Interest in homeschooling is running high.

Jim and I have received an unbelievable amount of mall and phone calls in response to our letter in 81/2. We are overwhelmed by the kindness of others in sharing their knowledge and being genuinely helpful. Many of the people who wrote to us had a lot of questions on homeschooling. Our experience is limited, as we have only been homeschooling for three years. I do, however, have some basic advice for those just starting out. Perhaps others with more experience could add to this!

The most important aspect of homeschooling is to realize that learning is a natural process that children will do without our help. This is one of the reasons that homeschooling is so important -- our children are going to learn regardless of what we do. It is up to us as parents to decide what they will learn!

What works for one family may not work for another. When we first started homeschooling, we went right out and bought a Weaver curriculum, as we are Christians and this is what was recommended to us at the time. I have to honestly say that I have hardly used it at all. It was too rigid -- too structured -- too overwhelming for us . It may, however, work wonderfully for other families, especially those who are teaching more than one child in more than one grade. Your best bet is to try before you buy. Many curriculum suppliers will send you a sample of their curriculum so that you can try it out and see if it would work for your family's needs. We use a few different workbooks but not rigidly. It totally depends on where our kids are " at" on a particular day.

We use our libraries extensively. This is a good way to avoid spending hard-earned money on homeschooling. Let's face it -- sometimes the money is hard to come by. You don't have to sacrifice a good education simply because you don't have hundreds of dollars to spend. Pay attention to your child's interests, and let them pursue those interests. Take out books from the library on whatever subjects they are interested in. They can do book reports, projects, interview others with knowledge on those particular subjects... the possibilities are endless. Practical life skills can be very valuable (especially to homesteaders), and this is an area where our public schools are weak.

As far as laws go, homeschooling is legal in every state. Some states make it easier than others. Connecticut happens to be very easy on homeschoolers, but that can also depend heavily on the school district that you happen to be in. All we are required to do is submit a "Notice of Intent" on a yearly basis, which simply provides teacher's name, student's name, subjects to be taught, etc. Then we submit a portfolio of the child's work from each required subject. This is not for the school to assess, as they do not have that right in Connecticut, but simply to establish that the child was not truant. There is a difference!

An important rule is to never give them more than is required by law. It pays to know what the law is in your state -- that way board members or superintendents who have taken your decision to homeschool personally cannot take advantage of your lack of knowledge. Often when there is a problem with a school official, it is a matter of the official interpreting the law the way they want to, instead of as it actually reads.

For those who can afford a little insurance," I highly recommend joining Home School Legal Defense Association. For a yearly fee, they will provide legal defense for you should you ever need it as a result of homeschooling. Their fee is $100/year -- well worth the peace of mind of having legal counsel regarding an issue that attorneys in your area may not have any expertise in. Your legal defense will not cost you a penny more than your membership fee. They have also gone on the offensive in certain states to get laws changed as they apply to homeschoolers. Your enrollment will help others. If you do not need legal services in a particular year, another family will -- and your enrollment will help them! You can call HSLDA and request an application, and they will also send you a free copy of the law for the state in which you live. I will include their phone number and address at the end of this letter. The key -- join before you have a problem!

There are support groups in every state that you can Join -- they will give you support and information regarding all aspects of homeschooling. Hook up with one of these if you have not already. Anyone wanting more information on support groups in their area can write to me and I will send them the addresses of groups in their state.

Finally, the most important key to homeschooling is to relax! Follow your own interests and your children will surely pick up on these or develop some of their own. Boiling water can be a lesson in science! Baking can be a lesson in reading (the recipe), science (how bread rises), and math (fractions, double the recipe, etc.).

Encourage them to have hobbies. The greatest learning tool you can give your children is teaching them how to find information. If they know how to find out about something, they can learn anything. Provide them with the resources, and they will learn!

Following are a few books that I have found really helpful n our pursuit of a natural learning environment. Again, check out your local library for these books. If they don't have them, they may be able to get them through the inter-library loan program. This list is just a sampling.

Anyone seeking more help can write to me and I will do what I can. Good luck.

Why some people homeschool...

We have been reading Country-side for several years and have enjoyed every issue because of the down-to-earth experiences and advice that readers have shared. I would like to share some experiences that led to the decision to the homeschooling of two children (now sixth and seventh graders).

The school district to which we belong began grade-sharing with a neighboring school district about two years ago. There was talk of an eventual consolidation of school districts. The local district tried to vote in a new high school to make certain the school would remain in their town. This action angered both school districts as there were a lot of forged signatures and addresses on the petition for the new school. The new high school issue did raise quite a stink and was soundly defeated by a 73%-27% margin with over 90% of eligible voters voting.

The middle school is controlled by the neighboring district and the high school is controlled by the local district. As a result, the kids from the local district who attend the middle school are second class pupils and often times treated as such by the teachers and bus drivers.

The seventh grader was a girl and had trouble almost from the first day in sixth grade last year. She was assaulted by three other girls which caused a concussion and the school did nothing about it. About two weeks later, she was assaulted by the same three girls, but this time she fought back, splitting the lip of one girl. The school threatened to suspend the girl for defending herself against the three girls. The girl's grades suffered from that point on. This year has been worse for the girl to the point that the school principal was caught lying about things to cover for the teachers and their actions. The parents of the girl finally had enough and pulled her from school. Homeschooling has been a godsend to this girl as her grades and attitude are improving.

The sixth grader was a 3.5-4.0 student from kindergarten to fifth grade, enjoyed school -- wanted to go even when he was sick. His one problem was that he liked to talk to his friend, Luke, during class; but Luke moved two years ago and so that was no longer a problem. He was always liked and accepted by his classmates (both the society kids and the common folks' kids). This year he has teachers who put him down for having chores to do, teachers who borrow pens and pencils is from kids, then give kids detention for not having a pencil or pen, and teachers who give preference to the kids from the neighboring district.

The boy has been given detention for reading from a book from the school library (the teacher didn't like the language in the book), for losing a small rubber ball while several kids were playing with it, for having to go to the restroom during class diarrhea or not), and other nonsense. He had to write 500 sentences for switching seats while the school bus was moving (an eighth grade boy was kicking him in the ribs -- the eighth grader did not get into trouble -- and the bus driver would not believe him even though he had bruised ribs.)

The boy's backpack and insulated lunch sack were ripped by society kids, his ruler was broken by a teacher's daughter, and his lunch was stolen numerous times over the period of a month -- yet nothing was done to stop this trouble even though it was reported to the teachers and principal. The boy has been begging his mother to be homeschooled and she finally said yes.

The boy hated public school so much, he was hard to wake up every morning, hated school work, had a bad attitude and mouth. In the two weeks since starting homeschooling, he gets up on his own (6 AM), is much more courteous towards people, can't wait to start school work, does his chores without being told -- even does them right, and is even doing seventh grade work.

We found out that homeschooling can be more challenging for the parent(s) and student(s) than public schooling, but given the right student and teacher it can be more fulfilling as your values, interests and concerns about learning are being addressed instead of being ignored. I personally would like to hear from people who are homeschooling, and to learn more about homeschooling organizations, etc.