Single Working Parent Homeschooling Part III

Part III: Homeschool options
There are several homeschool options a single parent may explore:
1. Homeschooling Group
2. Virtual School
3. Purchased Curriculum
4. Do-it-yourself Curriculum
5. Unschooling
No matter which curriculum option you choose, joining a homeschooling group is essential for any homeschool parent. They provide opportunities for extracurricular activities, as well as lots of advice. In addition, many homeschool groups offer group classes for subjects parents may not feel equipped to teach. While the majority of homeschool groups are Christian, it is possible to find secular homeschool groups in most large cities.
Several sites, such as Local Homeschool.com; and Homeschool World, offer a list of homeschool groups. Another option is to do a search for the area where you live with the words "homeschool" or "homeschool group".
Another option is virtual school. These schools are accredited and licensed by the states or regions where they're located.
Several states, such as Ohio, Georgia, Florida, and Oklahoma offer virtual academies as options to traditional brick-and-mortar public schools. In many cases, the state uses tax dollars to pay for all or most supplies, although in some states, students must purchase their own high-speed Internet connection and computer. All use textbooks which can be purchased separately, as can the curricula. Your state board of education can offer information about these accredited virtual schools.
Another type of virtual school falls into the purchased curriculum category. These are accredited, for-pay online schools. Different schools are targeted for children with special health or other concerns, for child performers, and for gifted students. Prices for these can vary widely.
K12 is one of the most popular. It claims to be flexible enough to use for gifted and learning disabled students. One of my kids temporarily used it, and we didn't find it that flexible.
Others include Allied National High School, Ashworth University High School and the Christa McAuliffe Academy Online. About.com has a list of other high schools.
Purchased curricula that use mostly hard copy textbooks are also available. You can purchase textbooks for individual subjects or for an entire grade level. One of the best sites to find this is at homeschoolbooks.com.
Unschooling is a philosophy that encourages students to follow their interests. Unschooling is generally not a method used for college-bound students, because while students may learn a lot about one subject, they may neglect others. Unschooling generally works with highly intelligent, highly motivated children and parents.
If you unschool, make sure you document everything - subjects studied, labs, tests, etc. - as much as possible. Many local boards of education don't view unschooling as acceptable, and the more evidence you have, the better you'll fare if a dispute arises.
Next, I'll write about accredited versus nonaccredited curricula.