Education, fun, games and safety for kids online | Kids Space Invaluable Web Sites for Homeschoolers Homeschoolers know that hopping onto the Web is always more useful when you know where you're going and what you expect to find when you get there. The Web sites in the following list all offer solid educational material — some contain great articles worth reading; others offer online lesson plans or other educational helps: A to Z Home's Cool: Great resource site Eduscapes: In-depth, topical Web links for many subjects Gateway to 21st Century Skills: Lesson plans on all subjects HomeEducator.com: Fantastic articles for homeschoolers Teachnology: In-depth, science-oriented lesson helps
Worksheets, Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, and Rubrics from TeAch-nology.com Taking the Leap into Homeschooling So you're thinking about leaping into homeschooling. The excitement of a new life decision always brings some jitters with it. Although the idea of homeschooling intrigues you, a few questions may still nag at the back of your mind. Reasons to choose homeschooling Why do you want to homeschool? Ensuring educational excellence Perhaps you aren't entirely sure that your child is getting what she needs at the local school. Does this mean your school system is awful? Many parents decide to homeschool for educational excellence. Meeting your child's special needs Sometimes the school system simply fails to meet your child's needs. This situation is so frustrating for parents! Bringing a child like this home rescues him from the condemnation he feels at school. If you rescue your child from an emotionally stressful or failure-ridden school year, he may need some time to unwind and get used to his new daily surroundings. Retaining religious convictions Locate tradition-specific curriculum.
Policy/Program Memorandum No. 131 Date of Issue: June 17, 2002 Effective: Until revoked or modified Subject: HOME SCHOOLING Application: Chairs of District School Boards Directors of EducationSecretaries of School AuthoritiesPrincipals of Elementary SchoolsPrincipals of Secondary SchoolsPrincipal of Independent Learning Centre Introduction This memorandum provides direction to school boards1 and schools concerning policies related to home schooling and the excusing of children from school who are receiving home schooling. School boards should bring this memorandum to the attention of parents2 who are providing home schooling. In addition, this memorandum revokes and replaces the memorandum entitled "Determining Satisfactory Instruction Under Subsection 20(2) of the Education Act", issued in 1981 by K. The sections and subsections of the Education Act that are relevant to this memorandum are listed in appendix A. Home schooling procedures Procedures for Parents Procedures for School Boards Board investigations of home schooling
Elementary Curriculum In 2003, the Ministry of Education established a schedule for ongoing curriculum review. Each year, a number of subject areas enter the review process, to ensure they are kept current, relevant and age-appropriate. The current review cycle will be completed in 2012. Reviews are conducted with great care. Studying research in the subject area Comparison with other jurisdictions Focus groups comprised of educators from all Ontario school boards Technical content analysis conducted by subject experts Consultations with stakeholders including: Minister's Advisory Council on Special Education Faculties of Education Employers Parents Students Universities, colleges Other branches of the Ministry of Education Other ministries NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). These sources of information form the basis of recommended revisions to the curriculum. Further stages of review to finalize the curriculum include:
Toronto Muslim Homeschoolers 50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do Self-reliance is a vital key to living a healthy, productive life. To be self-reliant one must master a basic set of skills, more or less making them a jack of all trades. Contrary to what you may have learned in school, a jack of all trades is far more equipped to deal with life than a specialized master of only one. While not totally comprehensive , here is a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Check out these books for more ideas on pertinent life skills:
Homeschool support groups in Ontario There are home education support groups in many parts of Ontario. The Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents has compiled a list to help you locate one in your area. The map on this page shows the counties in the Southwestern, Southeastern and parts of the Northeastern regions of the province. They’ve been numbered to provide a reference by which you can find a homeschooling support group in your area, as listed by region on this page. Notes: This is not a clickable image map. - SW – SE – North - Southwestern Ontario – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 - Southeastern Ontario – 23 – 24 – 25 – 26 – 27 – 28 – 29 - Northern Ontario – 37 – 38 – 39 – 40 – 41 – 42 – 43 – 44 – 45 – 46 – 47 - South-Western Ontario 1 – Windsor – Essex Family Village Homeschooling AssociationContact: Diane PepinPhone: 519-256-3541Email: FVHA@familyvillage.caMessage Board: www.familyvillage.caArea Served: Message Board open internationally. 2 – Chatham – Kent 3 – Sarnia – Lambton 4 – London – Middlesex
Homeschooling For Free I had every intention of writing an entirely different post for today. But sometimes God has a way of whispering to your heart that you need to do something else. Sometimes He gets so insistent that you almost feel like He has dropped a brick on your head. That is how this post came to be. With the economy being what it is at the moment, I have a feeling that somewhere out there, one of God’s children is feeling a bit discouraged and feeling like they can’t homeschool if they do not have adequate funds. I hope that this list will bless you in your homeschooling journey. This list is just a start. Please note that as of the time of the publishing of this post, all links are active and working. Happy Homeschooling! Whole Curriculum Guides/Schedules:Charlotte Mason Schedules Simply Charlotte Mason–Charlotte Mason Style Schedule and curriculum list. Spelling/Vocab. Copy Work:Simply Charlotte Mason Manuscript Copy Work Cursive Copywork Manuscript Copywork Guest Hollow Nature Study: Music:
Policy/Program Memorandum #131 and OFTP's response The History Behind PPM 131 Due to the failure of the Ombudsman's office to make a ruling of OFTP's submission concerning the harassment of homeschooling families by local school boards across the province, discussions with the Ministry of Education began in 1997 in an effort to create a less contentious and more consistent relationship between homeschoolers and school boards. There have been many attempts over the years to address this inconsistency, including a 'best practices' document. Despite these attempts there were still letters from school boards to homeschooling families threatening truancy charges. Neither of these strategies proved to be effective. However, during the course of these discussions and due to the effectiveness of OFTP's varied efforts, public perception of homeschooling increased enormously. On April 26, 2001 the Ontario government presented an Action Plan entitled "21 Steps into the 21st Century". - PPM131 menu - main menu - top - OFTP's Position on PPM 131
Homeschool World - Articles - Classical Education - Practical Homeschooling Magazine I wanted to educate my children using the classical method. I thought this would be very hard and time-consuming. This turned out not to be the case. 12 Rigorous Years? When I began my journey toward an authentic, classical, Christian home education, I initially welcomed the strict boundaries about which I had heard so much. The twelve-year structure helped me get my mind around the whole process, but I have to admit that I struggled with the layers and layers of rigorous academic requirements. In my zeal to craft well-trained minds, I dutifully piled on the work. Time marched on as we ticked off the early years and approached the Logic stage with a distant glimpse of the Rhetoric stage. Being obedient little troopers, my children never complained about the heavy load. Although I had good intentions when I began homeschooling, all I had really done was to change my children’s environment and to tack on more subjects, such as Latin, logic, and classic literature. Focusing on Ideas