Definition of Homeschooling

There are many definitions of homeschooling. There are legal definitions defined by the state that govern how parents may homeschool their children. These range from parents being required to homeschool 100% with no public support and given few rules aside from occasional testing and record-keeping to those states that require every homeschooled parent to operate under an "umbrella" school and report to that particular school their curriculum and schedule.

There are also other definitions such as:

*Students are considered to be homeschooled if (1) they are ages 5–17 in a grade equivalent to at least kindergarten and no higher than 12th grade; (2) their parents report them as being schooled at home instead of at a public or private school for at least part of their education; and (3) their part-time enrollment in public or private schools does not exceed 25 hours a week. Students who are schooled at home only because of a temporary illness are not considered to be homeschooled students.

*Homeschooling (also called home education and sometimes spelled home schooling) is the education of children at home and in the community, in contrast to education in an institution such as a public or parochial school. In the United States, homeschooling is the focus of a substantial minority movement among parents who wish to provide their children with a custom or more complete education which they feel is unattainable in most public or even private schools.

Frankly, the laws in general are crappy. If you homeschool, you don't receive financial support from the state even though you are paying taxes for your public schools and your children receive no benefit. If you choose to homeschool, you're on your own.

There are ways to homeschool inexpensively! The internet is a great resource these days, and the library is invaluable.

However, there ARE some public programs worth a second look. But beware...if you choose to enroll in any of these programs, you may get some fallout from those homeschoolers that consider themselves "true" homeschoolers.

Case in point: There is a particular homeschool group locally that has a "Board of Directors" (not a true board as it is not a non-profit group and does not conduct itself as a Board of Directors) that will not allow anyone to serve on their board unless they are homeschooling under the strict definition of homeschooling. When one of the board members of that group found out that myself and a friend (we are both FORMER board members of that group) are now utilizing a program called H.O.P.E., she became irate and said she just couldn't BELIEVE that we didn't have a single board member serving under the strict definition of homeschooling.

The woman she complained TO is also enrolling her two children in the program. Boy, did she get an earful of insults!!

You see, according to these ladies, you're not really homeschooling and you don't deserve to be called homeschoolers if you use any public programs. I heard that phrase from all 3 of the board members numerous times while serving on their board and it was one of the reasons I had to leave that group.

I don't pretend to know what is right for families. What I do know is that any family taking an extremely active role in their children's education deserves to be called a homeschooler. There are those who use an online academy to access computers, resources, curriculum and instruction, but do it all from home including field trips and enrichment. I don't see any reason why they are any less homeschoolers--they spend just as much time educating their children as "traditional" homeschoolers.

There is also a 1 day a week Options Program that allows homeschoolers to connect with other homeschoolers and have some enrichment one day a week with public funding. In our case, the program is run under the umbrella of a charter school and the money received is in complete control of the H.O.P.E. program. The program itself is run by homeschooling moms with kids either still in school, or have attended the H.O.P.E. program. This program was started because a group of moms were running a cooperative in the same fashion and they were having troubles keeping it funded, thus they applied for public funding.

We benefit from the program through no-cost curriculum in up to 8 areas (core + electives) and some enrichment we wouldn't otherwise have or would pay for. These include Physical Education (group games, team activities) which we could participate in if we were willing to drive 30 miles and pay $16 a month for it. Sign Language classes, stand-alone science experiments, Math games, and ART--something I'm not always good at providing.

The sacrifice--one day a week my kid is in class with 7 other children...yep, 1 teacher for 8 children. And I get some of my tax dollars back.

The kids are in this program 6 hours X 35 weeks...a little over 1/4th of their required contact/instruction hours for the state. The rest is up to me. I have to educate, keep records, abide by the testing/evaluation requirements. But alas, I am not a true homeschooler under the definition of the board members of that group.

Of course, when we WERE board members of that group, none of our children were old enough to fall under the homeschool law. SO technically, they already had two board members that weren't homeschooling legally :) Wonder if they realize that?

I've never believed that anyone should "do it alone." There is a reason we have family and community. It's the smart people that know how to use their resources. After all, it's not about your own EGO...it's about the best education for your children.

I'm confident my children are being well-educated and are well-adjusted, polite, and happy. My 5 year old can read and knows basic addition. My 3 year old knows her letters. My under two year old knows her colors. They all eat healthy and not one is overweight or obese. And I'm smart enough to know how to use my resources.

I'm a homeschooler.