Education 101: The Public School to Homeschool Transition

In our state, there are few restrictions and mandates for a child's home school education. Basically the course work should cover math, reading, history, science, and civics. There are no compulsory attendance policies, no minimum number of days to teach each year, and no testing requirements. The state government looks at home school as something to be protected and respected - respected for the energy and commitment of parents and protected from the interference of government. There is no monitoring of home school programs. Makes you sort of proud to be an American and enjoy the freedoms of this country.

Our kids have benefited from being at home with us, and learning from us. As parents, we are our kids first and best teachers. We know our kids like no teacher ever could. We also love the feeling we all get when one of our kids really begins to understand a subject or concept. As a home school teacher, you get to experience the joy and excitement of discovery with your kids. That one thing makes home schooling worth it for us. The other benefit to home school is that your kids can work at their own pace. Ours are in middle and high school, both doing college level work already and testing at college levels in just about every subject.

The Decision to Home School

In our particular situation, it was quite an easy thing to decide to home school our kids. There were no permissions or forms needed to withdraw our kids. We just let the school office know as a matter of common courtesy. Our kids wanted to get out of the problems and situations that occurred daily in their school. To them, school was a grind that was simply boring. One of our kids was actually tutoring classmates because she would always end up finishing her work early. Sometimes the rules seemed to be very restrictive, even to the point of getting in the way of our kid's education. We approached the school and tried to resolve the issues, but were told there was nothing they could do. After that meeting, the decision was easily made to bring our kids home.

Home School Seems Scary at First

As parents, our biggest apprehension was the perception that we had taken on way too much. Happily, that proved to be untrue. The first few weeks and months were spent getting used to the idea that our home was now a place of education and learning. The transition was absolutely brutal. After the second month, things began to get easier because we had established a schedule, and some basic ground rules. The main things we did were to establish a set time to start school, a specific place to conduct classes, and specific milestones that had to be reached. Since we have been doing this now for almost six years, it has become so much easier, almost second nature.

Local Laws Different in Each State for Home Schools

Be sure and check into the specific local and state laws that may affect your decision to home school. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a good source for all your specific state and local regulations regarding home school. There is a link on their web site where you can find pertinent information about the laws and regulations in your state. Right now, about 65% of states have specific laws that regulate and authorize homeschooling. Home schools are legal in all 50 states.

Home schools are growing year by year and about 2 million students were homeschooled in the U.S. last year. There must be a reason that homeschooling continues to increase about 10% every year. Parents bring their kids home to educate them for many reasons like personal safety and protection form physical abuse or violence. Some parents simply think the public education system is cheating their kids of a decent education. Whatever your reasons, you need to know that you can home school if you so choose. America is still free, and Americans are free to home school their kids. Perhaps your kids might benefit from home school. It may be something worth looking into.

Sources:

Texas Education Code for Homeschooling

You Can Homeschool

What State's Laws Should I Follow?