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I will be new to HOD this year, and it will be my first year homeschooling. I have two girls. One is just turning 9, would have been starting 4th grade this fall and she is an advanced, straight A student. My other daughter will be 11 next month, would have been going into 6th, is very smart, however, struggles in school due to ADHD. She used to be on medication and was an A/B student at that time, but we took her off the meds due to side effects. Since that time, her grades in public school dropped to Cs and Ds. I've decided to start them both out in Preparing. I know it will be perfect for my 9 year old. I think using it for the 11 year old will work well too. It will allow me to take a step back with her and help her in the areas she has struggled with in 5th grade, help her learn how to deal with her ADHD, and build her confidence. Anyway, I have a couple of questions:

1. Is there any reason to wait to order? (new materials, new catalog, updates, etc... that are yet to be released) Or will everything be the same for the 2014-15 school year as in the 2013-14 catalog?
2. Does anyone have any pointers on good information for someone like me, who will be pulling children out of public school, and homeschooling for the first time? I'm sure there are lots of adjustments for all of us, and I don't want my girls to develop an attitude that homeschooling means it's a free pass to do anything they want every day. I want them to see that they need to take their education seriously, even if we are at home.

The only "change" i know about is the addition of the second high school guide. But, since you are not near the high school guides yet, that wouldn't affect your order at all. So, I wouldn't wait just for that.

We didn't pull out of school, but I know one thing that makes using HOD easier for many families is setting a schedule. There is a pined topic on the main board a with lots of ideas. In there, you will find a post wtih times per box (estimates), which will help you set up a good schedule. I would also see what is available in your community in terms of co-ops and classes. All guides from Preparing on are 4 days a week, giving you one day for co-ops, activities, and/or classes. Co-ops are a great way for you to get support AND for your kids to have some "social" time while learning from someone other than yourself.

Welcome to this wonderful adventure of homeschooling! I cannot assist you with what initial challenges you may have with pulling your kids out of school but I know many moms who have and they say patience and a schedule are musts. Don't try to do too much!! I actually discourage new homeschool moms, especially with middle school aged children, from jumping into a co-op because that, often times, is overwhelming and can set you up for failure. I am one who did do a co-op in the early years and I regret it very much (for a multitude of reasons - time, competition, the stress of teaching other children, travel time). So I'm openly biased.

We follow a set schedule each day, 4 days a week, in order to stay on track with our HOD guide. I haven't always been this rigid but I find having an early start and scheduling your expectations has REALLY helped us in the middle years when there is typically a little more push-back and more academic expectations. For example: 7:00 wake up, 7:15 breakfast, 7:30 teeth brushed, get dressed, 7:45 Bible study, 8:00 Bible Memory & song, 8:15 Prayer time, 8:30 Math, 9:00 Grammar, 9:20 Writing...... clear expectations makes life so much easier at our house

I'm thrilled that my kids have learned to be more disciplined in their work through our fairly tight schedule. Our 5th day is our day to grocery shop, do field trips, do volunteer work, take hikes or nature walks, go to the library, focus on foreign language (immersion with cartoons), take art class or piano lessons, go to the zoo, or just have a lazy reading day on the sofa...depending on the child's interests or needs.

Some other tidbits: I don't answer the phone during school time (unless it's someone I know who won't over-talk and will ask a quick question and be done ). I treat my job as a homeschool mother as an in-home career. I manage my time as a wife/mother after my job is over. In other words, I'm a teacher from 8-1 (or whenever our school day ends) and then I put on a different hat. I load the dishwasher, start dinner, pick up, pay bills, exercise, etc., after our books work is complete. I use emeals to schedule my dinners so I'm organized. It might help you to schedule chore time as well. Oh...and I also schedule a morning Bible time for ME! Look on the HOD website for Julie Grosz's Devotional. It was so encouraging to me (and I need to re-read it!). It has a Michael Smith CD scheduled in that I loved using...it taught me how to have a morning worship time all by myself!

I know God will grow you through this journey. What a blessing homeschooling has been to me!

Thank you for the responses. I went ahead and put in my order. I will certainly try to keep structure and a schedule, without being completely rigid about it, of course. I'm really excited about starting this journey.

We pulled our kids out of ps after kindergarten and 2nd grades and have just finished our first year of homeschooling. We really are so thankful for this opportunity. We love HOD. It does require some patience and the kids do need time to adjust to the change, but overall they are much more eager learners because the material is so rich and we have been so pleased with their growth both academically and spiritually. Best wishes!