My Home Education Plan and State Law

Today, I am going to explore how the program I created fits into the law and requirements for this state.

First of all, I do not have to give any notification this year. The reason why is that kindergarten is not mandatory; the compulsory attendance age is 6. I often laugh when I think about filing for first grade in 2009- what is it going to look like when my 6 year old is using mostly second grade materials?!

So from the data given at www.hslda.org...

I not even required to teach anything to my children before the age of 6. That would be lazy and irresponsible, wouldn't it?

My home education plan, in relation to state law:
900 hours at the elementary level
---so if I begin in May and we can easily cover that with all of our daily lessons and activities, especially considering that we school on Saturday and sometimes do extra lessons on Sundays

Reading
---I'm teaching a phonics program and we are studying literature, Boo should be reading at a first grade level by fall and maybe even more independently

Writing
---Boo is learning to write his letters and how to spell, so that he can write meaningful things one day

English language and grammar
---We're using First Language Lessons which is great because many of the lessons are oral. I am also trying to remember to get both children to answer in complete sentences.

Geography
---We're going to learn the names and locations of all 50 states. We are also working on learning the names of the continents and oceans. In addition, when geography over laps history we will be locating regions and areas that are pertinent on the map.

Arithmetic
---We've got that covered with Saxon 1.

Drawing
---We will be learning about drawing, I actually possess a little talent for drawing, so this should be a pleasure. I plan on picking up some how-to-draw books.

Music
---We will continue to listen to all kinds of music from around the world. We're keeping formal piano or violin lessons in our minds at some point as well.

History
---We'll be studying ancient history, I can't wait!

I'm not sure that the state requires science but we will be studying the human body which will cover health. We'll also be learning about plants and animals.

I wasn't certain that the requirement for CPR, US Constitution, and duties of citizenship--being taught formally was meant for elementary levels, so I am not going to worry about those.

PE
---if we find a bowling league we're going to go with that. Otherwise, I think we'll just go bowling, for nature walks and do bicycle riding.

Good behavior
---I'm not really sure how the state can require this because it is so subjective. But I think that falls under religion. This is just one of those things that you learn through life's daily tasks anyways.