Homeschooling
can seem so daunting. Almost everyone’s reaction when I tell them I homeschool
is: “I could NEVER do that!”
Honestly,
that was also my reaction for several years before we decided to homeschool, so
I get it. But it really is not as terrifying as it seems.
Homeschooling
can be whatever you make it. Some families do spend hours at the family table
every day completing workbooks. But that is only one way to homeschool. Other
families do not complete any formal schoolwork at all. They let life and life
experience do the teaching. It’s referred to as “unschooling.”
And then
there is everything in between. So, if you are one of those parents who dreads
sending your kids to school, but you worry that homeschooling is just too
difficult or that you are not qualified, please keep an open mind and read on.
OK, I’m glad you’re still here. First let’s tackle some common myths about homeschooling:
A local homeschool group participates
in an Easter egg hunt at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls.
Myth 1:
I cannot socialize my child without school
This is a
very popular misconception about homeschooling. However, homeschooled kids are
some of the most social people I have ever met!
Here in the
Hudson Valley, there are so many homeschoolers and homeschool groups. We are
constantly getting together with different groups for different reasons. There
are co-ops that meet weekly, groups that just do trips together, art groups, Lego
groups, Minecraft groups, homeschool girl scouts, sports groups, book clubs — you
name it and there is a homeschool group for that interest somewhere in the
Hudson Valley.
If large
groups are not your thing, there are plenty of homeschoolers out there looking
to get together for play dates or other activities on a smaller scale.
“My son
socializes all the time,” says Holly Tarson, a homeschool mom from Red Hook. “Sometimes
it’s with one or two friends and sometimes it’s in groups. He's active with
people other than me every day. And he’s learning to be social with all kinds
of people of all different ages, which is what socializing looks like when we
grow up.”
Holly Tarson and her son,
Peter, investigate a new video camera.
READ MORE: Homeschool help
Myth 2:
I am not qualified to teach my child
I hear this
a lot and guess what? Yes, you are!
Why is it
that we feel qualified to raise an infant, take care of his every need, teach
that child to walk, talk and learn all about the world, but once that child
reaches school age we feel incompetent? I think it’s because school is what we
know. So fear of homeschooling is just fear of the unknown. And that’s OK.
Want to know
a secret about homeschool parents? We’re not all super geniuses or people with
teaching degrees. Many of us are regular moms and dads like you. When we get to
a topic that we do not know much about, we learn it right alongside our
children.
“Essentially
we use each day as a learning experience,” says Arlene Figueroa, a homeschooling
mom of three from Mahopac. “We connect our world through conversations and
hands-on learning.”
Figueroa
turns every day experiences into opportunities to learn.
“Even the
most basic trip to the supermarket can spark conversation around farming,
transportation, labor, economics, healthy food choices, unit prices, you name
it,” she says. “The dots are there and you just have to connect them!
Questioning even the smallest decisions we make each day can be of such value
for teaching our children.”
Arlene Figueroa visits the
aquarium with her family.
Read more: Homeschooling mom shares her experience
Getting started
Step 1: Submit your letter of intent
When you
finally decide to homeschool, whether it is over the summer, during the holiday
break or over a weekend, you need to write a letter of intent to your school
district. The letter simply states that you intend to homeschool your child for
the 2014-2015 school year (or whatever year you do it). Usually it is sent to
the superintendent’s office.
Step 2: Filling out the required paperwork
Your school
district is required by New York state law to acknowledge your letter of intent
and send you the necessary paperwork. This includes writing an Individualized
Home Instruction Plan, four quarterly reports and either a narrative or testing
for the end of the year. Yes, I know it all sounds scary, but let’s walk
through it.
An IHIP basically spells out what you will
teach for the year. You can list different curriculums that you bought and the
books that you will read, you can look at the New York State standards for the
grade level and use that, or you can just simply put what you will be teaching.
It usually is made up of eight curricular areas such as math, reading, writing,
history, geography, visual arts or physical education.
Part of the
IHIP includes when you will be sending in your quarterly reports. You get to
decide when they get sent to the district. I usually follow a similar schedule
to school report cards, but you can do whatever you want.
Quarterly reports
are kind of like report cards. You need to briefly describe what you taught
that quarter and how well your child accomplished those items. So, for example,
you could write in first grade math: “We covered single- and double-digit
addition and subtraction, recognizing patterns (such as AB, AABB), telling time
using an analog clock to the hour and half hour, and greater than versus less
than.” And then give a letter grade (A, B+) or a percentage of material learned
(50 percent learned) or a number grade (85). That is it. But it should be based
on your own IHIP.
Final narrative
or testing has to be done at the end of the school year. In New York state, you
have to use standardized testing every other year between 4th and 8th
grades. Many people only test in 5th and 7th grades.
There are many tests on the market that you can purchase cheap and administer
yourself. You also have the option of hiring someone to test your child.
A narrative
is basically a summary of everything you covered this year, how your child did,
what is still left to be completed, what websites, books or other materials you
used, and any trips or activities you participated in that help achieve those
goals
Step 3: Figure out your school year
Now, it’s
all up to you and your children what you are going to learn, how you are going
to learn it and what your schedule will look like. Let the fun begin!
Interested in building bridges? Do a lesson on that. Interested in chemistry?
Spend a month doing just that. Interested in writing poetry? Go for it. The
possibilities are endless!
So, if you
feel school is just not the right fit for you and your family, then give
homeschooling a try. It’s really not that daunting, and you might just love it
like we do!
Kelly Auriemmo is a homeschool mom and blogger who works and lives in Dutchess County.
Online resources:
• New York Home Educators' Network is a secular group that provides information on regulations, rules and
local support groups. NYCHEA.org
Community for Accredited Online Schools provides prospective students and families with the tools needed to make well-informed decisions about their education.
• Loving Education at Home is a Christian organization that provides information
on New York state regulations.
• Home School Legal Defense Association is a legal rights group that
advocates for homeschooling parents and requires a paid membership.
• Check
out Facebook or Yahoo groups, or ask at your local library to find groups of
homeschoolers in your area.
Read more: Balancing your homeschooled student's life