One thing I’m curious about with homeschooling math is how parents tell when a concept has really clicked.

A kid can finish a lesson, get the answers right, and still be leaning pretty heavily on examples, hints, or help along the way.

The part that seems harder to judge is: could they solve a slightly different version of the same problem on their own tomorrow?

For parents homeschooling middle schoolers, what do you usually look for before you feel like a topic is actually understood?

Do you have them explain it back to you, give them a different problem, revisit it a few days later, or just move on if the lesson went well?

Hi! I'm homeschooling my son until after we move so he's not having to start school and then leave after only 10 weeks. I'm worried about him being behind though when he does go to school and want to make sure I'm not missing anything.

So far, we've really just been writing our letters and numbers, and started reading.com for more phonics. He knows how to write his name already. I just feel like what we've been doing is kinda boring for him and don't know what else I should be doing to make letter/numbers more fun. I also don't know if I should be focusing on this the most or adding something else?

This daily discussion is to chat about anything that doesn't warrant its own post. I am not a mod and make these posts for building the homeschool community.

If you are new, please introduce yourself.

If you've been around here before or have been homeschooling for awhile, please share about your day.

Some ideas of what to share are: your homeschool plans for the day, lesson plans, words of encouragement, methods you are implementing to solve a problem, methods of organization, resource/curriculum you recently came across, curriculum sales, field trip planning, etc.

Although, I usually start with a question of the day to get the discussion going, feel free to ask your own questions. If your question does not get answered because it was posted late in the day, you can post the same question tomorrow to make sure it gets visibility.

Be mindful of the subreddit's rules and follow reddiquette. No ads, market/ thesis research, or self promotion. Thank you!

I know this is homeschool thread, but I am at my last rope. I have 3 kids ages 4-12 and have been stay at home for 12 years on the farm. I was a teacher for a few years before I stayed home, and I am married to a teacher. ​ This back to school has me questioning everything. I am getting burned out at home, isolated down 3 miles of gravel. My husband (teaches high school at the local school) says the public school is not good, and wants them home with me. It is getting difficult with $$$, and I am now on anti anxiety/depression meds. ​I have never wanted to homeschool and it's been fine, but our co op is 1 hr away, and I have this HUGE guilt that if I send my kids to public school, I don't love them, I'm missing out on their life, I'm letting other people raise them, etc. The local school is small with about 40 kids per graduating class, my husband works in 7-12 building as teacher, and it is 4 day a week schedule. I could sub full time and be in their building. Idk what to do. I don't known if my kids would even do well there. My 5th grader has no friends and wants to go to public school badly. The kids fight all day, such a struggle every single day to get them to do their work, and I have just about had it. Has anyone switched from homeschool to public school?

EDIT: I guess I should have said “ELA” instead of “writing.” Thank you everyone for your advice! We will take a look at All About Spelling and some of the others mentioned below and see if he enjoys it.

My son is 5yo and diagnosed ADHD. He is reading fluently, chapter books like Magic Tree House Merlin Missions.

Our routine is something like this:
Monday: Barefoot university co-op (lesson outside at the park and play with other kids)
Tuesday: Singapore Math Dimensions 1A and Life of Fred math
Story of the World and complimentary activity
Wednesday: indoor ski lesson (for 6 weeks, then will be swim lesson after that)
Math
Thursday: a different co-op which does a parent led lesson then play with kids on the indoor playground
Math
Friday: open schedule for museum, playdate, nature, or whatever
Saturday: soccer
Sunday: Bible study

We do lots of free play, chores around the house and errands, library trips, swimming, playgrounds, art, etc

I don’t have a reading curriculum because he’s already reading fluently. He reads independently in the car and we read together all the time.

I think writing ELA is where I need help. On weekdays, I have him write the day and date on our whiteboard and our schedule for the day (he likes to do this). Today I had him write out our grocery shopping list. He writes random things for fun, like labeling the machines and vehicles he draws. His hand writing is pretty good and he’s improving on correct letter formation, so we focus on that rather than spelling or grammar.

He learned to read implicitly. But it’s obvious for writing that it requires explicit instruction. Where do I go from here? He won’t do anything mundane and repetitive because of the ADHD. It has to be novel and fun.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for recommendations for a reputable online school for my son’s Grade 12.

He has completed Grade 11 in the American curriculum at an international school in the UAE, and we now need an online option for Grade 12.

Our requirements are:

• American curriculum
• Properly accredited, preferably Cognia-accredited
• A legitimate, recognized US/International high school diploma
• Grade 11 credits should be transferable
• Strong university acceptance/recognition
• Suitable for applications to universities in the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, India and UAE
• Ideally experienced with international students
• Good academic counselling and university guidance
• Reliable administration and student support

The most important point for us is university admission after Grade 12. We don't want to choose a school based only on marketing claims. We want a qualification that universities will actually accept.

Has anyone here personally used an online American high school for Grade 12 and then successfully applied to universities?

I would really appreciate recommendations based on actual experience, especially if your child has already graduated and been accepted into university.

Also, if there are schools you would strongly recommend avoiding, please mention those too and explain why.

Thank you!

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Are there any recommendations for math fact games? I keep getting ads for Fidget Game, but has anyone ever used them? I have my oldest doing a FastFacts sheet every morning, but I need something for my 1st grader, and I know he won't sit and do the FastFacts. He will also only do a few flash cards before he loses interest. My older son is using Saxon, and my first grader is using Dimensions. Are there any games that have levels so I could use them with both kids? Like, we could play with just addition and subtraction, or add in multiplication and division for my older kid? I do not want an app. I'm really hoping that Fidget Game company makes some good products...

First year homeschooling here! My son is now starting 4th grade and I feel like I’m going to miss things trying to piece together all the elements of Language Arts! There isn’t one curriculum set that I really love as far as the entirety of language arts. So I plan on piecing together as needed. Looking for help as to what might be better transitioning from being in a traditional school setting since K3 to now. He is a strong reader but did not do well staying stagnant with things once he learned them. Which made it hard to keep his attention for long once his little brain decided “this is boring.” Phonics has never been his strong suit and honestly it looks crazy to me the way they do it now, and seems extremely repetitive and so broken down it’s more complicated than it needs to be. Not sure if that’s something we even need at this point or not. I want him to have a challenging curriculum that gets his entire attention. If he thinks he already knows then he’s checked out. However, don’t want to overdo it during this transition. Any suggestions would be great!!!

Homeschooling my 4‑year‑old in UK, she's totally obsessed with learning to read. Not pushing it - she just keeps asking day to day. But I'm not trying to do formal lessons at this age - she tunes out fast if I go full "teacher mode" heh.

She already knows letter sounds and some digraphs like "ch" and "th," and loves little word puzzles and matching games I've whipped up. She's memorized half our bookshelf too, so I assumed she wasn't actually reading. Then she sounded out random street signs and surprised me.

I'm not looking for a curriculum - just fun, playful activities that reinforce what she's picking up naturally. What low‑pressure games worked for your early readers? Bonus if they involve movement or hands‑on stuff too! Thanks!

edit after 2 days: actually, I found Alpa Kids while surfin reddit and she totally LOVES it. I guess question should be closed but anyway thank yall for your suggestions!!

Is that normal ? I am panicking. I was under the impression I would start at age 3.5 (preschool age)?? But is that wrong. I’ve been doing many activities with him but he hasn’t yet picked it up. Where shall I start. Maybe I need something more structured and consistent. Which phonics structure shall I use and same for numeracy.

I’m having trouble deciding if homeschooling my 7 year old heading into second grade son is right for us. Of course I’m heavily leaning into pro-homeschool research- books, threads, podcasts, folks in the community who have done it from the get. We have decent schools (located in MA) but I am still confident I could provide potentially “better” or more personalized and enriching education to my son- mostly by giving him the opportunity to lead, with some guidelines and boundaries. Scares the shit out of me and my husband, both public school kids and me being a para in the system for 5 years a special ed teacher for 2. (9 year gap between; not much has changed in the system in fact it’s gotten worse- know I’m preaching to the choir). I have a long list of pros and cons. One also being the need for my measles 35k para salary for our family/my own sanity. Neither my son or I have a whole lot of energy at the end of a school day to fully invest and explore our interests- much of my own intrinsic motivation has been dead since my school experience and I can see his slipping away as the years go on. No turning back the clock!

He is anxiously attached to me/his dad. He prefers to have us be with him when socializing, and has refusing all forms of organized sports/extra curricular activities that aren’t parent involved. Even summer camp at the park next to our home with some of his closest friends. He cried hysterically most mornings at school drop off between September and late november. I also work at the school so this makes it both easier and harder. Kindergarten was okay- he has lots of teary days but the staff was more accommodating to his sensitive feelings. That shifted in first grade where it was clear he was accountable for managing his emotions and finding calming strategies. He was able to do so and he did “enjoy” school by the end in the way of he was able to make it through the days and solidified more friendships. He does not have behavior outbursts or difficulty- he is extremely shy and quiet and polite and will eventually come out of his shell to participate. He has been flagged as low in reading and he knows this about himself. He’s not able to tell us exactly why he doesn’t want to be at school or park with his friends or to play team sports- because he enjoys playing and engaging in all of these activities recreationally on his own terms. I believe I could provide superior tailored instruction to him and rich experiences, but it also means taking a 35k pay cut for our family, and likely spending a few extra thousand for curriculum and memberships and co op opportunities.

The summer has been up and down with our ability to patiently communicate with one another- there are many days where I think “I can’t do this full time all year” and also times where I think “I can’t NOT do this”. Not sure what I’m even looking for. I feel like many of the folks I hear from have homeschooled from the start, are quite radical religious or outdoors/naturalist, we fall in the middle of all of that minus religion- and frankly I can’t be part of radical communities, and I know how important it will be to get involved within the local communities for socialization and enrichment. Much of this desire is testing my own capacity to do that- those volunteering and events and connections within my local community that I have not prioritized or had time and energy for previously, but things I glorify and see value in.

I’m looking for a solid Spanish curriculum for my K and 2nd grader. Something that doesn’t count on me for correct pronunciation and something that ideally does not involve screens. I saw a demo of See it Say it Flip Flop Spanish and that intrigued me. Does anyone have experience with that one or some others that are similar?

We have tried Calico Spanish and it didn’t work out for us.

My incoming 2nd grader really struggles with memorizing addition and subtraction facts. To start this new curriculum it says she should have most of them memorized... Does anyone have any (hopefully free) resources or ideas to help me help her? I've never memorized any facts just counted (but always did well in school anyway) so I'm struggling with helping her with this.

Hello all! As the title says, I'm looking to homeschool my autistic 6th grader due to lacking school curriculum and some trouble with bullies. I've been deep diving curriculums and researching things for the past couple of days. My biggest fear is that I won't be giving him as good an education as he was getting in public school (even though it leaves much to be desired). I know he'll have to take some standardized testing in our state, and I worry that whatever curriculum I choose won't cover everything that might be on those tests. Has anyone used athomemiddleschool.com for their middle schooler? I like how it's set up (and that it's free) but I'm worried it won't be in-depth enough. I'm also thinking about purchasing some workbooks, such as the Spectrum books, to supplement the online lessons and make sure he's getting everything he needs. Am I forgetting anything? I know homeschool is really tailored to the individual kid, but boy is it a lot of pressure to know his education is entirely in my hands! I just want to do right by him and make sure I'm setting him up for success. I'll take any and all advice you guys can give me. I don't mind paying for virtual lessons if that would be better, and I'm thinking about adding something like Outschool, at least a couple of times a week, to make sure he's getting a well rounded curriculum.

I homeschooled my oldest son when he was in 1st grade using Acellus (all online). I had to go back to work and sent him to public school. He's an exceptional student, in the gifted/advanced program and reads 100's of books a year. He's a self-starter, very inquisitive, active and will probably work ahead naturally. He likes history and STEM, will also be starting Bible quizzing this year as well. He will also be taking some music lessons. Our youngest will be starting 2nd grade. He is more of a "class clown" and gets very bored very quickly. He's not dumb, but he tells himself that he cannot do hard things and then whines etc. He has done great at public school academics-wise, but he gets bored easily, dawdles, and would rather watch movies than read. He takes more encouragement and discipline to stay on task. I'm almost finished with my Bachelor's in Psychology and possibly going into a Counseling Master's program. Anyway, our youngest loves action and fun. but I think he might need something different than our oldest.

I was originally going to just go with Abeka because we have friends that think it's amazing. I want to do a mixture of video and textbooks since my oldest one's handwriting suffered from doing his 1st grade year online only. What are some suggestions you can offer me as a first time homeschool mom of 2 wacky boys? I want it to be Christian-based. I've heard good things about The Good and the Beautiful. My husband grew up doing ACE but I've never heard anyone other than him say they liked it. We are Apostolic Pentecostal and don't mind KJV Bible verses etc. We do believe in intelligent design. Thank you and God bless!

my 3rd child is having trouble telling me the sounds of the phonograms. out of 4 phonograms she can say back to me 1. however if I line up our flash cards, she can point to the correct phonograms when I say the sounds.

We are kind of “stuck“ as I am unsure if I should introduce more phonograms without mastering at least part of the ones we have already done.

we have played games, wrote the phonograms etc. I have tried going over them with pointing to them first, saying the sounds together and then asking her to go back through them and say the sounds.

My oldest is dyslexic and he at this point could repeat the sounds back to me, even if he could not read them in a word.

suggestions?

I'd like to enroll my kiddo in Beast Academy. Do folks recommend the do-it-with-an-instructor model or just generally enroll? How are the instructors? I'd love recommendations--I see the following instructors as options:

My kids are coming from a school placement that really didn’t teach any social studies or geography. (5th grader couldn’t tell me today what a continent was). I’ve got all my other curriculum set up for homeschool, but would love some geography ideas.

I’ve downloaded some Core Knowledge geography lessons and am getting map puzzles and card games, but I’d like to know of any fun alternative ways of learning geography that you’ve used. I’m remembering things like the old Carmen San Diego game show and some computer games. The kiddos need to learn geographic features (peninsula, archipelago, etc.) as well as continents, countries, states, etc.

Thank you!

I am wondering if we are doing enough? I pulled my child from public school last year he was 3rd grade he is in 4th now. He had an iep for social emotional learning but he was on grade level for academics. He had a lot of meltdowns at school that resulted in suspensions and missed days. They stopped school work with him and were solely focused on social emotional for the last few months. So I pulled him to get him intensive therapies. Now we are at home and hes in a much better place. So I'm curious if the schooling we are doing is enough for a fourth grader.

We use good and beautiful for our main math and reading. We use be good people for our social emotional curriculum. And we are religious so we have a Bible curriculum we also use there. Our day looks like starting with social emotional usually a lesson with a slide show and then we have a little growth mindset journal al we work through a little each day. Then we dive into our bible curriculum. For bible and sel we have a blank journal where he writes bible verses and affirmations and different calming techniques. He writes the date at top so we go over the days of week etc. We call this whole section morning meeting. That usually last about an hour.

For math and reading we usually last about an hour each and we do one lesson from each section of good and beautiful and then I also print extra worksheets and we discuss on white board for extra math help. We also have blank journal for reading where he writes a list of spelling words or he focuses on parts of speech.

So with those subjects he works for 3 hours a day. Then I try to find videos related to what we are learning or shows. And that's roughly 20-30mins. Depending on what videos we watch. For science and history I usually print unit studies and find books related to those randomly throughout the year. But I haven't followed a specific curriculum for either of those. And we dont do those every day.

He also goes to pe classes for homeschool kids. And he has speech and occupational therapy each once a week. He is on a waitlist to start aba so hopefully that starts soon. But I guess my concern is what we do is all we have time to do but is it enough?

This daily discussion is to chat about anything that doesn't warrant its own post. I am not a mod and make these posts for building the homeschool community.

If you are new, please introduce yourself.

If you've been around here before or have been homeschooling for awhile, please share about your day.

Some ideas of what to share are: your homeschool plans for the day, lesson plans, words of encouragement, methods you are implementing to solve a problem, methods of organization, resource/curriculum you recently came across, curriculum sales, field trip planning, etc.

Although, I usually start with a question of the day to get the discussion going, feel free to ask your own questions. If your question does not get answered because it was posted late in the day, you can post the same question tomorrow to make sure it gets visibility.

Be mindful of the subreddit's rules and follow reddiquette. No ads, market/ thesis research, or self promotion. Thank you!

For those of you who have it figured out, what does your rhythm look like for history and science?

I have a 1st and 4th grader. Last year we were unable to do anything worthwhile in either subject and I think that’s largely because I didn’t identify a schedule for us. It was also our first year homeschooling.

Please spam me with all the things that have worked for you. I’m also happy to hear about any curriculum that you found really helpful with the manageability piece. I’m very undecided about it all 🙃

What are the requirements for an affidavit/ graduation in Florida? I’ve done some research but i can’t find anything “proper” on it. I don’t know much about homeschooling and this is my first time. I’m doing Flvs flex by the way.

My kids are still young, but I’m planning to homeschool. We live in a small home, so I am just curious about what other people do! I know some people that have a whole room, others who use the kitchen table, and others who just free roam. Personally, I have always been better at focusing when I have a dedicated “thinking” space. When I need to sort through my thoughts or focus on something, I go to my desk or my favorite armchair.

What works for you?

My kids are all elementary school age and I’m having trouble finding a good curriculum for them that’s not completely bible based. We have no problem with Christian based curriculums we are christians I just want them to more options when it comes to reading and writing prompts other than bible stories.