My name is Melinda and I just wanted to introduce myself. I am a homeschooling mom of 8 kids ages infant to 12. Looking to make some homeschooling friends all over the country and world. We've been homeschooling for 7 years.
Hi! I am also a new here from SC. Mother of four. I began by homeschooling all four of my children, two boys and two girls. We've tried virtual charter schooling for the past few years. For my older children it seems to be working well, but the younger ones need the homeschooling environment more. So I'm back to homeschooling. I am currently trying to find out how to get state testing administered as its required here for 3rd through 8th grades, and I have a 5th grader being homeschooled. Any help at all would be great!!
Welcome! I'm also from SC. SecondGenHSMOM, are you HS'ing under 3rd Option? With 3rd Option state testing is not required in SC. I have never had state testing done with my kids.
jakk is correct. SC does not require testing under the 3rd option. I admit you kind of freaked me out when you said that because I've never tested my children. Haha! I had to look it up to be sure In my opinion, the 3rd option is the way to go in SC. However, a bill was introduced into state legislature recently by people who want to take the third option away due to people neglecting to teach their children under this option. It would be devastating to families who enjoy this liberty to teach their children well. It's called Bill H3478 and here's a Facebook group about it https://www.facebook.com/groups/STOPProposedBillH3478/. At the moment most of the sponsors have dropped out and it doesn't seem to be an immediate threat, but I believe it's on the table until July 2014. Just FYI Under the the third option all you need to do is belong to an accountability association and send in a progress report at the end of the year. Here is an association: http://www.tschaa.com/Application.html This is not the one I belong to because I didn't know about it until just now, but it looks as if it's only $10/yr and has simple reporting. I'm going to look into for next year. Or you can just Google "SC homeschool accountability association" to find one that suits your family. Let me know if you have any other questions!
I want to warn you about www.tschaa.com. I joined them last year, but never rec'd any type of confirmation from them. I emailed and called, leaving messages but never got a response. I finally reported it to Paypal and they gave tschaa a certain amount of time to respond, and they never did. My $10 was refunded via Paypal at that point. It's not just the $10, it's the thought of not knowing I was covered by the Association in case something had happened and I would need to show proof of membership. If you do join that Association, make sure you get written proof that you are covered.
Wow, just lost all I typed!! Short story - try www.schoolsoutsupport.com. I know they are pretty active as I still get email updates from the group. The administrator, Kelly Lovejoy, was easy to work with. She helped me out with the cost one year and even allowed me to come by her home to get paperwork I needed to repull my dd out of school. They are an "unschooling" based group but that doesn't matter in regards to an association lol. We ended up going with K12 the last few years but were not happy with them at all but I know it works for some folks.
www.tschaa.com - we used them in the past with no problem but the next year it didn't seem to be an active association anymore. That was disappointing because the first year they were quickly responsive and I liked the option of a form for the DMV when my dd went to get her permit.
We were with SchoolsOutSupport and had no problems with them either. Kelly was very helpful in helping my daughter get the documentation needed for her driving permit.
Good to know about tschaa! Thanks for the heads up. I belong to Insights on Education https://insightsoneducation.org/ and haven't had any problems with them. They are $40/yr and only require you to mail a progress report at the end of the year. You are supposed to keep a midyear one on file in your own records. I hear k12 is good, but too pricey for our family. We pick and choose our curriculum from various resources. I'm frugal and don't like to pay a lot of money on anything unless I think it's really valuable. @secondgenhshom - Just ask questions and I'd be glad to help!
We do not belong to Insights On Education, but my 17 yr old daughter will be participating in their graduation ceremony in May. Our current Association does not have a graduation ceremony, and IOE includes even non-members from SC in the graduation. Very good experience with them to date.
Hello. I am from the upstate of SC. I'm homeschooling my 14 year daughter. She is in 9th grade. I am also using http://insightsoneducation.org/. Welcome aboard.
Hi there, welcome to the forum. There's a lot of great useful information i have found on here, hope it helps you as well.
Wahoo nice to meet you!! I am a homeschooling mother of eight 12 to infant too. Due with number nine in September. I would love to hear about how you get everything done. I am having an impossible time with my boys and am about to send them back to school. So if you have any tips that would be great!
