The Grand Intro *drum roll*

This is my first blog (ever), so please excuse the growing pains I'm sure I'll be going through over the next few days. I am not even sure where to begin, so I am going to stumble around here for a minute and hopefully get something coherent out.

First I guess a little introduction is in order. My kids have been homeschooled from day one and seem very happy with it (I will let them put in their opinions about it at some point later on). My oldest, Tucker, is twelve; my middle child, Dylan, is eight; and my youngest, Sydney, is five. They each have their own way of learning. Tucker is a very hands-on kid and learns best when he can jump right in with both hands. He is the one who tries all the wrong answers just to see what will happen. He is not afraid to make a mistake, but does not know when to stop once he gets something started. Dylan is very methodical and likes to do things step-by-step. When it comes to math he can be scary smart sometimes. He gets very frustrated if he messes up and can be very hard to keep him focused on something he is having trouble with. Sydney has taken a bit from each of the boys. She can be quite the perfectionist, especially when she is writing, but she also has Tucker's flair for trying everything out at least once.

In the state of West Virginia, homeschooling is relatively easy. You need to send in an intent form to the county superintendent's office at the beginning of the year. You can do this at any time during the year even if you already registered your child for school. After that, there are no more requirements until the end of the year where you can choose one of four things:

1. Standerdized testing (through a certified tester)
2. Testing in the schools
3. Portfolio review
4. Alternative assessment

We have done the portfolio option every year that we have homeschooled. With the portfolio option, you just keep track of what you do homeschool-wise throughout the year then take it all to a certified teacher. The teacher goes over everything, then signs a form (this form is optional and just an example) which basically states that the child has made improvement from the beginning of the year. The signed form is sent in to the county superintendent and kept on record. That's it! Some states have it easier and do not need to report anything, but many other states have much stricter requirements, so I try not to complain too much about what we need to do in order to homeschool.