How do I start home schooling?
The specifics depend on your state. I live in Maryland, and in Maryland, parents submit a form notifying their public school system that they are opting to home school. (In Montgomery County, this is the form: ww2.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/forms/pdf/270-34.pdf To find the proper form for other counties in Maryland, try Googling “home instruction” and the name of your county.) In Maryland, you do not need to notify your child’s school, but you can if you’d like.
In other states, the procedure is different. In some states, there is no notification procedure at all.
In other states, the procedure is different. In some states, there is no notification procedure at all.
How do I pick a curriculum?
Here’s the great thing: you don’t need to. Your goal is for your child to learn and to enjoy learning. Curriculum is a tool, but it is not the only tool, or even the best tool, out there.
One of the mistakes new home schoolers tend to make is over-investing – financially and emotionally – in curriculum. Browse a local teacher supply store, try out a few inexpensive things, see if you can borrow whatever you’re interested in using from a local library or a local home schooler to at least take a look at it (with your child) before you buy it, get to know how your child learns, and be prepared to switch to something else if whatever you choose first is not working out as you had envisioned. What works fabulously for one family – or even one child in the same family – might be a disaster for another family or another child.
A good way to see various print curricula is the Rainbow Resource catalog: https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/999999923/Catalog-Page.html Online options also abound, ranging from single classes to entire curricula. Personally, I did not use and cannot recommend, for a variety of reasons, an all-in-one online school. You will want to find materials that match your budget and educational philosophy, materials that your student enjoys and that extend his/her learning.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t use much by way of packaged curriculum in my 14+ years of home schooling and, after a couple of disastrous experiments early on, completely avoided textbooks other than for math. I mostly designed my kids’ educations myself, based on what they wanted to learn and what I wanted them to learn. We combined community-based learning, child-led learning, and teacher-directed learning.
One of the mistakes new home schoolers tend to make is over-investing – financially and emotionally – in curriculum. Browse a local teacher supply store, try out a few inexpensive things, see if you can borrow whatever you’re interested in using from a local library or a local home schooler to at least take a look at it (with your child) before you buy it, get to know how your child learns, and be prepared to switch to something else if whatever you choose first is not working out as you had envisioned. What works fabulously for one family – or even one child in the same family – might be a disaster for another family or another child.
A good way to see various print curricula is the Rainbow Resource catalog: https://www.rainbowresource.com/category/999999923/Catalog-Page.html Online options also abound, ranging from single classes to entire curricula. Personally, I did not use and cannot recommend, for a variety of reasons, an all-in-one online school. You will want to find materials that match your budget and educational philosophy, materials that your student enjoys and that extend his/her learning.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t use much by way of packaged curriculum in my 14+ years of home schooling and, after a couple of disastrous experiments early on, completely avoided textbooks other than for math. I mostly designed my kids’ educations myself, based on what they wanted to learn and what I wanted them to learn. We combined community-based learning, child-led learning, and teacher-directed learning.
- Community-based learning: We took an average of three to five field trips every month in elementary school and middle school. (We took fewer in high school only because our schedules were more constrained.) We went to musical performances, visited all kinds of museums, zoos and aquaria, went to theater performances, visited nature centers, attended public lectures on all sorts of topics, visited historical sites, and traveled. If local institutions had a special program for home schoolers, we tried it out. Sometimes my kids took a class offered in the community: an art class, Spanish lessons, a wildlife conservation class at the zoo, literature classes focused on banned books and epic literature, a life science lab series, a class on the First Amendment, music lessons, yoga, a class on circuitry, and, in high school, a science-writing class, Italian, French and Arabic lessons, and a variety of dual-enrollment college classes. In high school, my kids also found internships in their areas of interest.
- Child-led learning: Beginning even before elementary school, we were frequent library patrons. In early elementary school, the kids would pick out at least six books at the library every week: a book from the science section, a book of poetry, a book from the history/social studies section, a folktale/fairy tale, a book from the general fiction section, and any other book of their choice. This approach respected their interests and preferences while also providing a loose framework for broad-based learning. As the kids got older, they were able to pursue their own interests via capstone projects (see below), essay and other contests, and independent research.
- Teacher-directed learning: At the end of the day, I was still the adult and the person held legally and socially accountable for their educations, and I made the major decisions about content and overall educational approach. Because one of my kids benefited greatly from routine and structure, I decided that we would be best served by doing all of our core subjects – math, language arts, foreign language, science, and social studies – every weekday we were home (see nod to community-based field trips above), with art, health, music, philosophy, and other topics woven in throughout the week. In addition, I chose books to read aloud together, a tradition we continued through early high school. These were often classics the kids might not have picked up on their own (e.g., David Copperfield, Pride and Prejudice, Les Miserables) or, especially in the earlier years, historical fiction tied into whatever period we were studying. We also used a sampling of carefully chosen online classes and, later, in-person college classes to support specific subject interests.
What does a home schooling day actually look like?
Naturally, the answer to this question varies enormously with the family. But I can outline what our typical (non-field trip) day looked like through middle school. By high school, the kids were taking more outside classes, and, as a result, our schedule was more variable.
In the morning, after breakfast, we went over our plans for the day. I then did math and language arts with each child separately. Math would be a lesson with practice problems worked together – might be 10 minutes, might be 45 minutes depending on how quickly the child seemed to get it – followed by a selection of problems to be done independently. (I would need to correct math homework every evening.) Language arts is one of those umbrella terms used in schools that actually encompasses three very different skill sets: reading, writing mechanics, and expressive writing. For reading, I would choose a novel, play, short story, or poem to read with each child. We would read independently and then discuss the reading, parsing vocabulary, plot, symbolism, allusions, character motivations, etc. (I would need to do the reading for the next day every evening.) For writing mechanics – grammar, spelling, vocabulary, penmanship/typing – the specifics varied with the age. Handwriting would be practiced by doing copywork – copying out a sentence or two I had chosen from a book, speech, poem, famous document, etc. (which means I had to choose one every week we were doing copywork). Typing was conquered with typing software. We used a combination of workbooks, games, and one-on-one editing sessions to teach spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Expressive writing is putting pen to paper to write something. (Actually, beginning around age 8 both kids preferred to use Word and type their writing assignments. This made editing easier, separated the laborious task of forming letters from expressing oneself, and reduced perfectionist tendencies.) Expressive writing might be a story, a poem, a letter to an elected official, an essay, a blog post, a field trip summary, a lab report, a newsletter for a grandparent, a research paper… anything, but preferably something the student has an actual interest in writing. (Nothing kills interest in writing faster than having to write to a prompt you care nothing about.) I required at least 15-20 minutes of expressive writing every day. If, after math and language arts, we had time before lunch, we would play a game or watch educational TV together.
Immediately after lunch, the kids were outside for at least half an hour. When we were all back inside, we did social studies, science, and foreign language together. For us, social studies was generally world history during the fall semester and U.S. history during the spring semester, with a generous amount of geography, economics, anthropology, civics, and current events thrown in. We started history more or less “at the beginning” and continued on, picking up each year where we’d left off the prior year. Through middle school, science consisted of unit studies: I’d pick three to five topics each year, a combination of physical sciences and life sciences. (One year might be invertebrate biology, magnetism, genetics, and simple machines. Another year might be human anatomy, chemistry, microbiology, and weather. Another year might be geology, botany, astronomy, behavioral science, and electricity. You get the idea.) We’d read a shelf of library books, do experiments, watch videos, check out websites, maybe listen to a podcast and take a field trip. When we’d learned as much as the kids were interested in on that topic, they’d each do a capstone project, picking a topic of special interest to research and prepare a report or PowerPoint presentation. Foreign language varied with the language and the year. Most years involved a tutor, and our everyday time would either be spent on the tutor’s assignments or on vocabulary-building projects.
Art projects, cooking projects, and projects for enrichment classes and extracurricular activities would often be added to field trip days. Music would be practiced every day if the kids were taking lessons.
When our school day was completed, the kids had their reading, math, and writing assignments, if not already done, and whatever after-school activities they were doing at the time (e.g., sports, Scouts, martial arts, clubs, community work).
Our approach was secular, eclectic, academically oriented, and community engaged. Other home schoolers will have very different approaches. We were home schooling to provide our kids with an education that was deep, wide ranging, and customized to their individual strengths, weaknesses, interests, and goals.
In the morning, after breakfast, we went over our plans for the day. I then did math and language arts with each child separately. Math would be a lesson with practice problems worked together – might be 10 minutes, might be 45 minutes depending on how quickly the child seemed to get it – followed by a selection of problems to be done independently. (I would need to correct math homework every evening.) Language arts is one of those umbrella terms used in schools that actually encompasses three very different skill sets: reading, writing mechanics, and expressive writing. For reading, I would choose a novel, play, short story, or poem to read with each child. We would read independently and then discuss the reading, parsing vocabulary, plot, symbolism, allusions, character motivations, etc. (I would need to do the reading for the next day every evening.) For writing mechanics – grammar, spelling, vocabulary, penmanship/typing – the specifics varied with the age. Handwriting would be practiced by doing copywork – copying out a sentence or two I had chosen from a book, speech, poem, famous document, etc. (which means I had to choose one every week we were doing copywork). Typing was conquered with typing software. We used a combination of workbooks, games, and one-on-one editing sessions to teach spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Expressive writing is putting pen to paper to write something. (Actually, beginning around age 8 both kids preferred to use Word and type their writing assignments. This made editing easier, separated the laborious task of forming letters from expressing oneself, and reduced perfectionist tendencies.) Expressive writing might be a story, a poem, a letter to an elected official, an essay, a blog post, a field trip summary, a lab report, a newsletter for a grandparent, a research paper… anything, but preferably something the student has an actual interest in writing. (Nothing kills interest in writing faster than having to write to a prompt you care nothing about.) I required at least 15-20 minutes of expressive writing every day. If, after math and language arts, we had time before lunch, we would play a game or watch educational TV together.
Immediately after lunch, the kids were outside for at least half an hour. When we were all back inside, we did social studies, science, and foreign language together. For us, social studies was generally world history during the fall semester and U.S. history during the spring semester, with a generous amount of geography, economics, anthropology, civics, and current events thrown in. We started history more or less “at the beginning” and continued on, picking up each year where we’d left off the prior year. Through middle school, science consisted of unit studies: I’d pick three to five topics each year, a combination of physical sciences and life sciences. (One year might be invertebrate biology, magnetism, genetics, and simple machines. Another year might be human anatomy, chemistry, microbiology, and weather. Another year might be geology, botany, astronomy, behavioral science, and electricity. You get the idea.) We’d read a shelf of library books, do experiments, watch videos, check out websites, maybe listen to a podcast and take a field trip. When we’d learned as much as the kids were interested in on that topic, they’d each do a capstone project, picking a topic of special interest to research and prepare a report or PowerPoint presentation. Foreign language varied with the language and the year. Most years involved a tutor, and our everyday time would either be spent on the tutor’s assignments or on vocabulary-building projects.
Art projects, cooking projects, and projects for enrichment classes and extracurricular activities would often be added to field trip days. Music would be practiced every day if the kids were taking lessons.
When our school day was completed, the kids had their reading, math, and writing assignments, if not already done, and whatever after-school activities they were doing at the time (e.g., sports, Scouts, martial arts, clubs, community work).
Our approach was secular, eclectic, academically oriented, and community engaged. Other home schoolers will have very different approaches. We were home schooling to provide our kids with an education that was deep, wide ranging, and customized to their individual strengths, weaknesses, interests, and goals.
What if my child wants to go to public school later?
Again, this depends on your state. In Maryland, K-8 students will almost certainly be placed with their age mates. It does not matter if they are “ahead” or “behind.” It does not matter if they have studied the same things or not. (Middle school math placement will probably depend on placement testing, though.)
If a home schooled student wants to enroll in a Maryland public high school, placement testing will almost certainly be required to enroll in math, foreign language, and honors/AP classes. In Maryland, each high school also determines which home school credits, if any, to accept. This is particularly important to keep in mind for graduation requirements like algebra, geometry, and biology.
Home schooled students can and do gain admittance to selective public magnet schools and gifted programs. If these options are of possible interest, it is critical that home schooling parents educate themselves about program deadlines and requirements.
If a home schooled student wants to enroll in a Maryland public high school, placement testing will almost certainly be required to enroll in math, foreign language, and honors/AP classes. In Maryland, each high school also determines which home school credits, if any, to accept. This is particularly important to keep in mind for graduation requirements like algebra, geometry, and biology.
Home schooled students can and do gain admittance to selective public magnet schools and gifted programs. If these options are of possible interest, it is critical that home schooling parents educate themselves about program deadlines and requirements.
What if my child wants to go to college?
Not a problem. I am not aware of a single college or university that does not admit home schoolers.
Applying to a community college is often as simple as providing a transcript and taking a placement test. Applying to a four-year college or university is a bit more involved. Home schooled applicants will, like their traditionally schooled peers, need a transcript, recommendations, essays, and, often, standardized testing. (Note: even at schools that have become test optional, testing is sometimes still required of home schooled applicants. Check the school's website or, better still, call the admissions office.) It is useful for home schooled applicants to have at least one outside validation point per subject area – not per class, but per subject area. Examples of outside validation points: grades in outside classes, including but not limited to dual enrollment classes; standardized test scores, including SAT/ACT scores, scores on national academic exams (e.g., Latin, chemistry, AMC), AP exam scores, and, occasionally, CLEP exam scores; success in local/regional/national academic competitions, including math competitions, creative writing and essay competitions, academic bowls and Olympiads; independent research, including science fair projects, National History Day projects, and anything that has been published, patented, or received outside notice. The more selective the school, the more importance will be placed on academic rigor (were the classes taken appropriately challenging or did they just check a box?), intellectual curiosity (did the classes taken go beyond the norm to reflect a breadth or depth of intellectual interests?), and extracurricular achievements (did whatever the student spend time on outside of school – be it robotics team, cello performance, designing board games, doing trail maintenance, working a part-time job, participating in a CAP squadron, or running an art club – win any recognition or make a difference?). Highly selective schools, in particular, will be trying to see how home schooled students took advantage of the flexibility inherent in home schooling to do something special.
There is often some confusion on the issue of diplomas. In Maryland and many other states, home schoolers do not receive a state-issued diploma. Home schoolers (or their umbrellas) issue their own diplomas, just as private schools issue their own diplomas. A student does not need a diploma to apply to colleges. (In fact, given that students typically apply to colleges during their senior year of high school, few applicants of any kind have a diploma.) A student needs a transcript, not a diploma, to apply to colleges. Home schoolers (or their umbrellas) can create their own transcripts. Transcripts typically include coursework, grades, and, often, test scores. They might be arranged by year or by subject. There are many templates available online.
Applying to a community college is often as simple as providing a transcript and taking a placement test. Applying to a four-year college or university is a bit more involved. Home schooled applicants will, like their traditionally schooled peers, need a transcript, recommendations, essays, and, often, standardized testing. (Note: even at schools that have become test optional, testing is sometimes still required of home schooled applicants. Check the school's website or, better still, call the admissions office.) It is useful for home schooled applicants to have at least one outside validation point per subject area – not per class, but per subject area. Examples of outside validation points: grades in outside classes, including but not limited to dual enrollment classes; standardized test scores, including SAT/ACT scores, scores on national academic exams (e.g., Latin, chemistry, AMC), AP exam scores, and, occasionally, CLEP exam scores; success in local/regional/national academic competitions, including math competitions, creative writing and essay competitions, academic bowls and Olympiads; independent research, including science fair projects, National History Day projects, and anything that has been published, patented, or received outside notice. The more selective the school, the more importance will be placed on academic rigor (were the classes taken appropriately challenging or did they just check a box?), intellectual curiosity (did the classes taken go beyond the norm to reflect a breadth or depth of intellectual interests?), and extracurricular achievements (did whatever the student spend time on outside of school – be it robotics team, cello performance, designing board games, doing trail maintenance, working a part-time job, participating in a CAP squadron, or running an art club – win any recognition or make a difference?). Highly selective schools, in particular, will be trying to see how home schooled students took advantage of the flexibility inherent in home schooling to do something special.
There is often some confusion on the issue of diplomas. In Maryland and many other states, home schoolers do not receive a state-issued diploma. Home schoolers (or their umbrellas) issue their own diplomas, just as private schools issue their own diplomas. A student does not need a diploma to apply to colleges. (In fact, given that students typically apply to colleges during their senior year of high school, few applicants of any kind have a diploma.) A student needs a transcript, not a diploma, to apply to colleges. Home schoolers (or their umbrellas) can create their own transcripts. Transcripts typically include coursework, grades, and, often, test scores. They might be arranged by year or by subject. There are many templates available online.
What is an umbrella group?
In Maryland, an umbrella group provides oversight of home schoolers in lieu of the state. If a home schooler chooses to join an umbrella, the umbrella will, in some fashion, conduct the required portfolio reviews instead of the county. Some (but by no means all) umbrellas also provide diploma, transcript, and college counseling services, social activities, and classes and workshops. An umbrella may set educational and/or membership requirements in addition to the state’s requirements. Before joining an umbrella, it is important for a prospective member to understand exactly what is required and what is provided for the annual membership fee. In Maryland, umbrella groups are, definitionally, operated by either non-public schools or bona fide religious organizations. I cannot recommend any particular umbrella group. I did not use one in the 14+ years I home schooled, choosing instead to save that money for more interesting home schooling endeavors.
My student is intellectually gifted. What do I do?
If you would like to find other parents home schooling gifted kids, I have moderated two communities for gifted home schoolers for more than a decade. For parents in the DC metro area, there is https://groups.io/g/DCMetroGiftedHomeSchooling. For parents anywhere in the world, there is https://groups.io/g/HomeSchoolingTaglets. The latter has a companion group on Facebook, but it is not as active as the listserv: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeSchoolingTaglets/
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