Pros and Cons of the Top 3 Home School Options

Independent homeschooling is where parents decide to become the full-time instructors for their kids and purchase the curriculum directly from the publisher. Parents with an education background will be more familiar with the various publisher options for subjects and grades but those without are reliant on the customer reviews and recommendations they find online. The benefit is that the family spends a great deal of time together, but the downside is all documentation and reporting rests solely on the parent to ensure they meet state requirements.

The second option is an expanded form of being independent and is typically known as co-op homeschooling. This approach engages several like-minded families who work together to create a classroom environment and parents take turns teaching different subjects. Co-op homeschooling takes advantage of everyone’s strengths so that students receive hands-on learning and provides a structured school environment since there is an established schedule for each day and teaching time. The same issues still exist, as with independent since parents still must research and purchase the curriculum on their own as well as maintain records which can be audited at any time based on the standards their resident state has setup.

Many families choose to homeschool using one of the above two formats if they are going to be directly involved with the teaching and because of the cost involved. There are relatively no fees outside of the selected curriculum and parents can choose textbooks based on their individual budget. However, a 3rd option in affordable accredited online homeschool programs that help to provide a balance where parents can still be involved but also take advantage of professional teachers and formalized curriculum.  Partnering with a reliable homeschool program means that there will be tuition costs but there are many to choose from so finding a resource within the budget is not too difficult.  

Another benefit of using this approach is the administrative support that families receive because the program takes on the responsibility of keeping track of all documentation, report cards and transcripts so that families don’t have to. Since there is an online portal, families can conduct school from wherever according to a schedule that works for each student instead of everyone having to do the same thing.  Curriculum is established by the school, so parents do not have to do the research except to confirm that what the school is offering is a quality backed option that meets their expectations for student education.

Homeschooling is personal and motivated by many different reasons, but it is important to choose the best approach for your family’s financial situation and objectives. Students can receive a quality backed education from any of the three options when they are done correctly but the affordable accredited online homeschool programs can help alleviate the full responsibility and share in the support of giving elementary to high school students the opportunity they need to get to graduation. Check out the available options today and decide which is the right option for your students to get them learning at home.