looks like we're having fun, but we are seriously stressed about this topic

Things got Weird in 2020

What is the single most important thing you need to know as a homeschool parent?

Unenroll? 

Fill out paperwork?

Choose curriculum?

Create a schedule?

All of these things are important but if you are a homeschooler (the type that teaches children themselves without the help of a teacher).... An OG homeshchooler, then you need to know this one important thing. 

YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW. 

Confused? 

Watch the video. 

How to unenroll your child from public school if you decide to homeschool instead of doing Covid-19 school at home

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT AND THEN SOME...

After not making a blog post for over a year, I am back with my second post in a week, but strange times calls for strange behavior, right?  Anyway, due to murmurings I am hearing on the homeschool boards I thought this was in order.  Many people need to know what to expect when they decide to homeschool. They need to know what the first step is and they are getting tons of misinformation when they call the school.  

I have done the research, and you can find specific state information on several homeschool legal websites, but I found some inconsistencies, and dug further.  The rules are as follows: 

There is no real notification required, as in you can just decide to homeschool and start homeschooling in Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, New Jersey, Alaska, Iowa, and Michigan.  In some of these states, you can opt to work more closely with the schools, or enroll under private schools, but it is not required. 

You need to notify the school board in the following states periodically. (Some yearly, some when you start and/or when you move)/They are Connecticut, Montana, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Delaware. Be sure to familiarize yourself with what is required. Some have number of days requirements. Some have curriculum requirements. Some have teacher education requirements. Some require students be taught in English. 

States where you may need permission / curriculum approval: Washington, Wyoming, Oregon, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia, 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida. These states require registration forms. They may require immunization. They tend to require you to at least register as a private school which isn't as bad as it sounds but still requires a bit of paperwork. There will be hour and curriculum requirements, and teachers/parents may need certification. 

Hardest states to homeschool in are Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania while it is difficult, it is not impossible. You have to be very familiar with the requirements of your state. You may need to fill out your yearly plan in advance and have it approved. You may need to fill our yearly and quarterly reports and have them approved. Testing is required, and there may be restrictions on who can be in your home. 

*Regardless of the rules, it might be a good idea to un-enroll your child from the actual school so that you don't get reported as truant. This is however, where parents tend to get into trouble or misled by the school.  

Slick moves schools are pulling: 

• telling you that you need approval when you do not
• asking you what your curriculum is
• telling you that there are rules for what curriculum you can use

What they may be trying to tell you:

• You may not be able to re-enroll your kids the next year if you don't use certain curriculum.

If you plan to re-enroll after COVID: 

• Use something measurable
• Take standardized tests at the end of the school year.

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th Grade Electives

This video walks you through keeping track of and giving your child credit for homeschool, high school electives.

This ranges from taking care of the home, cooking, sports teams, clubs, hobbies, music instruction, and just about any other recreational activity your child might do... including scouts.  You can give your child a great deal of homeschool elective (and even subject matter) credit for scouts

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th grade science

notes:

Most colleges require a student to have studied at least biology and chemistry and two other lab-based sciences. I also like to get a jump on these requirements in 8th grade.
This is also a chance to get your child more interested in science and to build a positive attitude around it. Note: don’t jump into chemistry until you have done the math to support it, preferably Algebra 2. Likewise, I prefer calculus happen before physics. For 8th grade, you don’t NEED a lab science, but you can use this opportunity to introduce your student to lab work. Still, your options for high school science are numerous. I like this college course from MIT called Kitchen Chemistry. It allows chemistry to happen at home with a manageable mess and no danger of explosions. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/experimen... My child followed this curriculum. It was not too difficult for her at 14, and we did her lab work on Wednesday, just in time for dinner. Yum. If you are not too keen on doing labs in your home, most communities have science groups, classes, and the like where your child will have more than a full year’s curriculum. Robotics clubs Astrology at the local planetarium Virtual dissections online Science labs are available at science museums in every major city.

College Prep Homeschooling: 8th grade History and Language Arts

The series continues- College Prep Homeschooling: 8th-grade history and language arts.

I teach these two subjects as one cohesive unit.  Find out how. Find out why.



 Here are the notes from the video

White paper on weaving literature into social studies; https://britannicalearn.com/wp-conten... Book lists for novels set in other countries for children and teens. https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/books... In addition to reading for Language Arts, students should be using a grammar/writing workbook. Here are some good options. Editor in Chief, Critical Thinking Company https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT SAT Reading and Writing Prep https://amzn.to/2Mgtlnc Holt McDougal World Geography https://amzn.to/2JEpHBM (Teachers version) Holt McDougal World History https://amzn.to/2Mgr3EC The Critical Thinking Company, World History Detective https://amzn.to/2y1AeFT Sparknotes.com has online questions that your student can answer for many of the novels you can choose. Summary: Tying Language Arts and History together. 1. Choose a book textbook or history curriculum. 2. Go through the table of contents and pick books according to the geographical area and possibly the time period being covered. At least one book per unit or for every 3 or 4 chapters. 3. Have the student read the books at the same pace that they go through the history units 4. Use unit tests and a final term paper to grade history. 5. Use a language arts/grammar and writing workbook or test prep book to grade the students language arts, in addition to questions and answer on the novels or book reports. Also grade on final term paper looking specifically at grammar, and format of the paper. CLEP by college board, https://clep.collegeboard.org/about-c... *Disclosure: I will use affiliate links from time to time, including Amazon links. I endeavor to always find the lowest price for anything I recommend and I only link to items I believe in.

5 steps for transitioning from homeschool to college

The first question asked on my youtube videos was:

How do you transition from homeschool to college.

Here are the highlights


Step 1. Set their habits. Get them used to the amount of work required in college by demanding that from them early.
Step 2. Prepare for standardized tests.

Step 3. Take the standardized tests... a lot.
Step 4. Figure out what the best colleges for your children are (that will scholarship them) based on their test scores.
Step 5. Let them go happily with joy and celebration... save the crying for later!


Here is the video