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Introduction - The decision to home school your child can be a difficult one to make. Many parents wonder if it is the right thing to do. Many wonder if their children can get the same “grade” of education if they are homeschooled.

There are many reasons why parents choose to homeschool their kids. For many it is because they want to add religious content to their children’s learning experience.

01. Getting Started - If you have considered all of the reasons mentioned above and more, and have decided that homeschooling really is right for you and your kids, you will likely want to know what to do now. This section is going to help you know what you should do in order to get things running. Here are some quick points for getting started with homeschooling:

02. Education Plan - As I mentioned in the above section, part of the main aspects of getting approved to homeschool your children is in the creation of your education plan or proposal. In it, you need to prove that you are ready, willing, and capable of teaching your own children. This section is going teach you how to create your education plan. Here are some of the statutes regarding these plans:

03. Sample Plan -

Parents' names Go Here
123 Main St.
Anytown, any state
August, YEAR

Superintendent
Anytown Schools
Anytown, any state

Dear Dr./Mr./Ms. Superintendent:

We are writing to inform you of our decision to home educate our child, NAME/AGE. Below you will find our education plan, submitted in accordance with the laws of this state.

We will cover the following subjects: [Choose from the following subjects listed in above sections, or make up your own, keeping in mind your plan must meet the same requirements as the schools in your area], reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, the history and constitution of the United States, the duties of citizenship, health education, physical education and good behavior, mathematics, science and technology, history and social science, English, foreign languages and the arts, etc.

04. Teaching Materials - Choosing your teaching materials can be an overwhelming decision because there are so many excellent resources and products available and each one claims to be superior to all others. Many veteran homeschoolers would suggest that you stick to a “prepackaged” or traditional curriculum for the first year or so, just until you get the hang of it.

05. Quality Lesson Plan - This guide is not meant to be the one and only way to develop a lesson plan; however it is going to provide you with at least some good methods to start with. It is a general overview that highlights the key points of creating a useful and working lesson plan.

Below is a list of the steps that are usually involved in developing a quality lesson plan as well as a description of what each component should be. They will be listed in 10 of the best points.

06. Sample Lesson Plans - 1. Each player has to make a recording sheet, for a game that consists of three rounds.

2. To begin, one player rolls the die or spins the spinner.

3. All players will now write the number that comes up in a square on their first chart. Once a number is marked down, it cannot be changed.

4. Another player now gets to roll or spin so that they can generate a number for everyone to record in another square. Take turns rolling or spinning until all of the players have filled all nine squares on their charts.

07. Scheduling Lessons - It is possible that the biggest hardship that a homeschooling parent faces is how to make a schedule for homeschooling. I've heard many ideas from many parents about how they handle the scheduling issue. Some use software programs and some write every thing in a notebook or they use a program like Microsoft Word.

Some of them plan the day as it goes and some plan ahead of time. I prefer to think that it is a mixture of planning ahead and on-the-spot is the most comfortable and practical when it comes to homeschooling. 

08. Homeschooling Gifted - There are many reasons for parents to homeschool for your gifted or special needs child, such as:

• You can give your child the individual attention and custom program that best suits his or her needs in a safe and comfortable environment.

• Spending time together preserves and helps to strengthen the family bond and makes the family the primary socializing agent in your child’s life

• You can take delight in being with your child to witness and be a part of his or her learning experience

09. Summary - As you have learned from this guide, Homeschooling children does not meant that they spend all of their time at home, nor is the learning process approached in the same way that it would be in school. In fact, many of the assumptions that are often made about learning found in public school teaching are the exact opposite in homeschooling.

10. Resources - A large collection of homeschool resources. Online support groups, regional support groups, FAQs, discussion boards, chat, mailing lists and links: www.midnightbeach.com/hs/

HOMESCHOOLING RESOURCES (Bill Beaty's Homepage) Some Links to Homeschool and Alternative Ed WWW sites. A to Z Homes Cool; Jon's homeschooling page ... Some Links to Education Resource Directories etc... www.amasci.com/home.html

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