Homeschooling in Illinois

Hi, my name is Cassandra, and I am the Illinois state representative for Time4Learning! I am 40. I have 2 kids, a 13yr. old son,(who is ADHD) and 10yr. old daughter. I have been married for 18 years. I love to garden and do anything outdoors. My husband and I are "do-it-yourselfers", so we always have projects going on, and of course, we get the kids involved.(we are staining the deck and pergola right now ) We have lots of pets because we all love animals. I also love coffee and spending time with my kids.

If you have questions about homeschooling in Illinois, or want to learn more about our experiences in the state, you can contact me in the Parent forum at The Illinois Homeschool Section.

Basic Requirements for Homeschooling
in Illinois

I really enjoy homeschooling in Illinois. It is relatively easy, as we don't have to send in any reports to the state. The ISAT's are also optional. The area I live in is great as far as field trips and hands on learning experiences. We also have wonderful museums to visit in Chicago. Lots to see and do and explore in the state.

In Illinois the basic legal requirements for homeschooling are that you need to teach the branches of education in the English language (if the children are between the ages of 7 - 17).You will have the freedom to shape your school day and your curriculum for your children's specific needs and talents. Illinois government does not require testing, evaluation, or special oversight,(such as sending in reports to the state. )

Here are the ways I fulfill the requirements

Time4Learning is the best tool I have at my disposal! We tried other avenues, but this is the best for our family.(my daughter was begging us to go back to it when we stopped for awhile. Hey, you can't beat it if they're begging to do schoolwork!) It tracks the kids progress, which my husband loves, and that saves us both alot of headaches if we tried to do it ourselves. It also provides resources for us to print out as extra aides if the kids need it. T4L provides lessons in math, science, lang. arts, and social studies which meet the state requirements. But also included within these lessons are lessons on health, geography and some art history. The lessons are informative and creative, we love all the characters that teach the lessons!!

I supplement with a health and nutrition workbook for health class . As for the fine arts, the kids are currently taking an art class offered at our local library for homeschoolers only, and at no cost! They have taken knitting, pottery, and ice skating classes. I also teach them character building skills and we do volunteer work in the community. I bought a violin and am teaching the kids to play via free online violin lessons. ( I was in orchestra in school, so I do know what I am doing - - just in case you wondered! ) But you could do it without the knowledge as well, it's pretty straightforward.

To find out more about the legal requirements for homeschooling in Illinois, visit one of these sites: Illinois Homeschool Legal Requirement by HSDLA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association); Home-Ed Magazine’s IL resource page -with information, articles, and state-specific resources; and info on Home Education in Illinois by Ann Zeise; Illinois State Board of Education official homeschool page

Finding Local Resources in Illinois

Our local library has been the biggest help to me in my homeschool journey. It was there that I met another homeschool mom who happened to see me with an armful of books on homeschooling that I was checking out. She gave me lots of great day-to-day advice, and she let me come over and see what she does. She also gave me the contact info for a homeschool support group in our area called "Great Explorers". So I would tell anyone to check at their library or online for any groups like that in their area. Through our group we are able to take field trips that the kids in public schools do. Such as museums, plays, musicals, the Planetarium, etc... You'd be surprised at how many classes or special consideration for homeschoolers there are. Two local skating rinks have homeschool-only skate times. The Gymquest offers homeschool classes as well. There are also great programs through the Village you could sign up for. Our Will County Forest Preserve District is also another source of classes and field trips.In Joliet, at the local junior college, the woman who actually runs our local hs. support group teaches a class there for persons wanting to begin homeschooling. She provides all sorts of advice and resources through her class.


We made friends with a couple that live on a farm nearby and they give us eggs to incubate or baby chicks to raise. (we have turkey eggs right now we are trying to hatch) When they get big enough, they go back to the farm. This has been a terrific learning experience. My son and I also did some work for them as well. Ask around for what you're interested in, and you never know what could happen. People are eager to share their knowledge, especially with the kids. If we go to doc's office or restaurant (my son loves to cook and has taken cooking class as well) and tell them we homeschool and want to learn about what they do, they always show us around and teach us something new.Our Laid Back Approach to Homeschooling

We are pretty laid back in our approach to homeschooling. On the average day we don't roll out of bed until 10:00 or 10:30. Then it's breakfast while mom checks email and Dakota plays video games. If we have a morning activity, (which we try not to plan) we're off to that. Whe we come home we have lunch and then spend 1 to 2 hours on Time4Learning. If we have an afternoon activity we try to do Time4Learning in the morning before we leave. We try to make sure we spend at least 1 hour three days a week doing Time4Learning. Some days we are out all day, especially on park days. But we feel that even at the park learning is happening. Days that we are at home all day, (and those days are pretty rare,) we might bake bread or cookies or just play outside in the yard. After dinner Dakota likes to watch Mythbusters, How Its Made, or something on the Discovery Channel or the Science with Dad. Sometimes they build rockets together or work on lego projects. Then its time for a bedtime story with Dad and off to bed. Two weekends a month we go to Rocket Club where the guys launch their rockets.

Watching My Children Grow

You might be interested to know what a day in our homeschool looks like...


After breakfast, brushing teeth and caring for our pets we start school. I will usually sit with one child at a time and go through lessons. I will have the other child do chores, some writing work, or reading at this time(or all of the above) .Then I switch kids. Then we either walk the dog or go to the park or fishing at the preserve for some excercise. Sometimes I borrow educational videos from the library and we watch those. Our neighbor had surgery on her shoulder, so lately we've been helping her....walking her dog and watering yard. On Fridays we go to a nursing home and read (the Bible) to our friend there. In the evening(at least 2 times a week), we do some reading and studying together as a family and sometimes play games or watch a movie together. Whatever we do, we try to teach as much as we can. I teach my kids life skills, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, caring for pets, etc...they even have their own savings account at a bank. Now that's its spring they help me plant. I let them start plants as seeds and watch them grow.That's the best part of my day, just like those seeds, I am always there to watch my children grow!

Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

Time4Learning is used by homeschool parents both as a primary curriculum and as a supplemental program to other materials such as Saxon, Alpha Omega, Five in a Row and A Beka. Some of the features that make Time4Learning so successful include:

Time4Learning appeals to a wide range of learning styles. Our online learning materials are especially well-suited to children who are visual or kinesthetic learners. These children can take advantage of Time4Learning's interactive, multi-media materials.

Children like using the computer to learn. It's a convenient, interactive homeschool resource that provides a welcome change each day to paper-and-pencil workbooks and textbook-based lessons.
Parents like that it tracks progress and helps children advance by clearly presenting and reinforcing the each lesson.

Time4Learning's self-paced, modularized lesson plans allow you to move forward and back through the materials whenever you want. You can skip lessons that teach concepts your child has already mastered and repeat those he or she has not. The choice is yours. With Time4Learning, you are always in control.

Time4Learning is proven effective with homeschoolers, has a low monthly price, is easy-to-use, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can make sure that it works for your children, risk free! Sign up for Time4Learning as part of your overall homeschool program.