FAQ'S
Why do families choose to home educate their children?
Are parents qualified to teach their children?
Is home education legal in every province?
What about socialization?
What about higher education and career preparation?
How much time does it take to home educate?
What about children with special needs?
What about my child's special interests?
What materials are available?
How do we get started in home educating?
Why do families choose to home educate their children?
The primary motivations to home educate are proactive: to achieve certain ideals or goals. Parents who home educate believe that it is the best option for the moral and spiritual development of their family, and that it is the best way to provide a solid education for their children, according to the research project, Home Education in Canada: A Report on the Pan-Canadian Study on Home Education 2003. (View study synopsis here and order the synopsis and/or complete report on our online store here).
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Are parents qualified to teach their children?
You know your children better than anyone and have the deepest love and concern for them. You also have the most direct and long-term responsibility for your children.
Educationally, one-to-one tutoring of a child has many advantages over the typical classroom where one teacher tries to meet the needs of many children at different learning levels.
Your example and enthusiasm in learning with your children will motivate and encourage them far more than striving to appear as if you know it all. You do not need to know everything in order to teach.
Is home education legal in every province?
Yes. Each province sets its own laws governing home education. Meeting the requirements of these laws may be as simple as informing the school district or department of education of your intent to homeschool or as complex as having your children tested and fulfilling detailed requirements of provincial regulations.
Click here for a summary of home education across Canada
Legislation is continually being proposed and considered in provinces. It is important for you to work with your provincial and local homeschool organizations to aid the passage of favorable legislation and regulations which guarantee parental rights and maximize freedom to home educate.
This is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of home education. It is the positive aspects of socialization through the home that attract many families to this lifestyle.
Popular opinion assumes that children need periods of interaction with a group of peers to acquire social skills. By contrast however, many believe that extensive peer contact during childhood can cause undesirable and negative peer dependency.
Young children are more likely to be influenced by the majority than to be independent and an example to others. Children who receive their education outside the home are prone to accept their peers' and teachers' values over those of their parents. Dr. Bronfenbrenner of Cornell university found that children who spend more time with their peers than with their parents generally become dependant on those peers and parental influence is quickly lost.
Some advantages of freedom from peer pressure can be self-confidence, independent thinking, the ability to relate to people of all ages, and better family relationships.
Moral principles of interaction can be taught, demonstrated and reinforced at home by parents. Children can learn needed social skills by interaction with siblings or other children and adults under their parent' supervision. Young people who have had this type of training have adjusted very well to adult life.
You can help your children build and maintain lasting friendships with people of all ages.
What about higher education and career preparation?
Many institutions throughout North America have welcomed home-educated students. "Many of these schools actively recruit home-educated graduates because of their maturity, independent thinking skills, creativity, and extensive academic preparation," says Inge Cannon, executive director of Education PLUS.
In anticipation of university or college entrance or any vocational training program, parents should prepare a thorough transcript of high school level work, award a diploma, and specify and actual high school graduation date. Occasionally tests may be required by a college or employer for additional verification. Some provincial homeschool associations are officially hosting graduation ceremonies for high school graduates.
Parents should contact post-secondary institutions early to determine specific requirements for admission.
How much time does it take to home educate?
Home education requires a time commitment, although not as much as you might expect. One-to-one tutoring is more efficient than classroom instruction and therefore, requires less time.
The time requirement varies according to the methods used, the ages of the children and the number of children in the family.
Daily academic instruction might begin with one-half to one hour for the early grades and work up to a few hours of instruction plus independent study for upper grades.
Most correspondence courses state that their work can be completed in four or five hours per day.
What about children with special needs?
Many children with special needs are being successfully home educated. Membership in HSLDA of Canada provides parents with access to research and information, which can assist and encourage those parents with special needs children to homeschool.
What about my child's special interests?
A wealth of experiences outside the home can supplement and enrich home education. Unlimited possibilities abound for field trips that individual families or groups can take. These provide valuable in-the-field learning laboratories.
Specialized classes are often available through parks, museums, art school or private lessons. Church and community teams offer various sports opportunities.
There is actually more time and opportunity available for enrichment activities for home taught students than for those in conventional schools.
Fine materials developed for Christian and private schools are available to home educators. With the huge growth of the home education movement new materials are also being developed or adapted especially for use in home teaching.
These materials may be obtained in several basic ways: You may order texts and teaching aids directly from the publishers or through mail-order companies. Home education magazines regularly present advertisements of numerous suppliers of quality teaching materials. A home extension program offered through a local Christian school or church can provide teaching materials, testing and counseling. Materials, testing and guidance can also be obtained through correspondence courses.
Home educators can choose or combine elements of a variety of teaching approaches.
How do we get started in home educating?
Click here to contact us for help getting started on your journey of home education.
