


homeschool curricula


Unschooling


Charlotte Mason


K12.com (often this last option is free through the state, providing all materials and even a loaner computer)





once you have an idea of what direction you'd like to go, check yahoogroups for likeminded homeschoolers, and befriend your local librarian, who may be able to put you in touch with other local home schooling families.





If you'd like to put together your own curriculum check out the Core Knowledge: what your (x) grader needs to know


series, and Rebecca Rupps book on year by year curriculum guidelines.
Involved? The parents are the teachers, so they are entrenched in it.


Christian Liberty Academy sends information on how to set up your homeschool, as well as an entire manual on how to teach the lessons. You aren't required to follow their directions, but they have it available if you want it. If you use their CLASS program (one of two programs to pick from) you take care of the teaching, they take care of marking all the tests. They also have online tutoring for certain subjects.


http://www.homeschools.org/
When it comes to my kids learning something I'm not familiar with, I help them find resources online and in the library, and look for classes or workshops for them, or someone who can tutor them or is willing to coach them.





For example, one of my boys, who is almost 9, is very inclined towards science and technology. I was an Engish major and still have trouble programming the clock on the VCR-- nuff said on that.





To give him the more in depth science/technology education he craves, he takes classes at our homeschool co-op. He started this at age 5. Last year he took:





A general science class is taught by a man that is a retired school teacher and who used to run the educational programs at the local children's museum. He's got all kinds of exotic creatures he brings to class (he does library shows and b-day parties, too), and it's very hands on.





He also took a chemistry course taught by a dad in our co-op who was a college chem teacher. The class introduced basic concepts that are, sad to say, beyond my understanding, but he enjoyed the class.





He also took some basic engineering classes last year, taught by an engineer, using special legos and motors designed to teach engineering concepts. The kids would pair together and get a paper with a ';need';, and they'd have to come up with a plan to invent something to fill the ';need'; and put it together with the legos and motors.





This year in August he's hoping to get into a class that teaches basic computer video game programming, though it is for 10 year olds, but its being taught by his engineering teacher and he might let him in because he knows my son's abilities and interests.





There are also classes in things like rocketry using models, robotics, oceanography, and embryology that are for ages 10 and up that he looks forward to taking next year.





We are lucky to have such an awesome co-op in our area; but if we didn't have this co-op, there are local museums, botanic gardens, and science centers that have similar classes. They would cost a little more than the co-op, but we'd be willing to do some side jobs or overtime to get up the money.





To us, homeschooling has never meant that we are our the children's only teachers, or that it is our responsibility to know everything so we can pour it into them like filling an empty vase.





We've always gone by the saying that education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. We nurture their interests, try to show them the value of learning, teach them to become self-sufficient learners, and foster an educational environment at home that encourages self-motivated learning. Sometimes this means directly instructing them in something, sometimes it means helping them find resources, or even finding somewhere or someone that can provide them with what we cannot.
We can get very involved. And you don't have to teach the way they do in school. I find it easy to teach children subjects I know nothing about because the materials are all laid out and I learn with them. ( I couldn't conjugate Latin verbs before I started homeschooling my children.) When they become too advanced for me I think I may send them to the local college for maths and sciences if I don't want to keep up. I have NEVER heard of a parent faltering because they were not academically prepared to help their children learn. That's the key. We don't TEACH them- we help them to LEARN.
My wife and I are extremely involved. She has strengths in math and social studies, whereas I take over for history, philosophy, geology, geography, and home-ec. We also set out assignments for them to do and they do get them done without incident. This generation also does not place a lot of emphasis in some subjects. For example, the schools here teach certain aspects of Native American history but leave out many details of the Sand Creek Massacre.


We found some of the best information about homeschooling from the school district.
I am a teacher of second grade in Florida. Due to the standards set by the government, educations is much more advanced than it used to be. I teach geometry, fractions, and algebra to my students because that is what is mandated. I suggest that if you wish to teach your children at home, you may want to contact your local school. I have answered questions and provided supplies and guides for parents in the past. I hope we all have the same goal...to better the lives of our children by providing them with the education they need.
You can do it yourself, with curriculums, lesson plans, etc; the way I do with our children. All the homeschool material I've looked into and used have surpassed our local public school curriculum here. My sister uses Abeka Academy DVD program. It's filmed in a Christian school. Real classroom. Real kids. My nieces love it. They really excel. There are other publishers who offer similar programs, I'm sure. I don't trust my children to pay attention to a television, but they're still quite young. I'm noting here the site I used when I first started; and unbiased overview of major homeschool publishers. You should give it a once over, and look for others if none of these appeal to you. And don't be scared to mix and match. Kids aren't made from cookie cutters, and each respond differently to teaching approaches.


You can request a free sample DVD from abeka.com if you're interested in less of a ';hands on'; approach.
As an educator, I firmly believe that parents are the best teacher for their child(ren). You are more than capable to help your child(ren0 with classwork. Do a search of the cyber charter schools that are available in your state. You'll be able to take an active roll in the education in the home with a teacher to help with state requirements.


If that's not for you, don't' worry. Home school curriculum will usually have a parent/teacher manual available
Ultimately, the answer to the question of how involved parents get in teaching depends on the child/student the parent/teacher and the subject. The beauty of homeschool is that it offers a wide array of options. If Johnny can pick up a subject by reading about it and doing a few execises on his own, then the paren't need only gently nudge. If Johnny is struggling, then the parent can become quite involved, or the parent can call in outside resources if necessary.





There are many educational philosophies, with none being ';right'; or ';wrong'; (Although some will tell you differently). Within each philosophy there are differences in method. The ';right'; method is the one that works for your child.





I've listed some excellent resources on homeschooling in the sources section.
No it would'nt be a problem , I homeschooled my son until freshman year of highschool and he did just as well as most of the students in his school. All you have to do is have a good curriculum , a computer, a good science experiment kit and a few good books. check here for help http://donnayoung.org/forms/help/plannin鈥?/a>


http://homeschooling.about.com/od/curric鈥?/a> there are so many other sites that can help you just put homeschooling help or just homeschooling in your web browser. Don't fall for all those wonderful deals of a complete curriculum in a box, they are alot of wasted money just go on- line and see what the average child in your childerens grades are learning and go from there. there are hundreds of sites that have free printables for everything imaginable. It takes alittle time but is well worth it if homeschooling is for you. there are sites that have everything from history to english to spelling all free on the web use them and you will save lots of money. Good Luck





P.S. at first I bought alot of books and things but later learned that I could do it all from books from the library and information and worksheets on the web. One more thing is that I only taught my son for about 3 hours a day on average and was able to teach him enough to get into one of the best high schools in New York City, so it doesn't have to take over your life to homeschool.
I have the theory, that no matter how advanced the academics are, if kids can't read, write and do basic math, then they do not have a real education. That is my experience with the kids who are coming out of the public school system. They do well enough on a subject to pass a test, but they do not have an education.


I am very involved in teaching my son, even though I work outside the home. I have a schedule that gives me 2 hours in the morning and several hours in the afternoon. He is not self motivated and we, my husband and I, do what ever we can to encourage him to make progress.


We work in the school system and have a little knowlege of the jargon. By that, I mean that if you look at the list of standards in the curriculum for each grade level, it appears that the teachers are teaching complicated concepts. If you put it down into common everyday language, it isn't that complicated.


Another issue I have with the standards is that just because a teacher teaches it, doesn't mean that the majority of students learn it. Our area bragged recently when 51% of students passed the 8th grade writing test. That's sad.


The best place to look for information on home schooling is here on the internet. If your budget allows, there are some wonderful curriculum that would mean very little work on your part. We are not fortunate enough to have that type budget, so we put the work into it and create our own from library resources and used book stores.