How to Begin Homeschooling for those Who Have Not Homeschooled Previously
- Research- The first step is to learn all you can about homeschool and local regulations for homeschool. This website contains a lot of valuable information as a starting point. But, other places to look at are HSLDA, Maryland State homeschooling regulations, and online resources. Additionally, potential homeschooling parents can gain a wealth of information from other local homeschooling parents and local homeschooling groups like the
Garrett County Facebook Homeschool Group. Be careful when reading online materials generated outside the local area, because they may not apply locally, and not everything you read on the internet may be accurate. Additionally, when looking at parental reviews of curriculums online and on YouTube remember that homeschooling families have their own distinct opinions, and they may not fit your families needs and tastes. Additionally, some online sources may be paid to positively critique a platform.
- Decide Whether Your Student's Work Will Be Overseen By an Umbrella, a Private School, or the Board of Education - You will need to know this before letting the Board of Education know about your intent to homeschool. If you are wanting the overseeing authority to be an Umbrella or Private School, you need to contact that group and make sure they are willing to accept you into their group.
- Notify the Garrett County Board of Education About Your Intent to Homeschool - Go to our "Regulations" page for more information and print out and fill out this Notice of Intent form, and then send it to the Garrett County Board of Education.
- Determine and Purchase a Curriculum - For first time homeschooling families it may be less confusing to simply pick a curriculum that fits the families needs and use that curriculum for all of the student's classes for the first year. It will be difficult enough to adjust to homeschooling without the added stress of mix and matching different curriculums that may have completely different styles. The following year, after everyone is adjusted to homeschooling in general, families can look at mix and match of curriculums if they so choose. For the best results, families should order curriculums early, around June or July so that both the students and the homeschooling parents can become familiar with how the particular curriculum works and what will be needed to complete it.
- Make Sure Necessary Subjects are Included in the Curriculum - State of Maryland has a list of subjects that should be taught to students in a particular grade. You can read more about that on our "Regulations" page. A purchased curriculum may, or may not have everything included. For example, in some grades, students may need physical education that comes from a source other then the purchased curriculum. In this case, a parent would need to find another source for physical education, such as Jazzercise, personal instruction, or a community sport. Additionally, in high school, students may need specific subjects completed each year to graduate.
- Set Up a Homeschooling System - Parents will need to be able to keep track of student work, grades, transcripts, and proof of student work. Therefore, before starting any homeschooling curriculum, parents need to plan, and they need to set up a system. A good filing cabinet is helpful. Be sure to have a file with the addresses, usernames, and passwords written down to all online materials. Additionally, parents will need files for Grades and Report Cards, Transcripts, and any other important information that pertains to the specific needs for the curriculum selected. If a parent plans to homeschool, that parent must be able to find and produce samples of work, grades, and transcripts if they are requested, therefore, it is an absolute must that parents have an organized system in place before starting.
- Pre-Prepare - Parents that are using curriculums that require worksheets and parential grading need to put in place a system to make sure that students have needed papers daily and that work is checked in a timely manner.
- Write a Lesson Plan - It is a requirement that parents have a lesson plan for the full school year for each child. Some curriculums come with a daily outline of what is to be done each day, which can become part of the lesson plan. However, parents should not rely simply on these logs. In this case, a lesson plan for the day may say, for instance, "Complete all material stated that day in the curriculum and complete a hands on assignment in Science".
- Prepare a Grade Book or Grading Plan - Parents will need some sort of gradebook or system for grading. Some curriculums come with automatic grading or grade sheets, and these can be used in place of the gradebook. However, the parent needs to be clear about how grades are to be calculated and recorded.
- Obtain an Attendance Record - It is also a requirement that parents keep a record of attendance that states on which days a student is or is not present in school. This could be an official attendance sheet, a calendar, something the parent creates themselves, or a printed form off the internet. It does not have to be fancy, but it does need to be filled out daily.
- Decide on a Start Date - Homeschool students can start any time, but as a general rule it should be some time in the late summer or early fall, and school will end 180 instruction days later.
- Follow All the Rules of Your Overseeing Agent - Whether your overseer is an Umbrella, Private School, or the Board of Education, it is likely that they will have requirements that you need to follow for attending meetings and providing samples of work. You need to make sure you are clear on their requirements and follow them to the letter.
- Start Homeschooling - Now that the above list is complete, you are ready to start homeschooling. Be patient. It may be an adjustment at first for both you and your child/children.
It is important to remember that you are not alone. There are homeschool groups in the county that will be happy to offer advice and possibly support, so don't be afraid to reach out.
Homeschooling is not easy, and it is not for everyone. But, for some families it can be very rewarding.
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