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Podcast 001- Getting Started (Georgette)

Getting Started on your Homeschooling Journey

What to do when you’re considering withdrawing your child from school.

TRANSCRIPT:

Knowing your state’s requirements is one key to successful homeschooling. But each state is different. So in this podcast, we focus on the state of Maryland.  If you’re homeschooling in Maryland, you’ll need to know the following simple steps.

Submit a Homeschooling Notification form to your local county.  This must be done 15 days before your homeschooling instruction starts.  You can find this form on our website under the Resources tab.

The Maryland regulation includes several options for homeschooling:

  1. Maintain a Portfolio – Under this option you agree to maintain a portfolio of your child’s work and meet with school officials semi-annually for a review.  You’re not required to use formal curriculum or a correspondence course.  You can create your own program.  Just make sure to keep good records.
  2. Approved Correspondence Schools – Home Study International in Takoma Park and Calvert School in Baltimore are two approved correspondence schools.  You must use their teacher advisory in order to not be subject to public school reviews.  The cost per child is about ~$950.00.
  3. Recognized Religious Satellite Schools – There are a lot of recognized satellite schools in Maryland.  However, all but one or two are Christian based, and costs vary from $250 to over $1,000 per family.  Enrolling in one of these programs will exempt you from public school reviews.

Withdrawing your child from public or private school is not difficult.  Just be aware that there’s an adjustment period for children who have gone to public school before, and the more they’ve attended school, the longer the adjustment time they’ll need.

Even though Maryland offers several options on how you can homeschool your child, there’s one law that must be followed regardless of whether you report to the county for homeschool reviews, enroll in a correspondence school or a religious satellite; and that’s the required curriculum.  While Maryland doesn’t prescribe a set curriculum for homeschoolers, it does require that your teachings include the following subjects:

  • Art
  • Health
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Social Studies

Your child is not required to take state tests.  However, if you’d like for them to take standard tests, please contact your local officials.  Every year you’ll need to notify the state about which option you’re homeschooling under.  This can be done in writing or over the phone.  No special forms are needed.

Homeschooling your children can seem like a daunting task, but there are many groups and organizations in Maryland that exist to help.  You can find a wealth of advice and support on our website, and learn about upcoming social events and field trips on our Facebook page and in our Meetup group.

If you’ve ever attended a social event, field trip or co-op class sponsored or organized by Howard County Homeschooling (HCHC), please visit our Facebook page and recommend us.  We appreciate you and your feedback!

SEE: http://bit.ly/2DZNVXi

GEORGETTE – A mom who is 1 month into her homeschooling journey, speaks about her experience with notifying school officials of her intent to homeschool and the challenges she now faces.


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Podcast 002- Orientation

Welcome everyone! This is Rayna Remondini with Howard County Homeschooling and you’re listening to Podcast #002 – Orientation.

We’re off to a great start. Thanks to everyone for tuning in and watching this podcast.

Today we’re going to visit a few different places online to explain membership and the enrollment process.  We’ll take a look at the:

  1. Website
  2. Meetup™
  3. Facebook/Twitter

Starting with our website, you’ll discover 2 portals for membership:

Co-op versus Meetup.  What’s the big difference?

  • Co-op Membership is for parents who want to enroll their child in group study (i.e. attending enrichment classes).  And that’s in addition to benefiting from group social activities, events and field trips.
  • Meetup™ Membership is for parents who want to enjoy attending events and field trips.

When it comes to cost, the difference is:

Co-op Members pay $55.00 twice a year during the fall and spring semesters to receive a discounted rate of $10/per class, which amounts to $80/per semester for the 1st child.  Also, these members benefit from sibling discounts.  So if you have 2 or more children, this option would be most advantageous.

Meetup™Members pay $5.00 a month to receive notifications about upcoming social events, field trips and open houses. There’s an initial 60 day free trial period so that prospective families can see if it’s a good fit.

WE’LL ALSO VISIT THE MEETUP GROUP

This forum is where you’ll receive messages from your child’s teacher in regards to postponements, or any pertinent class information.  Therefore, Meetup membership is very important when it comes to receiving correspondence.

Meetup members who enroll in co-op classes pay $14.99 per class for each child.

This podcast is designed to explain the Enrollment Process which includes,

  1. Registering for Classes,
  2. Completing the Student Form
  3. Accepting your Meetup Invitation

Parents are expected to hand-in Student Participation Forms (for each student) in-person on the first day of school. 

So, let’s talk about registering for classes and break down tuition cost.

  • Each class is $10.00 for co-op members
  • Each semester cost $80.00
  • A full year’s tuition totals $160.00 for 1 student taking 1 class
  • A payment plan is available: $40/ per month for 4 months with a $25 finance fee

So, what happens when I have (2) two children?

  • Add $104 to your original bill of $160
  • That makes a grand total of $264 dollars
  • That’s a full year’s tuition for 2 students taking 1 class
  • A payment plan is available: $66/ per month for 4 months with a $50 finance fee

Let’s review it again with 3 children:

  • Add $80 to your adjustedl bill of $264
  • That makes a grand total of $344 dollars
  • That’s a full year’s tuition for 3 students taking 1 class
  • A payment plan is available: $86/ per month for 4 months with a $75 finance fee

Lastly, we’ll move onto the social media platforms.  We’ll start with Facebook, home to our Curriculum Swap, Sell or Trade group and the Community Board.  If you have books to barter, or if you know of an event or class that other homeschooling families could benefit from, feel free to post them here.  We also ask that you take a few minutes to recommend us.  We appreciate the feedback.

If you’re not much of a Facebook fan but you have a Twitter account, you can get updates and notifications from our Twitter site.  School closings and other helpful posts are put here to keep you informed.