Tell me about Alaska...

[blondeviolin]

The odds are very high that we will be moving to the Anchorage area. Does anyone live in the area and can tell me a bit about homeschooling there? We are rather excited for this adventure!

[BYE]

I'm so jealous! That's my dream. Have fun on your adventure!

[Meriwether]

I haven't ever been to Alaska, but I taught at Leavenworth High School.  The military kids that had been in Alaska seemed unanimous in liking it.

[Tammi K]

Well, it's snowing right now and there is an 11/2 on the ground!!!!!!!

 

Alaska is VERY homeschool friendly. There are lots of charter and distance programs you can do if you want a stipend (About $2,000 a year if you don't mind a few hoops) or you can strike out on your own with practically no regulations at all.

 

It is a great place to live, especially if you love winter sports or hiking and fishing.

 

Any particular questions? Ask away...

 

Forgot to say that we live right outside of Anchorage in Eagle River...cheaper homes!

[ondreeuh]

We live about 45 min. north of Anchorage. As Tammi said, it is very easy to homeschool here - and if you are Christian, there is a huge community you can join. Alaska is a very libertarian state, but the families I've met who homeschool do it for religious reasons.

 

With a long history of kids receiving education via correspondence, there are about a dozen programs you could join to get an allotment. Anchorage SD has their own, but there are others open to anyone in the state. IDEA, Raven, Cyber-Lynx, Copper River, Chugach ... those are just a few. The size of the allotment and the number of hoops vary.

 

IDEA runs a big curriculum fair each year - I think in May. It's actually supposed to be a great fair since the emphasis is on education, not on lifestyle. IDEA is a publicly-funded program, so they have to keep things secular.

 

Lifestyle wise, Anchorage is not too much different than any midsize city. Traffic & crime are probably average. I have gotten very used to living in a more small-town area and only go to Anchorage when I have to.

[blondeviolin]

What's the housing like? Which areas should we avoid?

 

Be honest about the cold/winter. I'm a SoCal girl at heart. Is it windy often? What sort of special things will we need there?

 

We've lived in the same house for almost 8 years. Now I have to figure out how to put the house in the market and show it with my five kids under foot.

[AK_Mom4]

Anchorage area winters are moderate. Good years we get lots of snow and you need hats, mittens, jackets and kids for sure need snow pants. Bad years it forgets to snow and we all walk around complaining about the ice. Temps around 10-30F most of the winter with a few colder snaps. Being near the water keeps the temps pretty even.

 

Homeschooling - very few rules here. Plenty of all types of homeschoolers - we hs for academic reasons as do most of the folks we know, but there are lots of religious groups as well. In the Anchorage area, homeschoolers can sign up for public school classes (for a fee of course).

 

Anchorage is a nice little town and a good place to raise kids. Incredible summers, lots of winter activities.

[ZooRho]

Lived in the Anchorage area 23+ years ago. Still miss it.  Would love to go back for a long visit.  

I was a TX girl.  You do get use to the  cold.  And yes Anchorage is in the Banana Belt of AK.  The Long summer days are great, and while the long short days are tough there are lots of things going on that help distract you.  Just get out and enjoy the area.  Learn to ski and get skis so you can go regularly.

We actually lived in Eagle River.

[Tammi K]

If wind is your worry, Eagle River is a better choice that Anchorage (especially the south) or the valley (Palmer-Wasilla) (Shameless plug for E.R!)

[ondreeuh]

Palmer has horrible wind. It will send your garbage can flying down the street. It flipped over our neighbor's large outdoor grill. It will keep you up at night as it whistles through the vent pipes. Last winter, we broke the driver's side doors of both of our cars when the wind blew them out of our hands. I bumped into the open gas door while filling the car and it snapped off because it was so brittle in the cold.

 

Last year was our first winter here. It stayed below zero for a good portion of the winter. We had 50+ mph winds for a few days at a time. Sub-zero + wind is pretty nasty. My skin got really bad - stinging, red, rough - despite trying to keep it covered. My son with Reynaud's was pretty miserable. Regular gloves aren't enough - you need liners too. Sigh.

 

Wasilla is much less windy.

[Tammi K]

Palmer has horrible wind. It will send your garbage can flying down the street. It flipped over our neighbor's large outdoor grill. It will keep you up at night as it whistles through the vent pipes. Last winter, we broke the driver's side doors of both of our cars when the wind blew them out of our hands. I bumped into the open gas door while filling the car and it snapped off because it was so brittle in the cold.

 

Our first year here my son was playing hockey and had a game in Palmer. It was right after we had a 'pineapple express*' come through the area and everything melted and refroze to a smooth sheet of ice across the parking lots. It was super windy that night and the car was being buffeted all during the drive. We parked and were heading into the rink when a huge gust of wind blew through and took DS(9)  who was holding his big bag of hockey gear and sailed him right across the parking lot. He just kept going!!! I'm pretty sure if he hadn't been holding on to his hockey bag, he would have sailed away and I would never see him again! It was pretty darn funny AFTER the fact. I was really scared when it was happening.

 

*pineapple express - a system of very warm air that moves through the area and melts the snow. This melted snow then streams across the roads and parking lots and refreezes into a solid sheet of ice!  (Don't panic...It doesn't happen often.)

 

 

[MistyMountain]

Anchorage is a good place for homeschooling. There isn't a lot of rules here. You can join a oversight group and get a stipend to buy supplies. You have to do testing when the kids are old enough and meet with a teacher but they are all pretty relaxed about it. You don't have to join one but it is an option if you want the stipend for curriculum and any extra curricular classes you want to sign the kids up for. There is an active homeschooling community here and it is a pretty common thing in the area.

 

Anchorage is a cool town. There are a lot of trails and there are mountains right in the city. Not everyone is crunchy but no one bats an eye at things like NIP, cloth diapers or baby carriers. You can have chickens and other farm animals on a city lot. Moose show up on a regular basis. It is pretty typical in what stores and chains it has for a city of its size but you don't have to drive very far to be out of that in some of the most beautiful wilderness and landscapes in the country. The temperatures are not as bad as you would think for Alaska since we are by water but there can be really bad cold snaps or wind that make it unbearable but a typical winter day isn't too bad. It doesn't feel as cold as places with a lot of moisture. There is 7 months of winter weather with a short fall and short spring and a spring thaw (break up) and maybe 3 months of summer. Summer can be pretty grey but they are pretty wonderful. You will need good winter gear. A lot of people like bogs for year round boots. I dress the kids in layers of fleece and wool. I use hand warmers and sometimes double up on socks and mittens. 

 

There are a few active meetup and facebook groups for parents. There is an outdoor group that does hikes and playground play dates year round and homeschooling groups. There are museums and an indoor place for kids and plenty of activities for kids.

 

Areas to avoid in Anchorage are Fairview some parts of Spenard, and Mountain View. Housing is pretty expensive especially rents. I used to have a link of a map with Anchorage color coded by crime rates that I will have to search for. If you are looking at houses to rent or buy Trulia is a good place to check the address because it has the crime rates and schools for the address which will give you a good idea if the neighborhood is safe or not.