Homeschooling is becoming more popular as certain parents begin to realize that public schools are not teaching them the values they want for their children. Homeschooling is a return of sorts to traditional childhood education before the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, as childhood education used to happen with a community. There is a plethora of home schooling curriculum available on the Internet today, and this is a reflection of just how popular an alternative it is becoming for many parents. Here is a guide to the available online homeschool curriculum.

Homeschooling Requirements

Homeschooling is not a decision a family can decide on for their children just at random. In the US, there has been a decades-long debate about the very legality of homeschooling in the first place. The homeschool curriculum requirements vary from state to state, but there are usually three categories of laws. In some states, homeschooling is regarded as a form of private school; in other states, requirements are founded on certain features of a state’s compulsory attendance law; and in yet other states, they are based on specific statutes that actually pertain directly to homeschooling.

· Home School Laws: Effective collection of the legal options available to parents in homeschooling in every state.

· Homeschooling Laws: Information of the legality of homeschooling in the states.

· Homeschooling in Tennessee: Information on homeschooling tailored specifically to that state’s residents.

Curriculum

Homeschooling curriculum also varies from state to state. States like Texas demand that homeschoolers only cover some subjects, while at the same time not demanding that curriculum actually is officially submitted. Then again, North Carolina is a state that looks at homeschooling like a private school, which means it allows every homeschool to set its own curriculum for its students. A diverse range of curriculum is readily available from sources that are both religious as well as secular in nature.

· IDOE: Homeschool: Details from Indiana’s government about homeschooling curriculum in the state.

· Homeschool Curriculum: Description about the homeschool curriculum at University of Missouri.

· Texas Tech University: Information about Texas Tech’s online homeschool program for families.

Resources

Resources are very important to a successful homeschooling experience. That is why certain states have laws that actually mandate some public schools to allow homeschooled students access to their resources. These resources can be computer labs, libraries at public schools, academic courses, or extracurricular activities. In other areas, a teacher may even meet with homeschooled children from time to time to offer suggestions or reviews on homeschooling curriculums. In some states, laws are written so that certain school districts have the ultimate power to decide if they want to give homeschooled students access to their resources.

· Regent University: At the bottom of their web page, they list a few resources for homeschooled children that they don’t endorse, but just offer as a service.

· For Parents & Teachers: List of resources for Nashville-area parents regarding homeschooling.

· Homeschool Information & Resources: List of informational resources for North Carolina parents interested in homeschooling.

Advocacy Groups

Sometimes, the parents of homeschooled children will have the rights to their home school curriculums trampled on, and when that happens, homeschool advocacy groups are an effective recourse for the defense of both parents and children’s rights in this area. Some prominent advocacy groups are the National Home Education Legal Defence, the Association of HomeSchool Attorneys, the National Home Education Network, the American Homeschool Association, the Alliance for Intellectual Freedom in Education, and the Home School Legal Defense Association. These groups are known to sue on behalf of parents and children whose constitutional homeschooling rights have been trampled on. Some are also vital in changing legislation that comes from the Congress, if the legislation is seen as hurting the rights of the parents and children.

· American Homeschool Association: An association that has been looking out for the rights of the homeschooled since 1995.

· National Home Education Network: Organization whose aim it is to increase communication between homeschool groups and establish more homeschool support.

· Alliance for Intellectual Freedom in Education: Promotes intellectual freedom in education by trying to do away with government interference in home education.

Assessment and Testing

It is no surprise that assessment and testing is also different depending on what state you are in. There is a nationwide trend towards the easing of assessment and testing requirements for homeschooling. This has resulted in today less than half of all US states actually demanding either any assessment or testing. Some states only need homeschoolers to hand in a standardized test or even just a narrative assessment by a teacher.

· Christian Liberty Press: They offer testing services for homeschooled children.

· Educational Diagnostic Prescriptive Services: Provides homeschool testing services for all those interested.

· Hewitt Homeschooling Resources: Developers of the PASS Test that was created specifically for homeschooled kids.

Graduation Recognition

The criteria for graduation is also decided on a state-by-state basis. The states that look at homeschools as private schools also apply the graduation policies of private schools in the state to homeschooling situations. Other states leave it up entirely to private schools and, thus, homeschools to decide what criteria must be met by graduating students. Still other states like Florida do not officially recognize graduates of independent homeschools, but they still allow them access to public colleges and universities in the state.

· Homeschool High School Graduation Requirements: General information concerning graduation requirements in different states.

· The Morning Star Academy: Online homeschool that features its own criteria for what permits a student to graduate.

· The Southern Baptist Academy: Another online homeschooling program that discusses the requirements for graduation.

Unit Studies

Some homeschooling programs use a unit studies approach to teaching their students. Unit studies combine several, different subjects that revolve around one theme that is central in nature. In example, subjects like geography, history, art, science and math may be incorporated around one topic such as ancient Greece or animals. The attraction to approaching homeschool curriculums through unit studies is that it creates a situation where lessons can be conveniently adjusted between the grade levels. Proponents of this curriculum approach claim that almost half of the material presented in this fashion is retained by students.

· Champaign, Illinois Public Library: Help for the homeschool.

· West Virginia Uncovered: Article about parents who decided to use unit studies on their kids. Under the "Winging It" section of the article.

· Lynda Coats: Information on where to buy custom-made unit study materials.

Unschooling

Unschooling is a controversial and unorthodox educational philosophy of the homeschooling curriculum. It centers around the ideology that children ought to be left alone to learn through life experiences that are natural to them, including social interaction, work experience and child-directed play. This homeschooling philosophy advocates that the children actually be the ones who instigate any exploration of any activities. At its heart, the unschooling curriculum believes that normal grading methods and other aspects of traditional schooling are hurtful to optimizing the education of children.

· Unschooling: Serves as an introduction and primer to Unschooling.

· Sandra Dodd: Website of a mother who devoted herself to teaching her kids through the Unschooling approach.

· Family Unschoolers Network: Network that provides support for all parents who want to try the Unschooling approach.