How does home schooling work?

[guzzyto]

Can anyone please tell me how home schooling works. Do the children need to stay home completely and school over the internet? Or does it serve as a complementary learning as after school work?

[Bailey4]

Homeschooling is a substitute for public or private schools done under the supervision of parents/family.

While the word home is in the title it does not have to occur in the home. People can use online programs, cooperatives, and many outside the home learning experiences as part of the learning experience.

If you are researching homeschooling for yourself you will find there are a variety of options. The closest to public schools are online charter and virtual schools that provide curriculums to parents and monitor the progress of the students. The other end of the spectrum is unschooling that people define in a variety of ways, but is generally considered child led and is not tied to the formal instruction most people relate to traditional public education.

Along the spectrum you find a variety of homeschooling families who make choices for their homeschooling programs based on their personal beliefs, the needs of their children, and the resources they have available to them. One of the unschoolers in my family started using a cooperative this year when they moved into an area that had an active one with courses that her children were interested in participating in. Prior to that they had not used any formal programs/curriculums.

I am sure there are MANY people here that would be willing to answer any specific questions you might have.

To answer your specific question homeschooling is generally not done in conjunction with formal public education, that is traditionally tutoring. Parents are permitted to decide on the curriculum that best suits their family as homeschoolers. That may or may not include an Internet curriculum or one that is associated with a private Internet school or Charter school. Some parents buy a curriculum package, some create their own, others don't use one. Each state and even some municipalities differ on reporting requirements. If you decide to homeschool you can find out about these requirements through homeschooling groups.

[guzzyto]

Thank you so much this extensive explanation. I am really grateful.

[jamesmark]

Online tuition or online tutoring is well-proven as the most efficient way of learning, and here at BUREAU OF PRIVATE TUTORS, our subject coverage is not only unsurpassed, but our tutoring fees are very affordable.

[Bailey4]

Nice ad but hardly more than an opinion.

[WAHIndustries]

My daughter is 8 going on 16 and I have homeschooled her except for a 1/2 day where she tried public school earlier this year.

Each state has different homeschool laws, and each parent chooses to homeschool differently. I know families who "unschool" which means to me they try to stimulate interest in subjects with the kids, but who have no formal curriculum. To families who have their kids in K12 and they have strict online classes and schedules just like they were in school.

We are personally in between, we have text books and a rough idea what is going to happen for the year, but we work at her level, and if we need a week off to travel, we take it.

My daughter should be in third grade, she tested out of last year with a 98% and is officially in 4th. We study 5th and 6th and she will probably skip 5th grade at the end of this year. She is bright, learns most of the time after 1 lesson, and would be medicated for ADHD if she were in a school setting and made to study for long lengths of time. Instead we take things in 15 to 30 minute spurts and she flies past others in her grade.

I sit beside her and work on my companies. I developed the Local Kids Network because of my daughter and many of the Local Kids staff I have been working with this year are homeschoolers. We have the time, we have the energy, we have the kids LOL

[There4u]

I homeschool my oldest daughter. She is 1 grade level above her age, but this is because she started at age 4 instead of waiting until she was 5. She was so smart that I didn't want to wait. She is now in 7th grade, and I use real textbooks to teach her. I have her doing Math, Grammar, Literature, Spelling/Vocabulary/Poetry, World History, Apologia Science, Spanish I, and Bible. Earlier this year she went through a creative writing course, which prepared her for the NaNoWriMo Young Writer's Program that is currently going on for the month of November. She has exceeded her word count, and will get her book in print.

I live in NJ, one of the most liberal homeschooling states. We have no reporting requirements at all. Just have to homeschool 180 days and teach the history of NJ at some point (she did that in 3rd grade).

Outside of homeschooling, she does horseback riding lessons, piano lessons, stars in musicals, and helps teach the younger children at church on family nights. In the past though she has done many summer camps, played soccer, played softball, done gymnastics, and more.

What I love about homeschooling is that you can do what fits your child and your family circumstances. You can also change the way you teach from year to year. For example, I plan on using DVD instructionals when my daughter takes courses like Chemistry or Physics. I can't teach those.

My youngest child has Angelman Syndrome, or I would homeschool her as well. She has to go to a special school each day for therapy, life skills, and communication.

Hope that helps.

[earlyknowledgeforkids]

There are a lot of different ways to homeschool. My daughter is homeschooled through a charter school. I choose her curriculum and the school offers homeschool classes, so she attends four different classes each week. What I really like is that it is self-paced. My daughter is in 1st grade but reads at a 6th grade level. Homeschooling makes it possible for her to work at her individual level. She isn't tied to the pace of a classroom.

[DHanson]

Question:
I've been looking at the K12 program for my two boys. Is there a home school option that is equal to a normal high school diploma? Reason I ask is I want my boys to have the option of joining military service or gaining the college they want. I believe most require a diploma not g.e.d. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance.. Deb

[still learning]

where do i even start to get information on home schooling? Do I start with the scholl district or the state of education?