Getting Ready for our First “Official” Year of Homeschooling
We have always considered ourselves homeschoolers but this year we face our first real challenge, registering with the state. Since our oldest is now 8 she needs to be registered with our local school district as a homeschooler. Within the next month I will submit our affidavit and our educational goals for the next year. Thankfully I have friends who have already gone through this process in our district who can guide me but I also rely heavily on the AskPauline.com website. It’s not too pretty but it’s jam packed with great information for homeschoolers in Pennsylvania. This site is where I was able to find a sample affidavit and also get ideas about what educational goals we would work towards.
As we embark on our first year as registered homeschoolers I will admit I am a little nervous. I, like many homeschooling/unschooling parents, know that my child is learning and thriving but I’m not sure if that will be easily conveyed on paper at the end of the year. Luckily the Ask Pauline website has some statistics as to how many portfolios etc. are rejected annually and also templates for book logs and attendance tracking. This has really helped me as I approach this process.
For people who do not live in Pennsylvania the HSLDA (Homeschooling Legal Defense Association) is a great resource. They have a map with links to homeschooling information and regulations in the various states. Are you registered homeschoolers? Does your state have any unique requirements? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
We plan to homeschool in PA, too. Our oldest is 2, so we have a while before we go through the documentation dog and pony show. Keep us updated on how it goes!
We have to register after age 8, but we don’t have to submit any information to the district. We do have to have the kids tested once a year, but the test results are private unless requested by the state for some reason.
I think a lot of unschooling mamas are benefiting from blogging, because you have a very visual representation of what you’ve done with the kids. I bet you’ll be a pro at this record keeping in no time!
Hi there! I live in GA…where I have to say that the requirements are very lenient. I had to register my boys once they turned 6. I have to submit our declaration of intent once a year, and then submit an attendance record for each of them once a month. Other than that, there are requirements such as testing every 3 years, and keeping annual progress reports…but neither of those are turned into anyone. We just have to hold onto them, in case they are ever requested by the school board.
I second your recommendation of checking out HSLDA. I always check it every year, to make sure no laws have changed. Their site always appears to be quite up to date.
Good luck with your year. Enjoyed reading through your blog (really loved the review on the SodaStream…checking it out more on Amazon, lol), which I found on the blog roll over at SecularHomeschool.com. 🙂
Katie
A workbook hating, computer junkie family, fortunate enough to have an href=” http://www.time4learning.com/homeschool-curriculum.htm“>online homeschool curriculum that works for all of us!
really fantastic issues right here, just thank you