Kissimmee Homeschooling

HOW DO I KNOW IF HOMESCHOOLING IS RIGHT FOR ME

 

Anyone can homeschool their children but not everyone will enjoy homeschooling their children.  There are a lot of misconceptions regarding homeschoolers that we will try to answer for you to make it more comfortable to make that descision.  There is no set way to homeschool your children, no set curriculum, not special formula, and no special education that you will need in order to begin.  Similar to county school teachers you will follow a basic standard assessment of what your child should learn in a specific grade in order to put together a curriculm that will work for your family.  These grade specific objects are called standards.  In order to keep your child competitive with their peers we recommend you choose material that would further your child from their current standards towards a progressive increase into the next grade level.

 

CONSIDER YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION 

 

One of the most often concern we hear about parents is that they cannot afford to stay home and homeschool their children.  We cannot make light of the fact that some househould need to survive off of two income, however before you completely disregard the idea keep a few things in mind.  There are great costs that are incurred due to two family incomes including childcare, additional gas, clothing, and food expenses.  In order to be realistic about your journey take a good inventory of what you actually spend and income after expenses to see if it compares to what you save becoming a one income family.  Don't forget to include uniforms, field trips and other school related expenses by a public school system compared to those at home.  You can also consider alternate schedules, working from home, and part time as other options.  The best part of homeschooling is that you have many options available to you.  

 

Next make a nice budget for your expenses for the year and allocate money towards your schooling including any trips or outings you might want to include throughout the year.  Adjusting to this lifestyle can cause radical changes but they can be handled more effectively with some planning.

 

Different Options for Student Education

 

1. A public school supported by public funds; or

2. A parochial, religious, or denominational school; or

3. A private school supported in whole or in part by tuition charges or by endowments or gifts; or

4. A home education program; or

5. A private tutoring program

6. A Charter School

7. An Umbrella School

8. Homeschooling with the support of virtual classes offered in  your State (In Florida FLVS is free)

 

If you are just beginning to homeschool, you have many big decisions to make.  It may be tempting to copy what a friend or role model is doing, but remember that Each Homeschooling Mom and Family is Unique. 

 

Start to research Homeschool Methods and Philosophies.  See where your vision for your homeschool might fall. You may not know at all – and that is ok – but it is good to learn about the different approaches.  Gather support from friends and relatives who understand your choice to homeschool your children.  If they are unfamiliar with  it spend some time helping them understand what your reasons are and the benefits your children will receive from the process.  It is always helpful to have a few people who support you and your family choices.

 

We suggest you make a list of objective and state standards you want your child to master by the end of the year and work towards those goals through your curriculum.  Here is a great resources that you can use as a guide and your children an use to practice:  http://www.floridastudents.org/

 

 

HOW DO I START

 

First you will want to familiarize yourself with the homeschool laws in your state.  THe HSLDA.org has compriased a list of each states to make your search easier.  You will have to register basic information but this a is a reliable and trusted source.  https://www.hslda.org/laws/

 

• File your letter of Intent:  Within 30 days of beginning your homeschool program, you must file a notice of intent to establish a home education program with the county superintendent. You do not need to file this every year. This notice must include the names, addresses, and birth dates of your homeschool students. HSLDA provides a form on our website that our members may use for their notice of intent.  Some districts will ask you to fill out a form and submit to a particular address.  You do have the right to formulate a letter instead.  You letter must state that you intend to beginning homeschooling as of XXX date, the child's name, date of birth, address, phone numer, and current grade level.  We recommend you send your letter either certified mail with signature return requested or by email. When sending by email request in your email that they send you a confirmation of receipt.  Be sure to add this to your records keeping file.  A phone call within a few days after sending is a good way to ensure they received your records.

 

Sample Forms:  http://fpea.com/about-homeschooling/free-resources

 

 

• Make a portfolio:  Throughout the year, you must keep a portfolio of records and materials. The portfolio must contain: 1) a log of educational activities made contemporaneously with the instruction, with a list of the titles of any reading materials used, and 2) samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials, etc., used or developed by the student. You must keep this portfolio for two years after it is completed. The district school superintendent or his or her agent can, but is not required to, review your portfolio only after 15 days’ written notice.  This one can seem somewhat tedious and drive the best of homeschool parents crazy.  

 

 

Here are a list of tips to help you keep track of this task:

 

Organize Your Student Records

 

Organize some folders for each subject, labled appropriately.  Science, Math, Enlgish, Language Arts, Music, etc.  Keep sample sheets and projects inside each folder.  We typically have two sets of folders.  In one we place worksheets for the year and subjects we want them to master and in the other we place all their work.  Again set up is half the journey.  

 

Organize and Keep Track of Student Grade

 

Keep one folder per class and place any testing materials that you have for your child per class.  This makes it easy to draw up a report card by averaging the grades and giving them a final grade for the year in each course.  You could always use S for Satisfactory, I for Improvement of U for Unsatisfactory.  We encourage you to actually give grades that are averaged at the end of the year.  This is a more accurate assesment of your child's ability compared to their peers within the same age group.  Here is a guide on grading:  https://www.hslda.org/highschool/docs/GradingGuidelines.asp

 

Keep a Reading List

 

Before you have your child reading for the year make a list of the books suggested reading for them to read by grade level.  There are thousands of online resources for you to find material online or your local library.  We recommend you use a an such as kindle to have them read on the go or a free library online.  Make your list every year and follow allow weekly or monthly.  Having a book list preplanned maked the effort less work weekly.  The favorite part of using the online resources is that they not only keep a log of your child's reading material but the date they actually read it.  You can't imagine how beneficial that is to just print out at the end of the year.

 

Formulate a Report Card

 

While you can do this weekly, monthly or yearly this one will take some careful sorting through your childs records.  We suggest you make a monthly grade calculation for all the cummulative work to help you out.  If you did a daily one as your child worked his assignments you would just tally them up and divide how many assignments and it will give you an average.  Calculate every three months to arrive at a grade per quarter.  You should have a total of 4 quarters in which you can repeate the process for a final grade.  If you choose to go simpler you can do one final grade or divide into two quarters.  There is no wrong answer.  However, we suggest you keep it in quarters so if you choose to re-enter your child to a public school setting they will require grades for each semester.

 

Digitally Track your work

 

Keep a digital camera or phone to take lots of pictures.  We really can't stress how usefull this can be.  Taking quick shots as your kids work on a project or while on a particular outing not only builds family memories but documents your activities flawlessly.  While keeping their project might be tempting after some time they all seem to fall victim to the trash or misfortunate accidents.  Keeping your images in a folder on your computer with safe back up storage or printed into a flip book keeps are your treasured moments through the years.  This will also serve you come time for your evaluation to demonstrate the extra curricular activities you participated in with your children.  Document every moment.  Whether you are at the beach, park, zoo, in the yard, visiting family your scrap book can be busting at the seams with memories.  

 

 

 

• Evaluate your student annualy:  Each student must be evaluated by one of the following options every year:  Have educational progress evaluated by a teacher holding a valid regular Florida teaching certificate and selected by the parent—the evaluation must include review of a portfolio and discussion with the student; Take any nationally normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher; Take a state student assessment test used by the school district and administered by a certified teacher, at a location and under testing conditions approved by the school district; Be evaluated by a Florida licensed psychologist or school psychologist; orBe “evaluated with any other valid measurement tool as mutually agreed upon.”

 

Regardless which evaluation option you choose, it is recommended that you submit an evaluation letter to the School District rather than actual test scores or evaluation details. Your evaluator’s letter should be brief and to the point. It should include the same identifying information provided in your notice of intent, along with a statement that your child is performing at a level commensurate with ability.

 

The next step is to choose how you will have your child's progress evaluated each year. Florida gives you five options for evaluation:

 

1. You may choose to have a State certified teacher evaluate your child's educational progress upon review of the portfolio and discussion with your child. Thereafter, have the teacher write an evaluation letter.  Ask your local homeschool office for suggestions.

2. You may have you child take any nationally normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher.

3. You can have your child take a state student assessment test.

4. You can have your child evaluated by a psychologist.

 

• Maintain records:  If your state has any specific recordkeeping requirements, they are listed above. Regardless of your state’s recordkeeping requirements, it is recommended that you keep detailed records of your homeschool program. These records may be helpful if you face an investigation regarding your homeschooling or your student needs to furnish proof of education.These records should include attendance records, information on the textbooks and workbooks your student used, samples of your student’s schoolwork, correspondence with school officials, portfolios and test results, and any other documents showing that your child is receiving an appropriate education in compliance with the law. You should maintain these records for at least two years. You should keep your student’s high school records and proof of compliance with the home education laws during the high school years (including any type of home education notice that you file with state or local officials) on file forever. HSLDA’s high school webpage has additional information about homeschool recordkeeping.

 

• File a letter of termination:  If you decide to stop homeschooling, or move out of the county, you should submit an affidavit of termination to the county superintendent of schools within 30 days of ending your homeschool program. If you begin homeschooling again, or begin homeschooling in a new county, you should submit a new affidavit of intent.

 

Next find your state homeschool convention, find out about the requirements for your state. Also spend some time at HSLDA.org for a wealth of homeschool information.

 

Then begin choosing your curriculum, the tools you will use in your homeschool. That is what we are here for at The Curriculum Choice. To make homeschool decisions easy!