Making the decision to transition to homeschool* isn’t always easy. As parents we want the best for our children, and for many kids the public school system works well and many kids do thrive. However, for kids like my son who don’t, or for parents who wish to be more hands on with their child’s education, homeschool can be an excellent choice. Here I share some first step resources.
My main piece of advice when starting out is to talk to as many people as possible. Speak to teachers, school administrators, and other homeschooling parents. If your child is followed by a specialist, such as a psychologist, therapist, councellor then they too can be a good sounding board for advice on how to transition from public school. There are also many parent groups on Facebook, for example, that will allow you to connect with people locally and all over the world. Experienced homeschool parents, especially those in your area, can be an invaluable source of information on what programs and resources are available.
My Favourite First Step Resources
These were the main sources I used when researching the homeschooling options available in my province of British Columbia. Please note that I have not included links to other jurisdictions because I can’t vouch for their accuracy, but any country, province, or state that allows or offers homeschooling as an option should have similar resources for parents.
- B.C. Government Classroom Alternatives – In my province, the Government has two homeschool options available to parents: Distance Learning and Homeschool. Online Distributed (Distance) Learning is overseen by certified teachers and students follow the same curriculum as students in public school and qualifies them to receive a graduation certificate. Homeschooling is not overseen by a certified teacher and does not qualify students to receive a graduation certificate.
- B.C. Schools that offer Homeschooling options – A curated list of schools in British Columbia that have distance learning programs.
- B.C. Ministry of Education: Curriculum – This is a detailed description of the current B.C. Curriculum. Regardless of which homeschooling program you choose, it’s helpful to see what the learning guidelines and expectations are for each grade level.
*Note: I use the terms homeschool and homeschooling to mean education that is completed at home, not the specific homeschool program available in British Columbia.