Monthly Archives: July 2020

Should I homeschool?

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For years many parents have complained about schooling systems and teachers and were concerned about the quality of education their child was receiving. Many times parents have said, “I should become a teacher, it is so easy, and get paid for vacations.” Well, thanks to COVID-19 many parents were able to experience being a teacher for a few months. If you decided that you enjoyed being with your children 24/7 and were able to continue with their education from March thru May and want to continue to do so, then this blog may be beneficial to you. Today we are going to look at homeschooling options. Although there are no teacher qualifications, no state mandated subjects, and no assessments required; many parents want to make sure there children are receiving the best education possible to better their child’s future.

First, just because the law doesn’t require you to keep any specific records, that does not mean that you should not develop and keep a homeschool portfolio. This will allow you to track the child’s year to year achievements and catch any gaps of instruction.

You should also be aware that if it becomes necessary for a child to enroll in Public School after Homeschooling, each school have unique guidelines for enrollment and grade placement.

With that in mind, it is 100% up to the parent to choose the subjects that the home instruction program will cover and the length of the school day and school year. I do not promote any particular program, but below is a few options I found; but I do encourage you as a parent to consider all of your options when choosing what, if any, program is right for your children.

Discovery K12 Online Homeschool
Discovery K12 is an online platform and curriculum for independent homeschoolers. The curriculum is free for pre-k to twelfth grade, and includes all major subjects. You may use our curriculum any way you like: part time, full time and supplement to it. We recommend reviewing the following pages on our site to learn more.

Khan Academy Khan Academy has a long-standing reputation as a quality resource in the homeschooling community. It is a non-profit educational site started by American educator Salman Khan to provide free, quality educational resources for all students. Organized by topic, the site includes math (K-12), science, technology, economics, art, history, and test prep. Each topic includes lectures delivered via YouTube videos. Students can use the site independently, or parents can create a parent account, then set up student accounts from which they can track their child’s progress.

Mississippi Department of Education The Department of Education provides some useful information for homeschooling parents and guardians; it also provides recommendations for what a child should know and be able to do at each grade level.

Again, I do not promote any particular program or link, but I just wanted to provide you with some free resources that may benefit your child if you should choose to enroll in homeschool. I hope you consider all your options when determining what is in the best interest of your child.

Mississippi Homeschooling Laws

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Before COVID-19 many families chose to homeschool their children; but with the occurrence of the pandemic, there has been an influx of parents considering homeschooling their children. Today we will look at the current laws, rules and regulations of homeschooling in Mississippi.

First thing to understand is that while the laws and rules governing homeschooling in Mississippi are relatively lax compared to other states; there are still laws. The Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law (MS Code § 37-13-91 (2019)) governs school attendance and non-attendance in Mississippi.

Paragraph 3 explains that a child between the age of 6 and 17 must be enrolled in and attend a public or legitimate nonpublic school except under certain circumstances; one of which is homeschooling.

The requirements to homeschool a child in Mississippi are as follows:

  1. The legitimate home instruction program shall not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance law; AND
  2. A “Certificate of Enrollment” must be completed each year by September 15. And the certificate must cite the following information:
    • The name, address, telephone number and date of birth of each compulsory-school-age child;
    • The name, address and telephone number of the parent, guardian, or custodian of the child;
    • A simple description of the type of education the child receiving; and
    • The signature of the pare, guardian or custodian.

That’s it. That is all the current regulations you MUST follow to homeschool a child in Mississippi. There are no teacher qualifications, no state mandated subjects, no assessments required, no immunization required, nothing. The parent is then left to determine the proper path for the child. So basically, just fill out a form and swear that its not for the purpose of avoiding the attendance law, and you are set to become a homeschool teacher that will educate and sculpt the minds of our future generation.

Here is the link to the Mississippi Department of Education and list for a local School Attendance Officer and the Homeschool Enrollment Form to assist you with enrollment of your child in homeschool if you should choose to do so. Later this week, I will continue the homeschooling theme by posting options for homeschooling.