Education Care

Why should you homeschool? Why you opt to do so, or not, is a personal choice; those who choose to do so have many different reasons. Some parents want to instill certain values, while others want to protect their children from what they see as an unsafe public school environment. Still others think that they can provide a more superior education than the school system can. However, the most common reason is that parents simply think homeschooling is better for their children.
Just what “better” means can vary from parent to parent, but it means the exclusion of certain things as well as the inclusion of others. For instance, children who homeschool are seen as being less susceptible to peer pressure or bullying. Simply put, however, the opinion that homeschooling can provide a better education versus that of public or standard private schools has been quite well researched.
Studies, in fact, agree that homeschooling is generally educationally superior versus public or private schooling in the vast majority of cases.
For proof, we can look at many individual success stories. The winner of the 1997 national spelling bee was a homeschooled student. In addition, one family of four sisters who had all been homeschooled went on to get Master’s degrees from an Ivy League college. One young lady who had been homeschooled went to college and got her Master’s degree by age 16.
Now, detractors might dismiss such achievements as rare and unusual; the students and/or their parents were simply of genius IQ, right? However, the number of people in the world who have a genius IQ is not high enough to account for the steady rate of success among homeschooled students in these areas. Members have said in general the students who are homeschooled are in the 60th to 70th percentiles by the age of 12. On average, this means that these students test at least a grade ahead of their public school peers.
The numbers are even better for older students. By the time a homeschooled student reaches what is the equivalent of eighth grade, that student is roughly four grades ahead of his or her peers. This is as much due to the poor results public school generally provides as it is to the impressive accomplishments of homeschoolers. These numbers, in fact, are not just provided by those who advocate homeschooling, but by the US Department of Education itself.
Simply put, homeschooling works. Of course, most homeschooling parents know that this is not easy. Parents who homeschool often experience burnout, especially when they’re just starting out. It takes a lot of work to teach young people everything they need to know educationally, in addition to being the parent. To expect excellence from one’s children as students and function in the role of teacher takes extra effort. Therefore, the focus is on the parent in homeschooling efforts even more so than it is in general.
Homeschooling parents in general insist that children are natural sponges for knowledge. Although this may be true, many homeschooling parents nonetheless feel that they need to research curriculum options, define goals, and guide their children’s education, as well as a myriad of other tasks on a day-to-day basis. Parents who homeschool but who have not been well educated themselves also face the additional challenge of educating themselves even as they educate their children. They may have to catch up on their own educations before they can truly function as teachers for their own children.
Nonetheless, homeschooling advocates say that the results are worth the effort. Indeed, studies bear this out, as homeschooled students are usually well-adjusted, deep thinking individuals who are ready for whatever challenges life may throw at them.

Homeschool can quickly grow and become an enterprise that is overwhelming. There is so much that parents need to learn before they can begin to educate their children. However, just like any other large and complex task, it is much easier to tackle when you break it down into simple to handle pieces. Plus, homeschooling is not nearly as difficult as many people think it is – or as the make it seem.
The first thing to remember in homeschooling is that there is no “one size fits all” and what is right for one person may not work for someone else. This being said, there is no single starting point that is right for everyone. Different parents present different skill sets and have different life experiences. However, nearly every single parent who attacks this task will at some point experience some trickle of doubt as to whether they can actually DO this or if homeschooling is right for their child or even their family. The doubts are normal, but what it boils down to is that only the parent and child can decide if it is right. Family members who do not understand or approve can not make the very personal decision regarding how your child is educated – only you and your child can do that.
If you decide to go with homeschooling, know that homeschooled children, on the average, outscore their peers on standardized tests and perform at the top of their class in college. Within the home, parents can offer an environment to the child that is safe, fun and is conducive to learning. They can tailor an educational program that is structured specifically for their child’s needs and interests. This is an area where public schools often fail.
The Law
One of the first things that you should do once you make the decision to homeschool your child is to learn everything that you can about the laws and regulations in your state. Learning the legal requirements and restrictions should be done very early in the process. The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) can provide you with a wealth of information and assistance. They can guide you through the process of researching the laws in your state. While homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, certain aspects differ such as the amount of paperwork and the level of involvement of local school districts. Some states also require that homeschooled students be tested at certain points to track their progression.
Support Groups
Modern homeschooling has been around for more than 40 years. Literally hundreds of organizations have been formed during at time that covers every state and nearly every area in the United States. You can find a list for your area by visiting http://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/states/index.php. There are also many online groups and many are even region specific. Yahoo groups, Google groups and MSN groups all have very useful clubs where homeschoolers can share curriculum, tips, support and supplies including books. Some local online groups even have field trips, get togethers, play groups and teen nights to aid in the socialization process for the children.
Books and Magazines
There are many books and magazines that are available to help with homeschooling issues. However, as the internet has grown and expanded, there is even more information readily available to homeschooling parents as well as students. Parents can sign up for homeschooling newsletters and they can even go on to teacher resource websites and sign up for newsletters and daily tips.
If you are interested in reading the philosophy of homeschooling and its origins, John Holt’s books are fascinating. “Teach Your Own” by Patrick Farenga is also a very popular book on homeschooling. “Classical Homeschooling Magazine” is available at http://www.classicalhomeschooling.com. While it mainly focuses on the classical homeschooling approach, homeschoolers of all types can gain valuable information from it. “Home Education Magazine” is another very popular publication regarding homeschooling.
Materials and Resources
Materials and resources are integral to the homeschoolers success, but not in the manner that you may think. Many parents elect the school-at-home route, at least initially. What this does is basically take the books and materials out of the classroom and place them in the home where the child learns them and the parent is the teacher. It usually does not take long for parents to realize how much effort is involved in this method and they often find the materials substandard at best.
There are alternative materials and curricula available from many commercial sources. The homeschooling clubs and groups mentioned earlier can also offer a wealth of information. There are materials and curricula that can be downloaded on the internet for free and these groups can point you in the right direction. A popular forum that provides good information is http://forum.homeschool.com/forum/default.asp. Another popular source is HEM (Home Education Magazine). You can access their site at http://www.homeedmag.com/wlcm_netwrk.html. Another site is http://www.home-school.com/forums.
All of these sites give parents helpful tips, suggestions for curriculum design and materials and much more.
Your approach to homeschooling your child may be structured or unstructured. It depends on you and your child’s goals, whether they are college, art school or just a good foundation of knowledge and a keen mind. Whatever your concerns and issues, you can find the help that you need to get you started and make your homeschool experience a success.

Concerned about extra-curriculars for your homeschooling child? If you plan to continue homeschooling through high school, you may have considered your options for how to address sports, clubs, graduation, newspaper club, etc.
Before trying to reinvent the wheel, check out your local homeschool support groups to learn about homeschool activities they may have already established. Many groups offer homeschool sports teams, homeschool drama clubs, homeschool choirs, homeschool debate teams, etc. Homeschoolers also often establish teams to compete in national math and science competitions.
But if you are starting from scratch, be sure to spend some time organizing, pulling people together who can help, and setting up your plan of attack before you jump. This will help to avoid the frustrations that so often result in burnout and the end of a great idea.
With technology where it is today, homeschooling activities are easy to coordinate and you can create a sense of community among homeschool students with just the click of a button. Better yet, you can have a newspaper or homeschool literary club with contributing members from all around the world.
And as technology continues to make our world smaller, look ahead to ways you can use the developments to your homeschooler’s advantage.
Some great places to start are activities that add that element of “setting themselves apart” to your child’s transcript. Homeschool activities list.
Honor society-the National Honor Society won’t admit homeschoolers, but a home school honor society exists if you’re willing to get one going in your community. Check out homeeducationpartnership.com for Eta Sigma Alpha Honor Society.
Yearbook staff-are you part of a homeschool group? Take your own pictures and allow your kids to put together a ‘yearbook.” A yearbook creates lasting memories and gives your child that sense of belonging. With digital photos and on-line publishing options, designing and printing a yearbook is now easy! There are a number of other on-line programs (such as blurb.com and shutterfly.com that will allow your group to work from any computer with an Internet connection to contribute to your yearbook.
Sections to include:
i) Class pictures
ii) Sports
iii) Clubs
iv) Field Trips
v) Ministries
vi) Events
vii) Group Photos
viii) Friends
ix) Awards & Accomplishments
x) Community Service Projects
Literary journal-If you have a writer in the family, what better way to showcase his or her abilities than to write for a literary journal. Check out narrowroadpublishing.com for your opportunity to contribute to a homeschool literary journal.
Newspaper-If your student is interested in writing or journalism, check into your local smaller newspapers. When I was in high school, I was able to secure a weekly column in our local newspaper where I had the opportunity to write for an audience every week. It was a terrific experience that forced me to think critically about the events around me and to do my research before writing my article. I am so grateful for my parents’ confidence in me and encouragement to pursue my interests in ways that were meaningful.
Sports-check with your local homeschool support groups. Many areas have homeschool sports team that compete against one another or against smaller private schools in the area. Be sure to also look in to community sports and premier sports clubs in your area.
If you have an aspiring athlete, your local premier sports clubs are one great avenue as many colleges and universities do their recruiting from premier teams and tournaments.
In many states, public schools will allow homeschoolers to participate in sports-some require your child to attend at least one class; others allow them to play without attending. Often private schools welcome the opportunity to add homeschoolers to their team rosters as well.
Don’t assume your child will be unable to play his or her sport on an organized and competitive team. Take the time to pursue your options. We have seen many homeschool students go on to college on athletic scholarships as a result of a diligent and committed parent.
Choir-many areas have local choirs or chorus opportunities. My homeschool daughter joined the local public school chorus to gain experience and now can choose to also participate with our county chorus or a local music school choir.
Band-another one where there can be many opportunities. Look into your local 4-H club, a local music school, private and public schools in the area, or a county band. Don’t hesitate to check into your church band as well. Often churches forget to recruit young members, but welcome them enthusiastically.
Leadership-leadership comes in many forms. If you do not have a homeschool support group nearby, find other ways for your child to take on leadership roles. As a high school student, I had the opportunity to start a children’s choir in my church, to teach Sunday School, and to serve as an assistant softball coach through our community sports organization. These were all leadership activities that not only looked great on a college application, but also served to build my character and confidence in my own abilities. And working with younger children is an ideal way to build leadership skills in a child who is otherwise fairly introverted.
Student Government-A student who participates in student government is one who is seen as a leader. In a school setting, this individual helps organize student events, works with school leadership to make changes or improvements in the school, finds ways for the student body to make a difference in the community, and more. You can achieve this same valuable experience with a homeschool support group. And it looks fantastic on a college application. Have your homeschool student government association take charge of planning field trips, finding ministry opportunities, organizing events . . . your kids can do an outstanding job of this and lift some of the burden from your shoulders.
Another fantastic way to provide student government experience is through the Student Governmental Affairs program (sgap.com). With this program, your student receives a monthly legislative newsletter, The Student Forum, which contains nonpartisan, non-political, factual information about issues under discussion in Congress. The highlighted topics are geared to the interests of teenagers and are age-appropriate in both the material presented and writing style. I used this material as a foundation for my student government class with great success. My students would discuss and debate the issues and express their opinions to their elected officials. It was inspiring and opened their eyes to the incredible amount of legislation that is enacted into law every month in this country. Two of those kids have now gone on to college to study political science-one I am convinced will someday serve as our president!
There are so many unmentioned activities not listed here. Drama, chess, science, photography, foreign language, environmental, nursing, math clubs-you name it, you can create it (even with just two members). If your child has a specific interest, find someone willing to join them and start your own club.
With most of these suggestions come tremendous opportunities for scholarship funding. Be sure to question the financial aid office at the colleges and universities you are considering to learn more about the scholarships they offer to students who have been involved in these extra-curricular activities.

Homeschooling is one of the best ways to provide quality education to your children.There are many things that you should consider before starting homeschool.It is obvious that one of the parents will have to stay at home to look after the kid’s education. As you have decided to provide home education to your child then there are many queries in your mind, how to start with, where to get study material and similarly many other queries. To start homeschool, you can find various information on the internet. There are many websites that provide homeschool curriculum and community where you can interact other homeschoolers and ask about their experience in California homeschooling.You can also contact with a professional instructor to get any kind of information.For starting Homeschooling, you must look for a good curriculum that includes a proper syllabus for the kid’s education. Depending on the age you can get the study material from an existing homeschool support or online. The first thing you analyze is that your child is small and considering his age, is he ready for homeschool education. Every child id different from other in every respect and so must observe abilities of your child for homeschool education. As your child grows up you also need to change the curriculum for the further development of the child. You can look for some online programs that help your child development because these are tested and successful programs.For the curriculum you can look for homeschooling support and even you can get in touch with online communities. Online communities also provide resources to plan and organize homeschooling for your children. California Homeschooling support and communities also provide resources and information for parents and families to get involved in seeking all kinds of information for all types of information. You can enhance the quality of education by the help of parents who are facilitating their kid’s with homeschool education. If you are child is brought up in the homeschool education then you can shape him in your own way. Your child grows up in your supervision and you teach him accordingly. In this way the child gets an opportunity to develop on its own tempo which is a very advantageous part of homeschooling.There is a misconception among people that homeschooling is a cheap education but in fact this is not true. There are many costs involved in it. You must analyze the cost of California homeschooling before starting this for your child. You have to arrange study materials and other accessories like notebooks, pen, pencil etc along with computer equipments. You can also arrange dance and music lesions, piano lessons along with sports activities as well. Take your child to zoo, museum, its better if you take them with other children of community. In this way child gets lots of things to learn and develop personally. Other thing that you have to look for is that as your child grows academically, you must change/bring the new tutor for him. Get an experienced tutor who knows how to deal with homeschool children.

In America, there was a time when the idea of homeschooling raised eyebrows of concern and could result in a visit from social services. A lack of trust by the government and public in general in a parent’s ability to educate their own children made homeschooling a bit of a stigma.

Even today in some circles, there are still many “old school” thinkers that go so far as to say that homeschooling is tantamount to deliberate child abuse. As ridiculous as that sounds to most of us, overcoming such ignorance has been a problem for some parents looking into homeschooling.

Overseas, it can be much worse. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany, a law instituted under Hitler and still enforced today. German families who choose to home school must do so in secret and run the risk of arrest; or worse, having the state take their children away.

Performance of home schools versus public and private schools

It doesn’t take much effort or investigation to discover that homeschoolers excel above their public school counter parts in nearly every category. According to a study conducted by Dr. Lawrence Rudner:

• The average home schooled 8th grade student performs four grade levels above the national average.

• One in four home school students are enrolled in a grade level that is above their age level.

• In every grade and in every subject, home schooled students outperform both public and private school students.

Other studies confirm these findings, showing that home schooled students have a much higher college entry rate, score higher on SAT’s and ACT’s, have a higher rate of college graduation, and earn higher incomes in the workforce.

These numbers come despite the fact that about 25% of parents in America who choose to home school either never attended college, or attended but never received a degree. An additional 7-10% have only an Associate degree.

Why do homeschooled children perform so well?

The advantages to homeschooling are many, and are quite revealing as to why homeschooled children do so well.

One on one attention – Whenever a child needs assistance, the parent is there to give him or her full attention, whereas in public schools a teacher must divide their attention between dozens of children.

Ability to focus more time where needed – If a student excels in math, but flounders in science, then a parent can very easily devote as much time as is needed to teaching science. Public schools are regimented, with each subject receiving equal time regardless as to the performance of the student.

Homeschooled students move at their own pace – If a student excels in math then they can advance much quicker than students in a public school, where all students are required to move at the same pace.

Diminished distractions – The parents control the environment, and there is no peer pressure from other students trying to talk a homeschooled student into doing things other than school work or study.

Do parents need some kind of special training or certification?

Some states highly regulate home schools, requiring training and certification in some instances. However, studies show that there is virtually no difference in performance between homeschooled students in highly regulated states versus homeschooled students in states with little or no regulation.

The truth is that homeschooling is gaining in popularity and as such, more and more information and help materials are becoming available. The modern homeschooling parent can now effectively teach their children, regardless of the parent’s own education level, thanks to pre-developed curriculums such as those provided by Heritage Home School Academy.

Parents today can use these curriculums to guide their children. Some curriculums are so effective that parents can study ahead of their children in any subject for which they are lacking and effectively teach the same subject to their children. Furthermore, many children often “learn to learn,” reaching a point where they are able to teach themselves and follow a curriculum with little interaction required from the parent.

Each year more families choose to start homeschooling, spreading knowledge about its benefits, and erasing old stigmas along the way. For more information about homeschooling and home school curriculums, visit Heritage Home School Academy.