I interested in home schooling my child, but have no idea where to begin?

Question

I've read many websites on the information, but I live in Pennsylvania and don't know where to actually begin the process. I've gone on the city's school website, but there isn't anything at all on homeschooling. School starts in September and I'm a bit overwhelmed on were to begin. Who do I need to contact to get this all started?

Thanks a bunch

Answer 1

here is some good information
http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/index.html

Answer 2

I was home schooled from 6Th grade and just graduated this year, and I have a few friends who were always home schooled. The most important thing is to make sure you do the work everyday and keep a schedule. Also, make sure you keep her around kids her own age. A lot of areas have a home school group that has different events that you can take her to to meet other kids. The group I was in allowed me to be in band, yearbook, voice lessons, got to plays, etc. They also had bowling and picnics, and other stuff, but I was never int rested in going to them. Homeschooling actually has made it easier to carry on conversations with people older then me, to have time to figure out who I am without the pressure to be like the other kids in a public or private school, and allowed me more free time to do the things I love. I also know a lot of people who home school their kids through elementary and middle school, then let the kids decided whether to go to public or not. Homeschoolers aren't backwards or socially challenged. In fact, homeschoolers have higher test scores since the parent can devote all the teaching to one child rather then trying to get a group of kids through the system. Overall, you just need to see to your daughters needs, and what you feel would be best for her. A lot of kids do fine in public or private schools and others don't; it's the same with homeschooling. I hop this helps a little. Good luck.

Answer 3

Unless you are required to appear at or call the public school (which in PA, you're not), avoid it at all cost. Most public school administrators in this country have no idea what their own state's homeschool laws are and will give you misinformation.

According to HSLDA's website, homeschoolers in PA have three options. You can read through the criteria yourself at this link ( http://hslda.org/laws/default.asp?State=PA ). All you need to do for now is either 1) file a notarized affidavit with the local school superintendent or 2) file a copy of your teacher certification and criminal history with the local superintendent. If you are under options 3 on the HSLDA page, the umbrella school should take care of this. For more info, look under the "legal analysis" link on the page above or check out one of the two state-wide or any of the several local organizations listed under the "organizations" tab on the same page (just under "Pennsylvania")

PA is one of the more difficult states to homeschool in, so I would highly recommend you join a local and/or state-wide support group. The knowledge and experience of these fellow homeschoolers will be invaluable to you during this first year (almost always the most difficult).

Answer 4

The place to begin is the Home School Legal Defense Association. You can find all the homeschooling laws for your state and also information on how to get started with homeschooling. The link is below:

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp?State=PA

When you contact the school, Board of Education, etc., you should already know and understand the homeschooling laws for your state, how to legally homeschool, how to withdraw your child from the public school system, etc.

The above website can help you with all of the aforementioned. Check out the links and give this website your time and attention; you will learn much about homeschooling.

Answer 5

Here are the laws for your state. You need to notify and then you can homeschool. You do not need a college degree to homeschool your kids you just need a high school diploma.

We started hs'ing our kids 4 years ago and love it. My kids don't want to go back to school ever. We have too much fun at home and with all the other homeschool kids.

Google and check your local papers and phone books to see if you can find a homeschool group in your area. They will be able to help you through the process as they know the area and laws.

Answer 6

Christine "The Teacher" amuses me with her answers. I know teachers who have met a handful of homeschoolers in their lives and decide that if they are returning to school and not above grade level, that homeschooling has failed. They never consider that this is a rare example of failure in homeschooling, which is why most homeschoolers never go back to school, or if perhaps the child was originally schooled, then homeschooling was attempted, but abandoned. They don't take into consideration how many more public schooled kids there are that are doing just as badly, if not worse (academically, socially and emotionally), than those few failed homeschoolers. Most teachers who have been part of the regular homeschool community don't usually echo the same sentiments.


I was a teacher, and I have been homeschooling my three children for almost nine years now. Let me first explain that teaching at home is not like teaching at school-- it is an entirely different educational model, based on different philosophies. The only thing you will want to worry about are PA's stringent homeschool laws. Learn them well, perhaps look for a support group or message board specifically for PA homeschooling parents in order to make sure you understand your options.

Don't worry if you aren't a certified teacher. If I tried to teach at home the way I taught in the classroom, I'd never get anything done. Raid your libraries homeschooling section and learn about different styles and approaches to education, then be willing to try them out to see what works for you and your child.

Finally, unless you're planning on locking yourselves in the house, don't worry about socialization. Just go out and get involved with daily activities, look for a homeschool group, go to the park to play often, go to library reading clubs or have the child join a sport team. Most homeschooled kids I know (and there are more than 100 in my main homeschool co-op, which meets weekly for classes at at least once or twice more a week for playdates) have a far more varied and enriching social life than their public schooled counterparts.

Good luck, and relax.

Answer 7

I'm really not sure of the age of your child, but I will do my best to answer your question.

The FIRST thing you need to do is go to this website. www.hslda.org and find your state laws on homeschooling.

Comeplet the mandatory obligations that your state requires you to do.

After, depending on the type of laws that you have, you would be able to make your choice of how you want to homeschool.

You live in Pennsylvania, this is where my homeschool is, yet I live in South Carolina. I use www.pennfosterhighschool.com It's a private homeschool were I can get my diploma.

I get the impression that you have a young child, so I will give you similar types of homeschool, but for younger children.

Answer 8

The laws in PA are pretty strict. You can go the homeschooler route, or you can enroll in a virtual charter school. There are several in PA. I use K12 as an independent HS'er (no state-wide virtual school here). There are two big charter schools in PA that use K12:

http://www.agora.org/
http://www.pavcs.org/

There are some other K12 schools:

http://www.k12.com/curriculum_and_products/participating_schools_in_pennsylvania/index.html

Contact your state's HS association for more info about HS'ing. You can also search Yahoo Groups for information, too. I know Agora and PAVCS both have groups. I'm sure there are independent (w/o a virtual school) groups, too.

If you haven't already, go to the HSLDA site for information:

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/PA/default.asp

In the upper right, there's a "Pennsylvania Resources" box. You can check the laws and find links to state groups.

Answer 9

read either Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling(2004) or Mary Pride's Big Book of Home Learning(2006)

It covers EVERYTHING!!!!
also check out homeschool radio. You can listen to the old shows on how to get started. http://www.homeschoolingradio.com/index.html

also join a yahoo Pennsylvania homeschool group they will be able to help you w/ state stuff and paperwork

Answer 10

First go to your school board website. Go to google and type in Pennsylvania school board, or whatever county you live in school board, and you'll see different sites. Go to the sites and find a link to home education. The county websites, as well as the state ones have links to information. What people usually do is withdraw a child from a school, write a letter of intent to homeschool said child, send it to the superintendent, get approval, and beging the homeschooling.

Answer 11

I'm a Kindergarten teacher in California and what drives our curriculum here are the California Department of Education Academic Standards. They are separated by subject and grade level. So go to Pennsylvania's Dept of Ed website and search for those academic standards. I beleive I found them for you. Try this url

http://www.pde.state.pa.us/stateboard_ed/cwp/view.asp?a=3&Q=76716

Once there find the subjects: math, language arts, history... etc and find the grade level for your son. Make sure you cover all the standards by the end of the school year so he's prepared for the next school year's standards. This is very important because the standards build upon one another by the increasing grade levels.

You should also go to your local school that your child would have gone to and apply to have them host you. In California, your local school should supply homeschool families with the same basic teaching materials your child's potential teacher would have used with their class.