Homeschooling in Utah

Hi my name is Debbie and I am the new Time4Learning State Representative for Utah. I have 2 children, a daughter that is 24 and a son who is 10. I home schooled my daughter when she was in grade school and I have been home schooling my son for almost 3 years. Before my son was born I was a police officer in south Seattle for many years. Up until 2 years ago I was the owner of a national tax strategy company that I worked from my home. The other business owners that I dealt with were always stunned to learn that I had my office in my home and that I taught my son at home.

I feel home schooling is one of the best things that I can do for my son. It gives me the ability to teach him “our values” and let him learn at his pace.

You can visit me on the Utah forum to ask any further questions.

Utah Homeschooling Laws

Legal disclaimer: This section is one family’s story and how they meet the homeschooling laws in Tennessee. 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.

Resources for Homeschooling in Utah

Home schooling in Utah is great! There are so many resources available to home schoolers that it is hard to decide which to pick because they all sound so interesting. There is never a lack of people to get advice from, be mentored by or get hands on help, when I have a question or problem.

I am part of a home school co-op that meets once or twice a week and we share our experience with other families. I teach a CSI class for home schoolers and a Self Defense class. My son takes physics and guitar lessons.

There are many resources for home schoolers such as these email groups through yahoo: Wasatch web W.H.E.N (Wasatch home educators network), Utah LDS Homeschool, Utah-hs, utahhspolitics .

A Typical HomeschoolDay For Us

A typical day for us is my son will do 5 minute timed math exercise, then he will practice his piano for 30 minutes. We then work in 45 minute increments, and then he gets 15 to do what ever he wants. Play outside, play with the dog, video games etc. Depending on what subject that we are focusing on that day, we will do book-work for the first 1 ½ to 2 hours then he will go to Time4learning.com and work on 3 or 4 subjects . We try once a month or so to use one of the several science experiment books that we have to make things from. Like a race car made from pop cycle sticks, a self-propelled boat made from a pop bottle, an airplane from clothespins. Once a month or so, we will have a “Book day” where we just read our favorite book, or I will read a book to him. (we do not have TV in our home so that is never a problem)

When I first started home schooling my son he fought me any time I mentioned that we were going to do “English”. However when we started Time4Learning, he loved the “Language Arts” section so much that he would spend hours working on that subject alone. He finished several months of work in just a few weeks. The set up for Language Arts is so kid-friendly that he could not get enough. He still does not know that “Language Arts” IS English!!

If you have more questions about homeschooling in Utah, or want to learn more about our experiences in the state, you can contact me in the Utah Parent Forum.