Online homeschooling programs can set the tone of the educational objectives for a student for an entire year. Teachers and parents need only follow the child's progress and provide the additional outside activities for the student. For example, the Global Student Network provides a yearlong curriculum for students in second- through 12th-grades for $625 per year. Discounts are given to families with multiple children. Courses that children can take include English, math, science and social studies. The programs are delivered entirely online, with no need to purchase CDs or books.
Resources for parents who provide homeschooling for their children are abundant. As one mother said in Eclectic Homeschool Online, a magazine to support Christian homeschoolers, "motivation was a constant challenge for me." Magazines such as Eclectic and Homefires, the Journal of Home Schooling Online, provide parental teachers with advice, tips, access to lesson plans and Web-based seminars to support the efforts of the homeschooling parent.
Blogs and social networks are blossoming to provide a place for homeschooling parents to vent and share common interests. A2Z Homeschool Blogs and Homeschool Education Magazine provide forums in which homeschooling parents can interact and find links to other resources. Find a plethora of individual blogs online with names such as By Other Means, Homeschool Mom Tips and Homeschooling Examiner. Professional writers and authors with experience in homeschooling write many of the blogs.
Homeschooling parents can find loads of ideas for creative and educational activities online through a number of websites. Sites such as EasyFunSchool and the All-In-One Homeschool Resource Center provide games and crafts that can keep the homeschooled child busy and challenged. Try some of the tips and games to break up the monotony or add diversity to a schedule.
Requirements for teaching credentials and student assessment tests vary from state to state. While most states have an office set up for homeschoolers in the department of public education, local rules and guidelines also can be accessed online through the Home School Legal Defense Association (HLDA), a nonprofit group set up to lobby for and provide information to homeschoolers. Members of HLDA receive free legal advice, access to updates and newsletters and discounts on books and other homeschooling supplies.