Do you need any qualifications to teach your own kids at home and how do you go about it?

Question

Do you need any qualifications to teach your own kids at home and how do you go about it?

Answer 1

Best place to start is HSLDA. They have the laws for all states and even other countries. It all depends on which state you live in as to what qualifications you have to have if any. Some states require them some don't.

DON'T' I REPEAT DON'T call the school board for info they want your child in public school and will say what they can to convince you as to how bad home school is. They also don't always know anything about the laws for home school.

For curriculum I suggest that you look into Sonlight and Math U See. Sonlight is a Literature based education. They send lesson plans and all the books and recourses you need and if you order a core package for say grade 1+2 you can use it for 2 years. It ran me about 900.00 to start it out but it really is an investment because you can use it for each child you have and not have to reorder anything except the worksheets and consumable items. Sonlight is Christian but if you choose to you can eliminate the Bible lesson and then it becomes more secular. Math U See is wonderful because it comes with a DVD that you can watch and then teach your child or you can let your child watch it and just go from there. It has helped my daughter tremendously.  If you want a creation based science program Apologia is great.

Answer 2

Not sure which country you are in - here in the UK you don't need teaching qualifications to home educate.

The Education Act (1996 & the recent updated one - can't remember which year) states that:

A child should have an education according to their age ability and aptitude in school or otherwise.  (This is a paraphrase but the exact wording is similar)

Someone said that you need to have a certain level of intelligence - in actual fact you don't need to be intelligent at all! I don't know how anyone who didn't have any would manage but that's not a criteria to home educating.

You don't even have to plan your lessons etc. I don't know how people can educate like that (I educate my children and I need a plan for their benefit as well as my own).

Answer 3

If you are in the US most states require that you have a high school diploma or GED.  You should really read up on the laws for your state and visit the HSLDA website.

The laws and requirements for each state are different.

Answer 4

Depends on what you mean by qualifications-- if you mean teaching credentials, no, homeschooling is not even close to teaching public schools.

If you mean MA degrees in various subjects, no you don't need that, you don't have to be an expert in everything to facilitate your child's education, you just need to figure out what directions to point them and resources to use.

If you mean you are a fairly qualified parent, who is competent enough to do research,  find resources or assistance when needed, who enjoys working with their children and can provide an engaging, stimulating environment in which the child, both intellectually, socially, emotionally, creatively-- then that's pretty much the most important thing.

You go about it by finding out your state laws & requirements, and raiding your  library's education section.

Answer 5

No you don't.

I am just beginning to homeschool my girls and need do nothing but notify the right people that they will not be attending public school.

Homeschool is treated as a private school...did you know that all those high priced private schools do not require the teachers to be licensed?  Caught me off guard as well....

You need to look up your state's requirements...who to send the notice to etc.

HSLDA is where I started looking...

http://www.hslda.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1

there you will find your state and what to do.

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 6

If you look up on the web, your state's education department.  There should be an application form to download and fill out.  From the time you fill it out and the time it is approved is about 30 days. You have to officially register your "home School" .  Regulations vary from state to state so you have to check.  I looked into it for my kids and it is not.

There are also home school organizations that you can e-mail for more information.  

Good luck.

Answer 7

We live in Colorado, each state is different, here no we don't need qualifications, however you need to have a ton of patients and understanding.  We use a specific curriculum so we just kind of follow along.  Look online there should be something regarding the law's in your state.  Good luck

Answer 8

The requirements a parents need to homeschool depend on what state you're in.  Here's some info on requirements and qualifications:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

If you want to homeschool, the first thing you need to do is find out your state laws.

Then start looking at different homeschooling methods to see what teaching methods may fit your family and your child's learning style:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Then you can choose a homeschooling curriculum.  You can read reviews of different programs at:

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com

I would also suggest joining up with a local support and attending a home school curriculum fair so you can view materials.

At first the information can seem overwhelming, but if you take it step by step it will all come together.

Good luck!

Answer 9

Every state is different on this. Go to your state dept of education website and search for the homeschool laws.

Some states require only GED or diploma, some require you have college degree.

Answer 10

You don't need teaching qualifications but you do need to have had a good standard of education yourself and be able to plan their work and keep up-to-date with the level they would have been in school.

Answer 11

if u want to teach ur kids at home u dont need qualifications but u need to be in touch with the board of school districts my mother home schools us but she has no qualifications go to this website for information on home schooling

abekaacademy.org

Answer 12

you never used to have to. not sure if the law has changed. you need to be reasonably competent, and probably prepare a timetable and be prepared to buy in some specialist subject teaching. I suggest you contact these people http://www.education-otherwise.org/

I know a number of people who rely on them and they've been around for quite some time, so should be able to give you all the info you need. Good Luck

EDIT You don't need qualifications, OR a timetable, but may have to demostrate what's been done by showing examples of work to you LEA

Answer 13

I agree with Ichthus above.  I assume that you are in the UK as your question has come through on the UK & Ireland Yahoo Answers.

The following two sites will be of use to you:

http://www.education-otherwise.org/

http://www.heas.org.uk/

You don't say how old your children are, but just have a chat with them about what they would like to learn.  English and maths would be a sensible start.  If your children are under 13, I would recommend the "So you really want to learn" series for both subjects.  These are excellent and are published by Galore Park.  For older children "STP Mathematics" published by Nelson Thornes are wonderful and have very clear explanations.

Galore Park also publish a wide range of books for younger learners, including geography, history, modern languages, Latin, science etc.

Personally I found the search for suitable text books a nightmare - there are so many bad ones out there.  Remember that you do not need to know anything yourself about the subjects you are teaching.  This is why you need to choose your books very carefully and it is a good idea to learn with your children.  If you cannot understand what has been written in the books, then it is highly likely that your children will not do so either.

Good luck!

Answer 14

yes, you need qualifications and permissions legally.