When a family homeschools, this reciprocal relationship is magnified. Homeschooling participants are affected by more than just the person who sit at the homeschool table. All generations create and reinforce the bond between family members. Home schooling families spend their time laughing, learning, playing and living with each other 24/7.

You can choose the best curriculum to promote an intrinsic love of lifelong learning. The homeschool curriculum is flexible. The parameters are determined by the best teachers available, the parents, who know and love their children.

Learning never stops in the homeschool environment. The parents are not just lecturers or observers. They are active participants who expand, explain and encourage their children to be inquisitive and explore the specific areas that interest them without the constraints of arbitrary rules set up by an outside source.

Another benefit to homeschooling is that the parents model and reinforce valuable behavior and deemphasize undesirable behavior in a natural manner.

Historically several generations lived in the same home. Everyone benefited from this multi-generational living arrangement, coming away with valuable lessons that cannot be taught in a book. Plus most of the time there was the added advantage of the multi-grade/level schoolhouse for the formal education.

Presently we often put the older generation in nursing homes when they get too bothersome (only to visit them on holidays), and we settle for a failing public school system that has been tasked with being everything to everyone but alienates most participants.

Homeschooling is the best of both worlds. It’s good for both the family and for your children’s education.

The benefits of home schooling are limitless. As a parent who homeschooled three children, I feel that homeschooling is the greatest gift a parent can give their child. Try it. You’ll like it!

By Pam Connolly

Homeschooling can become a family activity, for example field trips or science experiments. The child receives more quality time with a parent and siblings, if they too are homeschooled. Another great aspect of home schooling is that there is no peer pressure.

Religious learning is another aspect that can be covered in homeschooling that is not covered in traditional school. Parents can guide their children much more closely with homeschooling when it comes to morals and religious practices and theories. You can also incorporate the things your child is interested in into the schoolwork. You can also teach “life” skills like balancing a budget, and planning a shopping list.

It is also a proven fact that a large portion of the day in school is spent waiting by your child. They wait for others to finish one thing before moving on to the next, they wait for lunch, they wait for the school bus, and they wait for the teacher to move on to the next subject, or while they change classes. When being homeschooled all this waiting is gone and your child can get his work done in a shorter amount of time.

Some advantages that are geared toward the parents are you do not have to worry too much about your kid coming home using foul language or listen to them complain about the school lunches or a certain teacher. All of these are some very important points to consider when thinking about a homeschooling advantages.

By Diana Jenkins

Home education, as defined by Florida law, is “sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent or guardian in order to satisfy the requirements of Statute 1003.21 and 1002.41.” Florida’s home schooling law is broad giving parents almost unending freedom in educating their children.

Basically there are six requirements that must be met to Florida home school.

1. Notify the District School Superintendent in your county of your intention to home school. The notice of intent must be filed with the superintendent’s office within 30 days of beginning your home school program.

Currently there is no “official form” that is used to supply notice but your written (or typed) letter of intent should include at the bare minimum the following information; Name of child (or children), Birthday of each child named, Address and a Parent’s Signature. It is recommended that you send your letter of intent via certified or priority mail and file the receipt as proof in your child’s portfolio.

2. Maintain a portfolio of records. While there is no proper or “official” way to record your child’s home schooling progress you must maintain a portfolio of records. The portfolio must consist of two main parts; Documented Records and Sample Materials. Documented Records is defined as “A log of educational activities which is made contemporaneously (the documentation should occur at the same time as the instruction) with the instruction and which designates by title any reading materials used.”

Florida home schooling law does not require lessons to be planned or approved in advance. Sample Materials is defined as “Samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student.” Showcasing your child’s “sample materials” can be accomplished in various ways. Keep in mind that whichever method you adopt to showcase your sample materials they need to be organized in chronological order for ease in showing educational progress. More elaboration on this topic in the future… hopefully.

3. Keep your portfolio organized and available. Florida home schooling law requires you to make your portfolio “available for inspection by the superintendent or the superintendent’s agent, upon 15 days’ written notice.” The last thing you will want to do is be scrambling around trying to remember what you did when for the last 3 months and what was the name of those books you read again…. The inspection is only to make sure that the portfolio is legal; the superintendent cannot evaluate its contents.

4. Submit your Annual Evaluation. The law requires an annual education evaluation by a Florida-certified teacher of your choosing. You are required to have your child or children tested annually and submit the evaluation to the superintendent’s office no later than one year from your letter of intent date.

Alternatives to having an evaluation performed include; any nationally normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher, a state student assessment test, a psychological evaluation or any other method mutually agreed upon by the parent and the superintendent.

5. Hang on to those Portfolios, your going to need them. Florida home schooling law dictates that “The portfolio shall be preserved by the parent for two years.” Enough said.

6. Submit your Notice of Termination. If you decide to no longer home educate under 1002.41, move from the county, enroll your child in a public or private institution or if your child graduates or completes the Florida home school program you must file a letter of termination with the superintendent. The notice of termination should include the same information as the letter of intent and should be filed within 30 days of the date or termination.

7. Relax. Okay I know we said there were only six requirements but this one is worth mentioning. As long as there have been parents and children, “home schooling” has been happening. Today an estimated 1.6-2.0 million children are being taught at home by their parents. By grade 8, the average home school student performs four grade levels above the national average.

Research has found that most homeschooled students are involved in a wide variety of outside activities, interact with a broad spectrum of people, and make positive contributions to their communities. Experience has shown that homeschoolers are well socialized and able to make lasting friendships across age and cultural divides.

Painless right? We promised it wasn’t that bad and now that you have all of your legal bases covered you can concentrate on enjoying the home schooling experience and enriching the lives of your children through learning. Now all that’s left is to decide on a curriculum… Decisions… Decisions…

By Tanya Stesen

Even though it is often viewed by those in the mainstream as revolutionary or eccentric, the trend toward home schooling is growing and is gaining in popularity and respectability and is winning over an increasing number of supporters.

According to researchers who study such trends, the numbers of home schoolers in the U.S. has swelled considerably, growing from approximately 15,000 back in 1970 to over 500,000 by 1990, and estimated at over 1.1 million as of 2003.

A good indication of the interest and strength of the home schooling movement the number of support organizations that are in a particular country. The United States has long had a good variety of support groups and the increase in such groups from other areas of the world such as Europe, Australia and Asia.

To many, there are persistent questions such as: why are so many parents are choosing to teach their children at home rather than in traditional settings? How effective can home schooling really be?

Will my children be prepared for college? Can they gain the social skills they need without the interactions that are part of traditional schooling?

It is interesting to consider that while some people think about home schooling as radical, rebellious, or even extremist, the reality is that home schooling was the original system of education for centuries all around the globe.

The fact is that it was not until the last century that children started school so young as they do now. Typically, most of the children who did go to school started going at age twelve or later.

Many notable people from American history were educated in their homes and at their hearths, such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and even Albert Einstein.

The fact of the matter is that school attendance did not become compulsory until in the United States until the later part of the 19th century, and in light of that, home schooling really isn’t just a recent fad, but actually the old educational standard.

According to the National Catholic Reporter, estimates are that anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of homeschooling families choose it for religious reasons, primarily because of the desire to protect their children from atheistic influences in public schools.

And, according to an article in Time magazine, the very backbone of the movement toward home schooling education practices is the Christian Fundamentalist community that strongly believes that religion is either ignored or debased in public classroom settings.

However, some parents have stated that their reasoning for removing their students from public education is in order to limit their exposure to damaging and immoral influences during their early years.

Still, other families decide to go the home schooling route primarily for educational reasons. Many are discontented with the overcrowding of classrooms, the low academic standards, and the many safety concerns rampant in many public schools.

It’s really not so important why parents end up deciding on home schooling for their children because the major benefits, in the eyes of many parents, is that they are able to have much greater involvement in their children’s lives and they remain influential role models during a time when it matters the most.

By Mike Selvon

Many of the regulations include parental notification, test scores, professional evaluation of student progress and curriculum approval. Families shouldn’t be scared off by the general requirements for homeschooling. There may be some initial paperwork to handle but as long as the teaching parent can keep good records there shouldn’t be andy fear of the state stepping in and ordering your child back to public school.

The states that have no requirements for homeschooling do not require the parents to initiate any contact. These states include Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico. Parents are not obligated to contact the school districts to notify them that they will be homeschooling their children.

States that have low general requirements for homeschooling require the parents to notify the school district that they are homeschooling their children and nothing else. These states include California, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Delaware, Washington D.C. and the territory of the Virgin Islands.

Moderately regulated states require parents to send notification, test scores and provide a professional evaluation of the student’s progress. The states in this category include Oregon, Colorado, South Dakota, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and the territories of American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands.

States with the highest regulations may be the most troublesome to parents contemplating homeschooling. These states general requirements for homeschooling stipulate parents have to send notification or achievement test scores, provide professional evaluations of student progress as well as provide a written curriculum that needs to be approved by the state, teacher qualification of the parents and on some occasions visits by state officials to check the student’s progress. These states include Washington, Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. These states have few requirements for the Kindergarten level but the regulations become stricter at each subsequent grade level.

A parent is considered competent to operate a homeschool if they follow the individual state’s regulations; they do not need to have teacher certification. The parents need to file a notice at their local school that they intend to homeschool in the low to highly regulated states. Those that fall within the medium to highly regulated states will also need to keep attendance records, file quarterly reports and a grade narrative for each of the subjects taught. Highly regulated states may require an annual assessment at the end of the school year.

The general requirements for homeschool vary greatly from state to state. The parents should be well versed in the legal aspects of homeschooling before they decide to attempt it. Most parents will find that the red tape at the beginning is well worth it.

To stay abreast of the current trends, information and resources available for homeschool parents, teachers and students subscribe to Homeschool Success News.

If you need an online tutor, courseware or wish to offer your services as a paid online tutor contact our website. Magic Learning Systems also provides excellent products to enhance the homeschool experience for teachers and students. For additional information visit the Homeschool Success News website.

By Dr. J. Elisha Burke

The Homeschooling Advantage

Statistics show that a student who is partaking in homeschool will outperform any public school student on standardized tests. The reason is because a homeschooling curriculum places a heavier emphasis on ensuring that a child is actually learning that which is being taught to them. The reasons for this phenomenon are as follows:

* Parents design the curriculum, ensuring that children are taught relevant, interesting information.

* Children are given more attention because of the smaller class size, allowing for more one on one time.

* Children have less distractions resulting from social pressure from other students.

* Children have greater respect for their parents than any one else, meaning that children will cooperate more with parents than public school instructors.

* Parents will be allowed more time to bond with their children in a very positive way.

The Homeschooling Disadvantage

The disadvantage to homeschooling a child is that they are being removed from the social context placed upon them in public schools. Because of this, they will not have the same opportunity that other children have to develop social skills and relationships. However, as strong as these disadvantages are, homeschooled children have a greater potential for learning crucial information, as taught directly by their parents.

Homeschooling Resource

Many resources are available for parents who are interested in homeschooling their children. These resources come in two forms, guides and homeschool counseling. Guides can be found all over the internet and, with a little research, you will surely be able to find a guide that will aid you in creating the homeschooling curriculum that you feel is right for your child.

Homeschool counseling is a service by which parents get advice on how to operate a homeschool. These counselors will give parents all the information they need to ensure that the curriculum they create is on par with standards set by school boards and state legislatures. Either route is beneficial, meaning that you simply need to decide which is right for you.

Before deciding to take the plunge into the world of homeschooling, you must keep in mind that homeschooling is not right for everyone. Make sure that you can afford to take the time your child will need to get the most out of this education practice.

You will also want to make sure your child is open to this idea, as not all children will be as optimistic about the importance of education as parents will be. If you decide that homeschooling is right for your family, do not fret about whether or not your child will be falling behind other children, as statistics are available to show the obvious benefits of this type of education.

By Mike Jerry

Home schooling: The Pros and Cons

There exist numerous advantages of home schooling. Like you can choose the subjects that you’d like to be imparted. The family morals can be passed on in your presence. Additionally personal attention allows his to grasp subjects powerfully which is not possible in the classroom environment of the school.

Parents can maintain a strong relationship and you can keep a constant vigil on their progress. You can also impart high knowledge of your religion to the child. At home schooling you take decisions on what is taught and also how it is taught. You kids will be in an environment that has your view given preference.

You will be surprised to know that home schoolers fare far better than the kids at traditional schools on identical testing. It is the same result across all sections. Probably things like race, socio-economic status, or religious beliefs have no impact on home school test scores whereas at the same time such factors have shown to have an influence on scores of traditional school kids. It is not easy to explain this interesting phenomenon.

A high percentage of home schools need their children to be tested at specific intervals, there are proper rules and procedures for these tests & companies who carry out testing follow them strictly. May be the fact that home school kids do not face discrimination that traditional school kids face on a daily basis creates this wide gap.

Home schooling disadvantages too. What goes against home schooling is you have to commit time. Even if you have a single child it becomes a highly committed job of giving energy and time. You would be required to have lesson plans and keep yourself organized and then teach lessons and correction too. Side by side you must try and plan activities with other home schoolers or then with outside network of home school. This can prove to be expensive.

You would have to buy curriculums, and all this can pile up in case you aren’t attentive. Anything you want to do will be charged like dance classes, soccer lessons and other activities too can be expensive. Once the child is learning higher grade subjects you will have to arrange for tutor to teach lessons of maths, physics and chemistry as your knowledge of today’s teaching shall not be sufficient.

Family finances also do not allow home schooling. Mostly a parent will have to stay with the child in home schooling conditions. Not many families can afford to do that in today’s world. This may lead to financial disturbances. Well if you still want you have home schooling then you might have to be prepared for a few sacrifices as most parents of home schoolers live life comfortably but certainly not extravagantly. Budget constraints might become a part of life.

Jane A Smith

Why do some parents consider switching from traditional school attendance to home schooling their children? For the most obvious reasons you need to keep up with the national news. In one place after another, there is increasing crime and violence in both public and private schools. Institutions of higher education don’t exactly escape the bad rap either. It seems almost every year there are more and more problems in colleges and universities with abuse of drugs and alcohol, rapes and other types of sexual misconduct and excessive acts of violence at rallies, sporting events and even seemingly for no particular cause during the normal scholastic year.

The “Problems”

Many “problems” are commonly associated with home schooling. Some of these may include:

o Quality of education

o Availability of high-level teachers and tutors for areas where parents may lack knowledge and skills

o Reduced interaction of home-schooled children with their peers

o Boredom

o Lack of motivation

o Parental fears over the home schooling process

o Difficulties with local, state and national laws and requisites

o Financial concerns

o Availability of adequate texts, resources and other materials

o Bilingual or multi-lingual education concerns

But for each of these concerns, although initially valid, has several viable solutions within the means of virtually every household. One increasingly difficult aspect of home schooling, however, deals with providing children with a bilingual or multi-lingual education.

Bilingual or Multi-Lingual Education

While in many parts of the world a bilingual or multi-lingual education is desirable or even an essential in many cases, it is quite possible to provide a quality bilingual education for home schooled children. Speaking a foreign language can be a tremendous asset in many walks or life and career paths. The same can be said concerning knowledge of a foreign culture. In a number of locations, education which includes elements of foreign languages is easily incorporated in the child’s everyday educational life, providing them with a solid basis for foreign language acquisition and practical use. A broad spectrum of foreign languages can be included incorporating languages such as:

o English (varieties from regional America, Britain, Australia, Jamaica, etc.)

o Spanish (spoken and written forms of Castellano can vary widely between the 21 countries where Spanish is spoken as a first or official language)

o French

o Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, or other forms)

o Arabic

o German

o Italian

o Portuguese

o Russian

o Greek

o Turkish

o And a host of indigenous or local dialects, Creoles and patois

Help, Resources and Assistance are Available

In most countries which allow home schooling of underage children there are programs available to inform and provide parents with information, curricular requirements and other types of assistance to help make the home schooling process a much smoother, effective and rewarding one for both the parents and the children. With home schooling too, parents are able to provide focus and direction in areas of which the child may have special interest, talents and abilities. It is possible to insert an increased number of field trips or attendance at inter-cultural or related events, seminars, conferences, workshops and special activities which may be unavailable to children and learners at traditional institutions. Home schooling parents likewise have the option of integrating learning alternates into their home schooling program.

Consider the Children Too

Rather than allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by the challenge of home schooling, parents should embrace the concept. The first step is to seek out those government agencies, resources and organizations which can provide the quantity of information and guidance needed to effect an intelligent decision on whether or not to home school, why and how. Home schooling is not too much of a challenge to be considered once proper investigation has been conducted on the part of the parents in consideration of the wishes, desires and attitude of the children. Parents could also use teaching and learning techniques not only with their children but also with themselves to make themselves smarter. Now wouldn’t that be nice?

by Prof. Larry M. Lynch

There is no doubt the public schooling system is riddled with problems. Many Secondary School teachers will tell you their main role is behaviour management, rather than passing on anything of value. Your child may be subject to bullying, personality clashes with teachers as well as peers and a variety of unwanted influences. In recent times there has been the additional fear of violence, particularly following the series of school shootings.

Australia seems to have escaped the worst of the violent trends to date, but that does not mean that a public school education provides the best environment for your child. Many public schools are under-resourced and ill-equipped to deal with the demands of the fast-paced, rapidly changing society of today.

Home schooling provides the flexibility and freedom to provide the student with choices not necessarily available to them in a more strictly structured system. They are safe from harassment by others in the school community and have far fewer distractions from the topics under study.

Most people have a mix of positive and negative memories regarding their Secondary School experience. The experiences that formed these memories depend upon individual strengths, social skills and abilities (or lack thereof). A person’s self-esteem can be powerfully affected either way, by the predominant tone of their High School experiences.

For a child being home schooled in a loving and supportive environment, the issue of self-esteem is far less critical than in the Secondary School environment.

However, home schooling is not without its issues. If the parents are not qualified teachers, what guarantee does the child have that he/she is receiving a better quality of education? It’s true that not all qualified teachers are good teachers, but in the Australian school system there is always the reassurance of knowing that your child is being taught by a trained professional.

Then there is the much-debated socialization aspect of home schooling. It has been argued that Secondary Schooling is, in fact, first and foremost, a forum for social interaction. Imparting knowledge to the students runs a distant second in this philosophy. This emphasis on peer interaction would appear to put the home schooled child at a severe disadvantage. There are, however, home schooling networks available that help organize excursions and opportunities for many home schooled students to interact. This would minimize the impact of any lack of daily socialization with peers and adults outside of the family.

Another major concern for home schooling involves the family’s finances. Many families struggle to meet the demands of day to day living. Families with both parents there can often ill afford to live on one income while the other parent schools the child. For sole-parent families the pressures are even greater. The Australian Government provides no funding for home schooling and is, in fact, undermining sole parents who are considering home schooling, by pushing single parents of school-age children to re-enter the workforce.

Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to home school will depend upon individual circumstances. It will be made by parents who have taken the time to become fully informed on the subject, and who are prepared for whatever challenges their decision entails.

by Susan Ryan

Studies also show that a large number of home schooled children are enrolled in a grade level that is higher than their peers of the same age, and that home schooled children have a higher rate of college attendance and graduation.

The advantages of home-schooled children don’t stop there, however. Thanks to generally receiving a better education and being more likely to receive a college degree, home-schooled children as a group go on to get better jobs and earn more in the workforce.

Homeschooling keeps children from harm’s way as well. Families stay together and learn together in a home school environment. Since children would be under the constant supervision of their parents during the day, problems from the schoolyard are nonexistent. Many families take the opportunity to implement Christian values in their home schooling, morally emphasizing an aspect of educational growth especially.

Not only are home-schooled students scoring higher on tests, but the parents of these children are in charge of their moral upbringing and safety, which facilitates their progress.

Many who opt to choose home schools look for a Christian method to match their beliefs and morals. Parents who obviously have a vested interest in their child can concentrate on teaching a greater amount of learning and bible-based moral concepts.

Many different curriculums are available today. School districts often offer home school curriculums that follow along with the public school curriculum, but give the parents the opportunity to move their children along at a pace they are more comfortable with. This prevents a student from being held back due to slower moving students in a public schooling environment.

A good curriculum will provide live support behind it, and offer a quick start kit — or something similar — to get the ball rolling for those parents who are ready to take on the educational duties for their children.

How Students Advance in Home Schooling

Proper home schooling curriculums will follow a modular formula for children to progress through. This means that no step in the educational process passes by without a passing mark. Each process is foolproof so as to make sure the pupil is ready to go on to the next instruction.

A beginning competency test makes it easy to start and to evaluate the pupil’s aptitude and placement. Diagnostic tests should be provided to help a parent through this process.

Home schooling curriculums often provide material for every grade from kindergarten through to high school graduation.

by Art Gib