Homeschooling Children

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The’ve tried calling CPS, but they say to talk to the childs past school’s truancy officer, but then they say she officially is homeschooled and won’t look into it! I just want to know if anyone knows any homeschool laws or websites that could help me?

Are you a homeschool parent or a student?
ksgirl

Universities actively seek out homeschool students because they are academically superior and are more involved in campus activities (social skills)

Try finding out the facts:

http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Socialization.asp

ksgirl

What you call the “best curriculum” and Certified teachers have taken us from the best educated population in the world (pre-public education) to one of the worst educated westernized populations.

Right now im homeschooling through the public school system then whenever i go back ill take test to see where they will place me but aint they some way you can go through the internet and get your diploma or do homeschool and get a diploma off the internet or something?

I have procrastinated to the eleventh hour. my child is in the fifth grade and i have 2 weeks to get all her homeschool records updated and evaluated and to the administration. any ideas for a quick solution?

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In today’s fast-paced, understaffed and sometimes dangerous public school environments, it is a heavy burden for parents to decide where to send their child to be educated. Socialization has such a large impact on children, and the wrong environment can set them up for a life of problems: Not to mention worrying about whether your child will be given the attention and direction they crave. It is for this reason so many parents are deciding Homeschooling is the best option.

Every family provides a certain amount of homeschooling, teaching children many life lessons and educating in different areas. Choosing to homeschool your children full time is a wonderful experience for any parent, as well as an opportunity for your child to be steps ahead of others their age. This is because one on one teaching means more information can be learned in less time, where as in school, children are absorbed in classes of forty or more.

Not only are homeschool parents responsible for their child’s academic education, but they also have to ensure their child has plenty of opportunities to interact with others their age. Sports, having friends over and vice-versa, telephone conversations and social outings should all be regular parts of their weekly curriculum.

Some parents prefer to homeschool their children up to a certain age, feeling it better prepares them for mingling with other children and contributes to the development of a stronger identity earlier in life. For example, you may opt for homeschooling until your child is ten years old, then upon discussion with them, enroll them in school. By this time, you have had many talks with them about subjects such as peer pressure, bullying, choosing friends, respecting authority and getting the most out of their education. Of course, every child is different and many parents like to gauge from the child when they are ready to attend. Most children will reach a point where they start to ask why they don’t go to school like other children. For this reason it is also a great idea to socialize with other parents who homeschool so your children don’t feel like they are the only ones.

Ignoring all external factors, you need to seriously consider if you are the right type of parent to homeschool your child. You have to be very honest with yourself because it isn’t for everyone. Ultimately your main reason has to be that you will thoroughly enjoy interacting, teaching and learning from and with your child, growing closer and getting to know each other better. Other questions to ask include:

I. Are you a patient person?
II. Do you possess excellent communication skills?
III. Do you multi-task with ease?
IV. Are you naturally organized?
V. Can you give constructive criticism and correct mistakes with your child?
VI. Are you naturally creative?
VII. Can the family survive on one income?

If your answer is yes to all but one or two, and they are areas you’re aware you need to work on, you may still like to give home schooling a try on a trial basis: If you answer yes to all of them, homeschooling is definitely suitable for you. The next thing to look at is how does your child feel about being home-schooled? Some children are fully aware that in a short while they will be old enough to attend school, and they simply can not wait! Others are more sensitive, less sociable and less aware that is what children their age are doing. As best you can, have several discussions with your child to determine how they feel, and if they seem pleased to learn at home with mommy or daddy then you can begin.

Each state has its own level of control over children undergoing homeschooling. There can be either no regulations, low, moderate or high regulations: As the name suggests, each state exerts rules in relation to exam and test results, hours of study and evaluation, and high regulation states are extremely difficult to home school in. States with no regulations don’t even require you to notify education departments or government authorities that your children won’t be attending regular school, and low usually requires notification only with no monitoring of competencies for students.

In preparing for homeschooling your child, you will need to gather materials such as books, lesson guides and plans, movies and other activities. The best thing you can do is work out whether your child learns more easily through looking, listening or hands on processes and design your lessons around that. The best resources are the library and websites designed specifically for homeschooling parents, and second hand shopping at flea markets or charity stores will often lead you to some excellent text books at very low costs. There are also pre-packaged home schooling courses available for extra guidance. It is a wonderful idea to try and incorporate the local environment whenever you can: for example, when learning about water, spend a day visiting different types of water in the local area. Educational outings are a great way to ingrain knowledge through all the senses, so research ahead of time where you can possibly take your child for some real life examples that relate to what they are learning.

There are some common mistakes made by parents homeschooling their children, and being aware of them is all it takes to avoid them. Be sure to make your child reach beyond their current knowledge, as far too many parents don’t express any expectations and fail to motivate the child to do better. Be sensitive to the way they learn instead of teaching the way you find it easiest to learn, and don’t give the child control over the schedule. Make sure the class plan is clearly established, stating upfront how long you will spend on each subject and enforce rules in the “classroom” relating to being tidy, raising their hands with a question, break times and consequences for their actions, good or not so good.

When you are sure this is the avenue you want to take, you should subscribe to some good homeschooling websites or newsletters such as Homeschool Success News. There are programs to aid parents in teaching at home, chat rooms and other networking mediums for parents to compare and learn from each others ideas and experiences. Homeschooling is an opportunity for parent and child to bond deeply in a safe and controlled environment, and they are years you will treasure in your memory forever.

There are many great joys to homeschooling. One of these is that children tend to make friends with a diverse group of people from all age groups and with a variety of interests. This is because these children spend much of their time interacting within the community.

Schools force children to be segregated by age group. Where else in life are people segragated in this manner? No where. In fact, such segragation creates the generation gaps that cause adults to misunderstand children, and children to know nothing about adults.

So, stop and take a moment to think about the “socialization” of school…

Contrary to “socializing” children, schools create a breeding ground for isolated cliques to form, segregated by clothing style, music style, popularity, money and status of personal interests. This creates a hostage-like environment in which children have little power. This then tends to breed a cruel peer culture in which children vie for dominance and territory. Children who are marked as being even slightly “uncool” (having the wrong hair cut, the wrong clothes, unique characteristics, etc) by the dominant peer groups are referred to as losers, and the harassment these rejected children endure can be socially and psychologically devastating.

The Columbine School Massacre exposed the sobering truth about the devastating affects of children who are rejected by their peers. This doesn’t mean that all children will turn to such drastic “measures,” but public school children WILL attempt to clone themselves according to the peer culture. In contrast, homeschool children tend to make friends with people based on internal qualities and genuine shared interests rather than on outward appearances and social group membership – something that is much more important than the trivialities of clothing and music.

Has anyone ever looked at you strangely when you told them that you homeschool your only child? There are African American single mothers who homeschool, and they do not fit into many’s idea of what a homeschooler should be. This coupled with the fact that they may be homeschooling an only child causes concern, “Why don’t you want your child to be at school with other children?!” Homeschoolers who homeschool one child or several children do allow their children to participate in classes to enhance their academic studies, as well as to socialize with other children. Usually when mothers of children who attend traditional school realize that a homeschooled child is not in the house all day working at a desk or the kitchen table, they feel relieved.

Once a mom whose child is in public or private school learns that the homeschooled child takes classes, she wants to know more about the classes. The classes may be academic like Language Arts, History, and Algebra, or they may be fun classes like Digital Photography, Hip Hop Dance, and Exploratory Art.  Co-ops vary as to how often they have classes, i.e., once a week, three times a week, or every day.  This usually leads you into more talk about academic classes and about where homeschooling moms get their teaching materials. There are some who write their own curriculum, others who buy a boxed curriculum, and still others who use an online curriculum like Time4Learning.

Moms of public school children often have questions about standardized tests and want to know how moms of homeschooled children know if their children are at grade level. Some states require homeschooled children to take standardized tests while others do not.  You can choose to have your child tested even if your state does not require it. Homeschooling moms can use an online grade-level curriculum to see if their child is at grade level.

Sometimes when you finish these informal chats about homeschooling, you feel as though you have given someone, who may have never met a homeschooler—especially one who does not fit the prototype—a positive impression about homeschooling.

Other homeschooling moms probably get a lot of questions too, regardless as to their marital status or ethnic background. Yes, anyone who wants to can homeschool –even a single mom who works from home!

I have just started a homeschool group in my area and I am trying to find ways to get the word out there, but have not have much luck. Please help!

I need to know how much it would cost to be homeschooled in oklahoma for 3 children ages 13, 14, & 15