Home Schooling - The Initial Steps

Home schooling is educating children at home.. More than two million children are home schooled. The first step towards home schooling the children is a discussion with the specific state’s Christian Home School Organization. Every state has its own Christian Home School Organization. These are nonprofit organizations that offer advice on the procedures for registering for home schooling children. The procedures are framed by the respective state’s educational board and it varies from one state to another. Most of the states have few formalities while a few states including, NY, have very strict procedures to be followed.

You can obtain your state’s rules and regulation for home schooling through the local home school organization. The date of registration also varies from one state to other. Some states have specific dates (months) and in a few states registration can be done at any time during the year. Home school support groups are another rich source of information that can assist regarding the procedures and formalities for registration.

It is also possible for Americans residing in other countries to home school their children. Americans staying out of their country for shorter durations can make the best use of an American independent study program. Non-residing Americans who plan to stay longer out of country may participate in the international baccalaureate program which offers an International diploma for the children. Details about the formalities are readily available with the respective educational boards.

Curriculum Preparation - The Crucial Part

As home schooling is mainly chosen by parents who wish to educate their children on unique and specific subjects, planning and preparation of the curriculum plays a vital role in achieving the goals. There are many resources that offer curriculum material individually or as packages. Curriculum can be bought from online stores, other families, and local home school book dealers. Curriculum fairs organized by Christian home school organizations and home school support groups provide a good collection of books, material, and resources. Libraries are a rich source of material as well.

Cost Incurred For Home Schooling

The cost incurred for home schooling varies and is based on the curriculum chosen.

Some states allow the use of resource materials provided by public school systems. Libraries also provide and inexpensive resource. It is also possible to swap books with other home schoolers which would cut down the cost enormously.

Evaluation of Home Schoolers

Home schoolers are evaluated either by parents, approved evaluators or by an independent group of parents. There are a large number of organizations that offer home schooling testing services. They conduct regular tests for the students registered with them and produce a report on the evaluation. The students are either tested using standardized test materials approved by State Board of Examination or the child’s academic performance is certified by a teacher who is currently in the education field. CLASS (California Achievement Test provided by Christian Liberty Academy) is one such group that conducts tests once in a year. An independent tester registered with the state conducts tests at certain times of the year. The testing requirements vary from state to state.

Keep a record of the child’s progress through the curriculum, and a sampling of the work done as proof of home schooling as well as a record for the future. Maintenance of these records and portfolios is useful in the end, especially during college admissions. Students are admitted based on their portfolio and evaluation reports. Homeschoolers’ outstanding performance both in academic studies and other sports activities also recommend the colleges to admit them.

Home School – Something More Than a ‘School At Home’

Parents home school their children for various reasons such as enriching their children with family values, religious values, protecting them from social problems, etc. Some parents home school their children because the schools are not well equipped to teach their children. Parents are encouraged to individualize the curriculum to meet the child’s need rather following the public school pattern at home. Although a system should be followed, it should be tailored to the learning style and interest of the child. The system should be based on the child’s interest and aptitude. The home program should incorporate interest activities, extra curricular activities like sports, singing, music, dancing, skating, swimming and anything proactive. After all, home schooling is something different from a school which teaches only English, Mathematics and Science.

Home school support groups can also help in providing activities that are often difficult for one parent to organize.. They also act as a source of information for the formalities related to home schooling. Support groups facilitate family interactions with other families are home schooling their children. This can encourage, teach, challenge and equip other families.

Children can also be taken to places like parks, science exhibitions, libraries and other field trips which would give them a lot of exposure making their home school more interesting. The benefits are that you can go at your convenient time, avoiding large groups and crowds.