My husband and I may be moving to Washington state very soon and I wanted to know how it is to home school there? Thank you!
I'm sure Deena will pick up on this thread, but just in case you can go to the Members List and find Deena and send her a private message, too. This site is great for communicating with one another without having to do emails.
I lived in Spokane WA, a very nice state to live in, You do need to get the kids tested once a year and may have to keep some basic records. Thats all I know of. What part are you planning on moving to?
Yaaay, Washington is a great state to homeschool in! I hope you move here! Which city would you move to? The "Rules" for homeschooling in WA are very simple: They suggest you test once a year, and they suggest you fill out an Intent to Homeschool form each year. That's it. That's all I do! No attendance, no portfolio, no lesson plans.... The Intent to Homeschool form is easy: Names, ages and grades of children, your name and your signature. I can handle that! They don't want you to homeschool other children though, at least the lady I asked said there are forms to fill out for that and signatures of people, and you have to have a degree. But for your own kids, if you have a college education, or if you take a class for homeschooling (they offer them somewhere---easy enough to do), then you can homeschool. I had the college degree, so that was easy enough for me, so I didn't look into the class, so I'm not sure how it worked. I could probably look it up for you if you like, though. Washington state is GREAT! It does rain here, that's one reason it's so beautiful, but it does not rain every day, as some people think it does! Any more info. you need? Just let me know!
Also look at www.hslda.org . Go to the homeschooling tab, down to homeschooling laws. On the next screen click on the state you want. It'll give you a breakdown of what the state does/doesn't require. My sister hs's in WA and I don't remember anything difficult for her to do. She does say that there is a lot of support for hsing. If you are moving close to Idaho you might want to consider moving here. Homeschooling is really, really easy here and people don't always look at you like some kind of freak when you tell them you hs. In fact a lot of people ask me first. Good luck
There are hundreds of homeschoolers in this area. When people that work in the stores see us during school hours, they say, "Is it a holiday, are your kids sick or do you homeschool?" There are many opportunities available here for homeschoolers, and many places around this area give extra discounts to homeschoolers....just gotta ask! I love it here, it's a very comfortable place for homeschooling! I've never really had a problem with someone questioning homeschooling around here. Actually only once: My sons went on a camping trip with a group, and after I dropped them off, I took my dd to Dairy Queen. There was an older couple behind us and he asked why she wasn't in school. My dd said she's homeschooled. He said, "Oh really, isn't going to school better? What are you learning?" She said, "Lots of stuff!" He said, "What's your favorite subject?" We had been going through a Christian Liberty Science Book, and she was loving it, so she said science was her favorite. He said, "Really? What have you been studying about?" She went into a long explanation of things we'd been studying, and listed all sorts of things. I was surprised she remembered so much of it! The guy got a big smile on his face and said, "I used to be a science teacher. I taught it for 30 years, and I never once had a child that could remember what I taught as well as what she just said. And they were in highschool! My (daughter or granddaughter---I forget which) has expressed an interest in homeschooling, and I always told her it was better to get an education in the schools where they belong. But I'm not too sure about that now!" It was so perfect! I really think God arranged that meeting, right when my dd was so excited about science, which was that guy's specialty, so that his relative would be encouraged to homeschool! Anyway, that was the only naysayer I've run across, and he left convinced that homeschooling was not so bad after all! WA is a very homeschool friendly state! I am sure you'll like it!
Kris, it was really cool! The timing was perfect too---I mean, she couldn't do that now, cuz we've moved on to other things, but at that moment that was her thing, and "just happened" to be his thing too!
My husband was talking about Snohomish Washington we are looking for a cheap apartment as we speak we will be leaving NY Dec 30th
Good luck Melinda. I wish you the best in your new town, and state. Have a safe trip out to Washington.
Snohomish is Northeast of where we live. It's not too far from the border to Canada I believe. It's probably got cooler weather than we have here also. Take care while coming out! I think you'll like WA state, and I know you'll like the homeschool possibilities, and the way WA accepts homeschoolers!
Melinda~ Are you from NY? I would think it would be so hard to pick up and move clear across the country, though I know others who have done it. I'm here in PA, and I can't imagine. (Though I'd love to come out and meet you Deena!) Glad you're happy with your decision to stay where you are. I have heard that NY is not the most homeschool friendly state, but I hear the same things about PA and I've not had any problems. Good luck to you!
Yeah we are from NY born and raised NY is OK with homeschooling from what I hear I belong to groups and play groups for home schoolers so I have lots of support which makes things much easier
Melinda Good luck to you. I would love to visit Washington, I would love to go to New York I live in TEXAS.I would like to visit Miss. too.
Awww rats! Seriously, I know how hard it would be to move clear across the country! Yikes, I'd wanna stay where I was too! But if it ever comes up again, remember WA is a very homeschool friendly and so are we Washingtonians!
