For Beginners
If you are a beginner, just starting out. I have made this webpage just for you.
I am currently writing a book to help people who realize that there is a big problem with our educational system, but are unsure what we can do about it.
If you want more info, you must learn from people much smarter than I am. I suggest you visit many of the webpages that I have listed in the "Helpful Webpages" section of this site.
I can tell you what I would recommend in addition to that.
Read like you've never read before.
Read:
The Constitution of the United States of America
The Declaration of Independence
"Animal Farm" By George Orwell (about Stalin and Trotsky)
"The Red Scarf Girl" by Ji-li Jiang (about China)
Anything by John Holt
"A Thomas Jefferson Education" by Oliver DeMille
"Charlotte Mason Study Guide" by Penny Gardner
"Wild Days" by Karen Rackliffe
"It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village" by Colleen Down
"Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days" by Nancy Lande
"Children The Challenge" by Rudolf Dreikurs
"The Discipline Book" by Dr. Sears
And every single classic you can get your hands on! :)
Support Groups
Here are a few sites to find support groups in your area:
http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/listlist.html
http://www.catholichomeschool.org/findgroup.php
http://www.home-school.com/groups/
http://lds-nha.org/support.php
http://www.learning4liferesources.com/homeschool_page2.html
Find support groups in your area, and go to one. Find out if home education is for you. I could never have made it through 9 years without help from my dear friends who also made the choice to home educate their children.
Home Education Conferences
The next step would be to attend a local home education conference. Usually each state has one or two a year. Visit them, and take classes on how to get started.
On the right side of the page, pick your state from the drop down menu, and it will tell you what conferences you have in your state.
For Dads:
http://www.nhen.org/dads/default.asp?id=306
Email Support Groups:
It's also great to join email groups that are of your religion or style and speak about home education.
You can find many of these in http://www.yahoo.com just type in your religion, state or other and homeschool or home education. If you find you prefer a certain method like Charlotte Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Eclectic, child-led (unschool) or Classic you can type that in the search option, and you will find there are many.
http://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=homeschool
Happy Learning!
Debbi Edmonds