Best products from r/homeschool

First off, if you are planning on going to college (and you aren't trying to build a high school resume that will launch you straight into 4-year programs at high-end universities), then take a deep breath and understand that graduating and dropping out make zero difference post-education if you have a college degree. You literally cannot mess up high school so badly that it overshadows college achievement.

There are two directions to go with college preparation. First off, understand that success at the college level doesn't involve what classes you have or have not taken, but rather how well you study, learn, write, read, and test. Taking calculus in high school doesn't make you a better college student than someone who has only taken trig; it just means you have one more math class under your belt. Math/logic and language arts are the bread and butter tools you need to succeed in college, as it's the fundamentals that really trip us up in college (where teachers don't have time to address a lack of fundamentals):

• However far you go with math, make sure you know it and are comfortable. Khan Academy is great for this, and you can pop yourself into used bookstores or onto Amazon and get cheap (less than $5) textbooks to give you different perspective on that stuff. The easiest "structured program" is Saxon mathbooks IMO, especially if you are self-teaching. Build yourself the most basic structure, and make a deal with yourself to make further study a hobby.
  
• Writing programs are everywhere. I really like one called Total Language Plus, designed around classic literature. The internet is also a great place to get feedback.
  
  Knowing how to read, write, and perform math logic are the most important aspects of pretty much every undergraduate degree program. If you can follow math concepts, and if you can write about what you read clearly while staying on topic, you are set to succeed. Knowing how to learn is a blank canvas that will allow you to learn anything; knowing stuff won't matter if you don't have the tools to learn further.
  
  Second, if you want to get accepted to big name universities right out of high school, then your best bet is going to be SAT prep. Which, incidentally, is math and language arts. A high SAT score will overshadow everything else, and a low one will undermine whatever academic resume you could put together. Plenty of prep material exists here as well. The bottom line is that knowing how to learn is all about the basics of reading, writing, and understanding math logic.
  
  >I'm trying to find secular sources for things like social studies, but I'm not sure which sources are reliable.
  
  I was raised super conservative christian homeschooler. I'm not that way with my kids. That said, there are lots of Christian-leaning programs that work really well for secular purposes as long as you aren't trying to learn about evolution, dinosaurs, or the big bang. If you want a self-contained program that meets requirements, I suggest Alpha Omega's LifePac curriculum - it's structured so you don't have to do any work, and it requires very little daily time commitment to finish, meaning you have lots of room to supplement with whatever other sources you want to use. If you should stumble into lessons on how to be a better Christian, just skip over it, and recognize that those kinds of programs are accredited because they manage to teach everything you need for a secular education.
  
  Another route: college textbooks. They are focused, condensed, and they give you great prep for the work you will be expected to do in college. They can work for math, science, history, english, and other subjects if you feel you want/need them.
  
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  If you want structure, start with state graduation requirements. You can find the state you live in, or will live in, or just browse through them and try and build something robust enough to graduate you in any state. Alabama is at the top there, so I'm gonna go through what it says to give you an idea of how that translates to work:
  
  
• 4 units of english and social studies. A unit is a year, so you do four years of those. Usually (although not mentioned there specifically), at least one english unit is composition (writing). Lots of high school composition programs exist, and religious slant isn't going to matter as long as they are designed to improve comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. On a personal note, I believe that a student should do at least a half year (and preferably a whole year) of poetry study.
  
• 4 units of science, including one unit of biology and a physical science. I believe there is a national requirement involving biology, chemistry, or physics - you need at least one of them, and I'd personally suggest a cursory understanding in all of them. Science is experiment-driven, so if you don't have access to or a budget for experimentation, then Youtube is your friend - observe. Science is also a great place to use a college textbook, as they get right to the point.
  
• 4 units of math, including Algebra 1 and Geometry. Going to recommend Saxon math books again, easy to find used and great for self study. College textbooks can also work at this point.
  
• 1.5 units of PE, including 1 unit of PE and .5 unit of health study. Here's McGraw-Hill's current curriculum offering for health studies on Amazon. Incidentally, used textbooks on Amazon are cheap as long as they are older editions, and Amazon reviews are a great (if not the best) place to get feedback from people using these books to learn and/or teach - including homeschoolers.
  
• Foreign language: 2 units. You could find a curriculum in a book, or use software. You can also just google DuoLingo curriculum or lesson plans, and go that way.
  
• 3.5 units of electives. Here's a list, although if you are concerned about state requirements then you need to find lists for your state. Lots of homeschool elective curriculum exists, so find the topics you want to learn and google for those specific programs.
  
• .5 units computer applications. Any class involving computers as tools will work. I personally suggest Code Academy as it's free, fun, and interactive, but that is computer programming specifically which is not for everyone.
  
• Minimum 24 units total. So far, we've listed 23.5 specific units above, meaning you'd need one more half-year of something to meet unit requirements.
  
  So a sample single year could look like:
  
  
• English Composition (Total Language Plus, 3-5 of those books per year, and I'd argue that your first one should be from their Grade 9-11 section just to get you up to speed - Animal Farm is a great read)
  
• Social Studies (find a curriculum that seems robust like Alpha Omega; supplement with world or US history (college textbooks are cheap/easy))
  
• Biology
  
• Algebra I (Saxon Math, unless you find a program you like more)
  
• P.E. (don't need curriculum; just schedule and track regular physical activity)
  
• Health Studies (six months) and then Computer-Related Learning (six months)
  
• Foreign Language (Duo Lingo)
  
• Electives (how many you do depends on how many you've done already - one per year is enough throughout high school)
  
  Ask follow up questions, get follow up answers. I'm here to help.

I'm preparing to start my daughter in homeschooling (US) for high school this fall, and I've been researching and using some of the resources available to figure out what will work and won't. I haven't solved all of her courses yet, but I'm happy to share what I'll be trying:

For math: KhanAcademy.org

It's structured both by grade level (U.S.) and by topic. What I like about it most is that there is no 'grading', just mastery of topics. You can freely bounce from topic to topic as your interest and ambition desires. It's perfect for a student who may have weak spots in early education to catch up at their own pace. I recommend starting from the beginning and working through 8th grade as a great way to get up to speed for high school levels. Warning, though - this may take a couple of weeks (2-4) depending on how far behind he is, and how much time is spent each day.

You can sign up as a 'teacher' or 'parent', and monitor the student progress, with some pretty detailed reports to support individual tutelage when and more importantly, where required, and to make sure they're meeting any minimum time requirements you might set.

It seems the most comprehensive site in terms of what it is teaching and has a fair system for its topic mastery values. Has great progress tracking tools.

Cons: the teaching videos are often long-winded and can be boring to get through, but they are thorough. I personally prefer to learn from text, which Kahn does provide if you do the practice questions and ask to be shown all the 'hints' on how to solve, but it's different than reading about a subject. Will be using mathisfun.com as a supplement, along with expii.com (overly ambitious, unfinished project, it seems).

Kahn Academy also does Science/History/Economics courses, but I haven't tried them yet, so can't evaluate.

For English, I've been customizing a starter course based on the Foundation course from EasyPeasy. While they have a heavy religious aspect at EasyPeasy, they do a pretty comprehensive job in designing courses.

The Foundation course is geared toward self-discovery, character development, learning how to learn, and then presentation. I'm most fond of the Reading Comprehension quizzes, however - and they will be a daily exercise in every English class until 12th grade reading level is reached (the top level at this site, I believe).

For World History, I've decided to start with McDougal Littell World History It has some of the best reviews of any high school level textbook, and while I may use Kahn in addition - I believe reading vs. video learning is a more effective learning method (though I'm fine to find if I'm wrong after trying them both out - pulling up BBC documentaries on Netflix is easy.)

So, those are the three courses I've set in stone. Still working on the Science course, and PE/Health. She wants to learn French, so that's set, but I haven't yet prepped a 'course' for it, and she'll want art & music as elective - of which art I can wing it (me, Architect), and my wife can do the music (college vocal minor).

Stembox seems cool, although I haven't had the budget for it (the price is not unreasonable).



That said... I find most of my science ideas on Pinterest and YouTube. (scishow and scishow kids, veritaseum, how it's made, etc. Also vi hart's doodling in math class thing about phi and plants).

We are usually learning more in depth about something that we encountered in real life, trying to solve a problem, or learning more about the underlying reasoning and mechanics behind something.

One thing that I would like to say is that making something "for girls" is a slippery slope. Remember that girls are diverse and three dimensional. We are not split up into fashion lovers, pet lovers, tomboys/sports lovers, geeks, and family focused.... You can, and do, find all those in the same kid. Wonder Woman, for example, resonates because she is three dimensional: good at sports, smart to the point of being geeky (reads teaching stuff for fun), enjoys dressing pretty, and loves babies.

I think Goldie Blox really screwed up their idea to engage girls, by having cool mechanical stuff and then wanting to make cutesy rhyming books that do not adequately explain the methodology and usage of their kits.

For example,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/155453707X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ZYMvzbT1XC61M this is the best book, and https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkmP5w6G4UM_N1uXdIATJ3BfXVcPHoXhf these are great videos about simple machines like ramps and levers.

Something at this level that helps kids understand the the concepts all the way at the basic level, then applied into a project for the box (say it's about levers: make a catapult, then make changes based on this info that help it to shoot farther), then explained into some situations that you might experience (building a pillow fort [https://youtu.be/iPZEwqkY5TQ] riding a seesaw with a smaller friend, lifting something to move it), allows them to engage with the project emotionally and be able to apply it to every leverage situation that they come up with later in life.

Same would apply for other fields, although those aren't as easy to provide glib examples for in a reddit comment.

In my experience, girls tend to be more socially oriented, not meaning more EXTRAVERTED, but thinking about how things they encounter will fit into situations with other people. They are more likely to be enthusiastic about something cute (eg puss in boots' sad face, fuzzy baby things etc), which boys usually like but won't necessarily get excited about. Lego did market research and found that girls are more concerned than boys with the appearance of something, specifically making sure that the pieces match and looking for symmetry, than boys are. The girls' fine motor skills develop faster/earlier, while their spatial reasoning skills lag a little - so maybe when building a kit, to ensure girls stay engaged, show things from multiple angles.

So some concrete ideas:

• Don't just show an abstract 2D diagram, but also a photo or 3D representation of the thing.
  
• Have both cute (a kitten) and icky things (a germ or a monster) in the margins, making helpful comments.
  
• If you provide decoration materials for a finished product, include twice as much so it can be twice as fancy, or they can decorate something else to match.
  
• Make an effort to color coordinate the pieces. All shades of the same color, like a paint swatch, is a good bet. (maybe keep it to no more than 3 complementary colors per kit - 2 bold and one light/pastel)
  
• Be sure to include descriptions of how this item can be used to connect to the world around them, particularly for conflict resolution and being helpful or supportive.
  
• Don't just provide a project and tell why that exact set of steps works, but ensure that the underlying concept will be understood well enough to apply it to other situations.
  
  Hope this is helpful.

To be honest this doesn't sound like the best homeschool environment. But: Many (if not most) homeschoolers of kids who were pulled out of public school take a sort of "detox" period when the kids are taken out of school. This kind of gives them a chance to relax, put the public school environment really on the back burner, and kind of reset to get ready for homeschooling.

The kinds of programs you are describing are basically "school at home." This is fine for many kids. For a kid who obviously hates school and "learning" as he perceives it (i.e. what he has been forced to do at school all his life,) this is probably not a good option.

There are as many different ways and methods of homeschooling as there are families who homeschool and that's really what is so exciting and effective about it. Now is a great time to start exploring these methods WITH HIM. He is certainly old enough to have a vote in how he learns.

For a kid who is resistant to book learning I would read up about unschooling, free range learning, project-based homeschooling. It goes by different names but the basic premise is the same: people learn best when they are interested and engaged and making their own choices about what to learn and when.

He needs to start taking an inventory of his interests and abilities. Is he mechanically inclined? He obviously doesn't like to read but what about math? Video games? Does he want to learn how to code? What about animals? He could become involved in a program that trains dogs to become service dogs for people with various disabilities. The possibilities are really endless and bounded only by his own imagination.

This could be a very exciting time for your brother (and the rest of your family); fighting about sitting in front of a computer all day and reading about the civil war or whatever is not going to help anything. He has decided he doesn't like to learn. This is a potential tragedy but he is still young and there is still time to change his mind.

It is important that when you begin his interest inventory (I would suggest doing this as a family) that there are no disparaging comments made. If he says he is interested in video games, it goes onto the list. If he loves to play guitar, it goes onto the list. There are plenty of ways to work those interests into valuable projects, you just have to get creative.

On another note: he is old enough to start learning about trades; if he thinks that's where his interests may be. You could track down electricians, plumbers, any kind of tradesman in your area and I'm sure any one of them would be thrilled to explain their career and necessary education to a 14-year old.

It looks like you live in Texas? I am also in TX and the state has some of the most liberal homeschool laws in the nation. Unschooling is definitely possible here.

I noticed that you said your parents are high school dropouts and that they can't teach your brother. This does not have to be a barrier to his education; at the high school level most parents aren't actually "teaching," anyway, they are acting more as mentors. It is important that they are on board in supporting his projects and interests but they don't have to teach him trigonometry; there are plenty of other ways to go about getting that information when he needs it.

I hope this helps. The most important thing you can do right now is to get him excited about learning something. ANYTHING.

I think one of the best places to start is the [The Read Aloud Family] (https://www.amazon.com/Read-Aloud-Family-Meaningful-Lasting-Connections/dp/0310350328/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542344569&sr=8-1&keywords=the+read+aloud+family) by Sarah MacKenzie. She is a homeschool mom of five and her recommendations for books are great but she also has insight into ways to incorporate books into your routine. My husband actually got the book first and suddenly all these fantastic picture books showed up on hold from the library. I asked him where they came from and he told me about the Read Aloud Family book.

The library is your friend here. If you buy too many things you'll be swimming in books your child will never wants to read again. I would recommend really working your local library system. Look up lists. Put things on hold. Take her a few times a week to check things out.

We discovered that picture books are great to read over breakfast. Even our 11 year old loves them and many of them incorporate into his science curriculum. It creates peace and joy in the middle of what could be a harried routine and one of our favorite things that homeschooling has introduced to the family.

We do chapter books at night. My five year old LOVED Charlotte's Web and Bunincula. We have started Mr Popper's Penguins but honestly no one's that into it at the moment. Winnie the Pooh is a huge favorite.

Check out School Library Journal's booklists for recommendations. I also utilize the Amazon "customer's also bought" recommendations (which I then input into our library website.)

Recent favorites: I AM BAT by Morag Hood, The Rules Of the House by Mac Barnett, Have You Fed The Cat by Michele Coxon and Fruit Bowl by Mark Hoffman.

Books don't teach virtues, parents do.

For example, my 3.5yo daughter has hit the princess stage really hard, and so she's obsessed with Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty and all that Disney nonsense.

So the other night, we were lying in bed and she asked me, "Dad, why is the witch (in Rapunzel) greedy?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She kept the flower and didn't share it," she replied.

"You're, right. Perhaps nobody taught her to share when she was little," I said.

"Why did she take Rapunzel?" she asked.

"She didn't want to share the magic hair either," I told her.

"Why?" she asked, using her favorite word.

"She wanted to keep it for herself," I said, "Maybe if she had taught other people the song, then she could have used the hair or the flower to help many people, but she didn't. She was greedy. So she lost the flower, and then she lost Rapunzel, because she was selfish."

(long pause while processing....)

"The witch is not a good person," she declared... and then went to sleep.

The witch in Rapunzel created a problem for my daughter. Because in the movie, the witch seems nice and treats Rapunzel kindly and Rapunzel even calls her "mom". So at first, my daughter could not figure out why the witch was "bad", because "moms are good". The actions of the witch at the end were very upsetting to my daughter and she's been processing it and asking lots of good questions about it to help her place it within her worldview and value system.

So between the book and the movie, we've been having an ongoing discussion about people's motivations, the consequences of their actions and how sometimes people are not what they seem and they can be deceptive, greedy or selfish (and that these traits are not good, and we should strive to be honest and giving).

So the inspirations for teaching values can be found in almost any book or movie. We just have to be mindful of those opportunities and in-tune with our kids and the moral dilemmas they are currently processing. Then our role as parents is to provide feedback and guidance to help them see the right/wrong course of action.

I have found that "values books" often tend to be a bit too preachy, and this can turn kids off. The stories in those books are often a bit boring and too contrived, and kids quickly pick up on that. I have found that it's better to just pick up good books with good stories, and then find the learning opportunities within the pages of well-written children's literature.

For example, right now, my daughter is obsessed with a book called "Lucia and the Light" because the girl in the book has a white cat, and so do we. So when we read that book, my daughter insists that I read it with her name, not "Lucia" and I have to call the cat "Mun-kaow" because that's the name of our cat. The girl in the story is very brave and clever, so I'm very happy that my daughter identifies strongly with her. The trolls in the story are pretty scary, but when I get "scared" reading that part, my daughter holds my hand and says, "Don't worry Daddy, I will protect you."

There's nothing preachy or "values-orientated" in that book, and yet my daughter is still learning to be brave and clever and protective of others and we reinforce that with our actions and words throughout the day, "Oh? You can climb that tree? You are strong and brave like Lucia!" To which she says, "Yes, I am."

This was the backbone of my preschool program - https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Curriculum-Preschoolers-Special-Second/dp/1557666547/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1485401757&sr=8-2&keywords=carolina+curriculum

At first it looks like a beast and might be overwhelming. But a good curriculum like this will layout the broad developmental skills of a kid, and here they even provide an example activity for each skill. They also provide a simple and effective means to check where a kid's developmental skills are at. This is helpful for long term planning.

There are ton of these curricula out there, some even more parent friendly I'm sure, so shop around. But you definitely want something to help you prepare activities and monitor progress.

For a three year old you want toys that help push the kids creativity while also giving you a chance to expose them to concepts. Look for toys where you can ask the kid "what are you building?". Kids love talking about their stuff, and this leaves them vulnerable to learning because they are engaged!

Good luck!

Okay my friend, I happen to love Amazon. First - http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/ That will give you a firm resource to start with. Then I have used some Spectrum Products that have been relatively straight forward. https://www.amazon.com/Spectrum-Math-Workbook-Grade-3/dp/1483808718/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1467990139&sr=8-2&keywords=spectrum+math ..... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=spectrum+workbooks&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aspectrum+workbooks .... Then I have used some Kumon workbooks.... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kumon+workbooks&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Akumon+workbooks.

I would consider (if you are able) keeping him at home and not sending him back to school. BY ALL MEANS DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR FAMILY. but... Kidos that are high functioning autistic and have ADHD - are usually highly gifted and can go through school subjects and grades rather quickly. I home school year around. Routine is paramount - (my kiddo is in the same boat as yours - high functioning autistic and adhd and she is highly gifted) She goes on vacation when we go on vacation (about 3 weeks a year), she gets sick days when she needs them, holidays etc. If we were to take 3 months off in the summer I would have a heck of a time trying to get her back into a structured routine, so our "time off" is treated as out of the normal and we can quickly transition back into our regular routine.
I purchase curriculum when we need it, she completes a concept and we move forward. I do not hold her back. I have purchased workbooks and she has completed them in under a month, we move forward as long as she understands the concepts, and is able to compound on them. My daughter is 9, she is currently in the 5th grade, in most subjects. She has decided to be a marine biologist, she is studying 6th grade marine biology and is doing fantastic. She loves minecraft - she is learning to write code for minecraft mods, with python. She will not memorize math facts, and she cannot do 15 spelling words each week - her adhd wont allow it. So I do not make her do "traditional flashcards" but when she does her math, and she does not know that fact, I make her repeat it once, and she has it memorized very quickly - probably quicker than her peers with flashcards. She can spell asparagus - we do "spelling" and grammar as she is writing reports for science or free writing for english, or even hand written letters to friends. I cannot force her to do handwriting practice either - but she cannot give me a document I cannot read, without completed sentences or defined paragraphs. In addition, because she is a girl, we use glitter gel pens and study "fonts" and practice handwriting. She goes to a local dive shop and takes scuba classes. (she can be certified at 10 years old)

My real point is that kiddos that are autistic/adhd/highly gifted are incredibly easy to teach, when you find out what their "key" is.... My kiddos key is Marine biology and Minecraft. I can teach a lot of subjects through those two "topics". It is not easy... not easy at all, but it is AWESOME!

You are going to be just fine. Don't let the "system" overwhelm you and just "RUN WITH SCISSORS"!!!!

The first two volumes of this series are for middle school:

​

https://www.amazon.com/Human-Odyssey-Vol-Prehistory-Through/dp/1931728534/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13HH1NAQ6IPNG&keywords=human+odyssey+vol+1&qid=1556556024&s=gateway&sprefix=human+odyssey%2Caps%2C121&sr=8-1

​

I own the first two but have not used them yet. They LOOK good to me when I flip through them. Planning to use vol 2 this coming year - son will be 6th grade. It seems to be pretty well thought of in various homeschool groups. You can get a student book and teacher guide, but it was a little hard to find. I found a used set on thriftbooks.com. Seems to be online classes based around the books at k12.com. But that site is so confusing I couldn't figure out how the classes work. Think you might have to "enroll" in an online school.

I generally love Pandia Press's science. But I have seen multiple times in various facebook groups that their history is a lot of writing and busywork and my son has dysgraphia so I opted to kind of make my own modern history plan for next year. We're trying to get synced up with Build Your Library for 7th grade - discovered BYL a month ago and really like it.

​

Anyway, please note that both of my recommendations for and against things are mostly based on second hand opinions at this point until I actually start the Human Odyssey book in the fall.

​

EDIT: Pandia Press History Odyssey is on sale right now though, so maybe I will take a look at that too!

Well, looks like you got a down vote. I don't think most people here are going to be too supportive. sorry
He is bright but is not doing work in school. Why? What needs are not being fulfilled? You want to inflict MORE of this on him during his summer?

I recommend reading this:
http://www.amazon.com/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/dp/0865714487/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342805070&sr=8-1&keywords=john+taylor+gatto
It might give you an idea why a bright boy is being failed by school and his joy of learning is being destroyed. It is especially sad when it happens to the bright ones

Might be able to find a free copy to read at the library.

If you came here and said "My 12 year old is bright but is uninspired by school. I want to help him love to learn and be able to discover and live up to his potential so am going to homeschool him next year how should I start?"

Well then, you'd get more help.

You just want to continue and worsen school's destruction of this child's spirit and call it "learning". That is not homeschooling.

I just got Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons by Sigfried Englemann, and I really like it. https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29V5FOUV5M5A5&keywords=100+easy+lessons+to+teach+your+child+to+read&qid=1574571485&sprefix=100+easy+le%2Caps%2C240&sr=8-1

​

Every kid is different - my oldest learned the alphabet at 2, and just quized her on 3 letter words at mealtimes every now and then. I'd write them out in front of her, and then cut them up and see if she could remember which word was which. She'd notice letters on signs, then words. If I wrote things on a page for her, she'd want to carefully trace it. She started writing letters to people before she knew how to read - so she had "love" and "you" memorized early on. Then I got Usborne first reading set, and she just took off.

My son, however, is 4, and doesn't know the alphabet (but if they're not learning something in preschool - it's because they're brains are learning something else!) The book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons is PERFECT for him. No memorizing the alphabet necessary, just learning how to read and write "sounds" to start with. And it changes some of the confusing letter shapes and letter combination shapes to help distinguish different letters from each other that are commonly mixed up. I know this is how he's going to learn to read, and he enjoys it.

Look up D'naelian for handwriting - that's what I grew up using, and will use for my kids - but I couldn't find it until I knew what it was called!

I'm using Math-U-See, which comes with counting blocks that I think will be way more useful for my second kid than my oldest. They all learn so differently, the wonderful thing about homeschooling is getting to adjust it to suit the kids learning style and your teaching style. I'm interested in finding out more about classical education math, but haven't found much out.

In general,

1. Don't try, by which I mean the following: If you have to try to be friends with someone, they might not want, or just might not have time, to be friends with you. Good friendships often come easily and then have to be maintained by both people.
   
   
2. Know your worth and don't give time to anyone who doesn't value you.
   
   
3. You can always walk away from a bad situation.
   
   Read https://www.amazon.com/Friends-Influence-People-Teen-Girls/dp/0743272773
   
   Read it skeptically and don't assume you have to use everything in it. It just might be a helpful start.

I enjoyed Homeschooling for Excellence https://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Excellence-David-Colfax/dp/0446389862 and Project Based Homeschooling https://www.amazon.com/Project-Based-Homeschooling-Mentoring-Self-Directed-Learners/dp/1475239068/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=project+based+homeschooling&qid=1557432686&s=books&sr=1-1

We have this book and so far my child is doing well with it. Good luck!!


https://www.amazon.com/Teach-Your-Child-Read-Lessons/dp/0671631985/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=teach+your+child+to+read+in+100+lessons&qid=1565566880&s=gateway&sprefix=Teach+your+ch&sr=8-3