Homeschooling Your Children

Although challenging, homeschooling is a wonderful investment into your children's future.

Of course, every family has their own good reasons for homeschooling. Some may desire to provide an education tailored to a child's learning style. (I have a friend who is homeschooling her children because the local public school system just couldn't meet some of their needs.) Others may homeschool for religious reasons. Personally, we decided to homeschool so we could spend more time with our children and present our real-life values in a daily, real-life way.

Early on, we learned that formal qualifications could be valuable, but didn't matter too much from a legal standpoint. That didn't mean we knew where to start, however. For that we called upon trustworthy friends who also homeschooled their children. This "community" of families were able to directs us to websites provided information and various curriculum options. Some families actually mixed curriculum, using different resources for different subjects.

Before homeschooling your child, you must learn homeschooling laws - which change from state to state. Although it can be inconvenient and challenging, be thankful that we even have the option. In Sweden, for example, they are trying to pass a law that makes homeshooling illegal. In Germany, parents are already being imprisoned for even wanting to homeschool their children.

In Pennsylvania, homeschool laws provide two options. "Religious Exemption," is the first option where you simply inform the public school system of your intent to homeschool, and nothing more. (There are some trying to change that law, so beware.) The second option involves the school district a bit more. At the beginning of the school year, you must provide a notarized affidavit of your intent to homeschool and later provide a portfolio of your child's curriculum with a letter from an evaluator. Again, each state has different laws, so be sure to look into them.

Additionally, there are organizations that provide legal representation for a yearly fee. They are certainly beneficial if you live in a state with many and complex homeschool laws.

Clearly there are many issues to consider when deciding to homeschool your children. Don't be intimidated or discouraged. Resources and help are available, and your children are worth the effort.