Hi! I was wondering if anyone had pulled their kids out of public school and how that went. My oldest will be starting 6th grade and the next one will be starting 3rd. I'm planning on starting to homeschool in the fall. Any words of advice? How do I know where to start them curriculum wise? Thanks for your help.

We pulled out our older kids twice, once in NM and once in TX. Each time we followed the states required procedure. In NM we had to register them with the state as homeschoolers. In TX, you have to simply withdraw them. But though I had no problems withdrawing my dd from elementary and stating she would go to a private school (homeschools are considered private schools in TX), I got a negative reaction from the registrar at our son's high school when trying to withdraw him. All of a sudden there were extra forms to fill out, I would have to have a personal interview with the principal and was repeatedly threatened with the fact they would not recognize any credits from a private or homeschool if he wanted to re-enroll. We left in the process, never saw the principal and later sent a certified letter notifying the district that we were withdrawing our son (advice from our Texas Home School Coalition). So I'd check with the state laws, www.hslda.org

With homeschooling our daughter we followed the What Your Nth Grader Needs to Know books and added library books and unit studies. We mostly used course suggestions from www.hewitthomeschooling.com , especially for high school.

Our youngest has never been to school, we are using an online curriculum, www.amblesideonline.org, so far she has completed Years 0-3 and halfway through Year 4. Its been great.

Good advice, Briva. Best to not get into a big negotiation with the school. Just send a letter and step out. You are clearly within your legal rights.
Christine