Homeschooling is a parent-directed education from the comfort of your own home. Families might choose to homeschool their kids for lots of reasons, but freedom is usually at the top of the list.
When deciding to homeschool, it’s important to understand the specific laws of your area since they vary greatly from state to state.
After researching the laws and regulations regarding homeschooling in Michigan. you also need to know that parents must meet minimum education standards themselves before they are allowed to homeschool their children.
Additional requirements might include the teaching of specific subjects, a minimum number of school days per year, a declaration of homeschooling, and many other things.
In this article, we will give you an ultimate guide to Homeschooling in Michigan.
Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling In Michigan
Here is a list of what you should know before homeschooling in Michigan:
1. Record Keeping
This module will help you understand how retention schedules work, so you can easily apply the correct retention periods to the records you work with every day.
This is not required in every state. However, Power Homeschool believes that it is always a good idea to keep records of attendance, curriculum, grades, assignments, and anything else that could be useful should the laws in your state change.
2. Michigan Standardised Assessments
In Michigan, homeschooled families are not required to test. However, many families find testing to be beneficial.
Homeschoolers can leverage student-level state-standardised test scores to identify gaps in knowledge and proficiency. These data enable educators to provide differentiated instruction to help students improve in those areas.
In some states, homeschooled children are required to take standardised tests to ensure that they are keeping up with their traditionally schooled peers.
It is always a good idea to have your student take these tests, just in case you need to re-enrol your children in public or private school.
3. Michigan Homeschool Graduation Requirements
As a parent, you are in charge of graduating your homeschooled student. The administrators of a homeschool (the parents) have the ability to determine requirements for graduation, just like private schools do.
This can help parents tailor their student’s education to their future path. Look into specific colleges, technical schools, and potential employers and what their requirements are for student admission or eligibility.
Diplomas are issued by the homeschool, so parents are free to provide a diploma for their student once they have reached the graduation requirements
Compulsory Subjects For Homeschooling In Michigan
The only requirement under this option is that parents teach their students the following subjects:
- reading
- spelling
- mathematics
- science
- history
- civics
- literature
- writing
- English grammar
The Difference Between Homeschooling And Public Schools
If you are curious about how a homeschooled high school completion differs from traditional school graduation, the below chart outlines some of the comparisons between the two.
1. Michigan Diploma Requirements
In private/ public Schools, The Michigan Merit Curriculum are in charge, they make it compulsory for students to achieve 18 credits to be eligible for graduation while in Homeschooling, parents determine when their student has fulfilled graduation requirements and can issue their own homeschool diploma.
2. Michigan High School Testing Requirements
In private/ public schools, the Michigan Merit Examination is administered to 11th graders in MI and includes the College Board SAT, WorkKeys job skills assessment and Michigan-developed Science and Social Studies; the scores of these tests are included on the high schooler’s official transcript.
While homeschooled students are not subject to testing requirements for graduation.
3. Michigan High School Transcript
In public or private schools, they are here. created by individual schools and available through an e-transcript service. Transcripts will include all attendance information, MME scores, GPA, and any other pertinent information.
While Homeschool parents may create their own student transcripts and may include any information they deem pertinent to colleges, the military, and/or future workplace organizations.
4. Michigan High School Course Credits
In Michigan, the pathway to graduation requires 18 credit hours, with an educational development plan that outlines how those credits may be earned during homeschooling, parents determine when their student has fulfilled graduation requirements; for the purpose of creating transcripts, some homeschool parents do assign credits to individual courses.
5. GED Eligibility
In public Or private schools, Individuals who are at least 16 years of age and have been out of a regular school program for one calendar year may be tested. In Homeschooling, The same requirements for eligibility apply to homeschoolers as to public school
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Michigan Homeschool Support Groups
To get you started in your search for local homeschool support in Michigan, we’ve put together a list of some of the most active Facebook communities for homeschoolers across the state.
- Genesee County Homeschoolers
- GRAIN – Grand Rapids Area Inclusive Network for Homeschoolers
- Homeschoolers of Jackson Michigan
- Lansing Homeschoolers
- Lapeer County Homeschool Swap & Information
- Meetups for Homeschoolers in the Ann Arbor Area
- Michigan-MacombCountyHomeschoolers
- NRC Homeschool Connection (Plymouth)
- Oakland County Homeschool
- Secular Homeschoolers of Southeast Michigan
Benefits Of Joining A Homeschool Group
These benefits listed below are not just for new homeschoolers, it makes Homeschooling easier and better.
1. A homeschool group maximizes your limited time and gives you a break from teaching every subject. If certain subjects are already being taught, you can spend your time at home teaching your child other subjects.
2. At a support group, you can draw on the expertise of other people to teach subjects you may dislike or be weak in.
3. A group can make homeschooling affordable because families share expenses. Members have access to science lab equipment and other materials and supplies that normally would be too expensive for one family to afford, or everyone purchases books and materials in bulk to receive discounts or save on shipping.
4. Some subjects are best taught in group settings, such as public speaking, drama, and P.E. At a group, your homeschooler will have access to an audience for performances and oral reports, or to lab partners for science experiments (pictured left). In P.E., elementary children learn those childhood favourites like Red Rover and Dodge Ball, while junior high and high school students play kickball and ultimate frisbee.
5. Support groups provide accountability, so families are more likely to stay on track. This is really important for high school students trying to earn credits or families trying to find the time, or inclination, for science or creative writing.
6. Support groups provide healthy competition. Positive peer pressure from other students and parents often helps their attitudes toward their assignments, and knowing students must share with others in the class provides the necessary motivation to do their best.
7. A support group offers encouragement, support and guidance from other homeschooling parents and their families. Many parents are so relieved to find another parent going through the same issue or to talk with a parent who has already gone through a similar situation successfully. You can spend your break time learning from others’ experiences and sharing your own.
8. A homeschool support group provides opportunities for friendships and socialization for your children. Since some teenagers, in particular, may feel they are missing the high school experience, a support group may fill in the social gaps for your child.
12. A homeschool support group provides a fun break from home that the entire family can look forward to each week. How many extracurricular activities can you say that about?
Conclusion
We hope this article was helpful. Tell us what you think in the comment section below.