Getting Started in Home Education

CHN provides parents with sample, printable letters of withdrawal.
Letter of Withdrawal

Deschooling is the adjustment period a child goes through when leaving school and beginning homeschooling. To really get the benefits of homeschooling, a child has to decompress and disconnect from “school” being the default and “school ways” being the standard expectation. The whole family needs to readjust to the hectic rigidity of a daily school schedule, to experiencing and adjusting to the new level of freedom that a homeschool lifestyle includes.

• Enjoy time with one another & have fun
• During CoVid, you can still go hiking, take day trips, get in touch with nature, cook together, play games, watch movies
• Visit libraries - they have curbside service, and many offer take-home kits, & learn about their homeschool resources
• Don’t rush into homeschool academics; go easy
• Explore your homeschool options & make decisions
• Find homeschoolers in your area

This is a very generalized answer because there are so many things that a homeschool family can choose to do every year, that no two families are the same. Basically, spending a few hours on academics is sufficient, as there are no other distractions. Homeschooling does not monopolize one's day, it complements it. Children do not sit at the kitchen table for six hours a day, because a home education model is quite different from public or private school models. You have the flexibility to change things up as needed, as your child grows and changes. There are numerous support resources for your family to succeed in home education. You will learn about them. It has worked for millions of families for decades - and it can work for you, too.

We want to help you to narrow down what is an overwhelming number of options to choose from. You don't have to be locked into any one method, but learning what the best fit for your family is likely to be, can be very helpful in getting a more clear focus. There is also a quick and free quiz that you can take, designed to match your child's preferences, with the instructional methodologies available.  Not everyone needs to use textbooks to learn, as you will learn.  For your convenience, the quiz with matching curricula or related learning methodologies, please read through the rest of this whole page first to get a background important to new homeschoolers.

Charlotte Mason (CM) Method
The CM method is a quality, free, K-12 curriculum, utilized from Ambleside Online.  It includes a Christian component that you can omit if needed. Excerpt: Ambleside Online is a free homeschool curriculum that uses Charlotte Mason's classically-based principles to prepare children for a life of rich relationships with everything around them: God, humanity, and the natural world. AO's detailed schedules, time-tested methods, and extensive teacher resources allow parents to focus effectively on the unique needs of each child."

Classical Education
The creators of this free classical education curriculum have sought to address the lack of any sound online classical curriculum. Excerpted: "The creators of this free online curriculum have sought to address the lack of any sound online classical curriculum. Based upon the 19th-century German-Latin method and following the great-books model, this curriculum often attempts to be highbrow, emphasizing the best of occidental traditions while avoiding the anti-Western political correctness one finds in public schools. The following materials list can be used as a stand-alone curriculum or as a supplement to another curriculum. Many parents have said that this book list served as an outstanding supplement to other curricula."

The Well Trained Mind
A rigorous, classical education. The plan of study is published in Susan W. Bauer's book, now free online.

Eclectic
Most homeschoolers use an eclectic approach; using resources from multiple places. There are an overwhelming number of curriculum options and you can purchase individual materials individually, instead of purchasing a complete packaged curriculum.

Unit Studies
Some families enjoy a unit study approach to learning. Instead of working on many subjects at a time, the focus is on a few topics, in a condensed amount of time.

Unschooling : a.k.a. Child-led learning
An unschooling approach to learning is a philosophy among some homeschoolers.  Trusting that children want to learn, and will show adults the direction they are ready to explore next, is a large part of unschooling. We're including an older study that was done on unschooling for you to consider. Additionally, this delightful family of 11 shares their unschooling experiences in this 1-hour video on unschooling, we have organized resources for you.

Montessori Method
Children learn at their own pace via exploration, sensory awareness & experience, respecting & following the child’s interests, slow down, involve them in daily family lifestyle, with a focus on simple, natural materials and resources, with less emphasis on technology. That is the philosophy that the Montessori approach to learning.

Waldorf
This organic, wholistic, liberal arts approach to learning is conscious of the whole child.  Standard textbooks are not used, though creative resources are, including self-created ones. The approach was popularized by Rudolf Steiner in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Traditional
There are many curriculum publishing companies that sell quality, complete curricula for all grade levels. Using this “school-in-a-box” approach works for many homeschoolers. There are some full K-12 curricula options that are for free, and others for purchase; all good quality.

Reading List Suggestions for Parents
If you are starting or planning to homeschool, here are five of the best books you can read a parent's perspective.

These are estimates for the amount of time it takes to do academic studies on a given day. It is not at all a hard and fast rule that your child will require this amount of time to complete their work. To give a comparison, the public schools average 60-90 minutes per day on academic work. This all explains why and how homeschoolers commonly get their "work done" in the morning and have the rest of their day to enjoy extra activities. It's not difficult to homeschool, and there are supports and resources for parents and students, in many areas. Social media is a great way to get support from the thousands of experienced parents who are happy to help guide you.

This article, Sample Schedule for Multi-Level Teaching, shares a perspective on the approach parents can take when homeschooling multiple children of various ages.

Pre-kindergarten: 15-30 minutes
Kindergarten: 30-60 minutes
Grades 1 & 2: 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours
Grades 3 & 4: 1-1/2 to 3 hours
Grades 5 & 6: 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours
Grades 7 & 8: 3 to 4-1/2 hours
High School: 4-6 hours

There are homeschool parent-run co-ops, field trips, nature hikes, travel, martial arts, play an instrument, art classes, museum trips and classes, day trips, library visits, park days, drum corps,  game days, movies, visiting friends, early college classes, library volunteer positions, babysitting, life skills, mentorships, dances, 4-H clubs, Scouting, gymnastics, ice skating, sports, roller skating, Civil Air Patrol, and much more. It is a very active, vibrant community with the world as our canvas.

• Secular? Religious?
• Online learning?
• Textbooks?
• Boxed curriculum?
• Create your own curriculum?
• How do you decide?
  
  The Quiz
  Match Your Preferences, Instructional Style & Curricula

  Take this free, short quiz to gain insights into the top 3 homeschooling paths likely to best fit your family.  When you take this quiz, you will note the top numbers you got, and which methodologies are the best match.  It's a helpful tool, not a final decision.

The good news is that there are curricula available for everyone's budget. There are complete curricula that are good quality, and also free. There are others that have a moderate cost, and that which are quite expensive. Price does not determine quality.

You can choose from curricula that are already prepared; online-based, book-based, a blend of both, secular, religious, and what amount of money you want to budget for. If you prefer to, you can create your own from the myriad of resources that are available. There are many high quality curricula available for all grade levels. The prices can be from modest to quite expensive - which does not determine quality. Some home education programs include an accredited school that confers a high school diploma upon graduation. While that is an option, it is in no way required for a home educated student to be accepted into college or university. Millions of home educated students have been accepted into nearly 100% of United States colleges and universities with a high school diploma given to them by their parents once they have completed their studies. There are resources available for parents and students to develop a transcript and diploma. When you want to read more about curricula options, this will help you.

If you have taken The Quiz, you will have a more focused idea of what methodologies to consider. We're going to detail each of them, along with the curricula that foster those methodological approaches.

• As a homeschooler, it is important to reframe your idea of school taking place Monday-Friday, 9AM-3PM. Homeschooling happens 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Children are always learning.
• If you are a single parent or working parents, you can do this, too.
• You choose the days whenever you want to.
• A 180-day school year works out like this:

September-mid-June = 17 or 18 days/month
January-December = 14 or 15 days/month

Remember, you choose whether you do your academics morning, noon or night, 7 days a week.

If your child is currently enrolled in public or private school, how do you withdraw them to homeschool? Maybe your child is still young and has never been enrolled in school and you want to homeschool instead of enrolling them in school. We will help you to learn and understand the laws and policies as they relate to home education in CT. Read about the process of withdrawing your child from public or private school before you start homeschooling. You will need to be familiar with the laws and policies, the Letter of Withdrawal, and the Notice of Intent and Portfolio Review which are the state's Suggested Procedure for Home Instruction.  We have a section of this website dedicated to this topic. Please be sure you learn about it, as it will explain  your rights, the laws and the policies affecting CT home education.

• • What Are Your Legal Responsibilities When Homeschooling in Connecticut?

If your child is currently enrolled in public or private school, how do you withdraw them to homeschool? Maybe your child is still young and has never been enrolled in school and you want to homeschool instead of enrolling them in school. We will help you to learn and understand the laws and policies as they relate to home education in CT. Read about the process of withdrawing your child from public or private school before you start homeschooling. You will need to be familiar with the laws and policies, the Letter of Withdrawal,and the Notice of Intent and Portfolio Review which are the state's Suggested Procedure for Home Instruction.

For more details, we have a Laws & Policies page. Please be sure to inform yourself about the laws, the policies, the differences between them. Know your rights.

Whether you are seriously considering home education, you are a new or veteran homeschool family, it's helpful to connect with other families in your state and county. Sign-up for the free networking resources that CHN has to offer you. There are at least 13,000 other families doing the same thing! You are not alone. It's a great way to get support, learn new things, share resources, and stay abreast of current issues.

Facebook for “(CHN) Parents Seeking Homeschool Info”
For parents who have not started homeschooling yet, plus current homeschoolers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1263388143678454/

FB for “Connecticut Homeschool Network”
for current homeschoolers
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CTHomeschoolNetwork/

You've learned the basics, but don't stop yet, because there is more important information you need to know. Go back and review this website, the links it contains, and continue to learn. You can read about our annual conference, Parent Info Meetings, and Zoom meetings, which we announce via email and on Facebook & Yahoo. We have short videos on important topics to home education in CT, lots of academic resources - many of which are free, that you can continue to learn from. Legal information, networking information, parent support resources, and lots of educational links to use in your homeschool.  We created this website - based on our decades of knowledge and experience - to share with you, in support of your family's homeschool journey! Welcome!