FAQ - Getting Started

Q: How do I get started with HomeLife Academy?

A: If this is your first year, it takes some time to get used to home educating. That's why we affectionately call the first year "orientation." We recommend that every family try home education at least TWO years before you make a decision as to whether it works for your family or not. Annette Hull, veteran home educator of three, says, “The most important changes take place in the parents, not the children.” It’s true.

During this first year, don’t be afraid to explore different possibilities and let home education stretch you. The very first step is to be a learner yourself. When I became involved with the home education movement ten years ago, I realized that I hated to learn because I had learned to hate school. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by entire families that loved to learn. They were always asking why, where, and how questions…about EVERYTHING! And they had so much fun doing it! This is the true goal of education, not to fill the head with facts but to nurture a desire to keep learning that will last a lifetime.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." —William Butler Yeats

Some recommendations on getting started:

FIRST we recommend reading our Getting Started pages.

SECOND Read your state’s home schooling laws.

THIRD Visit the Resources page.

Once you’ve read these pages and chosen your books, you are ready to register.

Registration only takes a few minutes, education lasts a lifetime!

Back to top

Q: Q: What if we transferred mid-year or mid-semester?

A: If you transferred to HLA mid-year or mid-semester you may pick up where the previous school left off. Or you may change directions to adapt to your student's needs.

You are now a trusted HLA teacher. You may average what your student does for you with what they did at the former school. Or you may go a different direction with the subject to improve their grade(s). Or you may even drop the subject and return to it later when you feel your student is ready. The goal is to do what is in the best interest of your student(s). HLA is here to provide you with the most amount of flexibility as possible to accomplish this. To learn more about how to grade your student(s) click here

For record keeping purposes, when you SET UP SCHOOL YEAR with Homeschool Reporting Online, enter the beginning date as the day your student(s) started at the previous school, not the day you enrolled with HLA. You may estimate the dates of the previous school if you do not remember or have record.

Once you have entered approximate dates for both semesters or all four quarters you only have to submit grades for the semester or quarter in which you transferred to HLA.

For example (using semesters), if you transferred to HLA on March 1st. you would first click on SETUP SCHOOL YEAR and enter approximate dates for the fall and spring semester. Second you would click on ADD STUDENT and add each of your students. And third, you click on ADD RECORD and add grades for the second semester ONLY, leaving the fall semester blank. (Records from the previous school will satisfy previous semester grades.)

Again, the grades you give as the FINAL grades may be higher than those the previous school gave. It is very common for home educated students to improve in a short period of time due to the mentoring (or tutorial) model of education.

For Grade Reporting steps click here

Back to top

Q: What about social activities?

A: Home schooled kids take part in a wide variety of social activities outside of the home. For contacts in your area check out these organizations:

TN SUPPORT GROUPS or U.S. SUPPORT GROUPS. Be sure to list your student(s) extra-curricular activities under the Portfolios option when reporting grades. The portfolio may be sent at your request to colleges and universities along with the official transcript.

Back to top

Q: What about socialization?

A: This has traditionally been the biggest issue for those skeptical of home education. Now there's a new study that shows solid evidence homeschoolers turn out quite ok!

"Homeschooling Grows Up" is the largest research survey to date of adults who were home educated. Over the last decade, researchers, professionals, parents, the media, and many others have asked repeatedly: How do home schooled students turn out? Can a homeschool graduate get into college or get a job? How do they fit into society? Are they good citizens? Are they happy?

In 2003, HSLDA commissioned Dr. Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, to conduct a study to answer these questions. The results of his research demonstrate that homeschoolers are succeeding. Click here for a summary of the study.

Socialization has been the main criticism leveled at home schooling for many years. “Aren’t you afraid that if you don’t let them hang around kids their own age all the time they won’t be properly socialized?” One might answer the question with, “No. I’m afraid that if I let them hang around kids their own age all the time they WILL BE socialized!” I recently talked to a mother who wanted to home educate her daughter. Her husband was fed up with all the “bad things” that are going on in their public school, citing specifically that her eight year old daughter had used profanity. She then said to me, “We really want to do this, but my husband has some concerns about socialization.” I gently replied, “Ma’am, do you see the irony here?” I paused for a moment. Then she began to laugh and said, “Yes. Yes I do. Never mind.”

It could be said that the public school’s problems have more to do with socialization than academics. My parents sent me to a very expensive private “Christian” school in order to avoid the evils of public school. It was there that I learned materialism, pride, and arrogance from my peers. My parents were none of these things. But I only spent a fraction of my day with my parents. My peers were the real shaping force in my young life. In a few short years I completely rebelled and left the Lord. Thank the Lord the seeds my parents planted in me as a child matured and I returned from rebellion. As I look back now I realize that as hard as my parents tried to compete with the negative influences that surrounded me, adolescent culture is difficult to fight. If you put a fourteen year old in a room full of fourteen year olds, he’ll act like a fourteen year old.

---

Here is a good article on the concern of socialization of homeschoolers:

Home Schooling

A Well Socialized Conversationalist

I took my two daughters, ages 5 and 7 to a local bookstore to browse the shelves and have a treat. It's one of those bookstores with a cafe inside. After the treat, the girls decided to hit the kid's section.

I leisurely finished my coffee and headed over to check on them. I found my 7 year old deep in conversation with a mature woman. A younger woman near her saw me approach, smiled and asked, "Is that your daughter?" I replied in the affirmative. She beamed at me and then asked, "Do you homeschool?" Again I replied in the affirmative, meanwhile wondering just what my 7 year old was discussing!? She got very excited and told me that the woman my daughter was conversing with was her mother.

The younger woman told me that she wanted to homeschool, but her mother was worried about socialization! I laughed, what else could I do? My children regularly interact with other children of ages between infant and adult, they also converse with adults of varying ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. The younger woman then stated that she could always tell when children where homeschooled. When I asked how, she said, "They are such great conversationalists!"

I told her that one of the dads in our homeschool group put it very succinctly. In public/private schools children only interact with children that are approximately the same age, and usually only with children of the same sex (you do know that boys have cooties, don't you??). In addition, children must wait upon an adult's consent to address them. Truly an artificial way to converse. In homeschools and homeschool groups, adults are more open to being asked questions and are generally more willing to spend the time to explore the topic. Hence socialization in a homeschool environment is far superior to that of your average public or private school.

I came away from the encounter very encouraged, and feeling rather smug. The mature woman complimented me on my girls' manners and said that they had alleviated most of her concerns about homeschooling!

-Varina Caton-

Back to top

Q: Does the impact of homeschooling end when the students graduate?

A: Michael Farris talks about the next generation on Home School Heartbeat.

Read more about it at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=1175

Back to top

Q: Are Homeschoolers Retreating from Society?

A: Homeschoolers are changing America. So why do critics claim that they've abandoned society?

Read more about it at: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=1426

Back to top

Q: Since he will only be 6 when we start 1st grade, can we wait until he’s 7 and just register him for 2nd?

This answer applies to TN only. Compulsory attendance laws vary according to your state. Please check our state pages for more information if you do not live in TN.

A: The law does go on to read "(2) The provisions of subdivision (C)(1) do not apply to any child who:... (C) Is six (6) years of age or younger and whose parent or guardian has filed a notice of intent to conduct a home school with the superintendent of local education agency or with the superintendent of a church-related school" (From http://tnhomeed.com/Attend.html)

It *does* say "(6) years of age or younger." This implies that you do not have to register until age 7. Some Church Related Schools believe because of the excerpt above it is also legal to wait until the child turns 7 to register *IF* you file a "notice of intent to conduct a homeschool" with the "superintendent of a church-related school." I am not comfortable with this because when you register with HomeLife Academy you are not going to "conduct a homeschool." You are going to become faculty for our school. We operated completely under Church-related laws and *not* state "homeschool" laws.

The TN state board of education has a "home school" program and you may register with the state. However, the church related laws (T.C.A. 49-50-801) read: "The state board of education and the local boards of education are prohibited from regulating the selection of faculty or textbooks or the establishment of a curriculum in church-related schools." Therefore, we choose YOU to be faculty and we let YOU establish the curriculum. Instead of having our teachers come to a campus and teach someone else's kids, we let you stay home and teach your own. Your home is like an extension of a campus. Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) calls this "option three." So remember, you will NOT be a "homeschooler" under law, you will be a private school teacher that stays home. For more on this link to our Laws page and www.tnhomeed.com.

Back to top

Q: Is it necessary to register our 5 yr. old for Kindergarten if we have absolutely NO intention of putting him in public school for 1st?

A: OK. This is a little confusing. But here it goes. This answer applies to TN only. Compulsory attendance laws vary according to your state. Please check our state pages for more information if you do not live in TN.

The public school *does* require you to register a five year old in Kindergarten. We do not. We ask that you register at age six because the law goes on to read, "(1) Every parent, guardian or other legal custodian residing within this state having control or charge of any child or children between six (6) years of age and seventeen (17) years of age, both inclusive, shall cause such child or children to attend public or non-public school, and in event of failure to do so, shall be subject to the penalties hereinafter provided." (From www.tnhomeed.com/Attend.html).

Therefore you may wait to register your students with HomeLife Academy for 1st grade at age six. Be advised, however, that if for some reason you have to transfer to a public school during the first grade year and have skipped Kindergarten the public school could make your student go back to Kindergarten. This has happened before because the public school must have Kindergarten records in order to place a student in 1st grade. If you are trying to place a student in the public school for 2nd grade and do not have Kindergarten records but have 1st grade it is *usually* not a problem. However, the public school will ordinarily give the student some sort of grade placement test just to make sure he/she is ready for the appropriate grade.

So there is the option to wait, however, the safest thing is to just go ahead and register for Kindergarten.

Back to top

Q: What do we do when our 4 year old is already doing K5 work?

A: You are welcome to register her if you'd like. There is no law that says you cannot. Or you can wait and register and just put her in the grade she is working in. It's up to you. Also, you can skip grades as needed. I just received an email from a father whose daughter finished 6th and advanced to 7th mid-year. We changed her grade level this morning (1/8/2003).

You're correct, "It just does not seem right to make her wait."

In fact, it's my opinion that it is harmful to hold a student back. That's how the flame of interest and desire to learn gets put out. The public school's answer to "advanced" students is AP courses. But, as my wife would tell you, it still doesn't always reduce the boredom in schools.

So keep her challenged and keep her learning alive. Read “A Heart For Learning”

If you want to register her now as K5 go ahead. (You will have to make her birth date year later to fool the system, however. Then change it next year to be correct.) Or if you would like to wait until she is compulsory attendance age and register her in the grade she is working in that would be fine as well. It's ok for her to be five and be in 2nd grade. In fact it's becoming more and more common.

"Because home education allows each student to progress at his or her own rate, almost one in four home school students (24.5%) are enrolled one or more grades above age level." From our stats page

Back to top

Q: What if my student says he "hates" school?

A: It's hard sometimes to get that "love of learning" back when they're teenagers because they're more stubborn and set in their ways, but it is possible and even necessary if you're going to successfully homeschool. It's really not as hard as it sounds. Sometimes it means backing off and letting your kids "de-stress".

Most of the time, it takes a year of homeschooling just to "get your kids back". You know what I mean? You've got to learn to relate to them on a much more personal basis. School work doesn't have to be intense and stressful, and really, it's not the most important thing. Having your kids develop that God-given curiosity, asking questions and knowing where to find the answers and finding again within their hearts that sense of wonder about themselves and the world around them is! Schools are good at repressing that in a child, but your job is to let them (at their own pace) find it again.

I said when I first started homeschooling that if my children graduated high school knowing math well enough to make change, keep a checkbook, and be a good steward of what God has given them, and knowing how to read well enough to read God's Word and a map, they are going to be well ahead of most graduates. You don't have to teach them everything -just where to find it.

- Lani Carey

HLA High School Guidance Counselor

Back to top

Q: How do you request records from my child’s former school?

A: We will automatically request your student's records from their previous school. This request acts as a formal notification that your student has been transferred to another school. Even though we usually fax the record request it may take several days for the school to see it, therefore, you may consider writing your own letter to the school telling them that your child has been transferred to HLA and that they can contact us if they have any further questions. We suggest that your letter or calls to the school avoid the use of the word "homeschool" as you are legally privately schooling and not homeschooling.

Don't get concerned if several weeks go by and you still have not heard from HLA that your records were received. It can take a long time, depending on when the school gets around to sending us the records. If you do not receive an email from us after 12 weeks please notify us and we will resend the record request.

Also, the previous school may refuse to accept your carefully worded letter of withdraw, insisting that the notification from HLA is all they need. It is OK if the letter is offered but refused.

Back to top

Q: Why do you ask for an extra donation for manual processing of the application and grade forms?

A: Our basic operating expenses are based on doing things automatically and instantly through the web site. The extra money that we save on postage, printing, and additional staff needed for manual entry is directed toward our mission to "inspire and equip parents" to help their children develop God-given gifts for His glory. We want our staff to be available for counseling and prayer more so than for entering applications and grade forms and all the countless tasks associated with manual operations.

When you mail in an application or grade form that you have downloaded, we stop to enter all of the information into our online data base and grade reporting feature. Then we send you an email to let you know that you may now view the information online. The email will include a username and password so you may access the data. When you email or call with questions we can go online for everything we need to help you. We very rarely have to go look up your file. In addition, we enter notes for every piece of correspondence we have with you. It's an administrator's dream come true!

The additional fee for manual process is $5 per family for applications and $5 per grade form for manual grade entry. Thank you.

Downloads of the paper applications are available at our Registration and pages.

Back to top

Q: What are the administration steps that HLA goes through when we register?

A: Here's a list of our administration steps:

1. We continually check email during our regular office hours (8:00-4:00 M-F) and many other times as well. When you register, you are sent an email immediately verifying that your information has gone through. This email contains YOUR USER NAME AND PASSWORD. Be sure to keep this for your records. We are also sent a notice immediately.
2. We then go to your educational plan and other information to either approve your family or email you a request for additional information.
3. If approved, we send you a Teacher Verification and a Confirmation of Enrollment with pertinent information.
4. We send a record request to the previous school (if needed). (Once we receive the records, we file the records in your student's file and send you an email letting you know that "Previous school records have been received and filed.")
5. We make a file folder for your student(s), place a copy of the application and the records in the folder and file it.
6. If you mail a check or money order we will send you a "received" notice on the day it arrives. (If you pay with credit card your receipt comes immediately after registering.)
7. We mail you a free DVD or VHS entitled "A Heart for Learning."
8. We email you a bi-monthly newsletter with testimonies from successful home educators.
9. We email you a reminder in January and May to enter your student's grades and attendance.
10. We answer the phones from 8-4 M-F for any questions that you might have.

Back to top

Q: Should we keep up with grades on a daily basis?

A: There are so many different approaches to home education in America that work, and many different ways in which parents teach their students. Some parents never give their students a test or grade or anything their entire life, relying solely on spontaneous teachable moments as they occur. And it works. On the other end some parents prefer a very, very structured day and year. Keeping some sort of daily grades and attendance is done much the same way the school system does. "Proof" can be produced for what was "learned" on such and such a day if necessary. And this works for some as well. And of course there are 3 million homeschoolers that fall somewhere between these two extremes with approaches that work for them.

Our challenge, as we developed HLA, was to meet the needs of parents with philosophies of education all across the spectrum. Therefore, the bottom line is the only thing we require is semester or quarterly grades and total days of attendance. Everything else is optional. Those parents that never give their students a test or grade or anything their entire life must subjectively submit grades based on their interaction with their students. Parents who prefer a very, very structured day and keep some sort of daily grades and attendance much the same way the school system does it objectively average all the grades together and submit the finals.

Where do we fall in the wide range of philosophies? In my 15 years of experience talking with homeschooling parents I have dealt with many more families that were burned out and frustrated trying to do "school at home." In fact it has become a standard response when someone calls in and says they’re having trouble and are feeling burned out to ask "What sort of curriculum and philosophy of education are you using." I would guess 9 times out of 10 they are trying to do "school" at home. Six months later, after trying a more Lifestyle of Learning approach I usually hear that everyone is much happier and education is fun once again. So we encourage a balance of structure and spontaneity. However, I would say that spontaneous learning is often better than planned because most of the time it is born out of the students interests and appetites. Any learning that a student does from his or her own desire is going to "stick" longer. So I would suggest making your plans but keeping alert for the teachable moments each day. And don't hesitate to forgo the planned learning when this happens. In fact, don't hesitate to "engineer" some spontaneous teachable moments yourself.

Hope this makes sense and helps some. God bless.

Whether you are just getting started or a 20 year veteran we highly recommend articles written by Chris Davis of Elijah Co.

Back to top

Q: What do we do when our 4 year old is already doing K5 work?

A: You are welcome to register her if you'd like. There is no law that says you cannot. Or you can wait and register and just put her in the grade she is working in. It's up to you. Also, you can skip grades as needed. I just received an email from a father whose daughter finished 6th and advanced to 7th mid-year. We changed here grade lever this morning (1/8/2003).

You're correct, "It just does not seem right to make her wait."

In fact, it's my opinion that it is harmful to hold a student back. That's how the flame of interest and desire to learn gets put out. The public school's answer to "advanced" students is AP courses. But, as my wife would tell you, it still doesn't always reduce the boredom in schools.

So keep her challenged and keep her learning alive. Read A Heart For Learning.

If you want to register her now as K5 go ahead. (You will have to make her birth date year later to fool the system, however. Then change it next year to be correct.) Or if you would like to wait until she is compulsory attendance age and register her in the grade she is working in that would be fine as well. It's ok for her to be five and be in 2nd grade. In fact it's becoming more and more common.

"Because home education allows each student to progress at his or her own rate, almost one in four home school students (24.5%) are enrolled one or more grades above age level." (From our stats page

Read more about grade placement, skipping grades, and grading in general.

Back to top

Q: What if I didn't make it through online registration?

A: If you were not able to make it all the way through the online registration process for one reason or another it's no problem. We have received all the information that you entered so far and only need to get the remaining information from you. Usually, you will receive a phone call or email from one of our staff members requesting the missing information. If you would like you can call or email us with the missing information and we'll be glad to enter it right away and get you started.

If you were not able to submit your student's info please email the following:

Each Student's Full Name, Birthdate, Grade level, and Gender.

If you were not able to submit the student's former school please email us the following:

Each Student's Former School Name, Address, Phone # (and fax #).

Email the above information to .

We will enter this information and, if everything else is approved, send you confirmation of enrollment within 24 hours.

Our records secretary will send you a username and password which can be used to access your family file through the HomeLife Academy web site. (NOTE: There is a different password for the grade reporting side of things. See below.) Just go to MEMBER LOGIN at the top of http://www.homelifeacademy.com to enter your username and password. This is also the area which you will visit each May to Re-enroll your students. (You can change the password once you are logged in.)

You may either send a check or money order to HomeLife Academy, PO Box 11688, Jackson, TN 38308 or pay online with a credit card through PayPal. If you wish to use PayPal you must have an account with them set up. Simply follow the steps outlined there and click on "Send Money." Use as the Recipient's Address. Annual Registration Fees are $50 for the first student, $20 for each additional, and no more than $100 per family. This includes the online grade reporting fee. Thank you.

Finally, below are the instructions on how to get started with www.homeschoolreporting.com. Home School Reporting Online (HSRO) is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. We are so grateful to HSRO for its instant online grade reporting services. NOTE: You will have the same username but a different password for the grade reporting site.

---

The last step of registration would have allowed you to pre-register for Home School Reporting Online (HSRO). It's not difficult to do that now.

1. SIGN UP

1. Go to www.homeschoolreporting.com and click SIGN UP at the top of the page and enter your information.
2. Ignore the information about a 30 day trial and $20 a year. HSRO serves individual homeschoolers as well as schools.
3. Your registration fee for HSRO is included in the $50, $70, $90, or $100 you paid to HomeLife Academy.
4. After you click SIGN UP you'll be taken to a simple, one-page form. Red asterisks * indicate mandatory fields.
5. Be sure to choose HomeLife Academy as your Umbrella/Cover school.
6. Skip the HSLDA Discount Code, Umbrella / Cover Account #:, and Hours in Attendance Day. Those fields are used by other schools.
7. Once you click SAVE you will be sent a password by email. Check your email and proceed to step two.

2. MEMBER LOGON

Now you are ready to logon. Before you can submit grades you must first go to www.homeschoolreporting.com and LOGON. Your username is your primary email address. Your password was emailed to you when you went through SIGN UP on Home School Reporting Online or finished the HLA registration process. If you do not remember your password for HSRO just enter your email address and click "Remind Me." Then check your email for your password. Once you are logged in you are ready to setup your school year.

3. SETUP SCHOOL YEAR

Once you LOGON the first step is to set up your school year. If you have not set up your school year here are the steps:

1. Click Setup School Year at the top of the page.
2. Under "Existing School Year(s)" click Add Record.
3. Follow the instructions to enter beginning and ending dates for your semesters or quarters (use quarters if you teach year-around). NOTE: Estimating the dates is permitted. Remember my favorite quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." —William Butler Yeats. If the fires are lit you will find that your students will easily exceed 180 days of education per year.
4. Click SAVE SEMESTERS.

4. ADD STUDENTS

Once your school year is setup the next step is to click Add Student. Repeat this step for all your students who are registered with HomeLife Academy.

5. ADD RECORD (REPORT GRADES)

Final step is to Report Grades and Attendance. Click "Add Record" to enter the Subjects and Grades. (Note: Listing the "Textbook" and "Hours Spent" is optional. And listing the "Credits" is only required for High School.) Repeat this step for each subject and for each student.

6. ATTENDANCE

You are not required to keep detailed daily attendance records. However, we do ask that you record total days of attendance. There is a feature in www.homeschoolreporting.com that allows you to enter days of attendance by placing a "Y" for yes and an "N" for no for each day of the school year. Currently there is not a programming option for you to just enter the total days of attendance without entering a "Y" for each day. However, it's easy to enter "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, "Y", Tab, etc. until your days equal the desired amount. It is OK if you do not keep up with the entries for each day. You may go back and estimate. The important thing is that the total days of attendance number at the bottom be at least 180 days at the end of the school year. If your student missed days due to sickness you may record fewer days. However, it is up to you whether to repeat the school year. For information about attendance see CLICK HERE.

7. PORTFOLIO

The Portfolio features are completely optional. We're happy that HSRO makes them available, however, because it's a great place to enter activities as you see fit. It's up to each teacher to decide how (and if) to use the Portfolio.

We recommend the Portfolios more for High School than anything else, because many colleges and universities are impressed with a list of extra curricular activities that a student accomplished in grades 9-12. Sometimes the list (sort of like a resume) of activates, clubs, field trips, special projects, accomplishments, etc. can tip the scales in your favor. It's a great addition to the High School Transcript. And all we have to do is print it and send it with the transcript when you get ready to start enrolling in colleges.

Back to top

Q: Do you think AOL may have prohibited me from completing the online registration?

A: Yes, it's possible. We've heard a few people say they've had problems with AOL when trying to fill out online forms and applications like ours. Big companies, like FedEx, have enough programming built in that the web site recognized AOL users and redirects them to another application made just for the AOL browser. Unfortunately we are not big enough for that much programming.

Please try logging on with your AOL account and then minimizing the AOL browser. Then open Internet Explorer (IE) and use the IE Browser to fill out our online form. Since 80-90% of people use IE to view web pages most programming is done with IE in mind. This is the case with our web site as well. A link to the most recent version of IE is available on our Registration pages.

We would really love to serve you and your family. Please try to register again. If you continue to have trouble please call us and we'll take your information over the phone. Once registered, we will automatically send a records request to the previous school and let you know when they arrive.

Thanks. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Back to top

Q: How long does it take to receive records from the previous school?

A: It depends on the school of course. It usually takes 3-5 weeks for records to come into our office (and sometimes longer in the summer). When these records come into the office, we send an email to let you know. If you haven't heard anything from us after 8-10 weeks, email us and we will send a second request.

It is not imperative that we have the records into our office for you to be "official" with our school. It's just a formality. We request the records, not because we need them, but because it officially withdraws you from the previous school. That, and if you were to ever transfer to another school, we could send something to that new school.

Back to top

Q: How much do books cost?

A: I just joined our Friends of the Library so we can go to the pre-sales whenever they have them. You get to see all the stock before it gets picked over! My son and I went to a sale earlier in the summer and bought tons of books for under $4. This included several chapter books, two Guinness Books of World Records (which have kept him captivated -- he's six, and into weird facts, like who has eaten more metal than anyone else), and I forget what all else. A lot of it isn't, formally speaking, curriculum, but if the kids will read it, it at least counts as "reading."

We don't use a whole lot of packaged curriculum, actually -- my kids like doing self-directed work, particularly my oldest, who's 10, so workbooks that they can go through for practice at math, handwriting, Latin and Greek, work fine for us. I found a Grade 1-2 Schoolzone math workbook for my six-year-old at Wal-Mart, which came with a CD-ROM which he loves playing. The games reinforce basic math facts (addition and subtraction) and he's already learning about place values and regrouping from one of them. Funbrain.com is also a great resource which has tons of educational games that really do teach and reinforce, though kids just think they're having fun.

Otherwise, life is full of "curriculum." Money is a great math manipulative, for instance, as are things like measuring cups and spoons. We have learned history largely through literature—last year we did ancient Greece and Rome via historical novels (Rosemary Sutcliff is great) and retellings of stories like The Odyssey. All the books we used we either had (largely bought in thrift shops) or borrowed from the library. Reading aloud, as we did and continue to do, teaches history (or whatever subject; you can do science that way, too, via biographies of scientists or stories around a scientific theme) as well as reinforcing listening skills and comprehension and teaching how good written English sounds. So you can cover tons of bases with one good read-aloud book. The Bible of course is THE great read-aloud. We don't do a formal Bible study with curriculum, but we've just begun reading Acts (we're doing American history this year, so I thought it would be neat to do the birth of the church in tandem with the birth of our nation), from a Bible we obviously already had! Add in a couple of world and US maps, which you keep readily accessible to look up where the things are you're reading about, and a single-volume kids' encyclopedia (we bought our Usborne Children's Encyclopedia in a thrift shop) for everyone to leaf through, and you've gone a long way towards covering pretty much all the bases you need to cover to nurture an educated person.

Public radio is another good resource. We listen to lots of classical music and learn a lot of current events (and also talk a lot about media bias!). Yesterday, while driving home from taking my husband to work, we heard a news story about budget problems in the judiciary, which prompted a discussion of the three branches of government and what they do. A lesson in American government, and it cost us absolutely nothing.

Seriously, I guess you can spend a lot of money on curriculum, and some people do. A lot of people also spend a lot of money on curriculum and then don't use it because it does not meet their needs. That wasn’t an option for us. When we began considering homeschooling, we were overseas, and my husband was a Ph.d student, so I just began buying interesting-looking books in charity shops with whatever change I had in my pocket. Now he's a security guard with a Cambridge Ph.d, and we're on food stamps to make ends meet and keep me at home, so buying a lot of curriculum is just out of the question. Heading into our second year of homeschooling now, however, I'm pretty happy with what we've been able to pull together on a shoestring, largely with stuff we already had. Homeschooling doesn't require a big budget in terms of money. You just have to budget a lot of creative thought!

Good luck in pulling things together and Godspeed you in your homeschooling year.

Sally

Back to top

Q: What records do you require for previously homeschooled children?

A: Since you have always home educated just post the records you have for previous school years in our grade reporting website. You will receive a username and password to login and do this after your register. Instructions for posting grades are available under the Grading FAQ.

We send emails for everything, keeping you well informed of what's going on here in the office and in the home education movement. Our forums and FAQ areas are growing daily, as a resource for finding quick answers. Also, our experienced counseling staff is available through phone or email if you ever have needs that cannot be met through our web site. Our goal is to combine the best internet technologies (to make administration easy) with personal counseling (to make home education a success).

Also, we use Home School Reporting Online (HSRO), which is a separate site that our site links to for all our record keeping needs. We are so grateful to HSRO for its instant online grade reporting services. Our teachers love it. Our records department loves it. As a school administrator this is the best resource for record keeping that I have found. Our school is incredibly organized thanks to HSRO. The thing I love the most is being able to instantly look up a student's entire transcript while I'm on the phone with the parent. And the parent can see the same thing, at the same time, on their end! It makes our service so much better.

If you have further questions after exploring www.homelifeacademy.com just give us a call or shoot us an email. We're here to serve.

Back to top

Q: In which grade do I place my student?

Q1: My husband and I intend to register our son sometime this spring. He will be 5 in July, but has been learning at home since birth. I know he is too advanced for Kindergarten work, but how do I decide which grade would be best for him? Should I start him in first grade and if that work is too easy move him up? Thanks for your help!

Q2: What if my student does not fall into just one grade level, but several, depending on the subject? (For example, he/she is doing approximately third grade work in English, but fourth or fifth grade work in Math.) What grade should I register him/her for? And how should the grades be recorded?

A: These are perhaps some of the most frequently asked questions we receive. The reason is because MOST students are NOT in just one grade level for every subject.

If you have listened to “Are We Filling a Bucket or Lighting a Fire” by Elijah Company’s Chris Davis you may be asking this question.

Or if you have read "A Different Kind of Teacher" by John Taylor Gatto you may be wondering how to teach to age levels instead of teaching to grade levels.

Because HomeLife Academy is a school we must use grade levels to keep track of records. However, our dependency on grade levels DOES NOT mean you must be dependent on grade levels. Many of our parent-teachers do not teach to grade levels but to age levels. This shift in focus, to viewing your students by their age instead of their grade, can immediately release you from the trappings of the scope and sequence, or standardized schooling. I would guess that 80-90% of the counseling we do concerning "homeschool burn out" may be attributed to parents trying to teach in their homes using the traditional institutional models. Being overly focused on grade levels, i.e. concerned if he/she is not reading, writing, or adding by such and such a grade, is an indication that a shift in focus may be needed.

Many of our teachers do not tell their students what grade they are registered in. This is acceptable, even encouraged. This way they are released to focus on the content needs of each individual student. Of course, this shift in a philosophy of education/grading raises the obvious question:

But if I’m going to teach to the age-level instead of the grade level what grade should I register my student for?

First, look at the overall picture when deciding which grade level to place your student(s) in. Guess if you have to. Remember that, in reality, a child may be ahead of the average in one subject and behind the average in another. This is normal. We accept that there is a range in which children learn to walk. There is a range for all subjects, at all ages, as well. Grade levels can easily be changed. If the majority of their work advances to the next grade level we would change them to that grade during the school year. This is fairly common because of the one on one teaching provided. However, when reporting grades always choose the grade level in which he is currently registered.

Back to top

Q: Will you accept registrations from outside of the U.S.?

A: Yes, we sure do, as long as it is allowed by the country you are in. We currently serve families in Mexico, Canada, Spain, England, and the Philippines. Since everything can be done online we are finding this to be a good resource to those outside the US, including a great number of military families.

Back to top

Q: How would I document to you the work my child has done?

A: We ask that parents turn in grades and attendance to us at least twice a year (target dates are Jan. 15 and June 15). You can either report them directly onto HSRO (the grade reporting site) or send them into the office.

All we are looking for are the subjects that were taught and the grade the student received. That's it!

Back to top

Q: It sounds like I would have to pay for this online reporting. Is there a way to just send in grades?

A: The fee for the grade reporting site is built into the registration fee.

All of our families pay this fee, whether they enter the grades online or the send them in. As a school, we use this site for all of our students.

If the grades are sent to us, we turn around and enter them into the grade reporting site manually. We use this site to generate transcripts for transferring and graduating students. This site also has a portfolio, where you can enter extra-curricular activities (field trips, community service, etc.). When your student graduates, we will send the official transcript along with the official portfolio to the college (which will look GREAT on an admissions advisor's desk!).

Back to top

Q: If my child received a diploma from Home Life Academy, will it be recognized as valid in the college arena?

A: Absolutely! We have graduated several students who are attending colleges all over the country. Colleges these days are less concerned about where the transcript came from, and more concerned about test scores (ACT/SAT) & GPA.

Back to top

Q: I have looked into other schools like this one, but they require record-keeping and actual school work to be sent in. Theoretically, couldn't someone report fake grades?

A: Theoretically, yes. Someone could report "fake" grades for their student, and we wouldn't know. But, in our experience, very few parents ever do. In fact, less than 1% of all homeschoolers report fake grades, if that many. Most parents are responsible and take full responsibility for their child's education. They are not going to report fake grades because it would only hurt the student in the end.

If there are circumstances where we suspect a parent is not being truthful in their record keeping, we have certain measures that we take with the family.

Back to top

Q: How reputable is Home Life Academy in the outside world?

A: We have had tremendous success in placing our graduates in colleges. Most colleges are more concerned with the student and not where the student went to school. Even the military is beginning to change their position on accepting homeschooled students. Currently, we have students in many colleges and universities all over the country.

Back to top

Q: Can I switch curriculums?

The original question:

My son is 12 and has been doing SOS on line this year. He has been complaining of head aches all the time and has lost interest in his school work. I bought ACE and just got it in and he is very excited about started it. I was going to use it for next school year, but I hate to disappoint his renewed excitement with the new books. Can I switch in the middle of everything? If so, do I need to change up everything in grade-reporting web site like the name of the new books/classes?

Q: Yes, you may certainly switch mid-year. Our desire is that you find what works best, regardless of how many times you need to switch.

Keep in mind, however, that if he has "lost interest in school work" changing to a different curriculum may not help. In my experience, interest in learning rarely comes from school books. In over ten years I've never seen a student who was discouraged suddenly perk up and start pouring over the new curriculum. The reason for this, I think, is because interest comes from internal motivation, and not external resources.

Try doing something completely different, fun, and exciting. And be sure to tell him, "This IS school." For example, we recently watched March of the Penguins with our kids. This documentary sparked a week-long study of Penguins. We loved it. Our kids did not even know we were looking up the biology, history, and geography of penguins. All they knew is we were having a great time learning. And they want more.

Another example is, if you purchase a microscope and just place it in a room, you'd be amazed at the learning which will go on. He will want to put everything he can under their to see it magnified. Now, this is the best way to study biology, I think. Look at it under the microscope, then look it up in a book (or online). Start with the lab, and let the lab lead you to the books (library books are the most exciting, we have found).

For more on the difference between "school" type books and real books read You Can't Get an Education From School Books and A Heart For Learning.

Back to top

Q: We use a wide variety of books for teaching. What do we put in the space that says ‘textbook name’?

Q: You can just leave that space blank. It is not required by HLA. Some of the other schools use it but we do not. Hope this helps.

Back to top

Q: What is HLA’s policy regarding truancy, suspension, expulsion, misdemeanors, pregnancy, etc.?

Q: HLA POLICY

HLA bylaws and policy, as prescribed by our Board of Directors, prohibits the enrollment of students where the following applies: truancy, suspension, expulsion, misdemeanors, and pregnancy outside of marriage, or where student has been remanded to an alternative school. Please contact your local Board of Education for further options. This new policy became official as of April 16th, 2006. HLA's request for records to the previous school includes a yes or no question: "Has the above named student(s) been charged with truancy, suspension, expulsion, and misdemeanors, or been remanded to an alternative school?" The previous school answers the question and faxes/mails our form request back to us. There will be a $10.00 processing fee to do an Enrollment Reversal. The remaining Registration fee will be refunded to you within 5-7 business days.

When can I enroll in HLA?

You must either be free of the charges for one calendar year or have been accepted in another school for six months, making satisfactory progress. Then you are welcome to transfer to HLA and we will request records and you can begin total home education.

ALSO PLEASE NOTE:

Enrollment for the current school year ENDS MAY 1ST OF EACH YEAR. HLA does not accept applications for the current school year after May 1st.

You can pre-register for the next school year by going through the online registration.

Some umbrella schools do not have this policy (e.g. http://www.familychristianacademy.com/129.shtml). However, our Board decided on this last year after receiving nearly 400 requests to transfer to HLA after the students had gotten in trouble at school. In our experience, in most cases, switching to home education as a reactionary decision as opposed to a proactive decision leads to burnout or more issues at home, thus the policy. However, we do not have this policy in order to be exclusive but to support the homeschooling movement and help steer families to programs which are designed to handle more complex issues.

I just want everyone to know all of us have really, really struggled with this decision for a couple of years. We have all prayed and prayed about it. However, for many reasons, we must make this new policy.

We consider HLA to be a ministry to home educators and we hate to exclude anyone. We hope and pray God will open doors for new ways to serve families whose children have gotten in trouble. In fact, our first goal (and still one for the future) was to start another program called Archway, that would provide additional support. Family Christian Academy has a similar program called Home Builders. However, this is just not feasible at the moment.

Our counselors are still available to help and pray for parents and their children, regardless of whether they are enrolled with us. Lani, Lynn, Karen, April, Kim, myself, and many others are here to listen to, pray for, and encourage anyone who calls. And we will help parents find good options for their children when they do call.

Again, this has been a very difficult decision. If you have more concerns and/or questions and would like to talk with me personally please call me: 888-560-0774. I will do my very best to explain.

Blessings in Christ,

David Parkerson

---

Here are some comments and additions to the above answer:

Pregnancy is only included here because we are concerned about the reason a person chooses to home educate. In our experience when the choice is made as a result of difficulty or trouble they often do no better at home and in short time transfer out further behind than before.

Here is a valid question recently on one of the list serves:

“Stony silence regarding male students who impregnate females or those who have premarital sex without pregnancy says much more to me than not.”

This is true. However, in 13 years I have never seen a “male student who impregnated a female” turning to home education as a last resort because he had done so. If this were true we would have similar advice, that a reactionary decision to homeschool increases the chances of homeschool burnout. I hope this makes sense. It is primarily about the reason one chooses to educate at home. The reason most often determines the outcome. (However, we do make exceptions—see below.) It is not the absence of grace which supports this policy.

“If it is teen sex that the school is opposed to, then by all means include THAT among the practices that will result in nonacceptance.”

We are opposed to teen sex. But, again, teen sex is not leading to last minute decisions to homeschool.

“Technically, a young woman could enroll in HLA if she chose to abort a pregnancy as opposed to carry it to term.”

If she did this she is far more likely to stay in the current school. If she came to HLA as a response to an abortion we place the case before our counselors and board of directors for a decision. HLA maintains the right to dismiss students for any reason, because although we do not require a statement of faith, we still encourage high levels of ethical conduct in line with the teachings of Christ.

Having said all of this, we DO make exceptions in regards to pregnancy on a case by case basis. (We only make exceptions for pregnancy and not the others listed above.) I interviewed a great teen pregnancy center in Texas while in grad school and I know that the girls are often victims and need a second chance. We are very ready to give a second chance. However, the deciding factor is always the reason to choose home education and the levels of preparedness in the student and the teaching-parents.

We walk a fine line between ministry and academics. I pray you understand our hearts regarding this issue.

Back to top

Q: Can I transfer out of my current school, register for only one summer school course, and then transfer back to my original school?

A: HLA is really a long-term option for full-time home educators. Legally, there's nothing against short-term registration, however, it's twice as much work to transfer in and then back out in a short amount of time.

SUMMER SCHOOL ONLY enrollment steps:

1. Fully withdraw from the previous school
2. HLA fees double ($100 for the first student, $20 for each additional)
3. Summer session is 60 days long—no more than 3 courses/credits
4. Grades submitted at the end of the session
5. Fully withdraw from HLA

Back to top