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Where Do I Start?
Dateline: 4/7/98
By Ann Zeise
So you're considering homeschooling?
Has it been the "year from hell" for your child at
school? Is your little
one just not ready to deal with crowds of unruly children in
a public school situation? Perhaps your family situation or business
would allow you to travel
often, and you want everyone to enjoy the opportunity. Maybe
your religious beliefs or
cultural values are so different from your community, that
you are looking to homeschooling as a haven. Maybe you just stumbled
on this page and want to see what the
controversy is all about!
Families decide to homeschool
for all sorts of reasons, and then often continue homeschooling
simply because the freedom is so sweet and they like the affect
it's had on their children and family life. They like living
joyfully with children.
Remember when you were expecting your first child and you
thought you'd never, ever be able to enjoy those things you enjoyed
pre-parenting? Then you found you could get a jogging baby carriage!
You could get a backpack and take baby along! That a baby could
be taught to swim! That the toddler seemed perfectly content
to go along with you so many places. You found that your children
were picking up some of your interests, and finding some of their
own. Homeschooling is really a continuation of this learning-within-the-family
lifestyle.
Where Not to Start
OK, so where do you start looking for information about homeschooling?
You'll want as broad a picture as possible, before you narrow
down to a "fit" for your family. There are some homeschooling
organizations out there that, unfortunately, feed newcomers a
rather narrow and sometimes negative picture. Be wary of any
group that could make money, lots of money, off of your family.
I'll tell you where not to go first and why:
- Your local school district - it is in their best interest
to keep you tied to the district so they will continue to get
attendance funding. They may either tell you independent homeschooling
is illegal in your state or will greet you enthusiastically into
their Independent Study Program. They'll encourage you to duplicate
at home what wasn't working when your child was in their schools.
- A homeschool legal group - it is
in their financial interest to scare the daylights out of you
so you'll buy into their insurance plan. If you follow the laws
of your state, it is unlikely you'll need legal representation.
A family really needs a good, local family lawyer, anyway: one
to draw up a will, and to be there should you need representation
for anything, say, for an auto accident, let alone a confrontation
with the school district.
- An exclusionary group of any kind. While it may seem comforting
at first to find "your kind of people," these groups
often don't see the whole picture, and tend to propagate misinformation
because they are out of the loop.
- Any curriculum
company or distance learning
program - of course, their objective is to sell you a big
package of books and materials, and maybe throw in a supervisory
teacher for a lot more bucks.
- Self-proclaimed homeschool
"experts" who have never actually stayed home and
taught their own children.
Where do I Start?
"So where do I start? Those are the easiest to
find!" If the information is free or for the few bucks,
go for it, as we say in California. You may find free material
at your local library, or need to pay a little for a few magazines or books,
or maybe a tad more for conference admission, but these are the
best sources.
- Your local homeschooling
support group - which is a group of families that meets on
a regular basis, and can tell you how the homeschooling laws
of your state are really applied in your town. Maybe the law
says to keep an attendance record, but has any official ever
asked to see one?
- Your state level homeschooling
association - join this group for the $20 or so that they'll
ask for membership. You'll usually get a newsletter and invitations
to various activities, such as conferences and campouts. They
can keep you informed about the homeschooling laws.
- Homeschooling Conferences - typically
in the spring and summer. Do try to attend the full conference.
Bring along someone to watch the kids so you can concentrate
on the information. The Homeschooling
Events calendar is loaded with upcoming conferences. Early
registration is often at a discount, so check the calendar and
the Association sites often. Most have an associated curriculum
fair where you can waste tons of money buying things your kids
will never use. Either kid-test the products, or bring the vendors'
catalogs and flyers home. Buy when the pressure is off. Alternatively,
get the catalogs before
you go, know what you want, and save shipping costs. Many vendors
will lower prices last day of the conference.
- Homeschooling laws
for your state - I put this 4th so you'll talk to the others
first. The laws can seem pretty convoluted at times, but you
need to have a good copy on hand to see all the options. The
state associations can usually provide you with the current laws
and an interpretation. Homeschool websites may or may not have
current laws posted. "Current" is the keyword here.
The most accurate links are the ones directly to the homeschooling
laws on the state's department of education web site.
- Homeschooling chats, email lists and message
boards - people mean well, but can sometimes steer you wrong,
so take what you get here with a grain of salt. On the other
hand, they can also give you exactly the specific information
you need for very unusual questions. (I can't help you with such
questions as "Help me find homeschooling material for my
blind, adopted, 10 year old child from Romania who speaks no
English." but someone on a message board might!)
I also have written a lot more
features to help you get started with homeschooling and have
a whole library of
net links I hope you'll explore. There is also a huge set of
net Explorations 4 Kids
for your youngsters to teach things to themselves right online.
Use the kids' links yourself to plan your own unit
studies.
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- Books To Help You Begin to Homeschool
-- from Amazon.com
-
- Home Learning Year by Year : How to Design
a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School
- by Rebecca Rupp
- Rebecca Rupp presents a structured plan to ensure that your
children will learn what they need to know when they need to
know it, from preschool through high school.
-
- Complete
Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling
- by Marsha Ransom
- If you find yourself teaching subjects you know little about,
undecided about what curriculum to choose, or concerned that
your children may miss out on band, drama, or sports, this guide
provides practical advice from an author who has homeschooled
four children.
-
- The Complete Home Learning Source Book : The
Essential Resource Guide for Homeschoolers, Parents, and Educators
Covering Every Subject from Arithmetic to Zoology
- by Rebecca Rupp
- This ambitious reference guide lives up to its name. Practically
three inches thick--and we're not talking large print here--it's
packed with titles, ordering information, and Web site addresses.
-
- The Big Giant Decision...Homeschool!: Detailed
Notes! Why We Did It! How You Can Do It!
- by Penni Renee Pierce
- (Paperback - Nov 20, 2006)
- addresses parents' greatest concern about homeschooling their
children- their own ability to do it. The book also has a Resource
Guide with over 400 listings-Books, Curricula, Internet Sites.
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