In the previous post, we looked at the community, which, for many of us, is an essential part of our journey, but there are a few more things to consider before you get started with the actual schooling part. You need to know how to stay legal. (Kind of a big one, there.)
State regulations vary wildly depending on where you are on the map. Some states require not only certain subjects for each grade, but may also expect you to cover particular material, submit your student for testing, and even provide samples of the student’s work. Others might require basic subjects, but may respect your freedom in choosing what falls under those subjects. There are a few states that only require a letter of intent to home educate (or even a phone call! …you should always put it in writing anyway).
The first place I would go for legal information (not coverage) is back to your home educator’s association, mentioned in the previous post. They may provide this information on their website, or you can simply call them and they’ll point you in the right direction.
I have found that one of the most helpful sources for state regulations is via the Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Take a look at their awesome color-coded map of homeschooling laws by state. (I am not affiliated with them, but I will say that, if you become a member, they not only provide you with legal protection, but you will also be supporting fellow homeschoolers.)
If your state allows or encourages a “cover” or “umbrella” school, the school can also provide you with legal information. In my experience, though, the legal requirements themselves are what prompt many homeschool families to find a cover school, so by the time you contact them, you’ll probably already know what the general legal requirements are. Regardless, our umbrella school has been very helpful in figuring out the finer points of Tennessee’s homeschooling laws.
I want to pause here and add that it is very common to doubt whether or not your child is keeping pace with their public school counterparts. Every homeschooling family worries about this at one time or another (particularly the moms!). However, I am not as convinced as I once was that this is a super huge deal. I have heard one particularly highly respected homeschool curriculum expert point out that, in their experience, the majority of homeschool curricula out there is, on average, about a year ahead of most public school curricula. (Adding my own limited experience and observation, I would agree.) So, even if you are feeling like your child might be behind, they are probably not. I have to remind myself of this regularly, too! Aside from that, keep in mind that home education is naturally flexible. If you confirm that your child is a little behind in math, but he/she is reading on a level two grades ahead of expectation, than shift your focus a bit, consider another approach, and try to come at it with a fresh perspective. Otherwise, unless you stumble upon a plethora of parent reviews complaining about a very specific curriculum, it probably isn’t something that should cause much anxiety. Check out the book Lies Homeschooling Moms Believe by Todd Wilson.
Once you get your legal ducks in a row, you’ll need to consider what it is that you want your child to learn. Some families choose to set personal goals beyond what is legally necessary. For instance, if your state requires a Math program for a certain grade, but not a foreign language, in most cases you still have the option to teach the foreign language. In the case that a state requires a subject but NOT any particular material within a subject, some families like to look at what is generally expected for that year. They may turn to books like Rebecca Rupe’s Home Learning Year By Year, or they may investigate whatever their local public school is teaching, and use that as a guide for their own goals.
If your state is one of those that has a lot of requirements, you may be a little more limited in flexibility, but for any parent, this is a good point at which to look back at why you are interested in homeschooling in the first place. Are there things that you want your child to learn that might not be taught in the local school? Do you want to avoid a lot of seat work? Do you want to instill an excitement for STEM subjects, or perhaps encourage a love of the arts? Or both? Are there certain goals that YOU want to help your child attain?
…Which leads us to the next part. Learning styles and teaching styles.
Personally, I like to consider my student’s learning style as a higher priority than my teaching style, simply because it is easier for me to adapt than it is for my children to change the way they learn.
Most of the books I have read assert three main learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. These are the ways in which your child might best receive and process information. Some students learn best by seeing information written down, some by hearing it, and some by making tactile connections. Cathy Duffy outlines learning styles in her book 102 Top Picks, but I also enjoyed Talkers, Watchers, & Doers by Cheri Fuller. (An additional book to consider is How Am I Smart? by Dr. Kathy Koch.)
Since my children are so young, and my experience with learning styles is so limited, AND because each child is different, I’m going to leave it at that and encourage you to look into this in a more personal way. One caution about learning styles, tough: be careful not to overly define your child. Especially in the early years, they will change a lot from year to year, and that can include their perceived learning style. Knowing the primary way(s) that your child learns should help to give you direction, not limit your choices.
Next, you might want to consider looking at homeschooling methods.
Or not.
If you already know what you need to teach, what you additionally want to teach, and what ways in which it might be wise to teach it, then…to be honest, the rest is icing on the cake, and you don’t actually HAVE to align yourself with any particular method of homeschool educating.
Let me back up a little bit and explain. There are several popular methods of home education from which people like to choose.
By “method”, most homeschoolers mean the philosophy by which you teach your children and make your educational choices. This is different from your spiritual beliefs or your child’s learning style, and it is also different from a curriculum itself. Most methods are defined by an external source, will usually recommend a specific timeline for what your child should be learning each year, and generally include guidelines on how to teach those subjects. Some popular methods include “Charlotte Mason”, “Unit Study”, “Unschooling”, “Classical”, and “Eclectic”.
There are some highly intelligent, well-educated, and wise folks who have contributed greatly to the health and growth of the homeschooling community by crafting resources that ascribe to or expand upon certain methodologies. You will find that many (most?) homeschooling families tend to identify with certain methods over others. Each of the methods listed above, as well as several others, are all based on wonderful principles, and can each be effective under the right circumstances. However, there is no rule that says that you must choose one over the others, though you may find that you want to!
Our family has happily embraced a Charlotte Mason methodology, and we very much enjoy it. However, our day probably looks more like “Unschooling” right now, due to other areas of life, but that’s ok, because the point is that they are still learning.
To find out more about homeschooling methods, I would again recommend Cathy Duffy’s book, which outlines each, as well as Catherine Levison’s A Charlotte Mason Education (Charlotte Mason method), Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well-Trained Mind (Classical method), Ruth Beechick’s The Three Rs, and Susan Schaeffer MacCauley’s For The Children’s Sake, among others. A quick web search [Charlotte Mason + homeschool] can help with simple outlines of each method, but I encourage you to spend a little time on each before deciding if there is one that would be helpful to your family. A homeschool method can be extremely helpful in providing a sense of direction, but they also have the potential to become burdensome if used with the idea that your family must adhere to the method, rather than the other way around.
You will find that many, many curriculum providers will advertise the methods that they had in mind when constructing their material. This may be appealing if you are leaning toward a particular philosophy, but even if you aren’t, don’t let it stop you.
One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned so far is that YOU are in charge of the curriculum, and not the other way around. A certain program or set of books might have been crafted with one method in mind, but that doesn’t mean that you absolutely must use them that way, if another approach ends up being healthier for your student. For instance, I have several books on my shelves which are very popular with “Classical” homeschool curricula. Even though that isn’t the method that appeals to us, it would be unwise of me to skip a great resource just because of its label. So, I use them in the way that works best for my student.
Though “tweaking” is more easily done with some resources or methods than with others, if you find something that is in line with your state’s requirements and your goals, and it appeals to you, investigate it regardless of the label on it! (I promise, the homeschool posse is not going to burst out from behind your bookshelf and start beating you over the head with an encyclopedia… 😉
The Galloping Maple Tree 