How to Start Homeschooling in Columbia
What’s so great about homeschooling in Columbia, SC? The options! You not only have choices as to how you homeschool (as you will see below), but you also live in a place that will support your education at home by providing opportunities galore. You can easily bring the history, culture, and nature of your surroundings into your daily lessons for a truly engaging homeschool journey.
Whether you have been thinking about homeschooling for a while or it’s been a more recent decision, you can rest assured that there’s support and resources that will help you get where you want to be! Here are some initial pieces of information that will get you started on the right foot:
- How to Homeschool in Columbia
- Time4Learning Curriculum for Homeschooling in Columbia
- Field Trips in Columbia and Beyond
- Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in South Carolina
This information should by no means be interpreted as legal advice. It is your responsibility to interpret and understand the laws that you will be homeschooling under.
How to Homeschool in Columbia
Homeschooling in Columbia is flexible and allows you to provide quality education while supporting the unique learning profiles and self-esteems of your kids. To get started you can follow these steps:
- Make sure to research South Carolina homeschooling laws for each homeschooling option available in the state.
- Choose the homeschooling option that best fits your family needs.
- Although not required under all homeschooling options it’s never a bad idea to notify your local school district of your intent to pursue home education.
- Research the different curriculum options and choose one that is flexible and best meets your needs.
- Consider joining a homeschool co-op in Columbia, SC to connect with other homeschoolers.
- Have fun learning together!
Time4Learning Curriculum for Homeschooling in Columbia
Factors like the COVID-19 pandemic have led to increases in homeschooling across the country, and South Carolina is no different. That means that there are more homeschoolers in Columbia and in the entire Palmetto State to share advice and resources.
As parents, you want to provide your child with the best and highest quality education possible. And homeschooling allows you to do just that without having to break the bank. As homeschool parents, you also want to spend more time doing the fun parts of homeschooling—activities like discussing educational topics with your children, reading stories and their own writing, witnessing your children progress through challenging but engaging material, and taking field trips—rather than worrying about lesson planning, grading, and recordkeeping.
Time4Learning’s goal is to help parents easily manage their homeschool by taking care of all the administrative parts of homeschooling. We aim at helping parents provide the quality education they want for their child by delivering fun and engaging lessons that will challenge and help their students succeed.
Some of the reasons why homeschoolers in Columbia consistently choose Time4Learning include:
- Regardless of the legal homeschooling option you choose, Time4Learning can support your child as a main curriculum or as a supplementary resource.
- Time4Learning’s curriculum supports the South Carolina-mandated core curriculum with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, plus additional subject areas and electives for high schoolers.
- Columbia homeschoolers can individualize instruction with Time4Learning’s engaging, self-paced lessons and activities that are adaptable for children with different learning profiles, including those with special learning needs.
- Your child can review completed Time4Learning content and retake quizzes and tests for mastery, allowing for growth without anxiety.
- Columbia’s homeschool parents can spend less time doing administrative tasks with Time4Learning’s automatic recordkeeping and easy-to-use, customizable reports.
- Your family can benefit from foreign language learning through Time4Languages to enhance skills and learn a new language.
- Free access to Time4MathFacts, which helps students practice and master important math facts through interactive activities that reward them and motivate them to learn more.
- If you’re teaching your child local history and facts about South Carolina, this post includes tons of important facts on the state’s history, geography, as well as printables and relevant Time4Learning lessons for additional practice.
- Time4Learning is easy on your budget, with a monthly subscription that can be started and stopped any time!
Field Trips in Columbia and Beyond
South Carolina, our eighth state, has so much history and culture, and its location provides access to everything from beaches to old-growth forests. As a homeschooler, you could make a list of field trip ideas a mile long. Locally, you may find events and homeschool classes in Columbia through community organizations. And, of course, there is the tried and true 170-acre Riverbanks Zoo and Garden as a regular go-to field trip destination.
Start adding to your educational experiences with these hands-on Columbia homeschool field trips:
Columbia Museum of Art – Art class? What better way to study art than to walk through centuries of artwork on display at the Columbia Museum of Art. View the standing collection arranged by themes, or one of the exciting temporary exhibits. Attend an event, like a class or even a summer camp, listen to gallery storytellers, or create artwork in the studios. If you cannot visit, take advantage of the CMA from Home resources.
Congaree National Park – Complement your gym classes with some science in this 26,276-acre park. Go birding in the largest area of old-growth forest in the eastern US after a fun unit study on birds. Try hiking the forest trails and canoeing/kayaking or fishing in the Congaree and Wateree Rivers. If you can extend your stay, consider camping in the great outdoors. Register your child to be a Junior Ranger and learn about the park and how to preserve it or print the Junior Ranger booklet and learn from home. If you have a teen between the ages of 15 and 18, consider enrolling your young adult in the Youth Conservation Corp. Free downloadable lesson plans and guided field trips are also available.
EdVenture Children’s Museum – Science? Oh, yeah! Your kids will love this hands-on learning center, the largest of its kind in the southeastern US. Enjoy over 90,000 square-feet of galleries, laboratories, and visitor amenities, plus hands-on exhibits, two resource centers, and a theater. Outside, you can find even more galleries. Help your child learn through play by climbing the statue of “Eddie” to learn about the human body, playing in My Backyard or the Bio Lab, or exploring the Flight and Maker Works exhibits.
Robert Mills House and Gardens – Did you know that Robert Mills was the architect who designed the Washington Monument? Take your kids on a visit to the 1823 mansion and museum, showing the skill of Robert Mills, and see 19th century decorative arts including English Regency, French Empire, and American Federal pieces. Then enjoy a walk through the beautiful gardens. If you like this field trip, check out in-person and virtual tours to learn about other historical landmarks on the Historic Columbia website.
South Carolina State House – Study the architecture and learn about history and government at the same time! Explore this Greek revival building and surrounding gardens and monuments. Guided tours are available that begin with a 15-minute video of the history and architecture of the State House. If you can’t visit, take Historic Columbia’s virtual State House Monuments Tour.
Able to venture out beyond Columbia? Look for other great destinations on our Homeschool Field Trips in South Carolina page!
