Home schooling questions?

Question

Ok so I am planning on home schooling my daughter but I need to know a few things first.

1.) How do I find out the laws for my state (Arizona)?

2.) At what age will they let me start? (She is almost 4)

3.) Can I “change” the school year? (I want her to do her schooling through the summer because it is so hot here, that way she can have her break when it is cooler)

4.) How easy is it to fit a foreign language into the curriculum? (We will be moving to Japan in a few years and she absolutely MUST learn Japanese!)

Now I know that it may seem that I am thinking about this a little early but as I said we are going to be moving to Japan in a few years and she has to be up to there educational standards to go to school there… there standards are a bit higher than we have here so I really do need to start soon but I don’t want to have any problems with the state, also I know that she will have to take all of the standardized tests but I am a little concerned about how that will work out if I start her early… Any information will be more thank welcome. Thank you all very much (domo arrigato gozaimasu)

Answer 1

.) How do I find out the laws for my state (Arizona)?

You can find the laws for your state at http://www.HSLDA.org You can also find links to organizations in your state for homeschool support-they often have curriculum sales, field trips, coop classes, playgroups.  

2.) At what age will they let me start? (She is almost 4)

You can start homeschooling whenever you want, but until she reaches compulsary attendance age you are free to educate in the manner you want to without the restrictions of the state.

3.) Can I “change” the school year? (I want her to do her schooling through the summer because it is so hot here, that way she can have her break when it is cooler)

You are absolutely free to do this!  Homeschooling is very flexible.

4.) How easy is it to fit a foreign language into the curriculum? (We will be moving to Japan in a few years and she absolutely MUST learn Japanese!)

Very easy!  Again, homeschooling is very flexible.  I recommend you Google AsiaForKids and ChinaSprout (I am pretty sure they are both .coms).  They both have catalogs that offer products you might be interested in and/or need-language specifically.  They have several options too.

I hope this helps, and wish you the best!

Answer 2

There are 2 free online charter schools in AZ. I would check into them both. K12 is a better one IMHO.

Answer 3

Im with Brawx Owl, she said everything right, we too take a break during th e cooler time, because our son has heart problems & he too cant relaly play outside when its too hot, so we take a break when its cooler, so he can have time outside too, I homeschool alot during the summer.

I think its wonderful you want to teach her another laungauage, wish i could get my husbadn to agree with that. He thinks since we live in American, thatsthe ONLY language he needs to know. I think Im going to sneak it  in though.

Answer 4

You can do any time line for your schooling. This is one of the great things about home schooling. We were able to take vacations on the off seasons.

Below is a site on laws in AZ for homeschooling.

You can fit anything you want to into your curriculum.

In IL my kids didn't have to do any testing for the state. When I put them back into public school I had no trouble at all.  I did A BEKA program which is chirstian based. It had everything I needed to teach. Books, workbooks, quizes, tests, answers, study guide, lesson plans. It was easy to follow.

Answer 5

1. Compulsory age is 6-16 .Start homeschooling today but you don't need notify the state until she's 6

2. Start now. Sonlight Curriculum is great and the books offer a world-view rather than just and American-view of life.

3. Year round is a great option. I have many friends who do 4 weeks on 1 week off. A standard school year in CA is 36 weeks.

4. Try Rosetta Stone for foreign language. She doesn't need to know how to read to use this program. It's all on the computer and it's fun! It is great for teaching vocabulary and easy to use. You daughter could easily become fluent very quickly while having a great time.

Warm Regards

Jana

http://www.purehomeschooling.com