Homeschooling is a very individual choice so each family will need to decide which materials, ideas, methods, and philosophies work for a particular home school.  The time and effort spent in searching for and trying out the things that will eventually work is not wasted as that, too, can be a learning experience for the parent/teachers and students. Compared to other school options, homeschooling does give a family much more time and flexibility to experiment and try out a variety of ideas.

Try not to feel too pressured to get everything "right" for the first day of a homeschool.   Allow for and enjoy the time needed to explore while trying some of the other suggestions that follow to fill in and still accomplish schooling. This really is a "learn as you go" process and that method does work!

Homeschooling Puts Parents in Charge

Because homeschooling is dependent on the individual life style and philosophy of a family, please note that the following information is only a starting point to show the great variety of materials and techniques available for homeschoolers to use.

Basically there are limitless choices in homeschooling materials and a majority of materials have passed the test of time with a vast variety of homeschooling families all over the United States and even in foreign countries.  The most popular and durable items can be identified as they will be seen in catalog after catalog and on the Internet as well.

 I.  Support!

1.  Hook up with other homeschoolers.  Even though the first year may seem very overwhelming with no spare time, a lot of the fears and questions and uncertainties can be alleviated by contact with those who have been there already or who are going through similar experiences.   There are bound to be days when the choice to homeschool feels very lonely and that is a day when another home school teacher or family can be refreshing remedies.

2.  Attend a homeschool support group activity or meeting.

3.  Look over the materials such as catalogs and schoolbooks that are put out to review at monthly support group meetings.  Sometimes there will be materials to purchase and sometimes free materials including catalogs are available.

4.  Even as adult homeschool teacher/parents need other adults who are involved with homeschools,  homeschooled children benefit greatly from getting to know other homeschooled children.
 

II.  Get to Know Homeschooling!

 1.  Check out materials at the  Library about homeschooling. These materials are located throughout the parenting section that is in the children's area of the library.

2.  Call to get a catalog that lists many of the kinds of materials that are currently popular with homeschooling families to begin a familiarity with the resources available.  One such catalog is: The Home School at 1-800-788-1221 or review some of the products at http://www.thehomeschool.com

3.  See a list of common questions and answers for new homeschoolers at http://www.TeachingHome.com

4.  After reviewing catalogs or materials, talk to those who are currently homeschooling about the materials that sound or look interesting to you to see if they have had any experience with these materials.

III. Evaluating and Selecting Materials and Methods

 1.  A company such as Saxon math that provides pre-test materials so that a child can be evaluated as to where to start can be helpful to new homeschoolers.

 2. For families with more than one child, a suggestion would be to try to select materials so that the children can be taught as a group as much as possible rather than having a separate book or material for each subject for each child.  Group activities can be more fun and are often time and money savers.

 3. Subjects like science, art, literature, and history especially lend themselves to a group approach while some reading, writing, and grammar can also be accomplished with a combination of individual and group work.   Even children several grades apart can be taught together.

4.  In the group approach expectations for older children can be greater than for the younger ones.  For example, the older children may be required to do a written report while smaller children could draw a picture or give an oral presentation.  (It is okay to do a lot of out loud and/or together reading to accomplish many of the subjects especially at the elementary level.)  An example of supplemental science materials which work well with multi-age groups is the
Janice Van Cleave's series.

 5. Another suggestion in material and activity selection would be to look for books and materials that can be done with a unit approach.  This means that the teacher gleans as much as possible from each activity.  For example, during a study of bees a child might do an art project which involves drawing a hive and bees; the student could do a report on how people have used bees throughout
history; spelling words might be taken from the report or study materials; penmanship or typing skills can be evaluated from the report; grammar points can be examined by going over the report; and science might be covered by looking at the bee dance and other unique bee behaviors.  A field trip to a bee farm could provide a wrap-up for the study.

6.  When evaluating materials it can be helpful to look for things that can be self-corrected.  This cuts down on the teacher work tremendously and helps children to be very independent about their learning.  Some examples of materials that are self-correcting are Basic Skills (computer course), Saxon math, Daily Grams, Calculadder, Powerglide foreign language courses, and Jensen Grammar.

7. There are all kinds of excellent computer programs and many are quite reasonable.  Office Depot, for example, often has a good selection of educational materials and some very competitive prices on computer software. For older students facing college entrance exams,  ACT and SAT trainers are an example of  informative and user friendly software programs.

8. Even without purchasing materials it is possible to at least start homeschooling using resources that may already be in a home or from a public library.   Read, read, read is a key and that can be done with all kinds of books and magazines.

9. As homeschoolers we have more flexibility and the ability to be creative in how we teach our children. Certainly some tasks do require repetitiveness but even those tasks can be spiced up with innovations such as making rote learning into an active game.
For example, how about practicing number recognition and counting by jumping on numbers that have been written with chalk on a sidewalk?

10.  Textbooks and set programs are not the only ways to teach.   Watch for library and other book sales where used textbooks, reading books, and books in interest areas can often be found at extremely reasonable prices.   For example, it would be okay to base an entire year of history on biographies and other books including picture books and videos from a particular historical period.

11.  Materials need to serve the school rather than the other way around.   This means it is okay to skip sections that do not fit the learning or teaching style of a particular school, which take too much time for the learning gains, or which can be covered in other ways.  For example, an oral test, an open book test, an art project, or a report might serve as well or better than tests that may come with a textbook.
 

IV.  Complying with the Local State Homeschool Law and Record Keeping

 1.  Check the web for your states Homeschool organization to see the offical state laws! (In Minnesota go to http://www.mache.org and see all the Minnesota laws) Your school district may have the needed information as well. But your state agencies have exactly what you need, some school have their own rules that are not necessarily right with the state.    Home schools need to provide instruction in the same kinds of courses that are offered in public schools including civics; communication skills of reading,
writing, and speaking; mathematics; history; literature; and science.

 2.  Use the law to help in filling out the required paperwork that you may also obtain from  your school district or Mache's web site so that you are operating a legal homeschool. Give only the information required by the law.

 3.  Use the law to understand the standardized testing requirements.  The School District will explain the testing requirements for homeschooled students according to the requirements. The school district may send out a notice to let a homeschool know when testing will be available each year but each homeschool needs to let the school district know if testing is needed in a particular year to receive this notice.

 4.  Set up a way to keep records that is as simple as possible to keep up regularly.  The purpose of the records is fourfold: a way to evaluate progress to determine when and if to move on to the next level; a way for students to see their own progress; a way to demonstrate that a school is doing work if ever questioned; and as a way to present evidence of accomplishment to institutions
of higher learning.

 5.  An example of a way to keep records is the use of a large, central wall calendar.  It can be a place to keep all the information needed about what a family needs to do in all areas.  Besides the usual dental appointments and library book due dates, a calendar or similar record keeper can be a place to jot down milestones in a school such as the day a child masters counting to 100 or when an Algebra II book is completed.   The calendar can also serve as a mini diary.

 6. The calendar can be a place to keep track of the books read together and/or the books each child reads on his own.  Write down educational experiences such as field trips taken with other homeschoolers, family trips, and educational videos viewed. (The more a family homeschools the more each family sees that education is going on pretty much all of the time and many family activities can be counted as schoolwork).

 7. It is not necessary to keep a record of exactly how many pages are covered in a particular subject on a particular day.  Instead it may be useful for a school to keep samples of each child's work in each area for each quarter, semester, or year.  One suggestion is to have a file folder or notebook for each child where they can file their own work with samples of early attempts at a skill, middle attempts, and final accomplishment of the task.  The calendar entries, work samples, and perhaps a simple system for keeping grades can be the basis for report cards.  An actual report card is most important when students reach high school age.

8.  It is up to each homeschool as to how to schedule to comply with the needs of a family and the law requirements.  This could mean that schools are set up on a year round basis with several weeks off each quarter or more time off around holidays.  It could mean that the schedule involves four days of school then three days off especially at the elementary level.  For some it might mean
doing school on Saturday so that a weekday when a dad is off work is freed up for family activities.  It can also mean doing school in the evening so apprenticeships, volunteer work, or other activities can take place during the day or to accommodate the schedules of working parents.

V. Home School High School. and Beyond

1.  Yes, it is very possible to homeschool through high school.

2. Many colleges  are now actively recruiting homeschooled students.  Most often institutions of higher learning are interested in the
results of ACT or SAT tests as the basis for acceptance.  Community activities and work experiences also help as does a professional looking transcript of grades and extracurricular activities.  There are some colleges that require a GED as well but some colleges have been known to change this policy when presented with other documentation or clear explanations of homeschooling.

3.  Some homeschoolers opt to take the GED as a way to verify accomplishment while others think that the GED may have a negative connotation attached with it.  It is possible for a school to make and give its own high school diploma, purchase one from such places as Home School Legal Defense,  or receive one from an umbrella school if a student has been a part of one.

4.  Information on how to set up a high school transcript as well as samples of a high school schedule are sometimes available at support group meetings.

VI. The Homeschooling Adventure

  1.  Be reassured.  Good homeschool materials can and will do much of the teaching.  It is not necessary for a parent/teacher to be an expert in every school subject as the parent/teacher can let the materials do much of the work and/or can learn along with the students.

 2.  Having written long and short term goals for a homeschool which are created with input from the family as a whole can give direction, purpose, encouragement, and inspiration especially on the days when teachers and students may be questioning why they are homeschooling!

 3.  Homeschool teachers and students can easily use common sense and practical living approaches to education.  Other forms of education often have to mimic or invent ways to teach that are already available in a home setting.  Examples are cooking; writing real letters; reading extensively in required as well as interest areas; taking impromptu or planned field trips; taking family trips; pet care; gardening; volunteer work; jobs outside of the home; and woodworking projects.

  4. Remember how much you have already taught your child or children!  Parents are a child's first teachers and can continue to be their most important teachers whether homeschooling full or only part of the time!

  5.  Homeschool parent/teachers are the primary managers of the education of their own children but that does not mean that parent/teachers have to be the actual teachers of everything.   Be on the alert for activities within the community that can supplement a home school such as organizations; fairs; sports; art classes; and many other opportunities through such things as the  library activities; contests; and special events.

 6.   Last of all:  Have Fun!