TheRosySeven Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Our family will be moving to Murfreesboro, TN at the start of the year. We homeschool here in CA at the moment. I've been researching the requirements to homeschooling in TN noticed that in order to homeschool outside of the public system one must enroll in a "church-related" homeschooling program. Can anyone share with me the "church-related" program they are a part of? Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Hey, I'm from TN! I use HomeLife Academy. It's very simple. I tell them what I'm using, submit grades 2x/year, and tell them how many days we did school. They keep records and I also get a letter that says the girls are HLA students. https://www.homelifeacademy.com/homeschool_state/Tennessee/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Homelife Academy is easy to use. Www.homelifeacademy.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 We're also with HLA. The other two big ones in West TN are Gateway Christian Schools (nothing online, so everything has to be in person or by mail, but has the option of doing classes with them physically and has a curriculum library) and the Farm School (online, popular among unschoolers/relaxed homeschoolers). You can also register with the local school district, which requires testing every few years, but may give access to extracurriculars or classes depending on your district. Tebow bills have been pretty hotly debated in TN, and it's been mostly left up to the local schools to decide what they want to do. I'm sure there are other programs in middle TN, too. TN also has a K-12 charter school through Union County. Some people love it, some absolutely hate it, and it's currently under fire for low performance (not surprising in my book-in Memphis, at least, it seems to have become the alternative to "homeschooling" for kids who are getting into severe discipline problems in PS or with the court system, many of which were partially caused or made worse by lack of supervision at home to start with). Any TNHEA affiliated homeschool group will not accept K-12 charter families, but many of the smaller groups will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 another west TN person here. moved here in 2009 and been using Home Life Academy since. They will ask for statistical purpose if you go to a church, but you are not required to be in a church or any religion to join. They ask you to agree with a code of ethics. made it simple and easy to start. all online. I get to pick curriculum.... no mandatory testing. no mandatory religion, etc. Been very happy with Home LIfe. I have a 12th grader this year and had no problems with transcripts and college admit. for a longer list of options... here's a link to one homeschool organization in the middle of the state (closer to where you're moving) http://www.mthea.org/information/church_related_schools.php 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRosySeven Posted December 7, 2013 Author Share Posted December 7, 2013 Thank you, thank you, thank you! I of coursed Googled it and HLA was the first link up. So, I'm really happy to hear from people who are using it and loving it. I do want to avoid the mandatory testing if at all possible :) I'm not really interested in physical school places at this point since my kids are really young 8, 6, 4, and 1 :) I'm going to look into the Farm one too. Anyone have experience with this one? We're not much for unschooling but really connect with people who do. Thanks again for the info mamas!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Testing is optional in TN with HLA. We use it too and love them :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliette Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 Can I chime in and ask a question? With hla do they provide the work and books? I'm moving to TN in January and want to start homeschooling too. (my kids will not be in Memphis schools and private school is out of our price range.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicianmom Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 No, you choose your own materials. You only report attendance and grades to HLA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bree Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 You buy whatever curriculum you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 7, 2013 Share Posted December 7, 2013 On HLA- I will say that if you're reporting something that seems really far afield (in my case, it's because DD is very asynchronous-I've had the experience of reporting college textbooks as curriculum materials for a 3rd grader), they will call and check and make sure you've got a good reason for doing so-but don't question past that point. They are very, very reluctant to let you record courses before 7th-8th grade as high school level (and usually only in Math or foreign language). They allow grade skipping at the parent's discretion once you get past K. For the Farm, I think it's very similar, I know they're a little more relaxed on what they accept (I have a friend who has written down "Public library" as her primary curriculum for all subjects since her DD was in 1st grade-and her DD is now in 5th without anyone questioning it). One of my friends who has a special needs child who is doing a lot of more structured programs (Barton Reading, Semple Math,etc) did get a call similar to what I got from HLA-but, again, once they were reassured that, yes, she knows that most 7 yr olds don't need such materials, but her DD does, they were satisfied. HLA is pretty well known around here (i used to evaluate scholarship applications for the music department, and we usually had 1-2 applicants from HLA). So is Gateway. I think the Farm is newer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbollin Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 HLA is pretty well known around here (i used to evaluate scholarship applications for the music department, and we usually had 1-2 applicants from HLA). So is Gateway. I think the Farm is newer. I don't know how old The Farm School is. But it's less well known in Memphis because it's located 3 hours drive, and "not local". people around here don't seem to like to get out of the county. ;) link if it would help anyone on the thread https://home.comcast.net/~farmschoolathome/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 We may be moving south because of laws that are being pushed up in Michigan. Waiting and watching. We've been homeschooling for 6 years and want to continue. Initially I was thinking TN would be very difficult but with HLA it seems to be really easy! My question, is for how sports go with homeschooling in TN. Do hsers have access to competitive sports? We're looking at baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and possibly soccer. Thanks!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 We may be moving south because of laws that are being pushed up in Michigan. Waiting and watching. We've been homeschooling for 6 years and want to continue. Initially I was thinking TN would be very difficult but with HLA it seems to be really easy! My question, is for how sports go with homeschooling in TN. Do hsers have access to competitive sports? We're looking at baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and possibly soccer. Thanks!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I don't know how old The Farm School is. But it's less well known in Memphis because it's located 3 hours drive, and "not local". people around here don't seem to like to get out of the county. ;) link if it would help anyone on the thread https://home.comcast.net/~farmschoolathome/ The Farm School started back in the 1970's. It has an interesting history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 We may be moving south because of laws that are being pushed up in Michigan. Waiting and watching. We've been homeschooling for 6 years and want to continue. Initially I was thinking TN would be very difficult but with HLA it seems to be really easy! My question, is for how sports go with homeschooling in TN. Do hsers have access to competitive sports? We're looking at baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, and possibly soccer. Thanks!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 Another HLA user here since my girls were in 3rd and 6th grades. We are graduating one this year. I haven't had a complaint! We homeschooled in Texas for a couple of years with zero oversight, and I have to say that doing it under HLA hasn't really been that different. We just have to be sure to report grades, curriculum and short class descriptions, and attendance. (super easy and done online). The nice trade off for the reporting: a nice transcript at the end that you can get sent directly to colleges, sealed and everything ;) I'm not sure about sports. I know there was some legislation they were trying to pass a few years ago regarding homeschoolers and public school sports, but I don't know what happened with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I went with HLA when we moved here last year because I found their site much easier to navigate than The Farm School. I don't know about sports through the local PS, but I do know that there are groups out here where my kids can compete in various sports and some they can even earn a varsity letter in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamanthaBea Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 I used HLA for years with no problem. This school year I put ds in a virtual public high school, and it has been a complete disaster. I can not wait to sign up again with HLA for next year! There is so much more to navigate with high school (which is why I tried the public school option to begin with), and so far HLA seems to be quite helpful in calming my fears. :scared: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted April 22, 2015 Share Posted April 22, 2015 TN passed a law that stated that homeschoolers could play on PS teams in their local district if they were registered with the district, but left it up to the individual districts to decide if they want to allow it. At this point, I haven't really seen a rush to register with the district in order to even ask about being on a PS team, and in West TN, I don't know of any who do at this point. However, in West TN, at least, there are two groups that offer high school level sports (and sometimes lower level sports as well) for homeschoolers, and there are a lot of options for sports before high school at a rec and club level, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Thanks!!! Are there a decent amount of competitive homeschool sport groups down there? Up here in Michigan, basketball is insane…and I hear it's even more insane in Ohio and Indiana because the competition is just crazy. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kile529 Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Oh - and under HLA - do y'all have to do standardized testing?? any testing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Oh - and under HLA - do y'all have to do standardized testing?? any testing? No testing required under HLA, except for a few special circumstances related to graduation. http://www.homelifeacademy.com/highschool/Default.aspx?id=29 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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