Group homeschooling?

[Anonymous]

For a number of reasons I've started considering homeschooling my kids. Just now starting to think about it and research options, etc. I've heard some people whose friends have similarly aged kids work out a group homeschooling arrangement. Every parent takes a day to be teacher and has the rest of the days off from a homeschooling perspective. That seems appealing as I could maybe continue to work part-time, could leverage the expertise/interests of other people and the kids would have a more social experience. Can anyone recommend blogs or resources with more info on this? Or even terms to google? "Group homeschooling" gives results for support groups for parents who homeschool; not really what I'm looking for. For what it's worth, DD is 2 and DS a newborn, so I've got plenty of time to figure this out.

[Anonymous]

I think you might have to start with the home schooling groups:
http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/hs/elists/district.html

It doesn't mean that they necessarily teach all at one time.

Also, many places offer classes for a home schooled audience, like this one:
http://bethesda-chevychase.patch.com/events/homeschool-science-animal-adaptations

[Anonymous]

Please be very careful and do some homework. You may need to obtain a number of regulatory approvals if you have kids other than your own at your home receiving any form of education or even non-school child care. The approval requirements can range from fire safety to being able to prove that everyone involved has passed background checks, to local zoning permission, to obtaining zoning or transportation plan approval just for drop-off and pick-up purposes. And you must have extensive insurance coverage, and the underwriters may impose additional requirements. And there may be headcount limits. For a number of purposes, "group home schooling" can be treated similarly to starting an in-home school. You will also need to think about whether you need to develop a bookkeeping and tax plan, because there will be expenses and people may not be willing or able to simply share out-of-pocket.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live, OP, and how old are your children? I'm aware of several homeschooling groups that recently sprang up and/or are getting ready to launch, and they probably aren't listed in homeschool group directories yet.

As for the regulations, I think most groups operate informally. From what 09:09 wrote, it sounds like nanny shares hosted in someone's home would also technically require all those elements too (and I'm pretty sure not a single nanny share family has met them).

[Anonymous]

There are many homeschool co-ops around the area - they have differing areas of focus, some do have religious leanings, but others are non-secular. Definitely worth doing some queries.

[Anonymous]

Oh geez, OP, dial it back for goodness sakes.

First, you don't need any kind of "homsechool" for preschool and second, your ideas of what you want for your kids will change plenty as your child grows and ages and before and even after they reach school age.

Google can help you find generic resources about homeschooling but other than that, find some other way to spend your time.

[Anonymous]

How would you work out your children's two year age gap when homeschooling them and others?

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but what's with the rancor, 13:21? I've been on many school tours where there were parents with babies, planning ahead (after all, it can affect big decisions like where to live and how much to work). Ditto for homeschooling. It's totally legitimate to choose, early on, an educational model in which the parents believe. Doesn't mean it's set in stone either.

[Anonymous]

To 09:09, it sounds like you've looked into this topic already. Can you recommend a source to consult to find out what the exact requirements are? I tried to do a quick search for this info online, but it's not obvious where to look.

I'm guessing that, unless someone wants to make your life miserable, there wouldn't be much enforcement risk if a group of parents came together and either took turns teaching or hired a teacher. I recall reading that a lot of families in Manhattan are operating "underground" schools, at least for the preschool years. And if the families know and trust each other, I would guess the insurance liability wouldn't be much of a risk either. I'm not a lawyer (obviously), but it doesn't strike me as a big risk. I'd still be curious to read the laws/regulations and the potential consequences of breaking them.

[Anonymous]

Most families I know have tended to homeschool on their own while the kids are young, and then start to form co-ops a bit later, with friends they have made, around 3rd grade or above. The rules depend on how structured you want to be... Do you have friends sign waivers when their kids come over for playdates? It doesn't have to be that formal unless you want it to be.

[Anonymous]

DC Online Public Schools (Click here)

To find a school in your state (Click here)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live, OP, and how old are your children? I'm aware of several homeschooling groups that recently sprang up and/or are getting ready to launch, and they probably aren't listed in homeschool group directories yet.

As for the regulations, I think most groups operate informally. From what 09:09 wrote, it sounds like nanny shares hosted in someone's home would also technically require all those elements too (and I'm pretty sure not a single nanny share family has met them).

Any secular homeschool groups or tolerant religious homeschool groups in DC proper for middle and high school kids?