Expat homeschoolers ?

[lulalu]

For those of you who are homeschooling as expats how do you keep records? Our host country has no oversight of homeschooling. So no reporting or records. We often spend time back in the states. We are back for six months, three are during the school year. As far as I have found my state just requires certain hours a year. 

Should I register with my state even though we will only be stateside until November? 

How should I keep records so that if ds ever attends a b&m school he can? 

Do you keep up with standardized testing to keep records of progessing learning? 

Ds is finishing up kindergarten, so next year he would need to be registered with my state. I thought of just keeping a list of books read, field trips, and curriculum used. How does that sound? 

[regentrude]

If you want to keep the doors open for public school: they have to take every child in the district, whether you have records or not. They will likely determine grade level based on age. Unless you want a high school to award credit for homeschooled courses, your homeschool records have no affect on the kids going back to school.

In my state there is no requirement for standardized tests, so I don't bother.

I think your plan of keeping a list of materials used is just fine. It would satisfy the requirements in many states. 

[sweet2ndchance]

 

Should I register with my state even though we will only be stateside until November? 

Do you have a legal residence in the state you are thinking of registering in? If not, I wouldn't bother. If it is ever brought into question while you are in the states, I would just  explain at that time that you live abroad and are only on an extended visit to the US and will be returning to your home abroad on X date. That's what we did when we lived abroad and visited the US or anywhere else for that matter.

How should I keep records so that if ds ever attends a b&m school he can? 

My kids enrolled in public school when they were middle school and high school age, the schools didn't even want to see our homeschool records. If this is your only reason for record keeping, I wouldn't bother. I keep certain records just as a memory thing. A few samples of  work from each subject, my older kids did lapbooks so we kept those, pictures of any field trips or projects that couldn't be kept like science projects, and make a memory scrapbook of it.

Do you keep up with standardized testing to keep records of progessing learning?

Nope, work samples work just fine for this purpose.

[Ravin]

It's probably a good idea to follow the laws of your jurisdiction of permanent residency.

[lulalu]

2 hours ago, Ravin said:

It's probably a good idea to follow the laws of your jurisdiction of permanent residency.

Well we have a permanent address in the states for taxes, banking etc. We use my dad's address. 

But we don't really have a permanent place. We rent in whichever country we find ourselves in. Current country we will be returning to has no education laws regarding homeschooling. 

I guess I feel safer being more proactive, than following a place that has no regulation......

[lulalu]

4 hours ago, regentrude said:

If you want to keep the doors open for public school: they have to take every child in the district, whether you have records or not. They will likely determine grade level based on age. Unless you want a high school to award credit for homeschooled courses, your homeschool records have no affect on the kids going back to school.

In my state there is no requirement for standardized tests, so I don't bother.

I think your plan of keeping a list of materials used is just fine. It would satisfy the requirements in many states. 

Does this apply worldwide though? I know in the states ds would be accepted anywhere legally. I just am not sure if i ternational schools would too. 

[sweet2ndchance]

It would depend on the international school. They have their own rules more like a private school. Most international schools I've had contact with though welcome homeschoolers but have their own rules for placement. International schools, almost by definition, are quite used to having students come in at varying abilities and different schooling backgrounds. Many expats have homeschooled at some point in their travels if they are the type that move around frequently. None that I know of had an issue with enrolling a student in an international school when an opportunity to do so arose.

[Farrar]

A family I know in a situation similar to yours kept filing with the state where they had the permanent address. If it had been a state like PA or MD where you have to do in person reviews, though I think it would be different. If your permanent address state is simple, I'd do it, just because it's simple and might help you check a small box off that you're legally homeschooling.

Before high school, so little of this matters. I think some recordkeeping can be good just because I think it can help you reflect about where you are in the education process. Homeschooling can be lonely - looking at a list of books and field trips you did at the end of the year or a sample of something from the start vs. the end of the year can make you take a deep breath and go, oh, we did do plenty. However, I don't think it's strictly necessary, especially for elementary school. Basically, I wouldn't worry about anything unless it's for your own sake.

[CAJinBE]

I use Clonlara school to keep the records for one of my dds. Belgium highly regulates homeschoolers and is getting more strict. So far this has satisfied the requirements. I do not have any records in the states. They are flexible and easy to work with so I feel the fee is worth it in our situation. 

[mumto2]

We used an umbrella school in the US to keep records which meant we also received a US diploma.  Very little work involved and it was a good exercise for me each year because it helped me keep both kids on track.  The umbrella school actually meant we were meeting our home state requirements for home education which we considered to be a bonus.  

[Lanny]

As others have pointed out, before High School, there is very little impact.  Once a student begins High School, it is better not to change anything.  My DD is a "Distance Learning" student and she is enrolled in a school in Texas, so we comply with all of their regulations and procedures.  

[Lanny]

We went to a School Fair the night of May 3, 2018, in Bogota. 4 schools sent an Admission Rep. After their 90 minute presentation, they were available in the lobby for approximately 30 minutes, before they had to leave.  DD asked questions of 3 of them. I asked one of them 2 questions. I do not know if this applies to all 4 schools, or just that particular school. I think I spoke with the man from Harvard.  I asked him, how DD would be considered, when her  application hits their Admissions Department.  He told me it depends upon where the High School is located.  In the case of my DD, that's in Texas.  I consider that a slight disadvantage, compared to someone whose application is handled, for example, by an Admissions person who works with applicants from Latin America, where we live. 

They look at MANY different things, not just the G.P.A. of the student or their Class Rank or their SAT and ACT scores.  They also look at the Rigor of the High School and many other things.