I have a lot of preparations to make between now and January 5th. Homeschooling will be a major adjustment for us, and having a plan will help keep stress levels to a minimum.
As mentioned on my About Us page, I work from home and have the flexibility to manage homeschooling, but it will still require a great deal of organization and time management to keep things running smoothly. Fortunately, I have very good organizational skills.
I will begin by composing a to-do list. List items with a strike through have been completed.
Also, I realize that I am not required to join an organization and that I do not need one to support me. I am joining the Texas Home School Coalition for my own reasons which I may write about in a separate post.
Now, on with the list-making:
- Write to THSC to inquire about support groups and payment.
- Join Texas Home School Coalition
- Write introduction for support group
- Draft letter of withdrawal
- Send letter of withdrawal to school via certified mail (mail January 3rd)
- CC letter of withdrawal to THSC and support group; send via regular mail
- Compose page outlining curriculum
- Compose sample page of weekly lesson plans
- Set up John’s blog
- Shop for books and supplies
- Create spreadsheet for grading
This will get me started. I will add to this list as things come to mind. Please feel free to post suggestions, tips and advice in the comments section.
13 Comments
December 23, 2008 at 2:19 am
Dude, you freakin’ ROCK!!!!!
I am so adding you to my homeschool blog, right away!!!!
December 23, 2008 at 2:30 am
Oh, check out http://www.homeschooltracker.com for the grading and assignment tracking software.
I have used the free one for three (or more) years – - I LOVE it!!!
People also swear by the paid version.
Sorry, I got all excited and commented BEFORE I even read your blog…LOL!!
December 23, 2008 at 9:03 am
Thanks so much, Heidi! I wish I could use that tracker, but I have a Linux operating system and it doesn’t meet the download requirements. Ugh! I do need Windows so I can be compatible with the rest of the world. When I get it, I’m downloading that tracker first thing!
Thanks for stopping by!
December 23, 2008 at 9:05 am
Breathe, breathe. Remember to breathe.
December 23, 2008 at 9:16 am
Funny you should say that, Obi-Mom. I was just telling myself the same thing. I was really nervous at first, but my my worry is slowly turning into excitement.
Thanks for visiting!
December 23, 2008 at 9:56 pm
I am so excited for you and your family!! I bet he will be in college two years from now!! Best wishes!!
December 24, 2008 at 8:42 am
Thank you very much, Selena.
You know, when you and I were discussing this a while back, you said something that stuck with me. I was concerned that I would have trouble with the school and the authorities, and you said, “They don’t own your son”.
Since then, any time there has been an incident with the school and they acted like I was supposed to bow to whatever they said and did, that very simple but profound statement came back to me: “They don’t own him/us”.
I believe I used those very words in the post at Rambling On in which I announced my decision to homeschool.
Thank you for your ongoing support through this and many other things. You’ve been a real source of encouragement and I appreciate it very much.
December 24, 2008 at 10:08 am
Thank you, Lottie! You’ve been just as encouraging to our family and we appreciate it too!
I am feeling really inspired by your homechooling blog! I may have to mimic your idea!
My aunt told me the same thing because it seemed so odd to just pull him out of school, like I was breaking the law or something. I think somehow we have been conditioned to believe that once our kids are school age then the school system now has ownership of them and even us. It seems that they believe that too! Think again! This is America! Not a concentration camp! Even though Texas may have some “hen house ways” depending on what your views are, we can be rest assured that this state will back us 100% when it comes to homeschooling our children.
December 24, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Selena,
I’m glad you like it. And I’d be honored to have you mimic the idea.
It really is odd. I’ve always had this nagging sense that someone else (the state?) was in charge of my son and my home. It’s become more unsettling over the years, especially in light of recent events and fact that those in charge don’t seem to be operating on all cylinders.
Yes, Texas has its own set of issues, but it’s definitely homeschool friendly.
I’m really looking forward to this.
December 29, 2008 at 8:41 am
ROFL, you use a nice blog to keep you organized, and so do I. However, I forget what I have to do day by day… (I am only responsible for one class), so I make up a month of assignments and set them to show up on the right day…
http://geographyheaven.wordpress.com/
December 30, 2008 at 7:12 am
Thanks for visiting, Terra.
I have to keep a to-do list to make sure I don’t forget stuff.
We’re really looking forward to this.
January 3, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I just wanted to tell you again how excited I am for your family!
Can’t wait to read about your first week!
January 5, 2009 at 8:19 am
Thanks, Selena!