I actually recorded an entire podcast episode discussing everything in this blog post about how and why we are choosing to homeschool. This is our first year doing it so I’m definitely no expert! But this is some of what I’ve learned so far 🙂
-since we live in California right now I started looking into the requirements for homeschool options for the state
-To find the requirements in your state you can go to https://hslda.org
There are 3 options to homeschool in CA
Option 1: Homeschooling as a home-based private school
Option 2: Homeschooling with a private school satellite program (PSP)
Option 3: Homeschooling via instruction by a private tutor
I first wanted to do the Private school satellite program, a charter basically, which is dependent on the county you live in. I found one that felt like a good match and I started applying to be enrolled. We ended up being put on the waitlist and i didnt think we were going to make it into the school so I started researching the home-based private school route which is more a free style homeschool option.
I had actually reached out to my community on IG and got tons of recommendations for curriculum and teaching options and I started buying those in preparation for the home-based private school route.
In California you have to alert the county you are homeschooling, file a private school affidavit and teach mandatory subjects of math, reading, writing, social studies and science. Not every state requires all of this.
You are also required to keep adequate records of a variety of things to homeschool your kiddos. Which include:
“copies of annual private school affidavits, an attendance register, immunization or exemption records, and maintained lists of courses of study and instructors. California’s specific requirements for each option are available here.
In addition to state-required records, you should keep the following important records for your homeschool:
- Attendance records
- Information on the textbooks and workbooks your student used
- Samples of your student’s schoolwork
- Correspondence with school officials
- Portfolios and test results
- Any other documents showing that your child is receiving an appropriate education in compliance with the law
You should maintain these records for at least two years.
You should also keep your student’s high school records and proof of compliance with the home education laws during the high school years (including any type of home education notice that you file with state or local officials) on file forever. “ – This excerpt is taken from the https://hslda.org/post/the-importance-of-recordkeeping-in-california website
What is crazier is that once I started doing the research and talking to more parents, I started to become way more comfortable with the idea of the home-based school vs charter route and was settled in our choice.
…Then I got an email from the charter school that we had been accepted and moved up from the waitlist and could apply! I didn’t know if I wanted to go through with it or not so I got on the phone with a liaison and she answered all my questions and we have decided to actually go with the Charter school. It feels like a really good fit, and we aren’t locked into anything.
We get a teacher to help us check all the boxes, attendance wise, there are some standard testing requirements which I’m not a big fan of but I understand it. We are free to choose any curriculum and teach the way we want to all from home. And being apart of the charter, we get a certain amount of money to spend on materials, field trips and curriculums for as long as we are with the charter. This charter also has co-op opportunities with field trips, weekly meetings to get the kids together around themed classes. You also don’t need to have vaccinations to attend the charter, which I was relieved about.
I can still use all the resources and books that I bought when I was doing the home-based private school. These are some of the picks that I have so far for Rad. These are our “book work” books for kinder, but we plan to do a lot of nature and real life teaching as well. It’s a big part of why I wanted to go the homeschool route.
I get asked alot about why I’m choosing to homeschool. And I guess it’s more political than i’d like to get on my instagram that’s mostly about pre and postnatal fitness 🙂
Too keep it short…I don’t like what they teach in public schools…i also don’t like what they don’t teach…like real life skills, business, smart finances, entrepreneurship, creativity and so much more. I think the traditional school hours are too long as well, too much sitting, not enough movement, sunlight, fresh air…plus i don’t trust my kids with strangers or even with family alone. A teacher is a stranger and so are all the kids they are in school with. All with their own journeys, experiences and differences with what is ok and not ok in their home. It’s just too much influence on my kids without me around. Point blank. I realize I can’t control everything in my kiddos lives but I also went to public school and saw and heard a lot of things that were beyond my years.
My kids will have plenty of socializing with each other, public outings, co-op activities, their sports that they are already in and more. There is plenty of research that shows homeschool kids excel in life and in some cases surpass public school kids in different areas. I think it all really depends on your capacity as a parent, your individual kid, your family’s situation, etc.
I also don’t like the whole set up around public school, it’s not created for the individual, it’s created for the masses. I encourage anyone with school age kids to research the education system, when and who created it and for what reasons.I think it also prepares kiddos to believe their only option is a 9-5, which I dont think is wrong for everyone but it definitely isn’t right for everyone. Our kids have two parents that are entrepreneurs that come from parents who are also entrepreneurs.
I was also actually homeschooled for a portion of my school years and I think I learned alot about what I didn’t like during that experience. I plan to do a lot of things differently than how it was done for me. I also think that’s the beauty of homeschool. You aren’t trying to recreate the traditional public school experience and also in the same breath, your homeschool will look different than every one homeschool mom you follow on IG, find in a facebook group and more. Because our kiddos are different and our lives are different.
Like I mentioned before, I think the choice to homeschool is very multifactorial. I get asked alot about why and how I’m choosing to homeschool so I thought it would be an easier way to share in long form here. I honestly would quit everything else if i had to if i had to make the choice to send my kids to public school or homeschool. It’s that important to my family that we do the raising and educating. I realize not everyone has those same priorities and that’s ok!
I will link the materials that I have so far in the show notes, as well as the link to find all the homeschool requirements per state if you are interested in homeschooling your own kiddos.
My PaperPie Book Shop: Shop Usborne Books and so many good ones for homeschool