I'm new here and just wanted to say hi :)

[ardygurly]

My name is April and I'm in Florida near Tampa. I have 2 girls..Abigael who is 3 1/2 and Fiona who is 2. We aren't officially homeschooling yet but I'm just trying to preparing myself for the leap. I actually found this site from a book I got at the library today called "The Homeschooling Book of Lists" so I decided to check it out :) We already have our K curriculum (which we decided to go with Oak Meadow) and we are just anxiously waiting to put them to work. Thanks :)

[TamieJP]

Please jump right in. We have multiple forums in which we post a large range of topics. You already know that we are a Homeschool group. In that category, we have 5 forums. Me? Homeschool?, The Homeschool Adventure, Homeschooling Highschoolers, Homeschooling Children with Special Needs, Homeschool Curriculum Reviews.

We also have more general topics - Over the Backyard Fence, Home and Garden, The Stork Forum, The Swap Kitchen, Health and Fitness, Accountability, All Things Technology, Contests and Fun, Books and Movies, Praises and Prayer, Searching God's Word and MORE: http://theswap.com/phpBB3forum/index.php

[kd2]

Welcome! I think that you are probably doing more than you realize toward homeschooling your daughters. As parents, especially when we are home with our child(ren) we naturally talk WITH (as opposed to talking AT them or just TO them) our children. It is amazing how much difference it makes in a child who is accustomed to have a normal conversation with someone. If you think about it, a child who is placed in daycare when they are weeks old and spend a large part of their time in daycare--are talked about, talked at, and occasionally talked to. Seldom does anyone wait for (or even expect) a response from them! Not that daycare workers are being deliberately thoughtless--they simply don't have the time. Another thing that is considered to be preparation for schooling is a child learning to respond to their own name. You know yourself that there is a huge difference our response based upon the tone of voice that we hear. When your toddler is learning to respond to their own name spoken in a pleasant tone by someone who loves them--it's going to be a very different response than it would be when spoken by someone who is paid to watch them and keep them in line. So, first learning to respond to you will help them immensely in learning how to respond later on to other authority figures. I homeschooled my two for 13 years--they are grown now and have graduated from college. I would not trade those years of homeschooling for any amount of money.

[workn mom]

We're so glad you're here. Please jump in and let us get to know you. Who knows, you may find some great friends here, as I have. There's so much information and encouragement here!

[vicki]

Welcome! We're in our 23rd year of homeschooling (I think!). We started very tentatively, and I'm SO glad we did it. The relationship you build with your child is definitely worth it. We're almost at the end of our homeschooling years and that is sad!

[Barbara]

Welcome. I have finished my homeschooling adventure. My oldest has graduated college and I have two still in college. It was a wonderful adventure. The ladies (and a few gentlemen) here have been a great support system.

[HeyThereDelilah]

Glad you found us here. So will you be starting the Oak Meadow K curriculum with your little one in the fall?

[JOY]

you have come across a great community of homeschoolers I have found a wealth of knowledge and experience here that has helped me immensely on our homeschooling journey!