andreasro Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Hi All, As mentioned in my introduction on forum, I want to start homeschooling next year when my oldest boy is 6 (the other one is 1 year and 3 months). The laws in Romania do not allow homeschooling and my husband and I agreed that our son needs another learning environment that the one offered in schools today. Plus, I know what's best for him. Children at 6 have to be in Class 0 then go to first grade. They are not allowed to go to first grade unless they've attented this class in a preschool or school (yes, 6 year olds are mixed with 5 grade up in some schools, which is disturbing for the little ones... and pretty unsafe). What umbrella schools do you use or have you heard of? As I'm asking this for other Romanian parents interested in homeschooling their children, just tell me whatever you can, either the curriculum of the umbrella school is Christian only or not, either it offers curriculum or not. As a side note, we/Romanians are usually looking for cheap, meaning under $500/year/child fee. The income here is usually around $200 - $300 / working person... Some families may afford higher fees but I doubt they'll do that if they have many children to home school. Any answer is much appreciated. These days I'll watch videos from the 2012 Home School Conference in Romania, organized by AHSR (Romanian Home School Association) and see what the 100 or so families have been using and doing so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Welcome to the boards. I tried to think if there was anything in the UK that might suit you. As we don't need to use umbrella schools to certify our education here, I can't think of anything that fits. There are suppliers that would sell you a whole package of curriculum, but that wouldn't give you any kind of certification. I hope that others can come up with better ideas. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I use Clonlara. They do not provide books or a required book list - they give a general outline of suggested topics to cover in a year. You are assigned an adviser who can help you, if needed, and to whom you send most of your paperwork. It has been a good fit for us over the years, but it is out of the price range you mention. www.clonlara.org Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliegmom Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Welcome! :001_smile: You may want to look into CLASS. It was recommended to me when I was trying to decide whether or not to enroll in an umbrella school while we are homeschooling internationally (in Albania). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Class homeschool. I heard they even sponsor Romanian homeschool families,meaning that you might get homeschool material for free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Some Romanian families have used Crossroads Christian School. They are inexpensive, and you can choose your own curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niranut Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I have no experience with Romania, but we are a Thai-American family homeschooling in Thailand. We went with Home Life Academy, which is a U.S. based, Christian umbrella school. They are inexpensive compared with other umbrellas we looked at-- $60/year/family for registration and then $20/student/year. You choose all of your curricula and materials, and just need to do online reporting for grades. They can also provide a proof of enrollment letter and student & teacher ID's if you need them. They have counselors who can help you with putting together your educational plan and such, if needed. And they will work with you on any issues or concerns you may have. A friend used them while overseas all the way through high school and was very pleased with the support during the high school years (help with transcripts, college entrance exams, etc.). HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incognito Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Secular, Canadian, unschooling friendly global umbrella school: http://www.selfdesign.com/ Various levels of support available at different price points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasro Posted May 23, 2013 Author Share Posted May 23, 2013 Thank you for answering me! I didn't know of any of those listed above. Personally, I'm looking for secular and hands off (I heard only about West River Academy as having both this and Christian) but as I said, I'm interested in all options because I want all those interested in HS in Romania to find what other options there are. Usually, the families homeschooling in Romania under umbrella schools do not talk online publicly, their share personally or in private online groups. Again, I am surprised in a good way :) to meet people who know details about Romania and Romanian home schooling families. Please continue to share what you know or are familiar with. There's much to find out about and not too much information in Romanian. Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasro Posted May 26, 2013 Author Share Posted May 26, 2013 We are in the country to your West. From what you said, your laws appear to be very similar to those here. Feel free to PM me if you would like to get in touch. If you are a local citizen, you may want to consider removing your country's name from this thread so it can't be found through Google — particularly if your username is your actual full name! Thank you for the advice! It's not my full name and I'm not afraid of authorities. The leader of Home Schooling Assocciation, gave interviews, let journalist in his house, speaks at Home Schooling Conference and anyone can have video records of this conference. He's doing everything according to Romanian laws and has instructed people how to respect these laws. And if someone bothers me and my family, I am free to go anywhere in this world and educate our children as we want them to be educated. To answer your question, we use HomeLife Academy which someone already linked. They are very reasonably priced, and I am very happy with them. They allow you to choose your own curriculum and will let you pay through international bank transfer if you cannot pay with a credit card or PayPal (though, with you being in the EU now, that probably isn't an issue?). HLA is a Christian School, but they do not require a statement of faith and do not exclude non-Christians. Thank you for reinforcing it! PayPal is commonly used here, yes. If you would like homeschooling materials in English, feel free to let me know. One of my children is a few years older than yours, and I have some stuff I could send you if you like. Thank you very much! First I have to look into the methods/curriculums I find suitable for us then I'll know what is needed. Part of what I want I've already tried or bought, part I've just found out about and there's a whole lot I haven't known of yet :laugh: I guess this is something everyone goes through at first and with the first child. As I've seen there are many free home schooling resources too. Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasro Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 Well, regarding the law, some people report parents homeschooling because they have something against those parents. Sometimes it is the grandparent of that child or a neighbour. And people who neglect their children may live without someone signaling it to authorities. I am glad we have the chance to find out what are the Romanian laws related to these situations. We're going to have a conference this month on 15th, and we'll watch it and online some of us. We need more than doing it under umbrella schools but for now it is all right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreasro Posted July 21, 2013 Author Share Posted July 21, 2013 The conference was online. Many people watched it, there were different people talking about their experience and different things were covered. Many relantionships started on Facebook after this event, people have gathered, share their ideas, experience. And, what is more good news, is that for the first time a short news story appeared in a more serious and quality Romanian TV channel about Home Schooling in Romania. They interviewed 2 families, one with 2 children about to finish high-school and having excellent accomplishments in their studies, and the other one at the beginning having an early learner. Also, they had a psychologist supporting the idea. Simple, clear, no judgements. Just sharing experiences. Nice. I have also joined both the open and closed group of parents teaching their children at home full time or after school. And it's amazing how many people are interested and dedicated to educating their children differently. Right now I am looking in detail at some umbrella schools that have interested me and soon I will make my mind and enroll my oldest in one. With the help of a Romanian who has been at that conference and talked about different curriculums available I started to understand better what my options of curriculums are. Thank you all for answering me here. I didn't know they are so many and didn't know there are also some with a very good price :) Big hugs to you, online friends :) Andrea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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