Homeschooling ... just Monday - Friday, or do you count weekends?

Question

My husband and I are strongly considering homeschool for my daughter. In my state (SC), they require 180 logged days of at least 4 1/2 hours each. We also have to keep records of subjects studied, samples of work, etc. My husband and I plan to take a more relaxed approach to homeschooling ... finding creative ways to teach our children about the basic academics. (Example, baking a cake may become a lesson study on measurements)

My question is this ... Would I count weekend learning into the 180 days that I have to log? The state I'm in tries to "mold" the homeschool program into one that is more academic and structured in nature (pretty much public school in your home), but we're trying to find creative ways to do lesson plans that will break out of that mold.

Thanks guys! Let me say ahead of time that the great suggestions/advice I've got on here lately has been much appreciated and helped to guide me in my decisions!

Answer 1

If I do not finish with my child through the week, I just tell him that we'll finish it up on the weekend.

Answer 2

Maybe you could do the subjects your kids need extra help with on the weekends. I think you could count this.. it is a day of work

Answer 3

It really depends on how the 180 days is required to be "logged".  In IA, they require 148 days, and I keep a portfolio for review at the end of the year.  BUT, there is nothing that says I have to write what we did each day, only keep track of which days we "did school."  So at the beginning of the year, I get a small calendar (the kind about the size of a checkbook), and mark each week day "School, School, School, Holiday, School..."  Until I have 148 days.  Then I just do schoolwork when we're able, more when we can, less when we want.

Yeah, it's not exactly accurate, but if I were to be honest, we're learning every single day and would meet our 148 days of learning by mid-January.  Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and just do what you need for your family.

Answer 4

Does your daughter help with dinner on Sunday?  That's home ec.  Does your daughter play outside on Saturday?  That's P. E.   You can count anyhting as a learning experience, even if it is on the weekends.

Answer 5

Logging weekend work could help you reach your 'target', remember that alot of children who are in public school also have the homeschooling of baking cakes at weekends and you don't want to put your daughter at any kind of disadvantage in the future.

Although things have to be logged I would imagine that a certain amount of flexibility and twisting of work to fit the 'targets' would be acceptable.  I would also imagine that when you start your planning no matter how holistic that is you would find yourself filling in the log quicker than you imagine at the moment.  Creative work is hard to time it could be quick or it could develop and take a lot longer than first planned.  Just because they say a session should last 4 1/2 hours does not mean it can't last longer.

I think when you get into it you will find there is nothing to worry about and you can meet the regulations and still give your daughter the education you want.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Homeschooling in Illinois is pretty easy, so they don't require us to keep the kind of records you are talking about; however, I keep records anyway--just in case and for my own purposes.

My approach to homeschooling is a "school-at-home" kind of approach; however, because of my schedule, I sometimes "unschool."  Lots of learning still takes place, and yes, I count weekends, because we sometimes do "seat work" or "book work" on the weekend when we need to catch up.  Also, I know that when I take my son to the grocery store, library, children's church, etc., much learning is taking place.

Think about it--when public schools take children on field trips, this counts toward their attendance.  If the children do some type of simple activity at school (under the supervision of the teacher) like making puppets, listenening to a special speaker, etc., this counts toward their school day.  Since you want to have a more relaxed approach to homeschooling, I would suggest being liberal in what you consider to be a learning activity.

I hope this helps some.

Answer 7

The great thing about homeschooling is it's on your schedule. I was home schooled from 7th grade on up. My schedule loosely resembled that of public schools (I'd get up early, do my work, break for lunch, do some more work, etc) - but the difference was I could set when I was finished. If I felt like making my work load light that week, I'd just do a couple hours a day, and then finish what I hadn't gotten done on the weekend. If I decided I wanted 3 days off instead of 2 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), I'd double my schedule and get enough work done so that I could have 3 days off and not fall behind any. My mother just made sure that in one way or another, I got my work finished. It's really up to you what kind of schedule you want to set for your kid, whatever works best for you guys. Just keep in mind to plan 'outings' and field trips and what not to keep your kid socialized with other kids her age. That's one thing my mother didn't do and as an adult I struggle with being pretty anti-social and not really wanting to leave the house. Homeschooling can be a great thing if done correctly. It can also mess a kid up for life.

Answer 8

We learn all the time, every day, and consider all things educational.  IMO, my kids are learning all day every day, 365 days a year.  So 180 days -- of course!

We are not required to log what we do in my state, but I see what my kids are learning every day, and also they surprise me with what they know that I have no idea how they know it.

We don't use a curriculum because of their narrow focus and dry presentation.  We have the world at our fingertips and most of the time read books for pleasure rather than for lessons.

Have fun!

Answer 9

Your actual hours spent should, I believe, count regardless of the state you live in.  In regards to your choice to homeschool, good luck.  You need to get your curriculum before you remove your daughetr from her current school.  The Home School Legal Defense Association has a website with the  homeschool requirements for each state on it.  It's also a good idea to join a homescool support group in your area, as socialization is also a factor when homeschooling.  At the age your daughter is at, they learn so fast!  Give her all you can to encourage that!  She may do great with measurements for a cake, but just think how much farther she can take it if you start teaching her fractions, and for that you do need some kind of structured format.  Best wishes, and good luck.  I hope you're very successful in your schooling!

Answer 10

if you work on the weekend count it. Usually it is Monday-Friday but your the teacher and principal it's up to you to decide when school is going to happen. For us we are on vacation until the new curriculum comes in and we will probably go a week into summer vacation.

We usually follow the public school schedule.

Answer 11

I do.  If my son completes anything I would normally count as school on the weekends, then that day is a school day.

That doesn't necessarily mean bookwork; for example, he runs a small business selling baked goods to raise money for missions.  In this, he learns accounting, measurement, chemistry, salesmanship, etc.  If he spends all day Saturday baking to get ready for his Sunday orders, yep, I count that as school hours.  If in the middle of this we do some read aloud time (which would normally be counted as part of his history, science, lit, whatever), I count that as school time as well.

I count his Scouts time as school time.  Good grief, his badge and rank work is often just as advanced (if not more so) than his regular schoolwork.  If he's on a campout and I know he's spending Saturday working on rank or badge requirements (his troop works him fairly hard, but it's also fun), I count it as school.

With homeschooling, your schedule is your own.  You have to keep records to be able to back that schedule up, but it is your own.

Hope that helps!

(PS - we easily log 240 days each year, only 180 are required.  It's pretty easy to reach the quota, even with just bookwork!)

Answer 12

Hi!  

I am in SC also, and the requirement is 180 days, but the 4 1/2 hours is only required by two of the three options for homeschooling in this state.  We use Option 3.  You might want to research further, as Option 3 is the least restrictive requirement (Option 1 is through the local school district, and Option 2 and 3 are almost the same as far as requirements, except the 2nd option is through SCAIHS-the first alternative to Option 1.  Later, Option 3 was added).

We personally do 180 days, Monday-Friday but we also do a lot of educational activities on weekends and I count them.  Sometimes it results in us having more than the required 180 days (no harm there), and sometimes it helps us when we get ill or something so that we do not get behind.  Besides, to us homeschooling is a lifestyle and not just something we do between 8 and 2 on Monday-Friday, and as such we should "count" all of those activities (for instance, visiting the Fire Museum or the Zoo).

If you want to contact me, you can via my profile.  I would be glad to help you any way I can.  My children are in grades 4 and 2, and I also have a four month old, and they have always been homeschooled.  We made the decision to homeschool when my oldest was just a baby and I was glad to have all of the time to educate myself about the legal requirements, various methods, etc.

By the way, all you have to do is include those required subjects-it does not specify that you have to use a curriculum for those subjects. So, if you bake a cake for instance and it takes two hours, you could record it as math, science etc. Detail what was learned from the experience, take pictures for the portfolio (since pictures are tangible and the cake is not for future purposes).

I wish you the best!

Answer 13

Since you are in SC I would highly recommend this site:

http://www.chasesc.com/forms.html#17

Find actual homeschoolers in your home state and meet up with them, see what they do.  Often times the bureaucrats will try to get you to jump through hoops and provide more documentation then is legally required.  

Here is a list of county by county groups :

http://www.chasesc.com/countysupport.htm...

Good luck!