HELP! New to Homeschooling and need some advice.

[mommaadams]

Hi everyone! My name is Gwen and I live in Florence SC. My little girl, Lottie who is 9, has been having a lot of problems in school. This is the first year for school in Florence as I got married and came to live up here with my husband. The teachers seem to think that they can get an attitude with my child and tell her to "shut up" and other things. Even the librarian has said mean things to her. On top of that she is getting bullied. Lottie is a very tall girl and was held back because of her dyslexia in Kindergarten, so she is the tallest in her class and I guess they think a very good target for ridicule from teachers and children. I have already had to take her off the bus. Well, I found this great site and read up on homeschooling. I was going to do this a long time ago, but I thought it had to be 8 hours a day and I have a full time job (I work from home as a medical transcriptionist) so, I thought that it would be impossible. Ya'll have showed me that it is quite possible. After she comes home from school, I have had to reteach the things she was supposed to be taught in school and we work from 3:30-4 to 9 at night, EVERYDAY! just so she can stay caught up with the others. I know this is very, very long and I apologize.
I am enrolling her in Grace next Monday (have to wait for paycheck). And, I need advice on the kinds of books you think might be best for me/her. I want to use Math U See for 3 grade, but I don't know where to get it. I want to do classical English studies. She really does like to read, it is just hard for her and she reads kind of slow on about a 2 1/2 year grade level. She is really interested in the Classical Books like Moby Dick, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc. I have tons of writing (cursive) materials here, but not in a specific book ( I have found the internet has great sites with free worksheets). Science is her BIGGEST THING! She LOVES it (and ART). Of course, Dinosaurs are the coolest for her and she knows a lot about them. I just need help deciding what books I need to get and where to get them as this is all new to me. I am really excited, but also so very scared. My husband says I can do it, but I am afraid of failing her. I also have a 4 year old boy who I have started on PreK-K activities and he is learning rapidly, I think I am going to homeschool him also. Thanks for reading this long post, I really will appreciate any advice I get.

Thanks a bunch, Gwen

[duboisa]

it sounds like you have it all together. I work at home full time too. So we do school whenever andhowever, you can order math u see online. www.mathusee.com i think. I think dianna is the unschooling expert, but it sounds like you ahve all your bases covered. Apologia science is really cool and focused and you can download and print off the first chapter of each book for free to test them out and see if you like them. I am in Elgin, which isnt far from florence, and i have math u see alpha and epsilon if you want to come and check out all the stuff. The internet can provide almost anything, i joined edhelper.com and enchantedlearning.com for the worksheets and stuff. they are great. Let me know if there is anything i can do to help.. My youngest son is reading delayed too.. He is 7 1/2 and just started to read his first books.

[Dianna]

Gwen, I just wanted to welcome you again to our forums. I've answered some curriculum questions you asked via private message. If you have any other questions, be sure to post them here so others can help, too. :smile2:

Dianna