Homeschooling is a great thing but a lot of work goes into it.

When Carl and I first started talking about moving to China, then we started looking at the international schools that the city we thought we would be going to offered, Beijing. So, that meant we started looking at the International Academy of Beijing (IAB). Looks like a good school right? The cost was nice also, so that wasn’t going to be an option. That meant that home school was the only option left. After Suzanne finished her sixth grade year at her old school then she would start her seventh grade being home schooled. Was she happy? Being home schooled, moving to china, and then having a baby sister on the way…no. Some people think that in order to home school your kids then you have to have a college education. If you are going to teach calculus, it might be helpful, but otherwise all you have to do is fill out two forms and turn them into your school district. I saw that it wanted to know about a curriculum, so how was I going to decide that one? That was easy. She had been learning ABEKA with her school and we found a display close to us where we could see the books, and so that’s what she was taught in 7th grade. About the time that she was finishing her first semester I had to start thinking about what she would be learning from here in China. I placed an ad in the shoppers guide and in Y95’s swap shop for someone that might have some used home school books to sell cheaply. A lady called and she had some ABEKA books that would work from 8th-12th grades, for free. She was a God send. After that I found a website that had lots of useful home school information on it. I found a lady in Camden that home schooled named Alicia Taylor  that has helped me. Since Arkansas says that students must be tested every year until after 9th, then I had to figure out how to do that. That had been the hardest part yet. I finally found a place called Bob Jones, and I could order standardized tests through them. So, now that high school was coming next year, it was time to think about colleges. She has decided what profession she wants, and even which colleges. How’d she find the right college? She searched. Her career is going to be a Vet Tech. Her first college is Arkansas State University, Beebe. Why? She wanted a 2 year school that had that career field and was close to Camden. Then if she decided to go on to is a veterinarian, then she can go to Texas A&M in Commerce. We have recently found the place that says what requirements Arkansas wants for her to be able to graduate. Now, she needs to use a helpful site, to plan high school/college/job/financial aid. She can also have sites like computer aptitude, 4test, act and fafsa to get her ready with her needed tests. Her old school in Camden, Victory School, is being a lot of help answering questions. Also since we’ve been here a lady homeschooling, Kris Baker, has been a God send. Also, anything we need, we can find how to do on ehow. Hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. Please leave any questions, which I didn’t cover, and I’ll be glad to answer them.