Since publishing TheHomeSchoolMom website, I have received hundreds of letters from homeschoolers and those interested in homeschooling. Here are some of the more common questions that I receive and my responses.
An aside
I would like to emphasize the importance of learning to find homeschool resources. While it is easy to ask others for information, most homeschoolers have limited time to answer the same questions over and over. Most homeschool "experts" are busy homeschoolers themselves who are also operating a small business. It is very time-consuming and often frustrating to put together a resource with answers only to have people bypass the resource and write to you expecting a personalized answer.
There is some excellent information online about homeschooling, and learning to sort through it to find what you need is a worthwhile endeavor that will reward you each time you need answers. If you prefer a little more hand-holding as your start your homeschool journey, I recommend The ABCs of Homeschooling, an ecourse by Terri Johnson. It will guide you through the decision-making process, help you decide on a homeschooling style, and point you towards an appropriate curriculum. Terri has put together a wealth of information in the 26 week e-course for beginning homeschool parents. The math lesson from the ecourse is available as a free download.
(Usual disclaimer - this information is general in nature and is not to be construed as legal advice.)
I need help finding something on TheHomeSchoolMom.com.
At the top right of each page on the site is a site search engine which allows you to search this site and our partner homeschooling sites. Input the name of the subject for which you are searching and it will return all of the times that subject is listed on the site. If you wish to browse the site, please use the Site Map.
I need more information on home schooling please.
There is a primer on starting homeschooling here. Particularly important is learning about your state's laws regarding homeschooling (you will find a link that explains each state's laws in the primer). Next, you would benefit from finding yourself a good local support group. If you cannot find a local support group, I suggest joining an online group. A search on "homeschooling" at yahoo groups will yield hundreds of such groups. If you refine your search by adding your state to the search terms, you might even find some local groups. Local support groups are the best resource for anyone new to homeschooling because you can meet real people who homeschool in your area and they can answer your questions, encourage you, and give you guidance about the legalities of homeschooling in your state. Because each state has different homeschooling laws, it is important to look to local resources for information on legal issues.
Can I withdraw my child mid-year or do I need to wait until the end of the school year?
There is usually no problem withdrawing from public school mid-year as long as you meet the local paperwork requirements. Of course, I do not know the specifics of your state and county, so you would need to find out the state legal requirements and submit the necessary paperwork in order to be legally homeschooling.
What is meant by "learning styles" and how do I find out my child's learning style? How is a learning style different from a "teaching style"?
There are many different styles of homeschooling, including the textbook method, the Charlotte Mason method, unit studies, delight directed, and unschooling. Your child's learning style is simply the way your child best processes information, and your teaching style is the way you normally prefer to teach (and is usually related to your own learning style). It is important to understand that your child's learning style may differ from the way you prefer to teach. You can read about the various styles of homeschooling and consider which one fits your lifestyle and your child's learning style. You may find that a combination of styles work best for your family. While you are learning about what works best, don't be worried about jumping in with both feet immediately with a full school schedule. Homeschooling is most successful when it does not try to duplicate school at home. You can keep track of the things that you observe your child doing throughout the week and you will begin to realize that children do not have to be spoon fed to learn. (There is an easy to use record keeper for this type of thing here).
Is it upsetting to a child to change teaching styles?
I usually answer this question by turning it around: "Is it upsetting to a child if a parent continues to teach them in a way which makes it more difficult for them to learn?" Obviously, the answer is yes. While it might rock the boat a little to change teaching styles, it is better than leaving your child in a position that makes it harder for him to learn. Any change that brings a positive result is going to be better than leaving everything status quo when it is not working.
What about socialization?
It is the very deepest of concerns about socialization that cause many homeschoolers to teach at home. The socialization that goes on in the school system is not beneficial to students. Think for a moment about what you want out of socialization for your child. You want them to learn to function in a group setting. You want them to learn respect for others, and the ability to get along with people of all ages, both genders, all races, and every socioeconomic group. Now think about typical peer-segregated school setting - children are exposed to others their own age for hours a day with only one or maybe two adults per 25 or 30 students. As good a role model as a teacher or aide may be, they cannot provide more of an influence than the peers that outnumber them. From their peers, many children learn to group themselves with like children and to tease and harass those who are different. They learn peer-dependence and respect their peers more than their parents or teachers. They long for peer approval far more than the approval of the adults in their lives.
Contrast that with the typical homeschool setting. Field trips and outside activities are often with a wide variety of ages, races, and socioeconomic groups. The adult to child ratio is more like 3 to 1 or 4 to 1, and the children are well supervised, which gives more of an opportunity for training. Because they spend much more time with their siblings and parents, they are far more likely to look for parental approval than they are to look for peer approval. Because of the higher degree of exposure to adults and interaction with those different from themselves, they learn respect for those who are different and they learn to better function in the real world. I have heard people refer to homeschoolers as "hothouse transplants" when they move into the real world, but nothing could be further from the truth. It is the institutions that are the hothouses, with age-segregated classes that encourage cliques based on popularity or socioeconomic status. When high school students graduate and move into the real world, do they not suddenly find that the status they had among their peers makes little difference in this new environment?
Do I have to spend a lot of money on curriculum?
While some families spend hundreds of dollars on curriculum every year, others get by spending very little. The amount you spend depends on several factors, such as the homeschooling method you use, where you purchase materials, and whether you impulse shop. The textbook method tends to be the most expensive, since people using this method usually purchase a prepackaged curriculum for each child. Unschooling probably costs the least, although reference resources and field trips do add up. Whichever method you are using, make use of free resources such as those listed in the School Room. When you purchase curriculum, check used curriculum before buying new. Plan your year and decide how much you want to spend. Don't forget the local library as well. Most of our school resources are from the library with a few key resources purchased each year. As with anything, you will spend at least what you budget because there are always new and fun items that would be great for your homeschool. Just remember to set a budget and stick to it and you will find that you will do fine.
You can raise money by reselling your used homeschool books as well. Keep your eyes open for resources that will last longer than one year or one semester. The more you are willing to plan on your own, the less expensive your materials will be. I find it useless to pay for a curriculum where someone has made detailed daily lesson plans for me because I so rarely follow them. Instead, I use my own planner and save money by making my own lesson plans and assignment sheets. Books like Homeschool Your Child For Free by LauraMaery Gold are helpful too. It has hundreds of free resources listed by subjects that range from elementary to advanced. TheHomeSchoolMom is a great place to start because you can search the site for specific subjects using our search engine or browse by subjects on our page listing all of our resources. Other ways to find free resources are to use the links provided in the Teacher's Lounge of our site. They lead you to other sites that list hundreds, even thousands of free online lesson plans and activities. It takes a little work to homeschool for free, but with a computer and some idea of what you want to study for the year, you can find much of what you need online.
Remember also that you will save money by not having your child in a public or private school. Older clothes work fine for the home setting, where more stylish and nicer clothes are needed for school. It is far cheaper to make lunch at home than to buy a school lunch every day, and that money can add up to a significant amount that can be used for homeschool resources. There are no book fees to pay to a school so that money can also go into your homeschool fund. School fundraisers are avoided and the money spent on them goes in the pot as well. By the time you add up all of the school expenses that you have saved, you might be surprised to find that homeschooling isn't as expensive an alternative as you thought it would be!
How do I determine at what level to start my child's homeschooling?
Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp is a scope and sequence that contains a list of skills normally found at each grade level for K-12. It is less than $15 at amazon.com, and unlike many books that are only good for one grade level, this is an excellent resource that lasts through all of the homeschooling years. Keep in mind that no book can totally determine the scope and sequence best for your child. Some books are overzealous in their goals and others may be dumbed down. You should use the knowledge of what your child is capable to determine her curriculum.
What curriculum do you suggest?
Quite simply, I don't. Every child and every family are different. There is no such thing as a perfect curriculum, and what works for one family won't work for another. See the above discussion of learning styles for the best way to find what kind of curriculum is best for your situation.
How do you make sure you're covering "everything"?
You probably won't cover everything, and neither will the public school. There is no way to cover everything, but if you have taught your child how to learn, they will be able to pick up anything that they missed fairly easily. Plan your goals, work toward them, and relax. You are not going to ruin your child's future by missing some key element of their primary curriculum. Most schooling simply builds on concepts learned previously, taking it to a deeper level as the child is ready for more information. If you have missed something, in all likelihood you will come across it later and cover it as it is needed.
If home-schooled children are only exposed to the values and ideas that their parents teach them, are they more likely to be less tolerant of other people later on in life?
Institutional schools are no more likely to produce tolerance than homeschools if students group themselves into cliques of like-minded children and are only guided by one adult to 25 or more children. These cliques are breeding grounds for intolerance. Homeschool students often volunteer and socialize with others of many different ages, races, and socioeconomic levels through classes, field trips, volunteering, and other activities. In these settings, there is a far higher adult to child ratio which prevents some of the behavior often associated with cliques and encourages more tolerance of others who may be different.
Since homeschoolers are not in a classroom they don't have to compete to get attention from a teacher. Will this hurt them in the future?
This question assumes that school is the only place a child is in a group setting with a teacher. 4-H, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Awana clubs, church, and many different sports activities are only a few of the places outside of school that children learn the rules of engaging in public society. Many homeschooled children are more polite in these environments than those from institutional schools. Perhaps the answer is that when children receive enough one on one attention, they find it easier to politely wait in those situations that require it.
Do homeschooled children become totally dependent on their parents because they are their teachers too?
It was the leaders of the industrial revolution that decided it was a good thing for children to become indoctrinated by and dependent on the government so that they would produce good workers for their industries (see chapter 2 of the online version of The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto). Prior to that time (including the time during which our nation gained its independence) it was accepted that parents were in charge of their children's education. A quick look at the list of homeschooled people from America's past who were "dependent on their parents" will show that homeschooling has always produced independent thinkers who are less likely to find dependence on anyone necessary. The list found at http://learninfreedom.org/Founders_free.html includes George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and more. For more information on research on homeschoolers, please download the Fraser Institute publication Home Schooling: From the Extreme to the Mainstream (October 2001).
Innovative thinking is discouraged in public schools because the very nature of institutional education is to move students in and move them out while training them without rocking the boat. It's the nature of any large-scale institutionalized organization to keep order in this way. Employers who are looking for homeschool students (see an article at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/578270/posts) and universities like Stanford that are actively recruiting them have found that homeschool parents generally teach their children to become independent thinkers.
