Home Schooling or World Schooling?
Frantically the mother glances around the table at her children. Such a busy day and it’s been so hard to keep it all together. The two oldest want to run outside, the 8 year old is demanding time to play on the computer and the 6 year old is frustrated with math. To add to the struggle, they are already a week behind in the lesson plan and she had wanted to catch up this week- not fall further behind…
Is that what comes to mind when you think of homeschooling? Well, let me put a different image into your head.
The parent grabs the car keys, excited for the day. It’s going to be a great one! The two oldest are heading out into the woods with a homeschool enrichment program to learn about the flora and fauna. It’s late summer so (fingers crossed) there may be some huckleberries coming home with them for dessert. The 8 year old and 6 year old are going to the zoo with a group of friends to learn about animals. The 8 year old did a bunch of research on the computer last night on penguins, her favorite animal, and has a list of questions to ask the zoo guide. As they drive, the 6 year old keeps tracks of how many red cars he sees. He has been doing red car counting for a while to determine how many he will see in a month. They have a chart at home for each outing and at the end of the month will count all of them for a total.
Worldschooling FOR THE WIN!
Children are wired to learn and do not require a classroom to do so. This isn’t to say it’s always easy and that frustration doesn’t happen, but it can
be a whole lot of fun. For every type of family, every type of kid and every type of parenting style, there is a type of worldschooling. Schooling can be structured; online charter, book-based curriculum, community classes or completely unstructured, which is known as unschooling.
Homeschooling in Oregon is outlined by the statute and administrative rules (see resource list). Register your child with their local school district informing them that you will be homeschooling the year they are 6 years old as of September 1st. If they are older, just notify the school district within 10 days of withdrawal from school. To ensure children are maintaining grade level appropriate development the state requires testing at the end of 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades. A set curriculum is not required. If you would like to use a curriculum there are multitudes to choose from including book-based and online. In addition, many organizations offer enrichment programs to worldschoolers.
Interested in learning more? Join a couple of Facebook groups that appeal to you and ask questions. Send me an email and we can chat.
Childhood is so short. If you feel called to worldschool your children, it’s an experience you will never forget!
Resources
Local Homeschooling Organizations Multnomah County Library resources for homeschoolers.
Village Home
Village Home offers ala carte courses for worldschoolers in Portland and Beaverton.
Homestead Economics
Homestead Economics is an enrichment program run by the author of this article.
Oregon Homes Education Network
A great resource for all things homeschooling in Oregon
Some Facebook pages of interest:
facebook.com/groups/secularhomepdx/ facebook.com/groups/553540044800576/ facebook.com/groups/883636511701160/ facebook.com/groups/HomeschoolersOfPortland/ facebook.com/groups/hiplist/ facebook.com/ChristianHomeschoolingParents/
