Homeschooling 101
Is Homeschooling Right for My Family?
As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher, and homeschooling requires mindfulness, intentionality, and a commitment to nurturing their academic, social, and emotional growth.
Homeschooling is a unique and rewarding opportunity to take an active role in your child’s education. It allows you to tailor learning to their individual needs, interests, and strengths while fostering a love for learning within the safety of your home. However, it also comes with the responsibility of ensuring that your child receives a well-rounded, high-quality education.
Should Christians Send Their Kids to Public Schools?
Davis Carman challenges Christian parents to reconsider public schooling, citing concerns about anti-Christian values and the importance of nurturing a biblical worldview. Drawing from his 30 years of homeschooling experience, he argues that homeschooling or private Christian education offers the best foundation for faith-led parenting, emphasizing their feasibility, affordability, and spiritual benefits. Read the full article here.
Davis Carman challenges Christian parents to reconsider public schooling, citing concerns about anti-Christian values and the importance of nurturing a biblical worldview. Drawing from his 30 years of homeschooling experience, he argues that homeschooling or private Christian education offers the best foundation for faith-led parenting, emphasizing their feasibility, affordability, and spiritual benefits. Read the full article here.
How to Get Started Homeschooling
Embarking on a homeschooling journey can feel overwhelming at first, but with the right steps, it can be an exciting and fulfilling experience for your family - I know it has been for our family! Start by researching your state’s homeschooling laws to ensure compliance, then identify your child’s learning style and educational needs to help guide your curriculum choices. Best of all, you don't have to have a college degree or be a certified teacher.
Create a daily schedule that balances academics, extracurriculars, and family time while allowing flexibility for real-world learning opportunities. Give yourself the space to create fun, flexibility, and a joy for learning that your children will carry with them throughout their life. Pack a lunch and head to the park, take advantage of free admission at the Zoo, or build a birdnest out of popcicle sticks - I call it structured playtime!
And then for help, especially on subjects you may not want to take on, connect with local homeschool communities or tutorials like The Bridge Tutorial for support, resources, and encouragement.
For a more detailed guide on beginning your homeschooling journey, check out this helpful article from Parent Magazine: How to Start Homeschooling Your Children.
Create a daily schedule that balances academics, extracurriculars, and family time while allowing flexibility for real-world learning opportunities. Give yourself the space to create fun, flexibility, and a joy for learning that your children will carry with them throughout their life. Pack a lunch and head to the park, take advantage of free admission at the Zoo, or build a birdnest out of popcicle sticks - I call it structured playtime!
And then for help, especially on subjects you may not want to take on, connect with local homeschool communities or tutorials like The Bridge Tutorial for support, resources, and encouragement.
For a more detailed guide on beginning your homeschooling journey, check out this helpful article from Parent Magazine: How to Start Homeschooling Your Children.
Applicable State Laws for Homeschooling in Tennessee
- Compulsory Attendance: Tennessee requires children ages 6-17 to attend school. Homeschooling is recognized as a legal means of fulfilling this requirement.
- Notice of Intent: Parents may be required to submit a notice of intent to homeschool to their local school district depending on whether they intend to be independent or registered through a church-related umbrella school.
- Curriculum: There is no required curriculum, but parents are considered the teachers of the subjects as required by state law.
- Attendance and Record Keeping: Homeschoolers must maintain attendance records and submit them to their umbrella school or local school district annually.
- Testing: Standardized testing may be required for certain grades, depending on the umbrella school’s policies.
FAQs
What are the Tennessee state standards for education?
The Tennessee Board of Education’s web site offers a plethora of information including standards in each academic area of study.
Visit Tennessee Standards site
What are the guidelines for home schooling in Tennessee?
The following link from the Tennessee Board of Education offers the details necessary to legally home educate your children.
Tennessee Homeschooling Options
What are the three umbrella schools in the Shelby County and Mid-South region?
Is The Bridge an umbrella program?
The Bridge is NOT an umbrella group; therefore, parents are responsible for registering with one of the Tennessee umbrella groups for all legal educational requirements and cumulative records.
Parents are considered the primary teachers and are ultimately responsible for the education of their children. Classes at The Bridge are supplementary and designed to enhance, NOT replace, the teaching of the parent in the home. Parents are expected to play an active daily/weekly role in oversight of the following areas:
How do I register for classes?
See our registration page for complete instructions to register your student with The Bridge.
Are Bridge classes considered AP classes?
Generally, no. AP courses are standardized to a specific text with a specific test. Bridge tutors select the curriculum and in some cases modify it to best teach the concepts of a particular subject area.
Which GPA do colleges accept?
Most colleges look primarily at the raw GPA for admissions for all students (public, private, homeschool), and the jury is still out on the weighted GPA. Opinions differ greatly with regard to home-educated students. Ultimately, your ACT/SAT scores combined with your GPA and leadership/service resume constitute the whole big picture for college admissions for your student.
Are weighted GPAs accepted from homeschool students?
According to Home Life Academy (umbrella school), most colleges do not accept weighted GPAs from home-educated students. Therefore, Honors classes are primarily to prepare students. However, The Bridge is aware that Faith Heritage Christian Academy (umbrella school), licensed as a private school, does submit both the raw GPA and the weighted GPA. Depending upon how a particular umbrella school is licensed could determine if the weighted GPA is accepted by a university or not.
The Tennessee Board of Education’s web site offers a plethora of information including standards in each academic area of study.
Visit Tennessee Standards site
What are the guidelines for home schooling in Tennessee?
The following link from the Tennessee Board of Education offers the details necessary to legally home educate your children.
Tennessee Homeschooling Options
What are the three umbrella schools in the Shelby County and Mid-South region?
Is The Bridge an umbrella program?
The Bridge is NOT an umbrella group; therefore, parents are responsible for registering with one of the Tennessee umbrella groups for all legal educational requirements and cumulative records.
Parents are considered the primary teachers and are ultimately responsible for the education of their children. Classes at The Bridge are supplementary and designed to enhance, NOT replace, the teaching of the parent in the home. Parents are expected to play an active daily/weekly role in oversight of the following areas:
- New material presented in class
- Assignments given for each class during the week
- Preparation for the next week’s class
- Assurance that assignments are turned in on time.
How do I register for classes?
See our registration page for complete instructions to register your student with The Bridge.
Are Bridge classes considered AP classes?
Generally, no. AP courses are standardized to a specific text with a specific test. Bridge tutors select the curriculum and in some cases modify it to best teach the concepts of a particular subject area.
Which GPA do colleges accept?
Most colleges look primarily at the raw GPA for admissions for all students (public, private, homeschool), and the jury is still out on the weighted GPA. Opinions differ greatly with regard to home-educated students. Ultimately, your ACT/SAT scores combined with your GPA and leadership/service resume constitute the whole big picture for college admissions for your student.
Are weighted GPAs accepted from homeschool students?
According to Home Life Academy (umbrella school), most colleges do not accept weighted GPAs from home-educated students. Therefore, Honors classes are primarily to prepare students. However, The Bridge is aware that Faith Heritage Christian Academy (umbrella school), licensed as a private school, does submit both the raw GPA and the weighted GPA. Depending upon how a particular umbrella school is licensed could determine if the weighted GPA is accepted by a university or not.