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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling -> Homeschooling
Homeschooling for dummies



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amother


 

Post Wed, Aug 27 2014, 1:03 am
I live in Lakewood, and due to circumstances beyond my control, cannot get my daughter into school. I am strongly considering homeschooling her for this coming school year (primary/pre-1a). My daughter is bright, fun loving and very creative. My job is very flexible at this point, and I think she would thrive under such a program. I'm considering pairing up with another child who is in the same situation. I know absolutely nothing about homeschooling, except for that at this point I think it is not only a viable option, but it may be a prefered option. Where do I start? Do I have to go through the board of ed, where and how do I find material, a curriculum, etc? All and any information would be appreciated.
Thanks!
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amother


 

Post Wed, Aug 27 2014, 3:31 am
By law, every child must attend school by this age so your local BOE will be justified in asking for proof that your child is homeschooled. You should call them up and find out if they will cover k12online programs. Even if not, check out programs like time4learning.com and save the report cards showing mastery of the curriculum.
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yaelinIN




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Aug 27 2014, 8:18 am
amother wrote:
By law, every child must attend school by this age so your local BOE will be justified in asking for proof that your child is homeschooled. You should call them up and find out if they will cover k12online programs. Even if not, check out programs like time4learning.com and save the report cards showing mastery of the curriculum.


ACTUALLY, Smile
The amother above must not homeschool in NJ or anywhere else, as NJ is known to be a low-regulation state.

THIS is the law regulating homeschooling in New Jersey (from HSDLA
The child must attend a public school “or a day school in which there is given instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools for children of similar grades … or receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school.” Home schooling is generally allowed under the “elsewhere than at school” portion of the statute.

Here's the rest of the information relevant to you (since you don't HS a high school student):
Department of Education Policy: In September 2001, the New Jersey Department of Education published Frequently Asked Questions about Home Schooling in New Jersey containing 14 questions and answers as a guide for local school districts in enforcing New Jersey’s compulsory education law. They can be found at http://www.state.nj.us/educati......htm. The highlights of the policy are as follows:
1. “Parents/Guardians are not required by law to notify their public school district of their intention to educate the child elsewhere than at school.” (Answer to question number 4).
2. “The law does not require or authorize the local board of education to review and approve the curriculum or program of a child educated elsewhere than at school.” (Answer to question number 5).
3. “If there is credible evidence that the parent ... is not causing the child either to attend school (public or nonpublic) or to receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school, the board may request documentation, such as a letter of intent from the parent/guardian showing that the child is either in nonpublic school or receiving equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school. The mere fact that a child has been withdrawn to be home schooled is not, in itself, credible evidence of a legal violation.” (Answer to question number 3).
Teacher Qualifications: None. The court in Massa stated that a parent does not have to be certified. The court reasoned; “perhaps the New Jersey Legislature intended the word ‘equivalent’ to mean taught by a certified teacher elsewhere than at school. However, I believe there are teachers today teaching in various schools in New Jersey who are not certified. . . . Had the legislature intended such a requirement, it would have said so.” Massa, 231 A.2d at 256.
Standardized Tests: None.
Access to Special Services: The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, ruled in HSLDA’s case of Forstrom v. Byrne, A-2886-99T2, that home school families have a right to access to special services through the public schools if: 1) the special services are provided on the premises of the public school; and 2) the public school is already making such services available to private school students

NJ doesn't cover K12 as far as I know, nor do you need someone overseeing you (see above). My only question is whether you can legally tutor someone else's child - that is not addressed here and is illegal in some states, so I would email the parents at Jersey Homeschool Net, a secular and inclusive homeschool support group. Local HSing groups are the people to talk to regarding legal stuff, not some HSing mom who has done five minutes of research on Google. Very Happy

As to how you find curriculum and other resources, you would proceed as any homeschool family would. You would read, research and plan to find a suitable way to educate your child. You can read more about that [url=http://jerseyhomeschool.net/?page_id=228/]
here. For Judaics you can ask here or the many FB pages for Orthodox Jewish Homeschooling or Jewish, Orthodox, and Homeschooling for specific suggestions, follow Lakewood school's ideas of what your child should learn this year or ignore everything and go with your gut. There are one or two NY/NJ Jewish homeschool groups and I think a co-op starting up this year for Jewish children homeschooling (not all frum though).

Now that you have decided to take your child's chinuch into your own hands, mazel tov! I hope you have an exciting year full of learning and love!
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amother


 

Post Wed, Aug 27 2014, 8:44 am
I just want to say... kol hakavod to you! [I wonder why more families don't stop putting themselves at the mercy of often mediocre institutions, for the privilege of paying astronomical tuition.] You are fortunate that you are starting at this age; the curriculum is flexible, and not very standardized, so not much pressure on you; just fun. You will probably want an introductory kriyah textbook, such a aleph bina, or kriya ne'ima, and at least one first level reading primer for English. I would also take a look at khan academy's early math videos. Scholastic publishes some very user-friendly workbooks that are colorful and engaging. We also found a plethora of multi-modal project ideas by spending many hours, simply googling Torah homeschooling and following the many terrific blogs. (Watch out for those Christian ones that pose as Jewish, though.) This is also a great age to try speaking to your child in Hebrew for some of the day. The amount of history, geography, and science to cover at this age is pretty much, whatever you want it to be. The priorities seem to be reading readiness skills and introductory math concepts. From a Jewish perspective, the holidays and parshiyos give a lot of built in structure to the curriculum, and then you have the flexibility to go as deep/detailed/creative as you and/or your child need. We like the Rabbi Juravel tapes (yes, cassettes!) on the Parsha, along with My First Parsha Reader. And finally, find some families you like that you know have kids that age to connect with for playdates. Good luck!
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SingALong




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 28 2014, 3:36 am
I'm not a homeschooler but...

I recommend you check out Chinuch.org for info on all Jewish things, yomim tovim, Kriah, parshas, Halacha, etc. I use their site for when my kids are off of school. They have printable worksheets that are great. They have tabs for dividing info according to age. Love that site!
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granolamom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 28 2014, 8:02 pm
I kinda wish you'd change your subject line because you dont sound like a dummy to me.

on topic though, pre1A is probably one of the easiest grades to homeschool. after checking into your states requirements, you might want to check with your local schools expectations for incoming first graders if you plan to try to get her in next year. then you'll have a sense of what you want her to know by the end of the year. I'd focus mostly on reading (hebrew/english) and math. not that you have to get her independently reading by the end of the year, but you'll probably want her to recognize letter names/sounds and some sight words. depending on where she is right now you might move to writing letters too. lots of reading, lots of poems or chants, lots of storytelling and dictation (you writing down what she says). for math, lots of counting, number play, bigger/smaller games, sorting, patterns, shapes, stuff like that. its fun stuff.
you'll want to keep feeding her all the parsha stories and chagim knowledge, I bet you do that stuff anyway.
science/social studies is mostly talking about family, community members, trips to the zoo or the beach, walks around the park, talk about seasons.
you'll want to review days of the week, months of the year, weather and pretty much anything else she shows interest in.
I would not recommend khan academy for this age, nor a boxed curriculum. I think you do better to get one or two books at a time based on where your child is and what style speaks to you. if you google 'homeschool curriculum reading' or anything along those lines, you will find tons of options. same with math.
chinuch.org is a great resource too, as is your local sforim store. or if you can ask a local school what they use for kriah and if you can purchase a book from them. there's many ways to teach, what I've realized in my 3 years of homeschooling is that when I read up on the ways kids learn and then think about my specific child and what he needs to learn next, I can come up with my own lesson plans.
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amother


 

Post Thu, Aug 28 2014, 8:17 pm
http://imamother.com/forum/vie.....unnel
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amother


 

Post Thu, Aug 28 2014, 11:39 pm
Wow, thanks everyone for your support!! I'm starting to get super excited... I've learned lots from all of the above information and am looking forward to continue exploring this new territory.
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Dolly Welsh




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Aug 29 2014, 12:27 am
Yes, do some googling of "Torah homeschooling" . Be sure you know the rules and laws for your particular state and district. Create a notebook and files. Buy a filing cabinet that locks. Keep dated notes. Start an address book for contacts concerning this. Decide on a regular time and a regular place to work. There are websites for educational materials, tools, equipment, furniture. Decide what has to be learned by when.

Bookmark the relevant websites in your Favorites.

There is an outfit in Baltimore that holds Torah Homeschooling conventions. Make contacts in that community; do not be alone.

Google and print out and ponder and file the printouts.

Burn no bridges. Be very nice to everybody in the schools.
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naturalmom5




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 8:08 pm
http://sustainable-jewish-scho.....l?m=1

OP .. How is it going . I am doing a lot of research into homeschooling resources for the. Lakewood crowd that's interested in this . Let me know how you make out
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Gitch




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 31 2014, 8:59 pm
http://jewishhomeschool.blogspot.com/ has great ideas for early childhood.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 1:36 am
naturalmom5 wrote:
http://sustainable-jewish-schooling.blogspot.com/2012/08/jewish-online-school.html?m=1

OP .. How is it going . I am doing a lot of research into homeschooling resources for the. Lakewood crowd that's interested in this . Let me know how you make out


I don't know if you read the comments posted on the blog link. The "Jewish Online School" is a phenomenal idea and would be a lifesaver for many parents of children whose needs are not being met at the day schools available to them. Unfortunately, they have a very flawed system wherein your child is only allowed to join if your local Chabad day school's director "approves".

I am speaking from personal experience. We live in a small town with a local Chabad day school, the only option for a Torah education here. Like one of the commenters on the blog wrote, after accepting and enrolling my children, the JOS discovered that there was actually a Chabad day school in my area and my children were then barred from attending, unless we got "permission" from the day school director. It didn't matter that my child had almost no kids his age and was learning at a very low level because two, three, even four grade levels were combined. It didn't matter that my child was miserable and bored at the day school and that home schooling just suited him so much better.

I was very disturbed by this policy and thought that I should mention it here so that people in a similar situation as mine don't get their hopes up only to feel beyond frustrated soon after.
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amother


 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 5:07 am
I don't think that's a problem for Lakewood...
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 6:45 am
In any case I don't think online learning is all that ideal for a 4/5 year old. Especially if you live in a frum area and your dd can connect with other kids her age.
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HappytoHS




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 7:15 am
I agree. There are so many creative and amazing learning opportunities for homeschoolers, IMO it would be a shame to waste them by sticking kids in front of the computer.

Read up on different homeschooling methods and on the different ways kids learn. Network and contact other homeschoolers even if they don't live close, just to pick their brains.
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cbg




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 9:38 am
granolamom wrote:
I kinda wish you'd change your subject line because you dont sound like a dummy to me.

on topic though, pre1A is probably one of the easiest grades to homeschool. after checking into your states requirements, you might want to check with your local schools expectations for incoming first graders if you plan to try to get her in next year. then you'll have a sense of what you want her to know by the end of the year. I'd focus mostly on reading (hebrew/english) and math. not that you have to get her independently reading by the end of the year, but you'll probably want her to recognize letter names/sounds and some sight words. depending on where she is right now you might move to writing letters too. lots of reading, lots of poems or chants, lots of storytelling and dictation (you writing down what she says). for math, lots of counting, number play, bigger/smaller games, sorting, patterns, shapes, stuff like that. its fun stuff.
you'll want to keep feeding her all the parsha stories and chagim knowledge, I bet you do that stuff anyway.
science/social studies is mostly talking about family, community members, trips to the zoo or the beach, walks around the park, talk about seasons.
you'll want to review days of the week, months of the year, weather and pretty much anything else she shows interest in.
I would not recommend khan academy for this age, nor a boxed curriculum. I think you do better to get one or two books at a time based on where your child is and what style speaks to you. if you google 'homeschool curriculum reading' or anything along those lines, you will find tons of options. same with math.
chinuch.org is a great resource too, as is your local sforim store. or if you can ask a local school what they use for kriah and if you can purchase a book from them. there's many ways to teach, what I've realized in my 3 years of homeschooling is that when I read up on the ways kids learn and then think about my specific child and what he needs to learn next, I can come up with my own lesson plans.


Wow excellent advice. I taught pre1a for 10 years before I moved on to special ed k-12, and I would have suggested the same. If you can get your child reading (both Hebrew and English) she'll be ahead of the game for first grade. In math I would also work on adding and subtracting single digits, counting by 2's,5's, and 10's.
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cbg




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 9:41 am
In my opinion
the best kriah workbook, once the child knows the letters.
http://www.eichlers.com/aleph-......html
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cbg




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 9:50 am
The best series for English phonics instruction, to be used after the child knows the sounds of all the letters, is Primary Phonics by eps

http://eps.schoolspecialty.com.....381M.

I suggest you order the complete set 1 including the Comprehension Workbook, order as you go.
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monseychick




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Sep 01 2014, 10:23 am
amother wrote:
I don't think that's a problem for Lakewood...


I was thinking the same thing.. You arent stepping on any shaliach's toes there.. But who knows maybe the powers that be will pressure them to stay out of their turf
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