Home
Learning and Home Schooling
We’ve
decided to keep our daughter enrolled in her regular school but opt for
completely virtual instruction this year. We spoke with a few people, including
the middle school secretary and principal, so I know they are aware of this,
but we haven’t received any information from the school yet about exactly how
the online learning will work. I’m hoping that will be forthcoming soon.
I have a
feeling that we’ll need to do some supplementation, much like last spring, so
I’m still paying attention to home schooling resources and making lists of
options. (I bought my daughter a recorder in an online book party, and some
fashion design drawing and coloring books. Just compiling options. Pinterest is
my favorite source these days for simple craft and art projects.)
Monday night
our library offered a Homeschooling 101 program conducted by Danielle Peters
and Saunseray Benjamin, local homeschool leaders. They call their group,
ArrowKids, and their mission is stated as “Empower Parents. Enrich Students.
Excellence in Education.”
They offered
a little over an hour in information about private homeschooling in New York
and homeschooling in general, with ample opportunities to ask questions. There
were tips on navigating the regulations, finding your schooling style, choosing
curriculum, scheduling your day, and tapping into homeschool organizations and
resources.
They kindly
provided a multi-page handout with all their talking points and links to
information. Here’s a little overview.
They said
that letters of intent to homeschool were due by August 1st this
year but within 14 days of starting homeschooling if you start within the
school year. They go directly to the school district. Then the school district
lets you know who to submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP)
to. (Some links to creating the IHIP were shared in the last blog post here.)
Apparently IHIPs are due within 4 weeks of receiving your response from the
school.
As I’ve read
a few different places already, they recommended keeping your IHIP simple. You
can always add to it, but once you’ve stated a goal the school district will be
looking for you to check them off.
They talked
about quarterly reports, which illustrate what you’ve been teaching, and the
annual assessment. There are standardized options for that or individualized
options. You do have to state which one you are going to use in the third
quarter assessment.
The speakers
both mentioned benefits that can be derived by being part of a home school
group locally and by joining bigger organizations in the state and even
nationally. They mentioned that most years there are conventions where you can
go get your hands on materials to check out. (Sadly, not an option this year.)
However, they acknowledged the usefulness of organizations like LEAH (Loving
Education at Home) and HSLDA membership so that you don’t have to reinvent the
wheel.
They touched
on “teaching methods” and “learning styles,” and the plethora of homeschooling
curriculums out there. They cautioned about jumping ship just because another
curriculum looks good, versus really needing to change because the one you are
using just isn’t working for your child.
They
strongly encouraged attendees to look locally for used materials for homeschooling
in order to save money. “Second hand is not second best,” I believe I heard one
of them say.
Apparently
there are many different types of schedule one can set up for homeschooling,
from traditional Monday through Friday to year round, looped scheduling. The
presenters offered a link to check out the options. https://pambarnhill.com/homeschool_schedule_options/
But I think for most of us anticipating sending our kids back to regular school
next year, sticking with the more traditional schedule makes more sense.
They also
provided links to local groups, including our library’s Kids Explore Homeschool
Group with our own children’s librarian, Sue McConnell. Local sports
opportunities were discussed, and resources were offered from books, to online
pages to follow and resources to consider.
I’m sure
I’ll be investigating some of them in the coming weeks and sharing which ones I
find useful for supplementing my daughter’s education.
Good luck to
everyone who has started their schooling year or is facing it with enthusiasm
AND trepidation. I think it’s going to be a year of learning, for all of us,
not just our kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment