Some Info On Homeschooling....

Hey Everyone,

Some of you probably already know...but as of now we plan on homeschooling Jeremiah. This has been well thought out and researched...and as of right now this is what our heart is telling us to do. This may not be something that we do forever, as we all know that with time some things change....but I do hope that we will home school him throughout his school years. I have had plenty of people ask me questions about home schooling....how does it work, where do they socialize and how do you teach them? I love answering questions and if anyone ever has a question just leave a comment and I will get back to you. I just thought that I would write a post that would educate everyone about homeschooling.

Graduation: Yes we have an official graduation and they do receive a diploma.
Social Gatherings: There is roughly 1 field trip a month and a few park days a month also.
*as a child that was home schooled...we were always out at park days or field trips with other home schooled kids....probably at least 2 to 3 times a week.
Testing: Yes there is standardised STATE testing that is administered...however it isn't mandatory....we all took it though.
Attendance: Yes as a homeschooling parent you fill out a ton of paper work that states what days your children were working on school and what they were doing...this is then sent to the state.
Activities: Home schooled kids either do sports within their ISP (independent study program) against other ISP's or they play club sports. I was in Cheer leading, basketball, yearbook, ballet, gymnastics & ice skating....and half of those were through the ISP.
Teaching: While in elementary school my mom primarily taught me all of my courses....she would purchase the curriculum, study it, teach me the information and give me tests & class work that were included in the curriculum. In Junior High and High school my mom taught me some of my courses and also signed me up in a few courses (Spanish, speech, math, English and much more) through our ISP. They would have teachers come in and teach to our group of home schooled kids. High school kids that are home schooled can also take college courses that count as high school credit and college credit.
***I am NOT at all trying to convince anyone to home school...you have to do what is right for you and your family. I am NOT saying that home schooling is the best or only way because I don't believe that. I think that you can have a wonderful experience in every different type of schooling environment (public, private or homeschooling). My husband went to public school and is an absolutely AMAZING person and extremely intelligent (Paramedic/Firefighter)...I was home schooled and I would like to think that I am a benefit to society and that I am also intelligent (I have a college degree and have taken/passed 4 national boards for ultrasound). All I wanted to do was inform every one out there that home schooled children are in general very intelligent, socialized properly and are taught extremely well. BY THE WAY...THANKS MOM FOR HOMESCHOOLING ME :). In my next blog you will find some statistics from www.hslda.org