Home schooling Solution

Quantity Versus Quality For Homeschoolers

Ever notice how “the good stuff” seems to be in smaller supply than the regular stuff? This seems to be a common lesson in life. There are a lot of ordinary days, but only an occasional great day. There are a lot of regular episodes of your favorite television show, but only a rare story line that you actually remember the next week. Many, many good books are published, but only a few classics…

The quality things in life tend to be a bit harder to come by, don’t they? There’s a reason for that. The quality things take time to develop. They don’t just happen by chance. More often, we find “filler” in life. That happens in dog food, pasta dishes, plot lines in movies, junk mail in our mailboxes, and even in education. Homeschool families have the unique opportunity to focus on the “good stuff” in their homeschooling in order to break this pattern. The expression that comes to mind is that sometimes you have to sacrifice the good for the sake of the great!

Take for example a recent trip to my grocery store. I purchased my regular box of granola cereal, “Wild Oat” flavored, but I also saw a new flavor with nuts and berries added, so I bought one of those to try, too. When I got home and put them on the shelf, what I found was that the regular box was a 17 ounce box. The box with the extra goodies was 13.5 ounces. They were the same price. The regular box had some extra filler in it, but the good stuff was valued higher. Can you guess which flavor I like better? Or, guess which flavor I will go back to next time? The good one, of course!

Homeschool families need to look at this analogy for their homeschool program. Take the time to develop a quality program, based on the “good stuff” and not on filler. Focus on the core learning and academic foundations that will give your students a strong, competitive application for colleges. Focus on teaching learning skills so that your students will be able to teach themselves anything and know how to process information. Too many homeschool families provide their children with meaningless exercises or workbooks that spoon-feed information rather than teaching children to think and analyze information on their own.

Homeschooling families have an obligation to provide educational substance in their programs. Math, Science, Literature, Grammar, and Social Sciences should be given prime attention in the development and skills training of your children. This can be done in engaging ways, but these core subjects must be given priority over those things that only fill up our lesson plans with numerous activities yet don’t add the same value. This will take your time and your energy. It is a demanding role. But, if you take this role very seriously, you can create a quality homeschool program that will be worth the higher value.

Like my cereal, imagine the future generations you can impact if your children grow up to have such strong foundations and solid skills that they want to return to that type of quality education for their families. Many things can be good to do, but not all things will be great. Go for the great in your homeschool program! Give your children that kind of value so that they can reap the benefits of a sound education for their future.

Tags: homeschoolers, programs

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How to Homeschool in California

State law does not prohibit homeschooling in California. Although the state seems permissive, there are some requirements that have to be met, mainly concerning the subjects that are taught in California.

Homeschool Laws in California

According to the California Education Code §48222, all children between 6 and 18 years of age are required to enroll in public school unless they are attending a full-time private school or are being taught by a tutor who holds a valid California teaching credential. Most homeschool parents meet §48222 by establishing a private school in their home or enroll in a school that offers independent study, either of which negates the requirement for a parent to hold a California teaching credential.

Keep in mind that California requires all private schools to teach certain subjects. For example, English, math, science, social studies, fine arts, health and physical education must be taught. Additional subjects are required in grades 7-12. California Education Code §51210 and §51220 detail the subject requirements.

Despite court challenges on constitutional grounds and infringement of religious freedom, homeschool parents need to teach the above subjects to stay legal. Currently, there is no provision in California law for supervising the instruction of these required subjects. This means parents are free to determine how the required subjects are taught. With freedom to design curriculum, parents can get learning materials such as homeschool textbooks inexpensively or even free.

Setting up a California Homeschool

To set up a home based private school, submit an electronic private school affidavit (PSA) on the California Department of Education website between October 1st and October 15th of each year. That website also has additional information on setting up a home based private school.

After the school has been set up, contact the child’s previous school and inform them that he or she will be attending another school. If notification to the school is not done, the government will consider the child to be truant. At the same time, request student records from the previous school so that the homeschool has complete cumulative student records as required by California law.

Other options for setting up home schooling include enrolling in independent study programs with a private school, charter school, or even some public school districts. In exchange for restrictions on curriculum and tuition, independent study programs provide materials and support for homeschoolers. Contact local schools and local homeschooling groups to find available options.

California Homeschooling High School

Public school students are required to take the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) to graduate. Private school students are not subject to this requirement. Homeschool students need to meet the graduation requirements of their school, which may be entirely determined by the parents.

The GED or the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam) may be taken to validate a student’s academic program, but this is not required. Only a diploma from the homeschool is needed.

College admissions tests such as the SAT, ACT, or the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) exam do not require attendance at any particular high school. For example, it is not necessary to have taken any formal AP class in order to take an AP exam.

Colleges are not required to waive any admissions requirements for homeschoolers, including those that have to do with standardized tests. It is important that students who want to go to college learn how to do well on standardized tests, even if the tests were not part of the homeschool curriculum.

Tags: homeschool, homeschoolers, homeschooling, law, laws, public school

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Homeschooling, Unschooling and College Admission

The College Board, founded in 1900 to “Connect students to college success and opportunity” publishes guides to college admissions, College test prep guides and also information on grants and scholarships. In an article on their website, entitled “Home-Schooled Students and Admission” they encourage homeschoolers with tips for putting together a portfolio, letters of recommendation, meeting deadlines and acing interviews, advising them to contact the school they wish to attend for specific requirements for homeschoolers, since many schools now have an official process for reviewing homeschooled applicants.

Homeschool Letters of Recommendation for College Applications

Larry and Susan Kaseman, in an article entitled “Credentials for Homeschoolers,” published in the January/ February 2007 edition of Home Education Magazine, advise homeschoolers and unschoolers to begin acquiring letters of recommendation early and choose which letters to use judiciously. The more prestige and influence the letter-writer has will be important, as will their grounds for writing the letter.

Ideally, letters of recommendation will come from influential adults (alumnae of the intended University, perhaps) which speak about the student’s written and oral communication skills, leadership skills, passion for the proposed course of study, ability to work with a group and other character traits as well as professional skills.

SAT Testing and AP Testing for Homeschoolers

SAT and AP test scores are an important part of college applications, especially for students who enter without community college experience or transcripts. AP tests can be self-studied. AP Course descriptions are available online at no cost, and can be used as study guides. AP testing occurs in May at community colleges, check the College Board website or your local high school guidance counselor for AP and SAT testing dates and registration. CollegeConfidential.com also has resources for helping homeschoolers meet the testing requirements for College admission.

Books About Homeschooling and College Requirements for Homeschoolers

The first published account of the steps it takes for homeschoolers to get into Ivy League colleges was that of David & Micki Colfax, who authored Homeschooling for Excellence [Warner books, 1988] whose children ended up attending Harvard University.

Cafi Cohen’s Homeschoolers’ College Admissions Handbook: Preparing Your 12- to 18-Year-Old for a Smooth Transition [Prima Publishing, 2000] provides a workable plan for homeschoolers and helps families understand what admissions offices are looking for and how homeschooling families can plan ahead to provide a portfolio that shows colleges what they want to see.

College Without High School: A Teenager’s Guide to Skipping High School and Going to College, by Blake Boles [Friesens, 2009] gives an up-to-date discussion of the changing face of college admissions and helps unschoolers and home schoolers find ways to manage their study time.

Accelerated Distance Learning by Brad Voeller [Global Publishing, 2001] outlines the steps his mother took to ensure that each of her ten homeschooled children had their bachelor’s degree by the time they were 18, for less than $5000 each. Their method involved self-study, challenging some courses, testing out of as many classes as possible and reliance upon their local community college.

The most common thread of advice is to look into colleges early and start communicating with their admissions office in order to learn what they want from homeschoolers, meet deadlines, be professional in both written and verbal communication.