THINGS TO DO:
1. Become familiar with the Alabama state law concerning church schools.
2. Choose whether you will register your child with a cover school or contact the local board of education as being privately schooled.
3. Be sure to register with your chosen option before withdrawing from any current schooling situation.
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
The main thing to remember when you are thinking about homeschooling is do NOT withdraw your children from their current school until you are officially enrolled in your alternate choice!
The state of Alabama gives you three days from the time you withdraw to be enrolled in a new school. Most administrators cannot meet every day to enroll new families, so it might take some time to get you enrolled.
You don’t want to take the chance of becoming truant and illegal while making a change.
RESOURCES to help:
Things to look for in a cover school
Since there are no regulations concerning cover schools in Alabama, they are all different! Some of the main things you need to consider when looking at cover schools are the following:
- Yearly tuition and fees
- What are the enrollment requirements?
- Does the school require you to turn in grades?
- Does the school require membership to a specific church or do they require a statement of faith?
- Does the school require you to use a specific curriculum?
- Does the school require attendance to meetings or school events?
- Does the school offer assistance with choosing curriculum or other things you might need help with?
Do I really need a support group?
For 99% of homeschooling families,
the answer is YES!
Your support can come from many places; your friends, family, cover school or local homeschool support group.
Homeschooling is a wonderful adventure, but just like any other area of life we all run into problems at some point and need someone to help us through it. Sometimes all you may need is an encouraging word and other times you might need someone to sit down with you and help you work on a certain problem.
The support of fellow homeschooling moms can be INVALUABLE. Who better to learn from than those that have lived it every day? It can be very easy once you start homeschooling to stay home and not get out very much. Just be careful that you aren’t isolating yourself and your kids too much.
On the other hand, I caution against signing up for too many activities each year. We don’t want to be so busy going from activity to activity that we forget math!
Where do I get curriculum?
Most people purchase their books online.
You can also find local used book sales in the summer or you can purchase them at homeschool conventions. We host a used curriculum and book sale each summer.
In my opinion, once you pick a cover school, choosing curriculum is the hardest part of homeschooling. There are SO MANY choices out there and it can be very overwhelming!
Please remember that if you start using a curriculum and it just isn’t working, there is nothing wrong with changing curriculum or you can simply use it for a year and choose something else the next year.
We have a list of links for curriculum here.
Take some time to research homeschooling methods. One wonderful thing about homeschooling is that you can tailor it to fit your teaching style and your kids learning styles. Start with the one that fits your family the best.