Northern Delaware/Southern New Jersey

[Guest StreuselMama]

Hi all,

I am trying to size up the homeschooling atmosphere in northern DE and southern NJ. Work may bring us to this area early next year, so I'm looking for my peeps!

 

I have checked the site for the Tri-State Home School Network, but am waiting until we are certain about the move to join that network. Can anyone point me in the direction of other resources, or let me know their take on homeschooling and enjoying life in this area? THANKS!

[NittanyJen]

Hi!

 

Delaware is a great state for homeschooling! We are a very low regulation state. You can register with the department of education online. After that, you re-register once per year to kep our school open (kids' names, grades or 'ungraded', graduating this year or not, some basic demographics) in September/October, and report days attended to the DoE at the end of July.

 

That's it.

 

Resources-- besides Tri-State, you will find Delaware Classical, Unschoolers and Others, and a few others. Some folks join more than one. You will figure out what suits you best.

 

Local to Northern DE you will find a wealth of resources (many of which would also be reachable from southern NJ). Longwood Gardens is an amazing place, and they offer very affordable homeschool classes. The Delaware Museum of Natural History is neat, and also offers classes. You are not far from Chadds Ford, PA, where you can find the John Chad house, Brandywine River Museum (come see the original N.C. Wyeth paintings from Treaure Island, and an otherwise impressive collection, plus the trains at Christmas) and the Art Show in spring. There is a Homeschool Phys Ed class at the Hockessin Athletic Club for kids ages 5-15. There are folks offering everything from acting to art to guitar and French in the area.

 

We have homeschoolers who run the gamut of faiths, from strictly secular to any of several faiths, and Unschoolers to classical, school-at-home types, and some local umbrellas and part-time enrichment classes.

 

Whether you want a local fied trip to Iron Hill to do some rock collecting and learning about Native American Cultures, head down to the archery range own the road, go kayaking down the Brandywine or on Lum's Pond, spend a day at the beach or interviewing the recreationists at Fort Delaware, or if you want to hop onto I-95 or a train for a quick trip to Philly, Baltimore, NYC, or Washington, D.C., there is plenty to do when homeschooling in northern DE. (And there is no sales tax).

[Tiramisu]

I don't know much about hsing in DE, but I've never met a hsing mom from DE that I didn't like. :)

 

I would imagine the cost of living to be much lower in DE than NJ, especially when it comes to things like income tax and property taxes.

 

NJ is one of the easiest states to homeschool in. You don't have to do anything. Property taxes can be very high, though.

 

There are a lot of homeschool groups in SJ, though I don't know much about the far south. The Gloucester county homeschool group seems active. Once you get a bit farther north than that, say Camden and Burlington counties, there's a TON of activities for homeschoolers. Homeschool sports, homeschool gymanstics, homeschool dance, homeschool art classes, homeschool prom, homeschool chess, coops, you name it. There are so many activities, you have to be careful to set enough time aside for school work. If you are Christian, you may want to see if you can find the website for Living Waters Home Educators to get a taste of what's available. Philadelphia, the Pine Barrens, and the Jersey shore are great for family outings and just a drive away.

[Clpretzel]

Listening in

[Luckymama]

Listening in

 

Any particular questions? I'm in northern Delaware :)