My research has taught me that a lot of people on the Internet claim to have found ALL the facts about their particular subject. I have in fact found that research into the facts on any given subject is never ending.

As a consequence the facts which follow are those that appear to be the most influential and those which the majority of parents will find the most helpful.

The first misconception I would like to dispel is one which is apparently held by a great number of parents - "You have to be a PhD or at least a College Graduate to teach your child in Home School" . This is certainly not a requirement .

There are, however , some fundamental requirements - there's paperwork to be filled out , curriculum's to decide , and school committee's to convince. But this should definitely NOT discourage you in any way.

Some of the major conditions of getting approved to home school your children is in the construction of your education plan or program. It MUST show and , in fact , prove , that you are ready , willing and capable in all respects of teaching your children.

There are certain regulations (statutes) which must be complied with and the following gives an outline of some of these:

Compulsory Attendance:

In a lot of states there is no specific statute governing Home Schooling . There are , however , quite a number of them which uphold the "Compulsory Attendance" statute which states that all children that are of the required ages as established for school attendance by the Board of Education are obliged to attend a public day school in their town . It can also be some other day school but this must have been approved by the school committee.

Ages for Compulsory School Attendance:

Six is the established minimum age for compulsory school attendance and sixteen is the established maximum age. Once a child attains the age of six he or she must attend school in September of that year.

Length of the Homeschool Year:

Public Schools must operate for a minimum of 180 days each year. There is nothing , however , which states that the Homeschool's year must be identical to the public school's year. You will certainly need to make sure that your homeschool year at least meets the 180 days criteria and better still , beats it.

It is naturally felt by some parents that their homeschool year extends to the full 365 days as they are always teaching "life's lessons" at all times. Above all it is best to ensure that it is somewhere between 180 and 365 days.

Hours of Home Schooling Instruction:

There is no requirement for the hours of home schooling instruction to be a replication of public schools. Every effort must be made , however , to ensure it is as effective and thorough in all respects.

It should be remembered that the very definition of "instruction" can be interpreted many different ways. It may include such things as independent study , field trips ,computer-aided training and possibly instruction from non-teachers. Generally speaking a lot more flexibility can be exercised in the home schooling environment.
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