removed from a public school need to file form such-and-so, and you began teaching your children from the very start and they’ve never seen the inside of a public school, much less attended one, then that part of the law doesn’t apply to you.
Only do what you have to do. This isn’t a talent contest or a friendship contest. It’s more like a small business filing the required no-I-do-not-sell-tobacco-products-in-my-store form that arrives each year. The government doesn’t really care whether the small business sells tobacco products; it simply wants to know whether your shop carries cigarettes.
In much the same way, filing the required intent-to-homeschool letter or form each year enters your family into a database, and this is all your state may want from you. Sending test scores, worksheets, and art projects with the intent-to-homeschool letter tends to upset people. First of all, if your state doesn’t ask for this information, it doesn’t want it. Providing extra pieces of paper that the state officials have no means of tracking does not help. It only confuses people: They want to know why you sent the stuff, they have no place to put it, and it languishes on somebody’s desk for weeks because nobody wanted it to begin with and now they can’t remember whom to return it to.
Third: Know your law
I know that I said it before, but it bears repeating here. Knowing your state law gives you both freedom and security. It gives you freedom because you know what you can and cannot do. If the law says teach 180 days, it’s not a suggestion. You’re free to teach more than 180 days if you want to, but not less.
In much the same way, knowing your law gives you security. When you know you’re doing what you’re supposed to, it releases much of the stress that comes from uncertainty. If you live in a state that requires a portfolio, for instance, and you know the portfolio days are coming, then you prepare for it by taking snapshots of field trips and projects throughout the year.
Some state laws provide several options for homeschools. If your state provides two or three legal options, choose the one that makes the most sense for your family. In some cases, for example, enrolling with a private umbrella school releases you from some of the paperwork non-enrolled families file each year.
Chapter 4
Pulling Them Out and Starting from Scratch
IN THIS CHAPTER
So you decided to remove your children from their brick-and-morter schools. Now what? How you begin your adventure together sets the tone for the next few months, at least. Like any new habit, starting your homeschool takes a few weeks to get into the flow.
Starting your homeschool journey with older children is a bit different than jumping into the construction-and-rounded-scissors world of the preschooler or kindergartener. The young ones exude excitement. They’re ready to go, ready to learn, ready to explore. Their older siblings — not so much. This chapter gives you suggestions for those starting weeks and months, whether you are beginning with young kids who’ve never been to school or you’re pulling older and more jaded teenagers from their classes to continue their education at home.
Making Those First Days Count
Your older kids are stressed. They’ve been bullied. They lag behind in schoolwork. They’re depressed and ill. When you pull kids out due to any of these situations, they need time to reorient themselves. You may be excited and ready to go with a two-foot high stack of brand-new shiny textbooks, but they need a break!
Making your first days count means more than jumping headfirst into a new curriculum and schedule before anyone is ready. It means taking the time to build a great foundation that will help you through the rest of your years together. Regardless whether Great-Grandma thinks you should pull them out on Friday and start advanced chemistry on Monday, there’s more to removing a child from school than yanking them from the building and setting up school desks at home.
De-stressing the children
Especially if your kids are coming into your homeschool after emotional or physical trauma at school, they need time to chill. Childhood burnout is a real entity, and kids show it in much the same way as adults: exhaustion, indifference, anger, negative attitudes. If you think about the times you’ve experienced extreme stress or burnout, you know what that feels like. Do you want to jump into new projects? (I know when I face times like these, I’d rather sit and mindlessly eat enough peanut butter cups to count as dinner.)
Homeschoolers have a term for taking time out to de-stress. It’s called deschooling. Deschooling isn’t the same as spending the day staging I-can-eat-more-chocolate-than-you contests. It’s not sleeping the day away in an attempt to forget about the school experience you just left. It is, however, a complete change in routine that allows your new students to regain their grasp of their own schedules and their lives.
A deschooling family explores together. You might:
Visit local parks or hike through some trails. Exercise together is always good.
Spend hours immersed in the literature of your choice, whether that’s a graphic novel, mystery stories, science fiction, or something else. While you’re at it, get to know the library and everything it has to offer, from classes to some genre you’ve never read.
Watch movies together, especially those movies you always wanted to see but never had the time. This is a great time to explore comedy!
Practice an old hobby or pick up a new one. You might opt for
