It’s that time of year again, time to register your homeschooled children. Perhaps this is your very first year homeschooling and you’re not sure of the requirements.
It’s fairly easy to homeschool in Nova Scotia. All children ages 5 – 16 (re Amendment to Education Act Regulations, Section 3(1)) must be registered by September 20th of the coming school year, said registration including: "in the case of previous public school experience, the last grade level attained; in the case of previous home education experience, the program level of achievement and estimated equivalent public school grade level; and identification of the proposed home education program" (Regulations Section 39 (2)) You may send in a letter to register. You may send in a letter to register with the required information, or fill out the Registration form offered by the Department of Education on their website (see link to the right). Please be advised that if you are registering your child for the first time, the Ministry will demand a copy of your child’s birth certificate, so you may want to include one with your registration.
In the Regulations, reference is only made to providing your children with an "educational program". There are no stipulations as to what the "educational program" must be and can be whatever you feel is appropriate to give your child a well-rounded education. This gives you complete freedom to choose whatever materials (religious or secular) you want and to design your own program that meets your child’s needs – the possibilities are endless! If you are new to homeschooling, the task of choosing curricula can seem daunting, but don’t let it scare you! Start by chatting with other homeschoolers. Please see the list of links to the right for more information on contacting homeschoolers near you. Another way to connect with homeschoolers throughout Nova Scotia would be to join an email group. There are Yahoogroups for Nova Scotia homeschoolers, such as HomeLearnersNS and one for Cape Bretoners called HomeschoolingCapers – both listed in the sidebar.
A couple of great articles and resources for those new to homeschooling…
Getting Started Homeschooling Checklist
New to Homeschooling? Getting Started
10 Good Reasons to Homeschool
Live, Love, &
Laugh,
Kimberly
