Families electing to home school are increasing at an estimated rate between 7 – 15 % each year. If you’re considering a home schooling option for your child/children it is important to gather information in order to make a fully informed decision. Below are a few factors for consideration as you move forward with home schooling.
1. Know your educational goals: Most families are looking for educational programs that are more individualized to their children’s needs and that offer flexibility in how, when and where learning takes place.
2. Talk to parents who are already home schooling: Getting information from families who have been home schooling for a period of time can be very helpful. It might be important to ask them about what has worked well, what hasn’t worked as expected and any suggestions they might have for new home schooling families.
Building on other parent’s successful experiences can help you with designing your approach. Parents have many creative ideas for supporting the areas of art, music, physical education and other areas of education.
3. Locate quality home school programs: Home schooling programs come in many forms. In some cases parents purchase expensive curriculum from private vendors and operate as their own private school. Many parents today elect to enroll with a public home school program that has the accreditation and experience necessary to support parents and students.
California education code allows school districts, county offices of education and charter schools to operate, support and provide services to families who elect to home school their children. There are many choices in home school providers.
I suggest you look for a provider that has extensive experience, resources and expertise in home schooling. IEM manages three schools that support parent driven education and have many years of experience in providing quality support to home school families.
Bob Ginther
IEM Education Consultant
