A number of parents, who may not have thought about homeschooling before, often end up starting to homeschool their children mid-session. Since homeschooling is legal in all 50 states in America, it’s not a big issue, yet there are some steps that you should take to safeguard your homeschool students as well as yourself as the homeschool parent.
Find Out the State Laws
The laws on homeschooling differ from state to state. It’s a good idea to get in touch with the local school superintendent and give notice of your intention to homeschool your children. The office will also be able to help you with the legal requirements that you need to meet for the homeschooling students. There is a proper procedure to remove your children from public school and shift them to homeschooling. Following the procedure will make it easier for the homeschool students to return to public school at a later date if required.
The Homeschool Curriculum
When initially making the shift mid-session, you may wish to continue using the public school textbooks for the current grade. However the flexibility of homeschooling will now allow you to add extras to the curriculum as befits the interests of your homeschooling students. The homeschooling parent should ideally sit down with the children and discuss exactly what all they wish to add to the regular curriculum based on what they wish to learn in that academic year. Finances may play a role here about what all can be handled but things can only get better in subsequent years.
Support System of Local Homeschool Community
It’s a lot easier to settle in to homeschooling if you can get the support of other homeschooling families in your town. The local chapters of the homeschool community can be easily reached out to for help and advice. They will be able to help the homeschool teacher with organizing school records, assisting with legal forms and requirements as well as general advice based on practical matters that they have already faced. It’s also a good way to get in the much touted socialization activities for your fresh batch of homeschool students.