I may not be the most experienced homeschooler out there as I have only been homeschooling for 4 months officially. However, I have been doing a lot of research for the past 5 years and I feel that I can give you some insights and tips so that you can get your foot in the door.
These are the questions that will be covered in this post:
- What is homeschooling?
- Why do people homeschool?
- Is homeschooling legal? What are my state's homeschool laws?
- Is homeschooling expensive?
- What are the pros of homeschooling?
- What are the cons of homeschooling?
What is homeschooling?
Homeschooling is when a child is educated outside of a traditional public or private school building. While most schooling takes place inside the child's home, not all of it is. Learning can happen anywhere, from home, museums, national and state parks, zoos, aquariums, grocery stores, etc. Anywhere and everywhere can be a learning experience.
Why do people homeschool?
Everyone homeschools for different reasons, you just have to figure that out for yourself. Some people homeschool for religious reasons, safety of their children due to bullying and peer pressure, special needs and learning disabilities, health problems, financial problems, etc. this list could go on and on.
Is homeschooling legal? What are my state's homeschool laws?
Even though homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, every state varies in its requirements. Some states are strict and require you to report every little detail and some states are very lenient and require little to no reporting.
Homeschool Legal Advantage or HLA provides every states' laws. They also provide a tax-deductible membership that provides you with legal advice and representation should you run into legal trouble due to homeschooling amongst other things.
Home School Legal Defense Association or HSLDA provides every states' laws in easy to understand language. Even more, they provide a membership program that provides you with legal advice and representation should you ever run into legal trouble due to homeschooling amongst other things.
Another great place to get information on your state's laws would be your local homeschool groups and co-ops. They sometimes offer packets of information to their members. To find your local groups, Google
[Your State] homeschool groups.
Is homeschooling expensive?
Homeschooling can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be. I know, not really an answer is it? However, it is true. You can spend as little or as much as you would like. There are a lot of free resources out there as well as used items. Then there is buying everything brand new, and even then it can run from the expensive to the inexpensive.
If you would like to see a more detailed explanation, you can check out these websites:
HSLDA
Homeschool-By-Design
Money Crashers
Homefires
What are the pros of homeschooling?
- Flexible Schedule: Most homeschoolers can decide what, how and when they learn. It is important to know your laws, to see if you have a less flexible schedule.
- Personalized Learning: Every child learns differently. Some learn better by reading about it, some learn better by seeing it being done by others, some learn by doing it themselves, some are slow learners, some are fast learners, etc. There are so many ways to learn something and you can tailor your child's learning to fit the way they learn best.
- Safety: Bullying, peer pressure, etc. that happens within school walls is something that you do not have to really deal with when homeschooling.
- Spending Lots of Time with Your Kids: Being able to spend more time with your family is a great thing.
- Not Having Anyone Tell You What to Do: Most homeschoolers do not have anyone standing over their shoulder telling them what, how and when to teach something. Again, check your laws as there are states that are less flexible.
- Natural Social Interactions: Traditional schools are the only times in your life that you are split up by age. As homeschoolers, your children can interact socially with people of varying age groups, cultures, backgrounds, interests, etc. which will better prepare them for college, work and life in general.
- Homeschooling is Not Just for Children: It is for the whole family. You will be amazed by how much you learn as well.
What are the cons of homeschooling?
- Spending Lots of Time with Your Kids: Yes, I know this was a pro, but it can be a con. Let's be honest, sometimes you just need a break from your kids. With all the s/he saids and s/he dids, kids can drive you crazy. While sad, but true, there are parents that do not like their kids and cannot wait to dump them off on the the local school system as well. You need to figure out if you can really spend all that time with your kids and if you cannot, maybe homeschooling is not for you.
- Not Having Anyone Tell You What to Do: Again, another pro turned con here. It can be a difficult task to be the sole provider of your child's education and sometimes you may need help. Luckily, there are a bunch of other people out there that are willing offer knowledge and skills, homeschool groups are a great source of knowledge as well as other homeschoolers.
- Time: Homeschooling requires a lot of research, scheduling, driving, etc. and it all takes time.
- Money: In most situations, one parent give up their income to homeschool their children. You need to decide if you can live off of one income. Though, there are a bunch of families that homeschool with two incomes and even single parents that work and homeschool.
I hope that I have been helpful in answering a few of your questions. Look for Part 2, when we cover the following questions:
- What are some myths of homeschooling?
- What curriculum should I use?
- How do I teach a subject I do not know anything about?
- What about standardized testing?
- Can my homeschooled child attend college?
