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Homeschooling
Thinking of Homeschooling? By Bobi Thompson
So the thought of home educating has crossed your mind. Maybe you've even articulated your thoughts to others. Have you romanticized about investing your time and talents into your children? Do you want to share in the excitement of learning with your children? Do you want to instill character qualities into your kids by taking action around your community? Do you embrace the challenge of going against the educational system of our society? Well, GOOD FOR YOU!! When you consider our American history, the idea of home education is our tradition, our heritage. As you do some studying, you'll discover that many men in history, especially our founding fathers, completed college by age 17. Sound unrealistic? There are many opportunities to take advantage of as a home educating family.
Alright, let's take a specific look at home education. There are three (3) resources I recommend to interested families.
1- A Survivor's Guide to Home Schooling by Luanne Shackelford and Susan White - This book is found in the library. It's funny and practical. Just look on the cover and you'll see the challenges.
2 - www.hslda.org (Home School Legal Defense Association)
3 - www.cheohome.org (Christian Home Educators of Ohio)
Both sites answer numerous questions and are updated to continually educate and encourage you, the parent.
Here are some qualifications to home educate. Do you have at least one child? Are you interested in investing in your child(ren)? Are you willing to learn alongside your child(ren)? Are you willing to sacrifice time, hobbies, or whatever it takes to be successful? Now this is getting scary, right? Hang on, you'll be all right. I have found several reasons why people home educate. You may or may not fall into one of these categories. Please know that home schooling is a personal choice and it looks different as you look at different families and that's OK. Reasons include: A family's desire to invest in their children academically; a desire to teach and model a Christ-centered life; to meet special needs of a child; to take a child out of school for a variety of issues. Motives change and so do the needs of your family. I do know that home educating is not for the faint-hearted. We have an opportunity to invest in our kids and our families and it can be a great blessing. Just know that there is work involved.
Once you've decided to home educate you may consider some helpful resources. Know there are too many choices when it comes to curriculum, activities, groups - you can't do it all. You must be wise in your selection, again, knowing that there are different needs for every family and that's OK. A couple of resources I find helpful are the public library and co op groups. Co op groups vary in degree of structure, ages, and responsibilities. It's good to ask around and to find your family's fit. If you cannot find something that meets your needs - start your own.
Here's my experience with our home educating family: I resigned my career to be home with our family and to home educate our children. Our 4th child was born with Downs syndrome. This inspired me to work one-on-one with her. I felt I could take her further physically, academically, and socially. Our two oldest girls experienced public school their K-1, and K years. All of our other children (6 total) have been solely home educated. Some years have gone smoother than others. There is always room to grow and change. My husband, a carpenter, has taught our children many practical skills. We're not bound to time. We can adapt to our kids' needs and interests. Our three older children have entered school at the high school level. Our oldest starts college this fall. She'll begin with sophomore status because of post secondary classes she took advantage of. Our second oldest daughter will study cosmetology at Buckeye Career Center. Our third child and oldest son will enter school as a freshman. In August we'll begin our 12th year of schooling. Our three youngest children will be here. I can honestly say I'm excited about this school year. I hope you investigate if this is right for your family. I have no regrets.
Just getting started. By Becca Wigton
I'm a mother of a three year old wiggly boy and a chubby nine month old girl. I have no experience in homeschooling...yet, but I've been thinking about whether or not to have a go at it for a long time. Here's some salve for the common worries and some reasons why I've chosen to pursue homeschooling for our family.
Three reasons not to homeschool: "Socialization is a problem and your kids may turn out weird"; "I couldn't be home that much with my kid, we'd go nuts"; and, "It's too big of a responsibility, I can't have their entire education resting on my shoulders."
Socialization: There's a quote I like a lot in "So you're thinking about Homeschooling" by Lisa Whelchel (aka "Blair" from Facts of Life). When someone asked if socialization was a problem she replied, "We were way too over-involved the first year, but we're getting it under control now." Between music lessons, sports, homeschool co-ops, and field trips there isn't much time to stay home and be unsocialized. As for the weird homeschool kids, take a look at their parents. If the parents are weird, well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
We'd go nuts: As I just mentioned, there's not much sitting around at home, but there is a lot of time with your child. Once, I was told that the more time you spend with your child, the more you don't mind being with them. I have found this to be true in my own experience, though I admit, some days "Daddy" can't come home from work soon enough.
Responsibility: I don't think any of us are confident that we can teach our children everything they need to know for their elementary years, let alone middle and high school as some homeschool moms do. I didn't even know where to start when I began my homeschool research a few years ago. A year ago, I found a co-op of over a hundred homeschooled kids in Malvern, Ohio who meet weekly and take drama, sign language, gym, and science classes together. I found great support from the moms there that have already blazed these trails and meeting their well-adjusted children who were mature beyond their years was enough to convince me this was worth a try. This group of brave women are in constant contact with each other via phone and e-mail and weekly meetings throughout the school year discussing everything from curriculums to meeting the legal requirements of homeschooling.
Three freedoms that encourage me to homeschool: There are infinite variations of homeschooling approaches. You can customize it your teaching style and to your child's learning style. I'm leaning toward the "unit study" approach, such as Konos or Five in a Row curriculums, where one period of history or one book is reflected in all the subjects for a period of time. For instance, in an astronomy unit every subject, including math, art, music, science, language arts would be tied into the subject of astronomy. If unit studies don’t appeal to you, there’s curriculums that use text books, workbooks, no books (unschooling), videos, and more. You can spend $800 a year on supplies or nothing at all using the library and internet. There's a huge underground network of homeschool moms that buy and sell used curriculums between each other or at used curriculum fairs.
My second comfort is that most homeschool moms I meet tell me they take every year as it comes. You can change your approach or your decision to homeschool at anytime. A really great resource to help you in your decision and to find answers to all your homeschool questions is PureHomeschooling.com.
Finally, I am encouraged to homeschool by the fact that I'm allowed. Some countries such as Germany have outlawed homeschooling. Other countries in Europe such as Sweden and the United Kingdom are becoming increasingly restricted in their freedom to homeschool. I'm thankful that our country allows us to do what we feel is best for our children in this crucial area of education, whatever that may be.
Two of the biggest complaints I hear from public school teachers is that they can't possibly cater to the needs of every child in their classrooms and that they wish parents would be more involved in their children's education. I'm eager for this opportunity to customize my children's learning to their specific needs and even more excited to be one hundred percent, completely involved in this adventure with them.
Now, let's get started. By Lorri Pilcher, Dover
I blissfully spend the Spring and Summer flipping through curriculum catalogs; combing every last page for the perfect program for each child. Do we want to study ancient history or American history? Is there something new that is so great that I will regret missing it? I would imagine most homeschooling moms do just that. We love teaching our children. We love helping them learn and discover new things, opening their eyes and minds to things most children have never heard about. I usually get so caught up in all of the excitement that the legalities of homeschooling are overlooked.
When I first removed my son from public school to bring him home, I was so worried about getting myself in trouble. I had nightmares about someone showing up at my house to arrest me because he was not in school and I had accidentally done something illegal. Thankfully, the laws in Ohio are fairly basic and I have never met anyone who was arrested for not following them. I had a very good friend who was a homeschool veteran. She came to my house with a folder full of resources and forms I would need to follow the rule of law and protect my family’s right to educate our children at home. Not everyone is blessed enough to have a mentor like I had. But the information is available and easily accessible online.
In order to start the school year out right, one should file a notification form with your local school system. In most cases, it can be mailed directly to the superintendent’s office. If you are in doubt about whom it should be addressed to, simply call the superintendent’s office and ask them. This form can be downloaded and printed from the Christian Home Educators of Ohio (CHEO) website. Along with the form, one needs to send an outline of the curriculum to be followed for each child being home educated (for informational purposes only). This can be a simple list of the textbooks and resources you are following or very detailed descriptions if you choose. They just want to know that you have a plan and your children ARE going to get an education. One year I literally photocopied the catalog pages that detailed the curriculum that I was using with my son. It was so literature rich that it would have taken hours to type out (it was seven photocopied pages). Some of the best advice I received was to mail my notification papers via certified mail. Someone has to sign for it and the slip is returned to you. It is always a good idea to protect oneself because paperwork is easily misplaced.
Once your school year concludes, you will need to have your child’s academic achievement assessed. This can be stressful and seem intrusive. But once it is done, it is nice to show off how much your child(ren) has learned and what a great teacher you are! It is also nice to have an idea of areas that need more work. After all, that is the purpose of school testing. As a parent and teacher, I want to know that each child is reaching their full potential. Assessment comes in many forms. One is to have your child take a standardized test. You can actually do this in the Spring with the school system, but you need to let them know well in advance. You can have your child(ren) take these test under the administration of a certified teacher that you know. Many of the curriculum providers make these tests available. Bob Jones University Press has a few different options on their website along with all the information you need about having your students tested. You can also have your students’ progress assessed by having a portfolio of their work for the school year reviewed by a certified teacher. The assessor will then prepare a written narrative for you as proof of your child(ren)’s proficiency. You can find more information and details about academic assessment on the CHEO website (www.cheohome.org). Your assessment reports should be mailed in with your notification at the beginning of each school year.
Although the legal side of homeschooling can be stressful and intimidating, it is completely manageable. Following the letter of the law is vital in protecting our rights and freedom to home educate our children. So, as you spend hours upon hours searching for the perfect curriculum for your family, don’t forget to take a little time to do the mundane paperwork. Happy Homeschooling!
Additional Resources:
www.cheohome.org (Christian Home Educators of Ohio)
www.rainbowresource.com (Almost every homeschool product you could ever imagine)
www.vegsource.com/homeschool (Used curriculum swap board)
Thompson Family
Mom, Dad & 5 kids
Lorri, mother of 5
The things I love most about homeschooling:
It gives each child an opportunity to strengthen their weaknesses, develop their talents and explore their interests.
Listening to your child read their first "real" book while you snuggle together on the sofa.
Becca Wigton and son
