Have you ever wanted to homeschool your child and you need information on how to do this effectively? There is so much information on the internet about homeschooling. You could look for a year and never find everything. But the best information is going to come from someone who has been there, experienced the day-to-day struggles, and survived to tell about it.
I live in Georgia, and homeschooled four children here for over 14 years. I learned a lot during that time. Every state in the US has different rules governing the homeshool student, just like they have different school attendance rules. It’s important to follow the rules wherever you live. You don’t want the officials to think badly of homeschoolers because they had a bad experience with getting you to follow the prescribed guidelines.
But just as that is important, it’s also important to protect the homeschool experience for you and other homeschoolers by realizing that what you are doing is allowed and just as important as if you were sending your child to a public or private school. The homeschool is protected under Georgia law and needs to be respected in all the legal ways allowed by the local school system.
Fortunately, homeschooling is so prevalent all over the US now that problems with local school officials are becoming a thing of the past. When I started homeschooling it was many years ago, so unknown, and very unaccepted. Boards of educations were reluctant to encourage it in any way, even so far as being rude or condescending. One incident happened when a friend was arrested for taking her daughter out of kindergarten. The woman sued the superintendent and won, but not before a lot of grief. That child taken out of school is now an honor student at a major college in Georgia. The mother is glad she persevered and gave her children the best education possible.
I never had major problems with staff at the Board of Ed, but any problems encountered in those days are not the norm anymore. School systems in Georgia and elsewhere have stepped up and realized that homeschooling isn’t a fad or hobby that mothers want to do with their children. It is a serious undertaking that requires dedication and commitment. The homeschool mother has to make lesson plans–or learn to survive without them, usually teach more than one grade level, give standardized tests, be responsible for field trips, raise responsible citizens, choose curriculum, get science project materials, all while keeping a home. It’s a hard job sometimes but a very rewarding one to mold young minds and train up a generation.
