Keeping Homeschool Freedoms

I am happy that I live in the United States. Yes, there are things that I don’t agree with in our government or the way things happen, but overall, I am happy. We have many freedoms here that most countries only dream about. We have freedoms that, if imposed upon, can be fought through the judicial system.

One of the freedoms I am happy we have is the right to homeschool. I am also blessed to live in a state that gives us quite a bit of leeway in this area. While we have a set number of days we are asked to homeschool, we don’t have to turn in lesson plans or report to any school district or state board of education. We are free to homeschool how we see fit, so long as our children are getting their education.

I must say, this is a relief for me. Mostly because we use a child-led approach in our home. While I do loosely plan the entire school year, I don’t set lesson plans in stone. If we need a week to work on a new letter or sound, we take a week. If we get it down in 2 days, we can move on. If I had to turn in lesson plans I wouldn’t have such freedom.

No lesson plans also allows us the freedom to change our schedules as needed. Sometimes we find out about a special day at the zoo, so we rearrange our schedule and head out. Some weeks we take off on Friday, so we can hang with Dad on his day off. It just varies for us, and I love that no one is holding me a lesson plan I submitted months ago. NOTE: That doesn’t mean we don’t keep track of our days or the work we do. I just don’t have to report them to anyone. We still have a tracking system in place and I keep all of our kids’ tests and records of their work.

However, these freedoms are only in place because we have wonderful legislators willing to fight for us in the State Capital. We need to continuously communicate with them and let them know how much we appreciate them fighting for and keeping our freedoms here in Indiana. Nothing is ever set in stone with homeschooling legislation, so we need them to know we appreciate their hard work and want to keep our freedoms here in Indiana!

One way we can do that is by taking part in the annual Homeschool Day at the Capital. This is coming up in just a few days, January 26th. If you would like to attend, please pre-register here so they can best plan for you. You can attend the rally, which does help, but there are quite a few events to choose from beginning at 9am. Read more about the schedule on the IAHE site and plan to attend!

If you’re not an Indiana resident, I encourage you to find out how to get involved with your own state’s homeschool organization and ensure that your homeschooling rights are protected.

The IAHE Bloggers have shared their thoughts on Homeschool Freedom

Shalynne @ Wonderfully Chaotic

Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling

Hillary @ Walking Fruitfully