Homeschool Your Child With Florida Virtual School

I looked at this when I first began homeschooling. I am unsure if all states have it, but if you want to homeschool your child without having to purchase the curriculum and do all the work, then virtual homeschooling could be for you. Here in Florida you can use the whole program, or you can select only the classes you want your child to participate in. I am considering using this next year for possibly Spanish, and Algebra. It is very hard for me to attempt to teach Spanish because I don't speak it, and as you get older it only gets harder to learn another language. Plus as we go up higher, and harder in math it would make more sense to me to use the Virtual School through the state. I have not made a definite decision yet. Here in FL they also provide the laptop computer for you, that your child will need to take the classes. Not everyone likes the virtual option as you are considered enrolled in the local school, should you decide to take the full classes. I have to do a little more research before I make a final decision on this. If you have always wanted to homeschool, check your state laws and guidelines and see if they offer virtual schooling. Personally I think this will be the wave of the future especially if budget crunches continue. I think smaller schools will be combined with others, and closed down. Once the programs become more popular they will see that virtual homeschooling is actually way more affordable than running a physical public school. Think about it, all the money that would be saved. Don't yell at me Anne, just a thought.

Now is a great time to teach Simple Economics to an 8 yr old

With the economy in the dumps, and people starting to feel the heat, I think it is a great time to teach simple Economics to my 8 yr old. He has already taken a cut in his allowance, not for being naughty, but because as I explained to him, economically right now we cant afford it. Now yes I could afford to give him his full allowance, but I am trying to teach him that when money gets tight, you have to make cuts in some places. Much like Employers, are doing. Cutting jobs, to save money, and hopefully stay afloat. We also have cut out, eating out, except maybe once every two weeks. We dont drive as far, unless we have to. We buy less expensive food, and make sure we eat the leftovers. We have taught ourselves, to grow vegetables, still a work in progress I might add. We would have starved, if we had to count on the garden lol. But we did better than last year. I teach him, and his sister, they have to take good care of their toys. If they break them, being careless, it probably wont be replaced. We send emails, and use instant messenger, to talk to families back home, rather than running up the long distance bill. Writing letters, too, is a great way to practice their writing skills, and not use the phone as much. AC is set at 81, if their isnt a lot of sun, 79, if there is. This has saved us appx 75 dollars per month, over last year at the same time. I am sure there are tons more things, we can do to save money, and it is a work in progress. I hope my children, learn from these things I teach them. When things are a little more abundant, it is ok to splurge a little. But being able to cut back, and save money, is just as important.