WYOMING, Mich. — Homeschooling has been around for a long, long time, but it’s become more of a popular option for parents these days who are hesitant about sending their kids back to school during COVID-19.
FOX 17 spoke with HSB Inc., an educational resource center here in Michigan, about this recent uptick.
Is this where our kids will be in the fall? Back at school? It’s been the million dollar question lately, with so many answers still up in the air due to COVID-19.
it’s why some parents aren’t waiting to hear from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the state Department of Education.
“We absolutely have seen an uptick for the state of Michigan," said Whitney Timmer with HSB Inc. "They’re taking matters into their own hands, by deciding to home school their kids. So when they come to us for resources for home education what they're telling us right now is, they really don't want to send their kids back to school because of the uptick in regulations and all the rules, they don't want their child to have to deal with that, when they've already struggled so hard now with the distance learning and online learning. so we've been dealing with phone calls, emails Facebook messages. since the shutdown it has been absolutely, crazy. it's been quite busy.”
Timmer says parents who are considering home schooling need to do their homework, because it’s different than distance learning and requires more of parents’ time, but help is out there.
“Families that are home educating can set their own schedule and set their own pace. So if the child lives for example say is in fifth grade math, and they start to really excel. Let them be in sixth grade math and then in fifth grade history, that's fine your child can move on, as they are able to. there are also quite a few numbers of options for home education. You can do the traditional method with textbooks, that's great if you have a bookworm. we want to support that you need to have your child, educated in the way that they learn.”
Timmer also says the cost of home schooling differs depending on the age of your child.
“It's very hard to compare because if you consider what is a 12th grader learning, they're learning heavy high-end math and science, and what is a kindergartner learning. So the price is going to be a lot higher in high school because there are more things required the chance of mom or dad, having a degree in some kind of algebra or chemistry is not always going to be very high. So, we offer solution manuals to show you how to get to the correct answer. test books, things like that.”
If parents are interested in home schooling their kids, there’s informational meetings scheduled in the next few weeks.
“So if families want to learn more about how to home school in the state of Michigan. if they're considering the option or have committed to doing this, we can help a home school information session is $15. that's roughly two hours of your time, and we have various dates coming up. we provide parents with an information packet to take home and we answer all of their questions.”
Sessions begin July 17.
for more information check out their website or their Facebook page.
