#1 Find and Join a Local, State, or Non-Profit Homeschool Advocacy Group… Home education is legal in all fifty states, but that doesn't stop local government agents from playing the big bad wolf and bending, ignoring, or changing the laws to disadvantage homeschooling families. Some school districts are perfectly happy to allow you to home educate your children, others seem to resent the vote-of-no-confidence and make things difficult Nationwide groups like the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA https://www.hslda.org/) and many local and state based ones (http://teachinghome.com/states/index.cfm) help monitor regulation, protect families, and even fight for homeschoolers in court. #2 Join a Homeschool Group or Start Your Own… These are often informal parent-led groups. Some can be large, consisting of hundreds of families and help organize activities, field trips, and classes for members of the group. Others are small, consisting of a few families who live near each other or have similar interests (i.e. children who share an interest in a particular subject like science or music, children with special needs). Through these groups, either in person or online, you'll learn about public homeschool events. These can be workshops, informational meetings, and even homeschool fairs. Joining these groups can be a great resource for support, inside tips on teaching, getting deals and discounts on activities and curriculum, especially when you're first getting started. If you don't have a group near you, start one yourself. #3 Enjoy the Process of Discovery Homeschooling epitomizes the free market of ideas. As a parent or grandparent you will most likely learn just as much as your children do. You'll also discover each child's unique learning style, while you learn to better organize your home life, teach your children to set and reach goals, and much more. #4 Pick a Teaching Style or Philosophy While you may wish to stick with traditional style curriculum at least at first, you'll discover are the many teaching philosophies you can adopt to best suit your child and family. For instance, on one side of the spectrum there's the Classical Method. It tends to be very rigorous and focuses on a strong foundation in reading, writing, and mathematics. On the opposite end is something called Unschooling. In this philosophy, the child is expected to learn alone, no "formal" teaching is done. The child is free to follow her passion, motivate herself, and learn from experience. However this may not meet the demands of some state home school laws, so be sure to check before taking a non-traditional route. In between these two polar opposites, another dozen philosophies exist. Many families start down one path and end up with a hybrid that takes the best of different methods and fits well for their child, family, and schedule. |
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