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Considering Homeschooling?

Is this appropriate for our family?

By MichaelPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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Considering Homeschooling?
Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash

Homeschooling is highly individualized and before embarking on this journey there are some basic considerations which must be addressed by your family.

The first is very simple; are your children excited by the prospect and willing to put in the time and effort required? Having responsibility for a big share of their education is no simple matter, it takes a lot of work and dedication. A simple "yes" or "no" will not suffice. You need to get them to outline what it is about school that they don't like and the main attractions of taking responsibility for their ongoing education. How will they plan curriculum, do they have an interest in volunteering, how will they approach sports and physical education? Once you feel that they have taken a practical and realistic approach to this endeavor and come up with concrete answers you can then decide what will be required to facilitate the process and where you will have to take an active role as "teacher."

As parents you must determine who is available to administer and facilitate the process. It takes time to have an intimate involvement in guiding the educational process at any level. Curriculum, state requirements, coordination of activities, vetting opportunities, driving, etc. It is all manageable but at the outset it will feel overwhelming. It takes a firm commitment to determine if you have, or can access, the resources required.

I would also recommend networking with the parents of your children to see if any of them have an interest in participating in some or all of what your family does. Field trips, sharing tutors/facilitators, meeting for group activities are just a few examples. Ask your children who they would like to encourage to join in the effort. We had two of our boys involved in what we called "Wacky Wednesday." This was field trips and workshops that we suggested and that the children selected. We went to a cookie and a potato chip factory, a pig farm, as well as the usual museums and other public institutions. If a parent wasn't available midweek we scheduled for weekends. A major benefit of homeschooling; flexible scheduling!

Once this overview assessment has been done you'll need to do some research into how your state treats homeschooling. No two states are alike, some are pretty easy and some have very specific requirements for homeschoolers. An administrator in your school district may have experience with homeschool students and know enough to be helpful, otherwise it will take a few Google searches to understand how to be compliant. This assumes that you want "credit" for each grade, something that we did as we needed to create a transcript to be used in the college admission process. You don't have to register as a "homeschooler" in some states but not the majority. You will have to provide evidence of completing the required number of instruction days as mandated. A contemporaneous log usually suffices.

Another big consideration is expense. This effort will cost you more than public school ( of course!!) but far less than a private or parochial school. You may already pay for childcare to some degree and this will continue. Field trips will cost money, especially if they take you away from home overnight or involve long distance travel. Tutors, facilitators and resource centers all charge fees which are not insignificant. If a parent or caregiver needs to take time off from work occasionally there will be a loss of income.

Here are what I believe are the key issues.

1.) How does our state view homeschooling? Can we meet these requirements without undue difficulty?

2.) Do we have the interest of THE ENTIRE FAMILY? Do we all think that this will be exciting and fun? This isn't about anybody doing all the work while others stand by...remember, if it doesn't work out there is always school.

3.) Do we know other interested parties among our friends and extended family?

4.) Do we have the time?

5.) Do we have the budget?

Once you've gone through this exercise you can begin to take a deeper look into how a specific plan can be created for your family. Think it over and we'll address this topic next. Good luck!

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