It's August. The last month of summer. Time to get ready for school's return. This year there is new excitement in our home as we are preparing to homeschool our oldest - a new adventure for us. We've seen many of you, our friends, lead the way. Many reasons factored into our decision, but they all seem to fade into memory as the logistics of starting a homeschool for the first time flood in. It seems there's a difference between watching others do it with ease and actually going through the mechanics yourself.
After much consideration and prayer we've already tackled the curriculum decision. We reviewed the full gamut of options available to homeschoolers at the CHAP (Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania) 2007 convention in Harrisburg PA in June. For several reasons we chose to start this first year by continuing with the A Beka curriculum series Cameron started in First Grade at Kings Christian Acadamy. First decision down.
Our next decision was to consider options with several homeschool co-ops in the local area. We looked into the Homeschool Christian Acadamy (HCA) based out of Patuxent Presbyterian church just up our street. We know one of the administrators (Alisa Albers), one of the teachers (Sandi Hepler), and several of the kids there. We enrolled Cameron in a full day of classes. Each Thursday he will take Science, Math Games, Art, Music, Latin, and Phys Ed with 10-15 other First and Second graders. This gives Cameron continued interaction with peers, and gives Barb one day to continue working with several children with her National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) training. Second decision down.
This week we make the final decision on where to register our homeschool for outside supervision. I read the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Sheet on Home Instruction, which states we must choose to have our home instruction supervised by one of the following entities:
1. The local school system.
2. A nonpublic school that holds a Certificate of Approval from the Maryland State Board of Education.
3. A nonpublic school registered with the Maryland State Department of Education as exempt from education regulation because it is governed and operated by a bona fide church organization.
4. An education ministry of a bona fide church organization.
Right now we're considering registering directly with the local county school system. If anyone has any other suggestions or insights we'd welcome your comments!
After this, we then can start focusing on lesson planning. Again, we're open to any tips, tricks, or words of wisdom from anyone out there! Homeschooling will become a central theme in blog posts to come.
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1 comment:
I'm so excited for you guys!!! It sounds like you're off to a great start and you're surrounded by such an awesome support group. I've been impressed by everything I've heard about Alisa's co-op!
I'll certainly be praying as the tough times come when the laundry is piled high and the sink is full of dishes while Barb's wrestling over writing assignments. :) But there are so many moments along the way that will remind you why you decided to try this crazy venture in the first place! And she's going to be awesome! (Tell her I said so!)
It'll be fun to see you blog about it; especially as the dad. :) Check out this website if you haven't already, it's fun! http://www.familymanweb.com/
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