Homeschool GeoCities
Curriculum
Inland Northwest Homeschooling
Why Home Educate?
We teach our children at home because we realize they are individuals and therefore should have an individualized education. We believe that the most important education a child can get is the one he gets at home, whether he be homeschooled or enrolled in a traditional school. Who will be held accountable for the child when he goes (or doesn't go) to Heaven? Certainly not Mrs. Smith, his third grade teacher. It will be we, his parents. For our family, homeschooling is the only option.
"Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done." Psalm 78:1-4
Washington Homeschool Laws
Washington State has fairly easy laws regarding homeschooling. Compulsory age of attendance here is 8. Compulsory age means the age at which a child MUST attend school. For a homeschooling family, this means that in September of the year the child is 8 years old, you must file an 'Intent To Homeschool' form with your local school district. (And this has to be filed each September thereafter.)
There are few criteria you must meet in order to be able to homeschool legally here. The first option is that you can file as having had at least 40 college credit hours of course work. I went to a trade school and earned 101 credits, so this was not a problem.
"The statute further states that the legislature recognizes that home-based instruction is less structured and more experiential than the instruction normally provided in a classroom setting. Therefore, the provisions relating to the nature and quantity of instructional and related educational activities shall be liberally construed." RCW 28A.225.010(4)
If you're not from Washington, and want to know what your state laws are, go to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and go to Across the States. Choose a state, and you will find complete text of the laws, plus contacts for homeschooling associations in your area.
There is a web site called the Christian Home Educator's Electronic Convention where you can listen to or watch live video of well-known speakers, get lots of great information on homeschooling, and even purchase homeschool t-shirts and other things!
Barring college credit, you can take the Homeschool Qualifying Class, which is offered at most community colleges around the state, and costs around $50.
You can register under an "umbrella school", where you work under supervision of a certified teacher and grading and testing is handled by them.
The final option, is that you can be "deemed qualified" by your local superintendant.
After you file, you must have your children tested or assessed yearly. You will be required to keep their test results on file, but do not have to submit them to anyone unless you register your student for public/private school. You are supposed to teach in the areas of occupational education (what Dad and others do at work), science/health, mathematics, language, social studies/history, reading/writing, spelling, and art/music appreciation. How you do this is up to you. Curriculum, methods, hours, school schedule, etc. are all up to you.
Christian Homeschool Forum
Elijah Company (Request a catalog!)
Washington State Homeschool Associations:
Family Learning Organization
Washington Homeschool Organization
Spokane County Links:
Spokane County Library Online
Spokane Valley Home Scholars
no link yet
Thanks for visiting!