Helpful information for new home schoolers
Texas Education Code
- Age Requirement – “a child who is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six years of age and has previously been enrolled in first grade and who has not yet reached the child’s 18th birthday shall attend school.”
- Days required – 180 days. Only required for public schools.
- Required subjects – Good citizenship, math, reading spelling and grammar.
- Good citizenship is a broad subject and can be covered in a course of good character/morals, teaching to be a good private citizen in the community.
- Home Schools can legally operate as private schools in Texas – therefore fall under private school guidelines in the state of Texas.
Taking Children Out of Public School
- Obtain your curriculum
- Write the principal of the school your child attends and tell him that you are withdrawing. (See “Handbook for Texas HomeSchoolers” pages 2-5 and 2-6. Order from THSC). For additional information dealing with the school district, see THSC’s Dealing With The School District FAQs.
- If the school contacts you and requires more than just the letter, ask for their request IN WRITING. Keep copies of all correspondence
Reasons to Home School
Spiritual
- To have a longer daily consistent time to spend with their children to instill Christian principals and moral values in their children.
Academic
- To provide a one-on-one approach to education – choosing the curriculum and focus that is desired for each child.
- To avoid some of the time – wasting activities that take up a lot of time in a large classroom.
- To allow the child to work at their own pace rather than to be left behind or to have to wait for peers to catch up.
- To avoid secular teaching, such as evolution.
Socialization Issues
- To provide a safe learning environment for their children.
- To be able to choose the situations that the children will be involved with.
- To allow more time for the activities that the child has a natural bent towards.
- To provide the child with a wide scope of relationships with people of ALL ages rather than with only peers of the same age.
Special Needs
- If a child has special needs (ADD, handicaps, etc..), home education provides an alternative means of education surrounded with a loving family.
To Strengthen Family Relationships
- Home Education provides the avenue for siblings to become friends and family ties to become stronger
Getting Started
Decide on a Yearly Schedule
Develop a Routine
- Housework/Chores
- Home Schooling more than 1 child at a time
Get involved in outside activities-keep balance – don’t over commit
Join a support group for moral and informational support
Types of Curriculum
Traditional Textbook/Workbook- this philosophy uses textbooks and workbooks following a specified scope and sequence. (Examples: Abeka, Bob Jones)
Classical Education – this philosophy uses the Trivium as its basis teaching 1)Grammar Stage (Learn Elements of Lang., memorize, observe) 2)Dialectic Stage (Use facts to draw conclusions, debate and 3) the Rhetoric Stage (using language persuasively) (Example: “The Well-Trained Mind”)
Unit Study- In this philosophy, all subjects surround or spin from one topic. (Examples: “The Weaver”, “A World of Learning Adventure”, “How to Create A Unit Study”)
Charlotte Mason/’Whole’ Book Based – Involves children in real life situations exposes them to best sources, read “living” books (or whole books) which make subjects come alive. (Examples: “Educating the Whole-Hearted Child”, “For the Children’s Sake”, “Charlotte Mason Companion“)
Unschooling- in this philosophy, each child pursues his own interests. Parents provide resources for child to learn on his own and access real world. (Example: “The Joyful Home School”)
Delayed Academics – In this philosophy, the parent/teacher doesn’t start ‘formal’ education until the child is developmentally ready. (Example: “The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook”)
Learning and Personality Styles
- Type A – Hands on – learns by doing. Short attention spans, do not like restraint, planning or structure.
- Type B – Responsible, likes things structured, planned, organized. Tends to perfectionism.
- Type C – likes to be in control of himself and his surroundings. Self-motivated, but lacks social skills and tends to enjoy solitary activities.
- Type D – Has a warm, responsive personality. Concepts are more interesting to them than details. Sometimes starts with zeal , but easily loses steam once the excitement wears off.
(Resources to help with Learning Styles – “Christian Home Education Manual-Elementary Grades“, “Educating the WholeHearted Child”, “The Way They Learn”.)
Teaching Styles/Modes of Learning
- Kinesthetic – Hands on Manipulative style. (example: “Math-U-See”)
- Auditory – Listens well, hears the words – understands
- Visual – Must “see” the concept either in writing or pictures
(The best curricula involve all three of these modes – to help the child remember what he/she has learned)
Choosing Curriculum
- Pray
- Read and research all you can
- Use what you learn to match your child’s learning style to your curriculum and/or your family’s situation (example: unit study works well for several children in different grade levels)
- Look at catalogs that carry curriculum; attend a new or used book fair in your area. Talk to other home school families about their experiences.
- Know that your choice will not be exactly like someone else. That’s OK. Use what will work for your family!!
Read our Advice for Shopping at Book Fairs.
Recommended Reading
Books Children Love, Elizabeth Wilson – A comprehensive guide to the very best in children’s books. Each book included has been carefully read and evaluated by the author.
Christian Home Educators’ Curriculum Manual (Elementary and Jr./Sr. High Editions), Cathy Duffy – An EXCELLENT resource to help with deciding on a curriculum. Author discusses learning styles and teaching styles, in addition to writing a review on available curriculum choices. Also includes helpful reproducible forms.
Educating the WholeHearted Child, Clay and Sally Clarkson – Great book explaining Home Centered Learning with ideas, tips encouragement, motivation and inspiration from a home schooling family.
For the Children’s Sake, Susan Schaeffer Maccaulay – A wonderful book outlining the foundations for home education, supporting the home environment for learning.
Handbook for Texas Home Schoolers, Texas Home School Coalition – A resource all first time home schoolers should have on their shelves. This book has Texas home school laws, history, questions/answers, and many additional helpful resources for home educators.
Teaching Children, Diane Lopez – A curriculum guide based on the home environment teaching style. Lists suggestions for what children need to know at each level through sixth grade.
The Big Books of Home Learning, – Mary Pride – thorough guide to home education including getting started, preschool, elementary and teen through college information.
The How and Why of Home Schooling, Ray E. Ballmann – Give reasons to home school and practical guidelines for teaching your children at home.
The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore – Give alternatives to hard-to-use curricula, and suggests ways to educate your children at home with low stress, low cost and high success.
The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, – Debra Bell – Written by a former public school teacher who has home schooled her own four children from elementary through high school. Tons of information from planning, curriculum advice to avoiding burnout in homeschool.
You Can Teach Your Child Successfully (and the 3 R’s Books), Ruth Beechick – The author is a big supporter of parents as teachers and gives straightforward information on the how-to of teaching your children. She answers questions and gives simple, yet effective information on the mechanics of teaching.
The books listed can be found in many of the catalog recommendations and some can be found at our local library.
Ten Strategies for Successful Homeschooling – Maggie Hogan
Maggie Hogan is a motivational speaker and co-author of The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide, Gifted Children at Home, and other resource books. She and her husband, Bob, have been home schooling their boys since 1991. Involved in local, state, and national home schooling issues, they both serve on boards of home education organizations in Delaware. They are also owners of Bright Ideas Press (www.brightideaspress.com), a home school company dedicated to bringing the best practical, fun and affordable material to the home school market.
As you plan for and begin your new school year, consider implementing some of the following steps. They really can lead to a productive school year.
- Be Logical. Use history as your cornerstone. Work chronologically. Start where you are and work forward. Or go back to the beginning and progress onward. It’s easy to tie in literature and geography (and often art and music) with history.
- Invest. Select interesting resources that both you and the kids will enjoy. Buy kits, game, costumes, etc. for Christmas and birthday presents. Give the grandparents a wish list. Purchase items that have tremendous appeal and/or long-term value.
- Catch-up. Overwhelmed? Feel like you are falling behind? Take an entire day or more and use it to catch up in one subject. You can cover an amazing amount of territory in a single day. Have a special pizza and school night if you and your kids work well in the evening hours. Then camp out in the school room and play favorite game when everyone’s work is completed.
- Delegate. Plan on-going jobs they can do independently. Use non-school time to train them properly in their chores.
- The Big Picture. Keep an on-going map and timeline visible for a constant reminder of where and what your are studying.
- Notebooking. Have students keep what they are learning in a notebook.
- Get Ahead. Grab an hour or more when you and the kids are feeling on top of things and intentionally get ahead in something. It provides a great source of accomplishment and is like putting money in a savings bank. You’ll really appreciate it when you need to “draw” on the time you saved.
- Home School Holidays. Take a break for a week or two when needed. Teacher Planning Days are allowed, even recommended! Make your own special family holidays and keep them.
- Solicit Wise Counsel. Enlist the support of your husband, friend, mentor, senior at church, or someone else to encourage you and/or to be a resource for information and ideas.
- Reality Check! Periodically look up from the books and ask questions about your home school.
Are we learning anything? Are we enjoying the process or getting burned out? Are we displaying Christ-like attitudes? Stop and pray, then re-evaluate! Now, with all that said, how do I know if our home school succeeded this year? Did my children learn? Do they want to learn more? Was God honored in our home?
Yes? Then we had a successful year!
Home School Resources
GWCHE does not support or endorse any of the following links. These are listed for your reference and convenience in searching for curriculum and items of interest to the home school community GWCHE serves.
State and National Support
Resources in Waco
- Brazos Valley Co-op
- Usborne Books
- Passmore Self Defense
- Photos and Video by Debbie
- Region 12 Education Service Center
- Skate Day
- Contact Donna Jernigan
- Home School 4-H
- High School PE
- Contact Vicki Smith
