Tardis Girl Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I've read over the Virginia homeschool law and read a few old threads here on the forums, but I'm wondering... - do most of you choose "option 1" or do you go with the religious option or what? While my religious beliefs certainly do impact my attitude about hs-ing and what we do, the vast majority of my fellow church members send their kids to ps...it's not like I feel I need to hs for religious reasons. - in summary, you just send in the NOI and list the general subjects, then at the end of the year you send in your test scores (or possibly an evaluation). Is that pretty much it? I've only hs-ed in states where I either had to submit nothing (literally), or I had to submit a form just checking a box stating that I know and obey the state law. So this is new for me. General Living We are considering a move to a more rural area about an hour west of DC. I think it's about 20-30 minutes outside of what would be a more "suburban" area. I haven't been there, but hear it's very pretty. :) Does anyone know the area? What can you tell me about it? I'm wondering too just about taking advantage of zoos, museums, etc. Of course DC is going to have amazing stuff, which I assume would be closest to us there. Although I haven't researched what the cost is of actually enjoying those resources... on a teacher salary I'm hoping they wouldn't be out of range. Any pros/cons or comments are welcome! TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I homeschool under the statute where you have to file every year and have the kids assessed in some way; I believe that is the law most people file under in VA. According to the bolded, you would not be eligible to file under the religious exemption; RE is only for those who feel it is imperative that they educate their own children and that the Bible commands them to teach their own children. The school board does have the right to question you about this before granting the RE exemption, so be sure that you fit this criteria before filing under the RE. I just file the NOI and a list of subjects to be taught. According to the law, the cannot ask for a scope and sequence in VA. Then I must test at the end of the year. That's it. Can't help you with the area you are moving into, sorry, but I am sure someone on here knows the area and will chime in. I've read over the Virginia homeschool law and read a few old threads here on the forums, but I'm wondering... - do most of you choose "option 1" or do you go with the religious option or what? While my religious beliefs certainly do impact my attitude about hs-ing and what we do, the vast majority of my fellow church members send their kids to ps...it's not like I feel I need to hs for religious reasons. - in summary, you just send in the NOI and list the general subjects, then at the end of the year you send in your test scores (or possibly an evaluation). Is that pretty much it? General Living We are considering a move to a more rural area about an hour west of DC. I think it's about 20-30 minutes outside of what would be a more "suburban" area. I haven't been there, but hear it's very pretty. :) Does anyone know the area? What can you tell me about it? I'm wondering too just about taking advantage of zoos, museums, etc. Of course DC is going to have amazing stuff, which I assume would be closest to us there. Although I haven't researched what the cost is of actually enjoying those resources... on a teacher salary I'm hoping they wouldn't be out of range. Any pros/cons or comments are welcome! TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Tardis Girl, I don't think I know anyone who files under the religious exemption. The regular option, NOI plus test scores or evaluations is so easy. Northern VA, west of DC is pretty- rolling hills leading up to the Mountains. Usually very green. The trouble with the phrase "an hour west" is that it is rather vague. An hour during rush? Or an hour Sunday morning ? You could be talking about Manassas or Haymarket. If you can name a town or county that would help folks respond better. I love it here. Except for the cost of living and the traffic. We can usually work around the traffic. The COL is unavoidable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 OK, that's a good point. :) So a bit more west out 66, like The Plains, Marshall, Front Royal, or a bit more out 29 like Warrenton. How bad is the cost of living? We were talking to someone who lives there (single man) and he talked about it being pretty reasonable...but perhaps that's a word that is open to wide interpretation. And thank you, reefgazer for clarifying the law for me -- to me it seems like a lot of regulation relative to where I've been, but you make it sound very easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 We left the DC area a few years ago (we lived in Centreville.) I considered us to be an hour west of the city from where we were. There wasn't a time of day (except perhaps the middle of the night) when we could have made it downtown in less than an hour. The areas you mentioned are BEAUTIFUL and I love, love that area. The cost of living in the DC area is high with respect to housing, but I don't feel other costs to be that bad. We pay more in taxes in PA than in VA (property taxes, income tax) but less in sales tax. I don't think food, etc. is that much more expensive than anywhere else I've lived (mainly east coast.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 OK so when I look on GoogleMaps, at this time of day (like noon-ish?), it looks like from The Plains it takes just a few minutes more than hour "in current traffic" to get to the Smithsonian Institute or Zoo area. So do you think that's really off? I would love to be able to go to museums, zoo, etc. regularly. Are there decent ones in the area but maybe closer than all the Smithsonian ones? How is homeschooling in this western area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 OK, that's a good point. :) So a bit more west out 66, like The Plains, Marshall, Front Royal, or a bit more out 29 like Warrenton. How bad is the cost of living? We were talking to someone who lives there (single man) and he talked about it being pretty reasonable...but perhaps that's a word that is open to wide interpretation. And thank you, reefgazer for clarifying the law for me -- to me it seems like a lot of regulation relative to where I've been, but you make it sound very easy. Fauquier county's pp tax is high, which is the plains, Marshall and Warrenton. Rappahannock county is also high. Culpeper is lower, and warren county is even lower. I should mention this is what we found out when we were looking 15 yrs ago and I have heard it is still true but haven't researched lately. Front Royal is in warren county. There are a lot of homeschoolers out there, lots of shopping, nice parks and great hiking. Not too crowded. 15 minutes or so from the drive-in movie theatre in Stephens city. Skyline drive is right there. If I moved, it would be to the front royal area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 OK so when I look on GoogleMaps, at this time of day (like noon-ish?), it looks like from The Plains it takes just a few minutes more than hour "in current traffic" to get to the Smithsonian Institute or Zoo area. So do you think that's really off? I would love to be able to go to museums, zoo, etc. regularly. Are there decent ones in the area but maybe closer than all the Smithsonian ones? How is homeschooling in this western area? Traveling to dc this time of day, yes it would take about that long. You'd have to wait until after morning rush hour and leave around 3pm to miss traffic The udvar hazy smithsonian air and space museum in dulles is excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto10blessings Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 We left the DC area a few years ago (we lived in Centreville.) I considered us to be an hour west of the city from where we were. There wasn't a time of day (except perhaps the middle of the night) when we could have made it downtown in less than an hour. The areas you mentioned are BEAUTIFUL and I love, love that area. The cost of living in the DC area is high with respect to housing, but I don't feel other costs to be that bad. We pay more in taxes in PA than in VA (property taxes, income tax) but less in sales tax. I don't think food, etc. is that much more expensive than anywhere else I've lived (mainly east coast.) Hmm.... We live an hour outside of centreville and can make it to dc in an hour and a half in no traffic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspasia Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 That area is super beautiful. If you left at 9:30-10:00 in the morning, you could certainly be to the zoo in about an hour. We used to live in Reston, and I could get down to DC in 25 minutes if I went at the right time. Now we live in Fredericksburg, and our fastest time to DC is about 50 minutes. I don't know ANYBODY who describes the COL around here as reasonable. Fortunately, most of the educational resources are free or relatively inexpensive. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srs Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Filing the NOI and evidence of progress at the end of the year is very easy. My curriculum description was something like "DD will study LA, math, science, history, PE, and music". That was it. I live about an hour south of Warrenton. The COL is lower here than in NoVA, but compared to where we came from in North Carolina it is much higher. I guess it all depends on your perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srs Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 However, the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from my front door does take some of the sting out of the COL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I live in the city... It's pretty out that way, but I'll be honest and tell you that none of the families I've met who live past about Falls Church make it into the city more than a few times a year. Of course, you may be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aspasia Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 We definitely get into the city more than a few times a year, but that may be because dh works there, so the idea of trekking from here to DC doesn't sound too absurd (we have to tell ourselves that, or we'll go insane). ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Yeah, I'm sure that some people do... I just know that I have now met many families who say, "We thought we'd be in the city all the time when we moved here, but then I realized how far away forty minutes is..." And part of me is like, how sad! But part of me is like, yeah, that's like a trip to Baltimore for me. Not that I don't get to Baltimore a decent amount, but over the course of a year, it really is only about ten times or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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