Congratulations! You’ve made the decision to homeschool your kids! It is going to be a challenging journey, but it will be so rewarding! Your next step is to enroll your kids. This quick guide to register your kids for homeschooling will get your kids enrolled for school in no time.
Are you working full-time and have been interested in homeschooling? You should read my other article, Homeschooling While Working Full Time. I share how we homeschool with our busy work schedule. It’s very doable and easier than you’d expect.
Homeschooling is completely foreign to my husband and me. He went to private schools. I went to public schools. But we have many friends who homeschool their kids and have found great success in it. We wanted the same for our sons. It took us a while to come to that decision. Once we did, we had to get moving… fast. We finalized our decision just a few weeks shy of the school’s start date. EEK!!!
We were scrambling, trying to gather information on where to start… Where to apply… How to enroll… What step was after what… You would think, in this age of technology and the worldwide web, I’d find my answers quick… Boy was that far from the truth. Long story short, after some pushing and shoving to get everything expedited for us, we were able to meet our enrollment deadline.
If you don’t want to go through the trouble we did, read on for a quick guide to help you register for homeschooling. This guide will help you get through the essentials of registering your kids.
Quick Guide to Register for Homeschooling
1. Verify rules/regulations for your respective state/county
A great place to start is your state’s department of education. For example, if you live in California, you would read all about the rules and regulations of homeschooling in California, not another state. Here’s what you need to know: homeschool enrollment deadline (private vs. public), homeschool limitations in your area, vaccine requirements, what forms are required for enrollment, and do you have to test your child. This will give you a better idea of your timeframe and what you need to register your kids.
2. Homeschool privately vs. publicly (through a charter school)
If you appreciate some guidance and support from a seasoned teacher (Education Specialist, ES) and do not mind that person checking in on your child’s progress, you should choose to homeschool publicly through a charter school. Most newbies decide to homeschool publicly. If you would rather do things on your own and do not want to meet with an ES, you would homeschool privately. Don’t know what a charter school is? Charter schools are run by either nonprofit organizations, private businesses, individuals, public school districts, or county education departments. These schools are publicly funded, making their students public school students. And all public school students have to meet or exceed the set standards for their respective grade levels.
3. Gather all school forms and bring them to your child’s primary care physician and dentist
This includes physical health forms, medication forms, emergency forms, sports clearance forms, etc. You can print them out from your school’s website or the Department of Education’s website. If you can’t locate the forms, ask your clinic if they have standard school forms. Most clinics carry them as they anticipate “form season” every Winter or Spring. Two very important things to remember: (1) most clinics have a 5 business days turnaround time on all forms, and (2) your child’s physical needs to be current (within 1 year) in order for your physician to complete the form. SO PLAN AHEAD!
4. Send all completed and signed forms to your respective schools/educational offices
It takes time for your paperwork to go through. So BE PATIENT. Once your child’s enrollment is complete, the school/office will contact you and let you know what your next step would be. If you’ve decided to homeschool through a public charter school, you have to meet with your ES first, sign paperwork, and go over all the rules and expectations. He/She will also provide a curriculum for you to follow or aim to meet.
5. Shop for your school supplies and worksheets!
You are now officially enrolled in homeschooling! Congratulations! Enjoy this journey. And remember quality education over quantity education. Just purchase the essentials and let your child guide you in how you should teach them.
If you want to read about how I turned my son’s loss of a pet lizard into a science lesson, you should read Grieving the Loss of a Pet that Became a School Assignment.
I hope you found this guide informative and to-the-point. Please note, at the time of this posting, we are newbies to homeschooling and are learning as we go! I apologize for any mistakes. We would love your feedback. Please comment below, especially if you have any additional tips to share. Best of luck to you all!
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Stay healthy. Stay Warm. Stay Safe.
Peace & Blessings to you all!
Bahry & The Boys
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