You’ve decided to homeschool and are unsure of where to start. You don’t even know what to ask.
So, let’s get a few common questions out of the way first:

Is it legal to homeschool? 
Yes. You don’t have to ask permission nor be approved to homeschool. You DO need to notify your child’s former school of your choice, and you do need to inform the state in which you reside of your intent to homeschool. Each state has different requirements beyond that. And they probably change over the years, but your local department of eduction will have confusing standards posted for you to bumble your way through! But you can do it - and ask here. We can help point you in the right direction, depending on where you live!
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For Louisiana - you can register for Home Study or Nonpublic Not Seeking State Approval.  Go for the latter unless you have a junior or senior in high school, as it's the least restrictive. The Home Study option is required if you'd like TOPS funding for college. I'll detail all of that in a later post!

And, if you're looking for info about some other state - click "state standards" in the category to the right and we may have what you need!
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by Craig Fernandes, Guest Contributor

It’s a new day. You wake up feeling groggy and out of it, reach your hand towards the side table to grab your…. wait WHERE’S MY PHONE? *cue panic*

You are walking towards the metro (post covid19 obviously), life feels great because you even get a seat, you reach out to your pockets to grab your… WHERE’S MY PHONE? *cue panic*

Irrespective of age, gender, ethnicity, career or economic status we are all connected by one common factor which is our smartphones. From the minute we wake up till the moment our day ends, our phone is a staple part of it all. Our social life through DMs, Whatsapp, Tinder and our business life through calls, notes, last-minute presentation slides; you name it and your phone has got it.

by Christina Yeager

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to close around the country. Parents now find themselves wondering what they should do. Most likely, 98% of the American population does not, hasn’t ever or has never even thought of homeschooling. However, Americans are now faced with the possibility to ‘school at home’ for now, at least until public school schedules are back on track. For families with internet access, this task can be made easy. There are endless resources online to aid grades K - 12. But...before picking something and going with it, care to take some advice on starting school at home?

by Christina Yeager

Hands-on learning doesn’t have an age limit! Yes, grade school was where we all learned that putting our hands literally into the project was so much fun! It doesn’t have to stop there. There are no rules saying that teens can’t enjoy the same avenue of learning as when they kids! Here are some exciting hands-on creative experiments and projects for teens to enhance a variety of homeschooling curriculum.

by Christina Yeager

English is a complex language and often difficult to learn even for those in native-speaking countries. Perhaps, that’s why it’s required throughout a student’s entire academic stretch in some form or another. English doesn’t just consist of confusing sentence structure and proper grammar, it evolves into Language Arts, which consists of reading and comprehension, writing, speaking, and communication. English and Language Arts are essential to education and everything in life will revolve around it. Here are five free online resources to help homeschoolers with English and Language Arts.

by Alan Williamson, Guest Contributor

After a few challenging weeks, your child has made the successful jump to being a preschooler. The first few days were shaky, but now, he consistently earns praise for his performance inside and outside the classroom. He has also found the right balance between being independent and being a dependable classmate to his peers.

With just a few weeks left to go before his toddlers’ nursery classes end, you are now thinking about the next challenges he is about to face — specifically, his advancement to primary school.

by Christina Yeager

English is difficult enough! Deciding to expand your language knowledge beyond that is an exciting decision. Adding a foreign language to a homeschoolers curriculum can seem intimidating. Don’t sweat it! There are online resources available to all that can certainly get a student started. Learn foreign languages with these free online resources for homeschooling students.
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by Christina Yeager

Hands on learning, especially in the way of experimenting with science is highly beneficial. It’s very important to always be safe and to have fun! Any student can learn vis reading how chemicals react in science curriculum, but actually being able to do, watch and see can make a world of difference. Build amazing and entertaining science projects to go along with homeschooling lesson plans with these free online resources.

by Christina Yeager

Nothing can replace the hands on learning benefits of experimenting with science projects. It’s a totally different experience from simply learning how chemicals react to one another, how metal responds with certain elements and how even water and air can change when manipulated than actually doing and watching. So, jump in and get your hands dirty while conducting exciting and creative science projects to accompany homeschooling curriculum with these free online resources. 

by Andrea Pretorian, Guest Contributor

“Math” carries stress and anxiety for many students.

In fact, studies show that anxiety and even avoidance around math and related subjects can start for children as young as five years of age, which unfortunately means there is a huge opportunity for this anxiety to grow over the course of development. This is further reinforced by how education and popular culture may lump people into being either “math people” or not, as though there is some intrinsic mathematical ability that you must be born with in order to enjoy long-term STEM success. How can we show students that they can develop the skills they need in order to thrive in math and science?