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School Funding:
Can Home Schooled Kids Get Into College?
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Home schooling has become mainstreamed these days. It is no longer a hush-hush word. Awareness of what it’s all about has given home schooling a new respect. Now, the new concern is not whether it is a viable way to educate, but will colleges admit home schooled students?
It has been stated that home schooled children score higher on standardized tests like the SAT and the ACT than students in the traditional school setting. Why? Speculation is that the environment is more relaxed than in a regular school.
The one on one treatment that students get in the home school environment leads to a better understanding of school subjects. The deciding factor is time. In a structured setting each class is in a block of fifty minutes. At home, you may spend two hours on one subject that is particularly difficult and thirty minutes the next. The flexibility allows for a child to learn at their own rate until they know the information like the back of their hand.
The truth of the matter is, as long as a home schooled student can meet the requirements for college admission, they will be admitted to school. The point of complying with state requirements for home schooling sets a student up for success after high school. It is advised that parents start well in advance of the college years preparing for college paperwork.
If your child has an idea what colleges they would like to apply to, begin a relationship with them. Find out what types of things they look for in their potential students. Add a class to the curriculum that deals with college preparation. Give your kids an idea of what they have to look forward to and how well they must perform to get admitted.
Several colleges admit home schooled students. From their performance on standardized tests, advanced placement classes, and other academic criteria home schooled students have as much chance as any other student. This is the same with regular schools. Just because you get a traditional education doesn’t mean that a college will admit you.
Getting into college is a matter of strategy and careful planning. A smart person, who doesn’t take the time to write a good essay or study for the SAT, won’t impress a college committee. A confident student who knows their subjects, whether home schooled or public school taught, will make it into the college of their choice. Parents don’t worry. Home schooling is not a hindrance but a plus.
Extracurricular Activities for Home Schooled Kids
All kids get bored, even home schooled kids. Variety allows kids to explore their desires and dreams. Having a choice in activities to participate in opens a lot of doors to the future. Here are some extracurricular activities to consider for home schooled children.
1. Scouting. Scouting offers not only the chance to meet kids with similar interests but also to teach survival and life ski9lls. Kids learn to do fun things like build a campfire, read a compass, and make useful tools out of common items. These same kids also learn about CPR, first aid, and different forms of communication in an emergency.
2. Sports. Kids who like to move and shake need an outlet. One such outlet is community sports teams. Just like public school teams, community leagues have practices, schedules of games, and tournaments. In addition, community teams play during the summer so kids don’t get lazy and out of shape for two months.
3. Seminars. These can be turned into field trips for school credit as well. At the local zoo or museum, experts teach about caring for animals and how to appreciate art and literature. They are used to conducting seminars for school children to make the presentation more hands-on and interesting.
4. Theater groups. Most cities have a local theater group for kids. They can audition for several plays performed throughout the year. Children interested in drama and the stage can stretch their acting chops. Check with the state to see if these plays can qualify as credit for part of the child’s curriculum requirement.
5. Community activities. The one thing that kids need to learn is how to serve others. We are a nation of people who work together to get things accomplished. Community service teaches humility, patience, and a respect for all people. Kids can participate in soup kitchens, food banks, nursing homes, or create their own community project to implement.
6. Music lessons. Many public schools are cutting back funding to creative arts programs like art classes and music. Learning to play an instrument or sing is a part of a well rounded education. Children that show an interest in these subjects can be signed up for lessons with a local instructor. Get together with other home school households and the instructor may give a discounted rate to the group.
No shortage of activities exists for home schooled children. In fact, opportunities for them are increased because of the lack of time constraints involved in a public school education.
Special Needs Children and Home Schooling
Children come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of learning ability. It could be that your child has some 
special challenges when it comes to learning. Home schooling has been a difficult issue for students without any other considerations. It brings up new concerns for children that need additional resources. Should a special needs child be home schooled?
There are parents who would respond with a big “yes.” One difficulty that children with special needs have is the necessary time and attention to make education possible. Each state offers resources for parents to mainstream their special children. Some offer more and some less. In the end, it is up to parents to see that their children get what they need to succeed.
What any child is entitled to is an excellent education. For too long, parents and children have settled for a mediocre education because that was what public school offered. Home schooling has changed that. The evidence of the success of home schooling is seen in the lives of special needs children.
Let’s look at attention deficit disorder. It is considered by the school system to be a special need. Children have a hard time concentrating and keeping still. School work that is not challenging enough just increases the anxiety. This situation can be resolved through home study.
No, being home schooled doesn’t provide an instant fix for educational problems. It merely allows a child with special needs to learn in a more relaxed environment and at a pace that suits them. If reaching them requires three hours one day and four the next, a home school curriculum works with the child. Their grades won’t suffer because they can’t keep up in a traditional classroom.
Parents know their children better than anyone. No one else will take the time that is warranted to keep him or her on track with their education. Your child may be a visual learner. In a classroom of thirty students, it is hard to create a lesson that will challenge both the visual learner and those who can read and comprehend. It isn’t enough time.
With the help of tutors (if needed) and counselors, students with special needs enjoy a fulfilling educational experience at home. No longer do they have to suffer through being picked on or frustration because they “just don’t get it.” The home school environment is conducive to helping them learn the way that feels comfortable to them.
Support System for Home Schoolers
The world of home schooling can seem lonely at times. When other kids are getting on the bus for school, parents are sitting at the table figuring out what they will discuss that day as they tackle the job of being teacher to their children. But, there’s no need to feel separated from the world. Home schooling parents and the children they teach have a network of people what want to help. There may be others in your area who home school and you don’t even know it.
Home schooling parents and children are kept in the loop with an extensive network of online and community resources. Online, there are various websites like HomeEducator.com that provides links to state agencies for legal requirements, forums for discussing home school issues, online support groups, and curriculum websites. Everything a parent needs to get help is a click away.
Locally, there are probably more home schooling households than one might imagine. I have two friends who home school. It comes up in conversation but I never really thought about it. They have been home schooling for a few years so just with their knowledge alone, any parent new to home schooling would have access to a number of resources. Now imagine if there were 5 or 10 home schooling families in a community. The amount of tools, resources and support would be huge.
Check the local newspaper. Community meetings are listed so that others are made aware of what is going on around them. Check with the library system for any programs they have with home schoolers that allows them to check out more than the standard number of books and videos to be used for home study.
A support system is invaluable for home schooling. On a daily basis, all kinds of issues arise that need to be dealt with. Someone who has experienced the situation before prevents a lot of wasted time. Parents need a shoulder to cry or laugh on when the stress gets to be too much. A supportive group of men and women can protect your sanity.
If home schooling is a possible choice for the future, begin the networking process now. Current home schooling parents would love to share their experiences with you. Set up a social at your local church or community center as a community outreach to let people know all about home schooling and the benefits for children.
Never go it alone. We can accomplish more together than we ever could alone. For the sake of our children, we as parents come together to create a better educational system for them. By pooling our resources, an awesome network of support can be established in your city or town.
Socialization Skills of Children Taught at Home
The biggest concern that people have about home schooling is the socialization aspect. Will the children get to interact with other kids? This topic has been blown way out of proportion. The most important issue is the quality of education. The rest will follow.
What is socialization? Kids interacting and learning to work with others on a daily basis is one part. Let’s be honest. In schools, there are bullies, unstable people, teachers with issues of their own, and a lot of other behavior problems. Socialization in the public school can become a nightmare.
We’ve all been there. Some kid who spreads rumors about us is giggling every time we pass by. Someone else may not like the clothes we wear or the sound of our voice. A teacher having a bad day may be less tolerant of student antics. Not knowing exactly what to expect each time you walk through the front doors of the school creates a stressful environment for school children.
Kids are social creatures. Unless we teach them to be otherwise, they will gravitate towards other kids they don’t know simply out of curiosity. School is not the only place to find new friends.
Home schooled children can participate in the same after school and weekend programs as public and private school children. Programs like 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, YMCA, and church groups offer chances to interact with other people. There is no shortage of opportunities to see other kids their age.
With a home school curriculum, parents have control over how much or how little to cover in a single day. They also have control over field trip schedules, project deadlines, and homework. A child may not have homework or may participate in a shorter school day when they have other commitments like scouting. Doing so allows the kids to enjoy their other experiences without homework hanging over their heads.
Another avenue for developing socialization skills is partnering with other home schooled children in the area. Parents can get together and plan field trips, meet and greet group activities, and community service projects. As the kids get to know each other, parents get a break as well.
Home schooled children who started out in public school don’t have to leave their friends behind. Having more control over the curriculum means that kids can plan visits to see their friends. If they live in the same neighborhood, getting together will be that much easier.
Home schooled kids don’t spend every day in the house. The world has just become their classroom. Finding friends is not a concern for them, just ask the kids themselves.
Online schools and Curriculum
When parents decide to take a closer look at homeschooling many become concerned that they are not qualified to teach their own children or that they won’t have enough time to do it properly. They may worry that their kids will fall behind their peers or that they aren’t quite sure how to measure academic progress and make sure their kids are keeping up with their studies. This is why structured curriculum is so popular. It provides parents and students with a step by step process and a measuring stick for progress. Structured curriculum is not without its own issues though, such as expense and the very real possibility that your children will become bored and frustrated with it.
More and more homeschooling parents are now looking to online schools and curriculum, particularly the K12 program as a viable alternative. The K12 program was designed to help children who were not having success with traditional education models and to help parents who wanted structure for their homeschooling kids.
K12 is basically an online curriculum or school. The work is done online and with the aid of books and teaching aids. Children have access at any time to certified teachers in their area and they can work at their own pace. Many online public schools have opened in numerous states to offer this curriculum at no extra cost to children who are not thriving in a traditional public school setting. Many homeschooling parents are thrilled that they can now keep their children at home while still using the public education resources that they pay taxes for. Some 26 states and over 1 million children are using the K12 online curriculum at this time and these numbers are sure to grow.
K12 uses and Intranet program that children and parents log into to do their lesson plans, chat with teachers, and take tests. They combine the online work with book work and they provide all the books necessary. Most schools using the k12 curriculum will also provide you with a computer. They usually have meet and greet parties for students, as well as planned fieldtrips to museums and other educational venues, providing opportunities for socialization and fun. Many yahoo groups exist to help online schooling students and parents meet up with each other. Other online schools with their own curriculum will also usually lend a computer and printer to their students. Some schools gift an iPod to their students and they listen to audio lesson plans and instructions.
Benefits of online schooling include allowing your children to be educated at home, flexibility with scheduling and progress, and having numerous resources available to you at no extra cost. Many parents enjoy having that support system. It is also a great program for students who did not flourish in brisk and mortar public schools. Drawbacks would include the mandatory attendance that is common with public schooling and not all online schools are created equal. Parents will need to do their research and see which one would best suit them.
The availability of online schools and curriculum is just one more resource and option for parents who want to educate their kids at home. So did you know that Ohio has 6 online schooling options? They also have a K12 school called Ohio Virtual Academy (OHVA). Good luck!
Planning a Home School Curriculum
Besides lesson plans, the hardest part of establishing a home school environment in the home will be choosing the curriculum. When it comes to what and how you will teach there are a few options that can be explored. Planning well in advance means a well thought out curriculum once the first day of class arrives.
What is your philosophy of teaching? Many parents may think that they don’t have one but if you have a reason for taking your child out of public school, then you do. The philosophy is directly related to those reasons. You want to influence change that will give your child a better education. The public school is not doing a satisfactory job in your opinion or you would be considering the option of teaching your children at home.
There are several curriculum plans in existence today. Each is based on a different philosophy of teaching. Some curriculums are less stringent which allows for children to experience a variety of subjects and teaching structures. Children can experiment with their learning process to find what fits.
Other programs are quite rigid. Every aspect of each subject is planned down to the day as to what will be taught and in what order. For the new home schooling parent, this takes the guesswork and headache out of the structure of the learning process.
Home school curricula are not just based on academics, but religion. Spiritual components of education resulted in Christian home schooling. These programs comply with the state requirements but emphasize Biblical education.
Once parents become comfortable with home schooling, they can move from a rigid program to a less structured one or a curriculum guide. Curriculum guides are cheaper but only serve as rough guidelines. The parents still have to purchase worksheets, study guides, and other materials for teaching. This is not a concern with complete packages because they include everything for your dollar.
Some curricula have an online component as well. Part of the program involves book work and activities that kids can do online. It is easier to record keep online than with a paper and pencil. Some people like paper and pencil though because computers crash or get temperamental and lose your stuff. After all of that, it is time to do a lesson plan for each class for each student grade level.
Before the fun of teaching your children can begin, you need to have a plan. This is the tough part. It will involve a lot of head scratching and sweating, but once it’s done, the next time will be easier.
Organizing a Home Schooling Household
Insanity has been lovingly defined as doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. 
Anyone who has had to run a household can attest to this. If all the clothes were washed on Monday, but the following Monday at least half of them would return. Organization can break the cycle of insanity, especially in a home schooling household.
The home has taken on new meaning in the past thirty years. It used to be that people ate and slept in their homes. Now, businesses are conducted from home and so is schooling. When you take that first long relaxing look outdoors, it could be eleven o’clock instead of 6 a.m. Household dynamics have changed, but one thing has not - organization is the key to running a tight ship.
The first thing to tackle is the setup of the school atmosphere. Just as with a home business, the idea is to create a separate room or area where only that particular activity is conducted. Confusing two spaces will confuse the children as well.
Pick an area with a table such as the dining room where all of the main work can be conducted. Use bookshelves, rolling containers, and other storage media to keep supplies organized and in one area. If you are home schooling children in different grade levels, separate their items into different containers so materials are easy to locate when you need them. This area will double as your grading and lesson plan area when class is not in session.
Decide how many hours a day will be devoted to school. This time can begin at eight o’clock or at ten o’clock. The schedule will work around the best time of day for you and the children. Sleepy children do not make good students.
With that issue taken care of, don’t forget chores. Design a master calendar or white board for a chore listing and one for class schedules. Each child will know when the school day begins, when and what chores they need to do each day, along with other activities. This will help your child to establish their own routines as well, by knowing where to start each day.
The house will not be neat as a pin all the time. There will be toys, books, clothes that need washing and the rest. A list of chores enlists the aid of the entire family to keep the house organized in light of the home school atmosphere. When you don’t have to tackle everything by yourself, the stress level goes down for you and the rest of the family.
Qualifications Needed to Home School
The choice to teach a child at home away from the public school life is a major undertaking. If the child 
ever attended public school the transition may be jarring. Parents used to be in charge of their children’s education, but have long ago put that responsibility in the hands of others. To take charge again, what are the qualifications needed to home school a child?
Home schooling doesn’t require an advanced degree or that you write a dissertation. What it does require is a love of your child and a love of learning. Because a parent understands their child and their quirks, creating a curriculum to fit their unique needs is a bit easier than a cookie cutter program created to fit everyone.
As a part of the research into home schooling, check with the state to find out what specific qualifications are needed to pursue the title of home school teacher. States may require that a parent be observed by a licensed teacher for a school year to evaluate technique and the thoroughness of the program. Along this same line, the state can require that the schooling consist of the same amount of instructional days as public school.
There are no qualifications such as a teaching certificate or a bachelor’s degree. Parents who are not familiar or strong in a subject can hire a tutor to aid in teaching the subject matter. Any state testing can be administered by a licensed teacher if it is mandated by the state.
All of these legal and state educational requirements can be found online. Begin far in advance preparing the paperwork that has to be filed and letters of intent to home school your children. The state probably wants to see that a curriculum is in place already before they allow a child to participate in alternative education, especially if a child is removed in the middle of the school year.
One bonus to purchasing established curriculum packages is that they already comply with the state requirements for home schooling. Part of the package includes grading services, administrative needs pertaining to recordkeeping, report cards, and other services. A parent can speak to customer service personnel for support, information, and help with any additional paperwork.
Persistent parents who care for their children are not daunted by rules and regulations. The education and safety of their children far exceeds any frustration they may encounter. In the long run, no one is better qualified to teach our children than the parents who have their best interests at heart.
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