homeschooling in myrtle beach
Guest post by Jess Alfreds of Carolina Kids Co-Op, one of South Carolina's largest homeschooling cooperatives. Carolina Kids Cooperative is an outdoor, secular, academic co-op serving children from preschool through high school.
The United States is in its homeschooling era.
Over the past four years, homeschooling has become America’s fastest-growing form of education. Many have seen what the traditional school system has to offer and decided to opt out.
homeschooling 101
WHY CHOOSE HOMESCHOOLING: Homeschooling offers a flexible, personalized approach to education. Families looking to travel, or focus on a special skill or talent, have found traditional schools to be unaccommodating and even punitive. When considering students with special needs, traditional schools are limited in their ability to think outside the box or make sincere efforts at atypical accommodations. For many of us, homeschool life has been a gift; improving our quality of life and strengthening our family bonds.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE GETTING STARTED: If you’re considering homeschooling your child in South Carolina, it’s essential to understand the legal requirements, educational resources, and practical aspects involved. This article provides an overview of homeschooling in the Palmetto State, covering everything from state regulations to how homeschooling makes many families happier and healthier.
legal requirements
South Carolina provides a flexible framework for homeschooling, but it still requires adherence to specific legal standards. Here’s what you need to know:
HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION: South Carolina law mandates that you must notify the local school district of your intention to homeschool if your child has attended school in SC previously. This is typically done by submitting a notice of intent to the school district where your child would otherwise attend public school and then proof of joining an accountability association.
ACCOUNTABILITY ASSOCIATIONS: In SC, you cannot homeschool independently without being part of a larger organization. There are three options when it comes to accountability associations. The most common choice by far is known as “Option 3”. Here is a brief summary of each:
• OPTION ONE: Parents get permission to homeschool through the Board of Education. Their curriculum is approved by the Board and the student takes standardized tests at the end of the year. It is essentially the public school curriculum and experience, but at home.
• OPTION TWO: Families homeschool under the guidance of SCAIHS, the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools. This is a statewide association that requires a high level of compliance and supervision. SCAIHS is a faith-based (Christian) organization that requires standardized testing at the end of the year.
• OPTION THREE: Local homeschool groups with at least 50 members enrolled can apply to the Board of Education to become certified accountability associations. These groups are run by homeschoolers for homeschoolers and their requirements vary from group to group. Typically they do not require any standardized testing or supervision of curricula. My association, Carolina Kids Co-op, is one of the largest Option 3 associations in the state and offers field trips, homeschool consultations, and private tutoring.
universal requirements
Regardless of which option you choose, there are a few universal requirements:
• You, as the primary homeschool parent, must have a high school diploma or GED.
• You must complete 180 days of “schooling” each year.
• You must cover the core subjects each year (math, reading, writing, social studies, science, and for Middle School and up, literature and composition).
• You must file two “progress reports” each year with your chosen association.
educational resources
DON’T DO IT ALONE: One of the greatest misconceptions about homeschooling that still persists is that you will be educating your child in isolation, without community or educational support. You do not need to be a professional educator to homeschool your child, and you don’t need to do it alone.
HOMESCHOOL COOPERATIVES (commonly known as co-ops) are found in all 50 states. They are groups of like-minded families who do some or all of their homeschooling together. A co-op can be just for socializing and the students do all of their academic work independently at home, or a Co-op can have an academic focus, where students do all or most of their core academics with peers.
VARIETY OF CO-OPS EXIST: Sometimes instructors are state-licensed teachers, and sometimes they are experienced homeschool parents. At Carolina Kids Co-op, we provide both options; one cop-op that takes a more laid-back approach with hands-on science projects, hikes, beach days, and athletics, and another co-op that focuses on rigorous academics and all of the core requirements, including math, language arts, science, social studies, history, foreign language, and fine arts.
PICKING CURRICULUM: The beauty of homeschooling is being able to pick and choose the programs that work for your family at each particular season of life. Most co-ops do not provide academic material or curriculum, but there is so much available online these days that you can find textbooks and lesson plans for every subject. In addition to traditional textbooks, there are also dozens of online programs to choose from. There are so many choices in fact that it can be overwhelming for a first-time homeschooling family.
TAKE TIME TO FIND WHAT FITS: Try to take your time and find the material that your child responds to. Do not try to recreate public school at home! This is your opportunity to figure out what your child’s learning style is and what works for your family. Maybe you’re night people who choose to spend your days on other activities and save your academic work for evenings. Maybe one parent works weekends so your family time is on the weekdays and your weekends are for schoolwork. Think outside the box and create the schedule you’ve always wanted.
CREATING A POSITIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
COMMITTED PARENT-TEACHER: Homeschooling does take a certain amount of self-discipline on the part of the parent serving as the primary educator. Without a clearly defined schedule, and a willingness to stick it out, you can easily find a lack of productivity creeping over your home. We wake up with the best intentions to do a math lesson, work on handwriting, practice the piano, then complete a science experiment… But we slept in, the sink was clogged so we had to call the plumber, the kid woke up in a bad mood, and you decided to just scrap the lessons and go to the movies instead. Of course, sometimes days like that will happen, but if you haven’t found a rhythm that you can commit to, you may find these days coming around too frequently.
EXPECTANT CHILD: Children overwhelmingly perform better academically when their days are consistent and they know what to expect. When they know that their parent-teacher is committed to the schedule, they are more likely to be too.
IN SUMMARY + MORE INFO
Childhood is a magical time when children are learning who and how to be. We should be protecting their uniqueness and creativity with all of our might. More than anything else, this is the essence, and the purpose, of homeschooling. To find out more about Carolina Kids Cooperative visit our website or Facebook page.
You can find a list of other Grand Strand area co-ops here.