Getting Started With Home Schooling

The HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION (HSLDA) provides a brief analysis of the Arkansas State Home schooling Law, see their links below:

Arkansas law requires filing of an INTENT FORM and a WAIVER (available from your local school superintendent -or- available through the Arkansas Department of Education website).

Effective July 1, 1999, home schoolers in Arkansas must file their intent form and waiver at the beginning of each school year, but no later than August 15th of each school year.

Parents desiring to start home schooling the second semester must file their intent form and waiver by December 15th.

Arkansas parents desiring to enroll their child in a home school during the semester must submit a notice of intent and waiver form to their superintendent and wait 14 calendar days before beginning to home school.

Parents with children under disciplinary action in a public school may not begin home schooling until: this action has been completed, the superintendent allows them to leave, the semester ends, or the student is expelled. They also have to wait 14 calendar days before taking their child out of school.

Parents who refuse to test their child in accordance with the law may be charged with truancy.

AS YOU BEGIN PLANNING FOR YOUR HOME SCHOOLING
EXPERIENCE:

* Prepare yourself by seeking guidance, first from the One who has blessed you with children, then from those who are home schooling "experts" as a result of their own home schooling experience.

* Read homeschool materials. Start with the links on our Curriculum Links Pages.

* Join your local home schooling support group. Attend their functions and talk to veteran homeschoolers.

Homeschool How-To:

Ask a dozen home schoolers WHY they home school and you'll probably get a dozen different answers.
Ask them HOW they home school and you're likely to get a lot of advice. Is there one right way to teach our children? Only if all children are alike.

If there's a key to the "how-to" of home schooling it may well be, "Do what works for you." So, how do you find out what that is? Teaching methods range from school-at-home using a full-course textbook curriculum to what some refer to as "unschooling" or "natural schooling;" from fill-in-the-blank workbooks to hands-on unit studies; from structured schedules to spontaneous "delight-directed" studies; from Charlotte Mason to John Holt.

"Who??"

Okay. If you're just starting out, the first person you need to educate is yourself. The explosion of the home schooling movement has created a marketplace full of materials and advice for all home schoolers, from the novice to the most experienced. (Yes, even seasoned home schoolers need help from time to time.) Finding good material can be as simple, and as time consuming, as entering "home school" in your Internet search engine and following the links. We will try to make the task a little easier for you.

We will try to point you in the direction of some of the most helpful sources of information. At first, the more catalogs you order and the more you read, the more confused you may become. But before long something is likely to "click." At that point, following your instincts is an excellent plan. Remember, you know your children better than anyone else does.

Another good rule to remember is this: Rule your curriculum. Don't let your curriculum rule you. If your plan doesn't work as well as you hoped it would, fall back and regroup. Scrapping an expensive curriculum in the middle of the year is far less worse than struggling with it for months and souring both yourself and your child on the whole idea of home schooling.

The Internet is full of information on home schooling, some so-so, some worth its weight in gold. We have provided curriculum links to the most widely used companies on our Curriculum Links pages. Most of them will link you to other sites and more information than you could ever use. Bookmark the ones that interest you. Move on from the ones that don't. Remember, your instincts are important. You'll know what you like and what you don't.

As you begin your search, ask for guidance. The One who got you started on this journey in the great world of home schooling will always be there to guide your way. Remember to keep your eyes on Him.