Posted on 07/23/2002 3:25:06 AM PDT by TxBec
I have been thinking lately it would be nice to have a thread (maybe even a forum later?) for the homeschooling families, because you know how many of us there are. This would not replace us pinging each other with all the great articles we find. It would be a place where we could discuss what curriculum we use, vent when needed, share our successes, compare notes, alert each other to cool things we find on the internet, and vent some more. I'm sure we all have found other sites with forums that we use, but since FReepers are such a cool breed, where better to start up a forum? What do you think?
2Jedismom; homeschool mama; BallandPowder; ffrancone; WhyisaTexasgirlinPA; WIMom; OldFriend;dd5339,vic3o3;MasonGal;Marie Antoinette;GingisK
I'm interested to know what the different HS laws are, how y'all deal with them, how restricitive are they?
I'll start with NC. We have to register initially with the state Dept of Non-Public Education. We have to elect to educate either as a religious or non-religious school. At the beginning of each term, the DNPE asks us to return a card stating the ages of children we're homeschooling. Notification ends at the age of 16.
We have to keep attendance logs (required to have 180 days of instruction) and test once a year. We're allowed to test our own children. We use the CAT5 and alternate with Hewitt Research.
We have two options for inspection: by mail (mail in test results and attendance logs) or by personal home inspection. Guess which one we opt for.
NC has about 21,000 registered homeschools, 70% religious and 30% non-religious. There are 33,800 students bet 7 and 16 with 52% boys to 48% girls. The state pretty much leaves us alone except for the local district that keeps wanting us to enroll with the health education program. Pffftt!
We are awaiting the ruling from the NC Supreme Court regarding the little girl who ran out naked chasing after her cat that initiated a DSS visit that the parents resisted. The judges and lower courts have declared that social workers are NOT actors of the state and therefore not subject to the 4th and 14th Amendments. GAH! Idiots.
an excerpt from the Texas Homeschool Coalition site says
....the only requirements for home schooling to be legal are that
(1) the instruction be bona fide (i.e. not a sham)
(2) the curriculum be in visual form (e.g. books, workbooks, video monitor)
and (3) the curriculum include the basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, mathematics, and good citizenship.
Parents may obtain curriculum materials from outside sources or develop their own. They may also send their children into the home of another parent for instruction or have a tutor come into the home for all or part of the instruction.
I am sure Home Schooling information is available on the net..........
Also, 4H clubs are wonderful for kids to belong to a group that might provide a fun way for kids to inter-act with others with similar interests.
Perhaps a note to your neighbors might bring forth a parent who has travelled extensively on business and would be willing to share some experiences in foreign countries.
This is going to be FUN!!!
Our homeschooling approach has been pretty eclectic, as we have never followed any one curriculum and have never been deeply involved with any homeschooling support groups (most of the homeschoolers in our area being staunch leftists). But we've gotten two of our three boys (ages 10, 7, 3) to read and do math above grade level. We expose them to as wide a variety of science, literature, and history/civics as we are able. And the pastor of the church we'll be attending after our relocation is a homeschooler, as are several of the parishoners.
We've also tried to draw on our being a bi-racial couple with different backgrounds and interests in a positive way, for instance one weekend caring for our horses and tromping around the New Hampshire woods and the next weekend visiting their grandmother in Newark and taking a trip to the Museum of Natural History in NYC. The boys also are getting lessons in small business economics by helping with our home-based online sales business. Never a dull moment in the world of homeschooling!
LOL, ToT. That became a flame war!
Our school district is very easy to work with.......they are (or were) very accomodating and helpful......there was a little paperwork, such as an affidavit you had to submit stating that you intended to homeschool......and then you also submit a simple statement listing your curriculum...... I did not go into great detail and they accepted it.........
At the end of the year I was given the names of several teachers who evaluate the kids........ I had to submit a very small portfolio of work - beginning, middle and end of year so she could see progress.......and she talked at her kitchen table for a few minutes to the kids........ very casual, asked if they liked PA, asked about friends and play time..... her report read like she had interviewed them for days.......told of their good adjustment to moving 1800 miles from home, said they were friendly and had good skills for getting along with others.......... in short, it was a breeze.......nothing like I expected...........
Good luck - I can't say how any other school district handles things though.........
.. in the case of our school district, if your kids are already in PS and you decide to pull them, all you have to do is submit a letter to their school or, as I did, fill out a withdrawal form and where it asks the reason (usually because the child is moving), simply put "homeschool."
I was told that the attendance officer would be contacting me shortly. It's been 1-1/2 years and maybe the birds ate the breadcrumbs I dropped along the way from the school to my house or something. If not, they forgot about us.
:: sniff ::
I think all three year olds are anti-authoritarian, if my own and her friends are any indication.
Does that mean they can be arrested for trespassing, or shot for forcible entry?
You appear to be right. My little rat has scientifically developed this to a fine cutting edge.
Funny, but I never got one....... it was an intimidation letter and they knew me better than to send one........ lol
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