Why we don't work with homeschoolers:
1. We don't know much about the topic 2. Past attempts didn't work out 3. They may challenge materials (censorship)
- We have limited resources
Reasons people homeschool their children:
- The environment of schools
- To offer religious or moral instruction
- Dissatisfaction with school
- Child has physical or mental issues
- Special needs
Philosophies / Trends of homeschoolers:
- Unschooling (John Holt)
- Classical homeschoolers (The Well Trained Mind)
- Children who have special needs
- Charlotte Mason homeschoolers
- Objectivist homeschoolers
- Military homeschoolers
- Artist/performers (child actors, or family member is a performer and the family has to often relocate)
- Eclectic homeschoolers
Conservative protestants are a large percentage of the home school population and are very organized. Catholic homeschooling demographic is fast growing. Other religious groups such as pagans, Muslims, and Jews may home school due to no religious schools in their area.
Some Requirements of Homeschooling in NYS:
- NYS Education Dept
- Must file an IHIP and file quarterly reports with school district
- State mandates subjects that must be covered
- In 7 & 8 grade library skills is in the curriculum
Curriculum Options:
- Unschoolers have no curriculum
- Can follow the NYS curriculum
- Can buy a pre-packaged curriculum (can be pricey)
- Online & correspondence courses
- Unit studies (chose a topic then do accompanying literature, math, lifestyles, etc units on that topic)
- Create your own curriculum
The homeschooling year:
- Follow the school district calendar
- Go to school year round
- Create the calendar based on family needs (religious considerations, travel projects, medical needs, etc)
- Follow no calendar at all
Daily schedules:
- School work in the morning, outings in the late afternoon (many families follow this schedule)
- Chores in the morning, schoolwork in the late morning or afternoon
- Schoolwork late evening or at night (for parents who work full time during the day)
- Some do no assigned seat work
Planning programs in the library:
- Offer for a wide range of ages/family programs
- Schedule in the afternoons
- Partner with local organizations
- Recruit volunteers from the home school community
- Focus on the library (not crafts, be library oriented)
Types of programs to offer:
- Open house
- Library skills (tour, differences between fiction and non-fiction)
- Computer skills
- Book groups
- College / Scholarship info. (have local college present)
Developing a homeschooling collection:
- Many titles are published by small presses or are self-published so they are a little harder to find than typical library books
- Some aren't available through jobbers like B & T
- Some have religious slants, or are biased
Homeschooling Resources:
- Look at homeschooling periodicals
- Websites and blogs
- Amazon.com has a homeschooling section
- Look at books already in your collection
- Take patron recommendations
Home School Legal Defense Association Not for profit organization which defends homeschoolers rights through legal action and lobbying.
About.com Course of Study by Grade Nice break-down by grade of what children should be learning
Homeschool Diner
National Homeschooling Education Research Institute
NYS LEAH Loving Education at Home
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