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What do I Need to Begin Homeschooling?

by Heather Domnick

Beginning homeschooling in a foreign country like Chile requires careful forethought. That's why we've put together 8 helpful steps to making this important decision for your expat children:

1. A teacher

If you choose to be the teacher, move on to step number two, but if you've decided to hire, then you need to begin looking for a teacher soon.

Where to find a teacher:

By far the most effective way to find anything out while living abroad is through the word of mouth system that the expat community is so famous for -- especially among U.S. embassy employees where people are coming and going all the time. Try advertising in the local American/Canadian/Australian/British Association monthly newsletters. Advertising for members is often free.

When making the final decision of which teacher to hire, always remember that trust is vital. The homeschool teacher will be alone with your child much of the time and the quality of work your child puts out will be a direct reflection of the quality of teacher you have hired. He or she must be someone who comes highly recommended (ask for references) with a clean track record and qualified to teach in the manner you see fit. Good chemistry between the outside teacher and your child is also very important, but the chemistry you have with the teacher is just as important. You will be spending a lot of time together.

2. Space

You will need one room in the house for home schooling purposes only; preferably a space that will remain toy and interference free.

3. Supplies

Essential supplies for homeschool include a communication note book (if someone other than yourself is teaching), a white board (I went to the local hardware store's cut wood section and found wall size whiteboards), craft/art supplies, a homework reward chart, a large desk with plenty of light and a computer.

I had a lot of trouble finding atlases, maps and posters, even the right kind of handwriting notebooks and after a semester of going without, I found a school supply store http://www.homeschool.com/resources01/OnlineSchoolSupplies.asp in the U.S. during my annual home leave and picked everything up there. It hardly cost a thing and added very little weight to my already over-weight luggage.

4. Text Books from an Accredited Distance Learning School

These will be sent to you as soon as tuition is received. Although shipping overseas costs an arm and a leg, there are few alternatives. One consideration: depending on where you live in Chile, having text books sent to a work address instead of a home can be a good idea, as delivery to the work place often is more reliable and the books are less likely to be stolen.

5. A schedule

The beauty of homeschooling is flexibility. A homeschooler's day is typically shorter than the traditional school day because of its condensed style of learning. Many parents only need to devote three to four hours a day to structured learning, and their schedules vary depending on how many of their children are being home schooled or by when their child is most alert and at his best.

6. Time

You will need to arrange your personal time accordingly. If you will be teaching, all your out-of-house social activities and errands (coffees, lunches, lessons and the grocery store) will need to be scheduled before or after homeschool. If you've hired a teacher, you may choose to be home at lunch time or to shuttle your child to after school activities. Obviously, having an outside teacher offers more flexibility to the parent.

7. When working with a hired teacher, you will need to establish some "house rules"

A few questions and considerations to figure out before the schoolyear begins:

Personal phone and computer use. Make it clear when and where phone calls can be made from, whose phone they should be made from and how and in what manner the computer should be used.

Lunch hour. Thirty to forty five minutes is a good lunch hour for the teacher and a good lunch and break/recess for your child. It's a good idea for teacher and student to eat and spend that time separately, so that they truly get a break in the day.

Paid vacation and sick days. How many? What are the guidelines for calling in sick? How much time in advance should the teacher give for vacation days?

Tardies. What happens when the teacher arrives late several mornings in a row?

Get all house rules in writing to prevent future misunderstandings.

8. After establishing ground rules, you and your teacher will need to decide on responsibilities

Here is an example of the agreement we have with our outside homeschool teacher:

The Teacher's Responsibilities:

To teach the Laurel Springs curriculum to *Ryan while providing close guidance, to document his daily schedule and work completed.

To assign and correct his homework

To review and correct Ryan's work

To write progress reports for the distant learning school teacher to view, as well as verbal progress reports for the parents.

To communicate with the international school twice a semester to compare Ryan's progress with others in his grade level.

To gather samples of his work to be sent in two to three times a semester for his Laurel Springs teacher to view.

To gather all completed work to be sent in for final evaluation and grading by the distance learning school.

The Parent's Responsibilities:

To support the teacher by providing all necessary supplies and an environment conducive to learning.

To be a liaison between schools and teachers for questions and concerns.

To collect work from the teacher and have them sent to the U.S.

To make sure that every Sunday Ryan's classroom is completely organized and pencils are sharpened

To read the communication notebook for homework assignments and assist Ryan with his homework and reading.

To make sure the teacher receives her paycheck every month, on time and we give her ample notice if Ryan is sick (since her commute to our house is long).

To have all extracurricular activities organized and documented as part of his packet to be sent back to the U.S. distance learning school.

To provide daily lunches for Ryan, as well as a supervised recess.

Collect all school related receipts for employer reimbursement (including the teacher's paychecks).

Once again, these responsibilities need to be in writing, and both teacher and parent should have a copy of the agreement on file.

Heather Domnick is a freelance writer and lifelong expat having traversed the globe from Peru to Hong Kong and Illinois to Chile. She contributes articles on Chilean expat life to the Santiago Times and the Chile Information Project.

Intro to Homeschooling in Chile

Heather Domnick Provides a comprehensive list of overseas homeschooling programs.

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Are you worried your kid will be a loner in a foreign country? Expat Mom Heather Domnick shares her secrets to successfully providing her child with a robust social life in Chile.