How hard is it to get started with homeschooling?

Question

Do I need to registrer somewhere? The children are between the ages of 6-10. Not all mine. We're just wondering how to go about it. Do we tell the public schools? As much detailed information would be appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Answer 1

The best part about homeschooling is that there are no specific rules to follow other than the natural laws of our country. You don't have to register anywhere! All you gotta do it look around online for some homeschool text books for the necessary subject (math, science, etc). You don't have to tell anybody that you're homeschooling and you don't have to proove it to anybody either. The final test to proove that they've been doing their work is a college entry test.

You might want to consult the parent of the children that aren't yours, but if they are legally yours then you have to right to educate them however you please. I started homeschooling when I was 5 or 6, and now i'm 15 and doing college-level mathematics, Biology, History, and Liturature/English.

If you are afraid that your children will not be able to social, do not fear, you can go online and find a homeschool support group that's near you easily. With a homeschool group, they'll have meetings for parents, and activities for the kids. I have a whole bunch of friends in my teen group. Also, you can sign your kids up in 4-H, dance class, martial arts, etc. They'll meet new people that way too and be able to socialize. There are weekly classes that kids can take for science so they can test their experiments, and all sorts of Sceince fairs and contests for them to enter. Not all contests are strctly for "publicly schooled" kids.



When you are schooling the kids, read some of the stuff from the books to them and then add a few of your own ideas, or add snearios of when you might use what they learned. Help them when they need it, and just teach them. Everybody thinks that you need a "teaching degree" in order to teach, but you don't.

Also people use the "my kid gets more hours of schoolwork while he's in school" thing. It's been studied and prooven that the majority of the time in the school biudling is spent going from class to class, waiting for teachers/other sustends to get their books, lunch, recess, gym, and hanging out between classes - not studying.



Texts books can get a little pricy, but they're well worth it. Have fun! My mom said that she had a blast homeschooling me and my brother.



If you are christian, some good text book brands are A-Beka, and Bob Jones. I don't know of any others...

Answer 2

Homeschooling can vary greatly depending on what state you live in. In some states all that is required for notification is that you send your local school a letter of intent to homeschool. Requirements on education vary from state to state also. In Missouri you must notify the school and provide your child with 1000 hours of schooling in the basic subjects. You also need to keep a log of time spent for schooling, field trips can also be included with your logged hours. You can probably find more specific information on your states Dept. of Education website. You can also call your local school, sometimes they will provide you with information. There are any number of resources for homeschooling materials, many can be found online. One source is aceministries.com they offer free online testing for your child. Once you complete the test, the results will tell you where your child needs to start. Thier schooling program is offered in what they call paces. Basically all subjects are offered and broken down into small pieces. When your child completes one pace they move on to the next. Testing is always available so you can determine if your child has the concept or if they need more work in that area. We plan to use A.C.E. for schooling this year. Last year we simply collected books and supplies from Wal-Mart and a local teachers supply store. Of course kindergarten is not a complicated thing to teach. I reccomend that you enroll the homeschooled child in some type of activity such as a dance class, gymnastics, or martial arts. This way they also get exposure to other children as well as different type of learning environment. There are also homeschool groups that meet 1-4 times per month depending on the group. They can be a good source for your child to learn socializtion skills. Our area also has the lions club. At easter time the youth portion put on an easter egg hunt for area children.

It offers a way for children to get invovled in the community. Your local library is also a wonderful resource. The PBS channel can also be a good tool. pbs.com has a lot to offer also.

Answer 3

If you go to hslda.org and click on your state, then you can find the requirements for your state. In some states you have to notify the local school district, and in some you don't. There are varying levels of control/reporting/testing required.



You will need to select a curriculum next. If you don't know what you want, there have been some really good answers here that will probably answer any question you have, so it would be better to look around a bit to see if your question has already been answered.

Answer 4

What state are you in? I would repost this question again and tell what state. I'm in VA and in my area at least its easy. PA is the hardest in my opinion.



If you take them out on religious reasons, then you may have a lot less interaction to worry about with ps (public school) but if you want to put them back in, more stress then.



There is a lot to consider. Tell what state you are in, that will help.



Do go to hslda.com I think it is. LOTS Of info there. Get into a discussion site online, lots of great parents to discuss curriculum with, problems, ideas, whatever.



Good luck, I love homeschooling!

Answer 5

http://www.oklahomahomeschool.com/getstart.html



This is an Oklahoma website, but the info is not exclusive. It tells you good places to read about homeschooling, about curriculum (either buying or building your own), scheduling, etc. It's a great beginners website, with information you get from http://www.HSLDA.org for info specific to your state. In Oklahoma, you don't even have to tell the school you're homeschooling, but most states are a little more picky than that.



For us it was quite easy, and it's been great ever since. Good luck

Answer 6

no, my location, Options for Youth, offers you three categories at a time. Not uninteresting, so long as you might have peers external tuition. I switched in January of this yr and I had instantly F's, now I have well grades. Nothings unhealthy approximately it. Traditional tuition velocity is 6 credit a month. I can flip in approximately 7-eight credit (packets) a month. I simplest cross one hour an afternoon, for 2 days each and every week. Trust me. It's the first-rate option I've made.

Answer 7

What do you mean they aren't all yours--they don't live with you or they aren't biologically yours? Are they homeschooling with you? In some places you can't homeschool children who don't live under your roof.



It really sounds like you have to go to the very beginning and read about the laws where you live. Check out http://www.hslda.org and/or through a state homeschooling support group.

Answer 8

State laws vary GREATLY as to what is required. Check out Home education magazine's state law page for your own state laws....

http://www.homeedmag.com/lawregs/

They keep things well updated, and don't have their own agenda like H$LDA.

A good place to start is actually a few books by Linda Dobson...

"Homeschooling book of answers" discusses all different kinds of homeschooling and troubleshoots a lot of frequent problems.

"First year of homeschooling your child" is a good one to have as well. Has one section where she talks to veteran homeschoolers about what they wish someone had told them when they were starting out. Good stuff.

ANd finally...Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas for kids ages 3-12. Lots of suggestions, I absolutely love this one.

Answer 9

Depends on the state. Some states won't let you teach other children unless you QUALIFY for a Teacher Credential.



Most states will let you teach your own kids.



A few states require you to use an ACCEPTABLE or ACCREDITED program.



Check your local laws

Answer 10

How hard to get started? In NC, we send in a card to state telling them when we want to begin home school. They send a card back telling us we are registered. I went to the public school and asked for records, they gave them to me. We started home school.

Curriculum? We use this and that. Lots of PBS, lots of reading, lots of internet sites, lots of discussions, and lots of research about our discussions.

It is easier than doing 3-4 hours of homework every night after him being in school all day. It is easier explaining things in my way, than to hear the refrain "That's not how my teacher said to do that".

Answer 11

IF you don't ask a question, you don't get an answer.



Ok, here goes and I apologize but since you don't give your State I'm gonna ballpark this.



The FIRST thing you need to do is type in '(state name) homeschool laws' in that little google bar or whatever browser you use and start going thru ALL the info that comes up (yes it's ALOT)....I know this seems like a waste of time but trust me you will get more info then if you go to JUST hsdla.org(which only gives you a SUMMARY of each State).

Now here is what I can tell you for FACT: Alabama requires an Umbrella School (no Ifs, ands or buts); Virginia requires you to submitt a COPY of your High School Diploma, a basic curriculum list and an ANNUAL Letter of Intent to Homeschool; PA requires you to follow the curriculum and hours for each subject laid out for their School system (public or Private); Florida {where I am} only requires that you submitt a Letter of Intent to your LOCAL School Board (basically the area you are zoned for) and supply them with an Evaluation every year---in Florida if you homeschool THRU High School, the child(ren) are NOT required to take ANY normally State mandated tests other than the SATs which they need for College ( and yes this is current and CORRECT info straight from the School Board's mouth).



Curriculum concerns++++If you have a budget (and most of us do), there are a number of ways to go.......borrowed,free,cheap,$$$$ (personally I prefer the first 3). With borrowed materials, you run the risk of severly outdated materials, BUT it gives you a chance to see if it is a program you like (the library is a good place to start); Free is really good, on occassion you might get outdated materials but that is rare, simply google 'Free Homeschool' and you should find a ton (**I'll list some below**); Cheap is where you can find them either in Thrift Stores or online (try to avoid Ebay if you need curriculum that requires a Teacher Edition as they CAN NOT legally sell it anymore); Pre-packaged curriculum will cost you and in most cases can only be used ONE time, if you go this route you run the risk of spending money for a program that MIGHT NOT work for your particular child(ren), and if you have multiple ages/grades, well then I hope you've got DEEP pockets.

Invest in a GOOD printer/scanner/copier (Lexmark is good and the price is decent **in my opinion**), if the children are all close in age or grade level and you use workbooks and don't want to keep buying the same thing over and over, then the printer will come in handy as you can make multiple copies and reuse the book (Jr is going to 2nd grade and Kimmie is entering 1st, do you really want to REBUY that workbook that worked so well for Jr in 1st????)....this also helps if (and I suspect) all the families are doing this together but not related to each other (Mrs. Shepards children are in 1st grade and the Jones are in Kinder????) you all put in a kittie pool and buy what you need and pass it amongst yourselves. This theory works great for Co-ops too.

When your State holds it's TAX-FREE Back to school sale, that is a great time to load up on things you will need for the year (paper,pens,crayons,erasers, etc). You can find good grade approriate workbooks at your local bookstore in the children's section (up to 6th grade I believe) and if you ask them they will give you a Homeschool Discount card.



Here are some items I suggest you have to make the journey a little easier......these are for your child(ren)s portfolio and need to be kept for between 2-5 yrs and shown at a review at least once a year or on a 10-15 day WRITTEN notice.

1) A plastic LEGAL size file box (to store schoolwork in) (plastic for avoiding bugs and its easier to carry)

2) LEGAL sized file folders---label these for each subject (math,history,etc)---the legal size is easier on the artwork the little ones make.

3) Calendar----whichever size is easier for you (I use pocket)--this is for your Attendance---for the days you do school just circle, the days you don't just X----(in Fla we must have 180 days, PA is 185 days) field trips count as a school day so don't forget about those (even if you only go to the zoo, it counts).

4) ***here's where you choose what best works for you**** you need to put your lesson plans down and this can be in A Notebook, LessonPlan Book(available in office supply stores and SOME dollar stores) or Calendar (if you get a wall or desk size one)----basically you are going to write what you did on such and such a day and don't generalize (the kids fingerpainted----WRONG!!!!) Art:fingerpainted Farm Animals;Math-played Monopoly(yeah you CAN do that); Language: Made the Alphabet out of Bread(you might want to take pics for the portfolio); Gym--Ballet Class(yeah that counts too)-------if it helps them learn or teaches them something you can write it down, many times the people on the Homeschool Portfolio Review Committee are Homeschoolers too and can give you pointers. They will also let you know if your records need to be more precise, too much info or not enough (in which case you just have to return in a set amount of days).



I am an ex-Preschool Teacher so it is easier for me to just write a lesson planbook up a month at a time (I can chunk a particular day if I need too), I also keep a spiralbound notebook listing ALL the materials I use (book list, curriculum list,computer programs,etc) ***I started doing that because I got sick of the committee saying "Well you don't have the books she's read" or "What math program are you useing?", it's easier to write all down and add on as needed and it SHUT'S THEM UP really quick :p***

5)Invest in a camera (digitals good even a cheap one) (throw-aways can get $$$$), keep it with you at all times (along with fresh batteries :) )---for those things you do like field trips or art projects that won't hold well or are too big for the portfolio because the saying "A picture says a thousand words" is pretty much on the money for homeschoolers (remember the Bread Alphabet idea??).



Here are the sites I promised you:(I'm not bothering putting www. in front of each):

OBDK.com(science);[e-mail](has a yahoo group--science);homeschooltracker.com;oldfashionededucation.com(also has a yahoo group--free curriculum);crayola.com(art);lessonplanet.com;bookadventure.com;audiobooksforfree.com;kidswings.com;spellingtime.com(down till august to clear the system);christianpreschoolprintables.com;trendyteachers.com;escapefromknab.com(learning game);missmaggie.org(Maggies Earth Adventure);learningplanet.com;playkidsgames.com(math,vocab,geography);dryiceinfo.com(science)+west.net;freeworksheets.com;wxdude.com(weather);makingfriends.com

and two Homeschool Magazines to check out: This Old SchoolHouse and Practical Homeschooling.



I hope all of this helps you in your journey.

I ALMOST forgot this little tidbit: Should Child Services OR a Truant Officer come to your home, you DO NOT have to let them in UNLESS they have a Court Order. You simply inform them that you homeschool and refer them to the SchoolBoard Homeschool Education Office (give them a name and number if you can) or (now this will cost you $$$) either have an Attorney on standby that you can call or call the HomeSchool Defense Legal Association (HSDLA) and they will take care of it. Again I say you DO NOT, DO NOT have to let them in and they CAN NOT under any circumstance talk to your child(ren) without a LEGAL GUARDIAN present. *****This is a little know fact/loophole. I like to call it my ACE IN A HOLE for those times when you get people (friends,relatives,nosey neighbors) who just LOVE to make trouble.******

Answer 12

how hard all depends on the effort you put in ... no effort = extremely hard

Answer 13

You have to register your home as a school before you take them out of public school.

Answer 14

visit www.positivewordsforparents/homeschool.com