I'm a little fuzzy about this.....

[Hunter's Moon]

I sent my LOI to my school district.

 

I was approved.

 

Do I have to follow their year requirements to graduate since my mother is issuing my diploma?

 

The reason I ask is because I will still be listed in their database.

 

I will obviously do Science, Math, English, History, etc, etc, but will I need the years required that they require? For example, they require graduates take 2 years of gym, a half year every year.

 

I did 1 year of gym, so what if I don't continue with it, can they say anything about it? I didn't mention gym in my LOI and she didn't say anything. She did mention Health though.

 

So, do I need to follow how many credits are required for each subject, or no? I will take 4 years for the 5 core subjects, including language, but I am unsure of gym and such. Thanks :)

[DebbS]

Homeschooling laws are different from state to state. You probably need to talk to somebody from your state who is knowledgeable about those requirements. Also, if there is a possibility of you re-entering the school district, there might be some requirements that they demand that you meet in order for them to accept your homeschool credits. Again, that varies from district to district.

[ccm]

I am not an expert on the homeschooling requirements in Massachusetts, but I have a couple of thoughts to share with you since my older children attended public school.

 

I asked my dd21 about gym class. Wellness consisted of 9 weeks of gym class and 9 weeks of health class. That works out to one full year of gym class and one full year of health for the four years of high school. School districts vary throughout the Commonwealth, so your district requirements may be different. There is a lot of wasted time getting changed, listening to instruction, etc, so half an hour of actual physical activity each day would qualify in my book.:) Reading a health book (ex. Total Health by Susan Boe) and completing the activities, or taking a CPR course, or the like would give you a health credit.

 

Massachusetts requires these subjects: reading, writing, English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, history and constitution of the United States, duties of citizenship, health, physical education, and good behavior.( Yes, it actually says that! :))

Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 71, 1.

Edited June 8, 2010 by ccm

[Murphy101]

Check HSLDA for what's required.

 

That said I refuse to waste time on subjects I know dern well no college gives a flip about. Like gym or state history.

 

Look at what colleges you are interested in are looking for and work towards that.

 

Even if you aren't interested in college now, assume you are rather than close the door on it. A few years from now you might feel very differently.

[ccm]

Oh, one more thing:

 

Compulsory Attendance Ages: 6 to 16 years of age. Annotated Laws of Massachusetts chapter 76,1

 

I'm not sure on this one, but once you reach age 16, do you need to send in a NOI ? I guess I should find out since my youngest will be 16 before long.

[Nan in Mass]

You don't have to, but it is probably a good idea because some colleges (like UMass) want to see something from your school district saying you have graduated, and if you haven't applied and had your plan accepted, they are unlikely to supply that. That has been our experience, anyway.

-Nan

[Nan in Mass]

No. There is, however, a list of subjects that you have to teach, and you have to have your plan approved by the school district. They might work out to the same thing. Don't worry about gym. I always put on our plan that my children are in gymnastics (you could put whatever you do for excerisze) and say, "We plan to address health and safety issues as they arise." My school system has never commented on that. You can find more information here: http://mhla.org/supt/infosupts.PDF

-Nan

[ccm]

You don't have to, but it is probably a good idea because some colleges (like UMass) want to see something from your school district saying you have graduated, and if you haven't applied and had your plan accepted, they are unlikely to supply that. That has been our experience, anyway.

-Nan

Sounds like a good idea.

[ccm]

No. There is, however, a list of subjects that you have to teach, and you have to have your plan approved by the school district. They might work out to the same thing. Don't worry about gym. I always put on our plan that my children are in gymnastics (you could put whatever you do for excerisze) and say, "We plan to address health and safety issues as they arise." My school system has never commented on that. You can find more information here: http://mhla.org/supt/infosupts.PDF

-Nan

 

Thanks for the link, Nan. I'm going to share this information with my hs group. This is much more detailed and accurate than the information I received from my support group when I began our homeschooling journey!

[Brenda in MA]

You don't have to, but it is probably a good idea because some colleges (like UMass) want to see something from your school district saying you have graduated, and if you haven't applied and had your plan accepted, they are unlikely to supply that. That has been our experience, anyway.

-Nan

 

I agree with Nan. I would try to do some gym activity so you can say you did that 1/2 credit, but the thing is -- you have all year to work on it. My son usually does the majority of the hours over the summer preceding a given school year. I count exercise activities year round towards my son's gym credits -- bike rides, swimming, boy scout badges like canoeing, personal fitness, hiking, walks in the neighborhood, etc. You might count things like tennis, badminton, jogging, ice skating, skiing, aerobics videos, bowling, gymnastics, other organized sports (soccer, softball, etc.).

 

Brenda in MA

[Hunter's Moon]

I agree with Nan. I would try to do some gym activity so you can say you did that 1/2 credit, but the thing is -- you have all year to work on it. My son usually does the majority of the hours over the summer preceding a given school year. I count exercise activities year round towards my son's gym credits -- bike rides, swimming, boy scout badges like canoeing, personal fitness, hiking, walks in the neighborhood, etc. You might count things like tennis, badminton, jogging, ice skating, skiing, aerobics videos, bowling, gymnastics, other organized sports (soccer, softball, etc.).

 

Brenda in MA

 

Thank you and everyone else.

 

I do a lot of heavy lifting and running around when I volunteer at the animal shelter. I only do it once a week now, but she knows I will have more free hours next year and is going to give me more hours. Would this count as physical activity?

[Brindee]

Thank you and everyone else.

 

I do a lot of heavy lifting and running around when I volunteer at the animal shelter. I only do it once a week now, but she knows I will have more free hours next year and is going to give me more hours. Would this count as physical activity?

My dd and I volunteer at the local animal shelter walking dogs. If that's the case, then that would definitely qualify. Walking dogs for 2 hours is DEFINITELY physical exercise!

 

I'm not sure what exactly you do when you volunteer though, so I can't say for that.

[TravelingChris]

My children all did their PE mostly by doing their normal sports and activities. For older son, did was soccer and Boy Scout activities like hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, etc. My middle child did sailing, lots of biking (she would bike to choir, youth group, library, etc and this was when we lived in flat Florida) plus she did an online class which included exercises and running program). She has continued with soccer and dive but she only needed some PE so that was enough. MY youngest will be getting her PE for ninth grade with a bit of soccer and swim and dive. Her swim and dive practices take at least 2.25 hours a day so she is quickly racking up the hours. I do require each of my kids to learn First Aid and CPR. The two oldest did American Heart Association. I will see what the youngest will do. We don't live in MA,