Homeschooling in Michigan

Hi, my name is Kathy, and I homeschool in Michigan! I have lived in Western Michigan all my life. One of my favorite things about Michigan is the change of seasons. I have been married for 16 years to my husband Dan. We have two children Eli, 13, and Isaiah, 10 years of age. I work full-time second shift in an assisted living home caring for the elderly. When I'm not studying, home schooling or working I enjoy taking naps, baking chocolate chip cookies and just being with my family. I also love to write and enjoy maintaining an online blog where I share my thoughts and feelings.

If you have questions about homeschooling in Michigan contact me in The Michigan Homeschool Section.

Michigan Homeschooling Resources

Legal disclaimer: This section is one family’s story and how they meet the mandatory school attendance laws in Michigan. It is not intended and should not be used as definitive legal advice. In most states, parents find a variety of legal methods to pursue the educational approach that they prefer for their child.

My Favorite Sites for Support and Resources

As I mentioned above, I have some favorite sites for finding support and resources for homeschooling in Michigan. The following is a listing of some of these:

How I Fulfill State Requirements

When we decided to home school our oldest was going into second grade at the local public school. We have a great school system but our son needed a different atmosphere to learn. We have found our community and local school district to be very supportive of home schooling. I cannot speak for the entire state, but where we live there are numerous homeschool support groups and co-op's. I will list some of these later.

Michigan doesn't require home schooling families to report or test their home schooling. However, homeschoolers are required to be taught in the major subjects of reading, writing, math, art, and social studies. In order to obtain testing by the school district, homeschoolers must be registered with the state.

The way I fulfill my state requirements is by providing my son a curriculum that teaches all the required subjects. We also provide social interaction through a local homeschool service that provides classes in a variety of subjects with an adult with experience in the subject as the "teacher" or the facilitator. These classes are typically complementary to the student's core curriculum. It's important to keep track of what you are using to teach, and their progress, or work. I simply create a portfolio with all their work in it for each year. I also keep any workbooks or art work, etc., in a box labeled for the year.

By using Time4Learning I am able to provide a core curriculum. I can access reports, print them and keep them in the portfolio. This was very helpful when sending my youngest son back to public school this past fall. I was able to give the school a copy of the subjects he covered as well as his test scores in each subject. I also supplement.

Advice to New Homeschooling Families

My best advice to new homeschooling families, is to find what works for you. My sisters who homeschool really enjoyed using unit studies and hands on projects. While this worked great for them, I can't teach this way. I had to find a method that I was comfortable with, and was effective for my children. It's taken time, but we have found what seems to work for us. Secondly, be flexible. Teachable moments come all the time, not just during "school hours". Watch for those times when you can teach a lesson, value or make a point. Homeschooling families learn all the time. Finally, find support. My parents live just five doors away and are both retired teachers. Mom teaches my oldest son piano, dad teaches history. Last year when both boys were homeschooled, mom did an entire unit on Africa.

Our Homeschool Day

This year our homeschool day looks different than last year when we homeschooled both boys. This year dad gets up with our youngest and gets him ready for school. Because I work second shift, I sleep until about 7:45 a.m. I get up and spent time with Isaiah before the bus comes. Eli gets up at 8:00 a.m. and follows his daily "agenda". We are learning that structure and routine work well for him.

After he finishes his morning routine we start school - - usually around 9:00 a.m. He does Time4WritingMonday -Thursday, and then Time4Learning math daily. Sometimes I have him do a lesson in every subject on Time4Learning - - it just depends on the day. He practices piano each morning as well. We work on school work, the two programs listed above, spelling and science or another subject until about 11:00 a.m. He takes a break so he can work out on the Wii-Fit, or do some other activity. He also has developed an interest in cooking. I teach him how to cook different things for lunch. Sometimes, he fixes lunch for both of us independently. He then helps with the clean up and has free time until 1:00 p.m. From 1:00 p.m..-2:00 p.m. he can either read or watch EDUCATIONAL T.V. He gets grandpa's mail every day and delivers it between 2 -2:30 p.m. Work that is not completed in the morning he can do in the afternoon. We find though, if he sticks to it, it only takes a couple hours a day to complete the necessary work. Grandma and Grandpa teach him once a week. I send his work and he takes his piano lesson that day and gets a history lesson as well. When both boys were home, we were more traditional with doing school in our school room where they each had a desk and I had a whiteboard to use. We don't need that now, and prefer the kitchen table. On Fridays, we go to the homeschool building where he has three classes. I use this time to go to a local coffee shop and study for my classes or go out to lunch with a friend.

Choosing Homeschool Curriculum

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, <a href="http://www.time4learning.com/program/faq.html#guarantee">satisfaction guaranteed</a>! Sign up for Time4Learning as part of your overall homeschool program.