Homeschooling is becoming a common alternative to traditional classroom teaching. Today, more parents and guardians are opting to teaching their children at home, with an estimated 750,000 to 1,000,000 students learning in a home environment. Many parents believe that homeschooling provides their children with a custom or more complete education than public or private schools. It is easy to get started – you just have to do your homework.
Legality — Can I Teach my Child from Home?
It is legal to homeschool your child in the U.S. and many other countries. Each state has different laws regarding homeschooling, which can range from simple guidelines to more formal legal requirements. Look for a local, state or regional home education organization to provide basic information on the laws that pertain to your state.
Finding the Support You Need
Some home education departments will also provide a list of support groups in your area. These support groups are usually run by volunteers who also homeschool their children. You can find a support group in your area to get the encouragement and information you need from experienced homeschooling families.
In addition to state and local support groups, private groups can be particularly helpful. Their services range from providing books, materials and other resources to consultation, testing and distance education programs. These groups are designed to serve homeschooling families and not only sell the supplies and services you need, but provide helpful information and referrals.
Additional Resources
There are many resources available to the new homeschooler. Get the information you need to get started on the right foot. Read books on homeschooling. Browse web pages and links and read different articles that are available to you.
Remember that the benefit of homeschooling is that you can customize the education to fit the needs of your children and your family. You can choose the educational methods that work best for you.
http://www.alliedhighschool.com
Heather Brunson
http://www.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/homeschooling-how-to-get-started-106900.html
Comments
How do you get started with homeschooling?
I have an older daughter in public school and I don’t care for the things that go on there.
I have 2 younger daughters. My 4 year old is going to be starting pre-k this coming year. How can I get started homeschooling? Is there grants or state financing available to help with schooling. I apologize I am very new at this.
Thank you all for your answers. The 10 points should go to all of you.
Well, the first step to getting started is to research your state’s laws. You can find a summary of laws for your state at http://www.hslda.org
The next step would be to decide how you want to teach your daughter and what you want to use. There are a variety of programs that cater to different learning styles and teaching preferences.
Here’s a description of the types of homeschooling methods:
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-methods.html
Here’s some information about choosing curriculum:
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-curriculum.html
I don’t know of any grants or financing that are available, but some states have virtual public school programs that you can use for free. There are many pros and cons to these programs which are described here:
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/virtual-schools.html
If you do not want to use that option, you can find ways to save money on curriculum and homeschool very inexpensively. Here are some tips for affordable homeschooling:
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/affordable-homeschooling.html
HTH!
References :
http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-information.html
To my knowledge there are no grants or financing available for homeschooling. They don’t like making it easy on us;) I know most people save their tax refunds and use those to buy curriculum. Here are some good websites to start with. They all have good tried and true curriculums.
http://www.sonlight.com
http://www.winterpromise.com
http://www.bjupress.com/page/Home
http://www.abeka.com
References :
homeschool mom
Try this one too, it has the state laws in there as well
http://www.theoaksprivateschool.com
References :
http://www.theoaksprivateschool.com
There are not any grants that I am aware of..Some states offer a Free Online virtual school…but usually from a certain grade and up….
but it will be like “public” school as far what is being taught and you have to be logged in for so many hours ect..
We considered the school but found our county didnt offer it for the younger grades plus we knew we wanted a more relaxed learning enviroment..So we decided to try http://www.Time4Learning.com
If you are looking for something affordable and easy…Then I recommend you try thier 2 week money back offer
Home schooling can get very exspensive..especially if you buy alot and then your kids dont like it (that happened to us with many diiferent companys Abeka being one of them )….
Thats another reason we like T4L ..Since its a month to month if I every notice that its not working for us I can just cancel and I dont have to be stressed over losing a bunch a money and stuck with books my kids wont learn from.
I am not sure what state your from but i know in florida you dont have to reg till child is 1st grade age..so you may only realy need to worry about your eldest at the moment..
I know right now you may feel over whelmed..but home-schooling really is easy once you figure it out..and remember everyone does it different..what works for one may not work for the other….sometimes its trial and error..I really suggest you maybe call your local 4-H see if they have a home-school group or sometimes the local school board will know of groups in your area…..You need to talk to other Moms in your area…support is very crucial when getting started..
Good Luck!