Homeschooling in Maryland: Umbrella or State Oversight?

This blog post is unique on my blog because instead of addressing universal education and home education topics I am writing just to those homeschooling in Maryland. I have homeschooled in Maryland 7 out of the 10 years I have homeschooled and I field a lot of questions from fellow homeschoolers in Maryland about the DOE regulations that govern homeschool in the state of Maryland. In Maryland, when a parent chooses to homeschool, they are required to notify the state of Maryland of their intent to homeschool. In this notification they declare how they will meet the oversight requirement that they submit to a portfolio review of their homeschool materials, instruction program, and instruction provided. Their options are to choose an umbrella school to be their oversight school, or to submit to the oversight of the county school district superintendent in which they reside. Those new to homeschool in Maryland are often a bit lost as to how to choose between these two options and which is best for them, and I often see new parents asking what the process is for getting started in homeschool in our state. Here is a step by step explanation:

1) In Maryland, I highly recommend you join an umbrella for your reviews, and transcript aid. Most umbrellas use a peer review method to cover the yearly portfolio reviews, which makes the oversight process in Maryland less stressful. All offer some type of direct review with school staff if that is your preference. Also, oversight via an umbrella school gives you the peace of mind of knowing that your privacy is completely protected from any overreach the state may engage in; and we all know that overreach is something governments excel in. I like knowing where my family records are, and I want to trust the organization who is keeping those records; I trust a private organization committed to homeschool freedom over the state. Often, when homeschool families in Maryland enter their portfolio reviews with state personal, they provide far more information and school samples and proofs then is required under COMAR regulations. This begins to shape the expectations that state personal have related to their oversight of individual homeschools. Now, many school districts in the state have begun doing virtual portfolio reviews to handle the increased number of homeschoolers and the work load. They are asking for the portfolio to be turned in electronically. This creates opportunity for the state to keep ongoing electronic profiles on homeschoolers and do far more oversight then is allowed in the COMAR regulations. Using an umbrella avoids all these pitfalls and helps protect your family and homeschooling in general. Beyond those important reasons that I use an umbrella — I’ve appreciated the high-school transcript my umbrella helps me produce.

2) Once your membership is confirmed with your umbrella, fill out your Maryland Homeschool Notification Form, and mail (and email it) to your county school district (their website will have the procedure for that posted). Be sure that the form you are asked to fill out, paper or electronic, does not go beyond asking for the information spelled out in COMAR and reflected on this Maryland State Homeschool Notification form.

3) If you choose not to use an umbrella, but rather to have your portfolio reviews with a designated representative from your county school district, please be very clear about your understanding of the homeschool regulations in COMAR, and for your own protection and the protection of homeschool rights generally hold your county strictly to the regulations.

Homeschooling in Maryland is in a very difficult legal predicament because in our state there are NO laws that ensure parents the right to homeschool. All law related to compulsory education assume the state has the ultimate responsibility for the supervision of all school aged children. The only provisions made for homeschool are made in COMAR — Code of Maryland Regulations, which is the official compilation of administrative regulations issued by Maryland state agencies. — The written regulations regarding homeschool in Maryland are issued by the state board of education and can be changed by a mere change of regulation, a much lower bar than one that would require a change in law.

This regulatory governance of homeschool by the state department of education makes it imperative that homeschoolers in Maryland understand what is in COMAR and hold the line through a strict adherence to COMAR. If we comply to directives that deviate from or change the defined procedures or requirement for COMAR, then we could see the state regulations change under the excuse that they are simply updating COMAR to reflect common practice.

You may ask, why aren’t we fighting to get homeschool codified in Maryland law, or in the Maryland Constitution, in order to better protect our right to homeschool in Maryland?

Understanding the political realities in the state you live is important to choosing the most effective political strategy for success. Starting battles you may not be able to win at the expense of the battles you have already won, may result in losing ground that was hard fought for. It has been more efficient to work to protect the ground we have gained in carving out a place for us in COMAR and hold the line there. MACHE, HSLDA, and Maryland Homeschoolers Hold the Line all work to watch dog the state department of education and mobilize homeschoolers to defend the ground we have.

The best way to retain our homeschool rights in the state of Maryland is to hold the line on those homeschool regulations that are in the books. No more, no less!

For next steps in getting started with homeschool, such as choosing an educational approach based on your child's learning style, building a developmentally appropriate education, and choosing homeschool curriculum browse other topics here at FreedomEd.net. 

High-school Curriculum & Resources I LOVE

My kids are dyslexic, and as such the curriculum I have chosen meets that need. However, I believe that the curriculums are solid options for any child. If you have any questions about dyslexia I have a few posts about that subject:

When an Otherwise Bright Child Struggles to Learn

My Recommendations for Parents Homeshooling their Dyslexic Child

It's important when choosing curriculum that you know your child's learning styles. Dyslexic kids usually do best with multi-sensory methods, which means activating learning using as many senses s possible. Since reading and writing are a real challenge, they will retain more if the content is presented visually, dynamic discussion (auditory), and hands-on projects. To balance the struggle to master basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skill, I have to organize our school around their interests and help them to excel in their areas of strength. 

Here are a list of some of the types of learning styles that will drive your curriculum search:

• Visual Learning
• Auditory Learning
• Reading & Writing
• Kinesthetic (hands-on)
• Verbal Learning
• Social and Interpersonal Learning
• Solitary and Intrapersonal Learning
• Self-Led Learning
• Interest Driven Learning

Here's what has worked for us:

For Science: Berean Builders by Dr. Jay Wile

For English: The Good & The Beautiful 

Math: Teaching Textbooks

Social Studies:

Hillsdale College Free Courses (You will have to add research, writing, and projects to make this a high-school class with adequate skill development and documentation. Each unit lecture is in video format with a lecture quiz provided in the courses.)

World History: Susan Wise Bower has a three volume world history that is a great text for high-school world history. Mom and student will have to decide on projects, research, and writing projects to fill out the text and create a dynamic course and provide graded work for the course transcript.

Civics: 1776 Unites has created quality civics curriculum for free

Hillsdale has created civics curriculum for kids of all ages, K-12

In Depth U.S. History: “A Patriots History of the United States.” — this is in print and on audiobook. It is a thorough history of the United States, written contemporarily by authors, who sought to tell a complete history, without denigrating the extraordinary contributions of the United States to the world, and the values upon which it was founded. It is the rebuttal to Howard Zinn’s “People’s history of the United States”, which is become the revisionist historical Bible for American history and underlines most American history curriculums in the United States today. The same authors do an in depth “Patriots History of the Modern World” in two volumes.

I highly recommend Peterson Academy. There are awesome dynamic courses in many subject areas with the best teachers. Like Hillsdale free courses, these are lecture based, but much higher quality productions that are more engaging. There are recommend books for each course and quizzes. With the guide of 120 hours of study for each highschool credits, most courses can be made into semester credits, but it’s also possible to group several courses in the same subject area to construct a full year credit.

These text can build a quality high-school/College level courses when you add student research, writing, and projects for grading.

Economics: Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell is a citizen's guide to economics, written for those who want to understand how the economy works but have no interest in jargon or equations. Bestselling economist Thomas Sowell explains the general principles underlying different economic systems: capitalist, socialist, feudal, and so on. In readable language, he shows how to critique economic policies in terms of the incentives they create, rather than the goals they proclaim. With clear explanations of the entire field, from rent control and the rise and fall of businesses to the international balance of payments, this is the first book for anyone who wishes to understand how the economy functions.

Economics (Part 2): Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One : The application of economics to major contemporary real world problems -- housing, medical care, discrimination, the economic development of nations -- is the theme of this new book that tackles these and other issues head on in plain language, as distinguished from the usual jargon of economists. It examines economic policies not simply in terms of their immediate effects but also in terms of their later repercussions, which are often very different and longer lasting. The interplay of politics with economics is another theme of Applied Economics, whose examples are drawn from experiences around the world, showing how similar incentives and constraints tend to produce similar outcomes among very disparate peoples and cultures.

Health: (Custom Curriculum, LDS Study)

• Diet & Physical Health: “The Word of Wisdom, A Modern Interpretation” by James E. Witsoe
• Human Sexuality & Family Life: “Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments” by Jeffery R. Holland
• Life Priorities & Time Management: Good, Better, Best, For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices
• LDS Children & Youth Program: Introductory Guide, Youth Guidebook
• Healthy Habits in an Virtual World: “Things As They Really Are”

Highschool Transcripts, Exams, and Diplomas

A high school diploma is not necessary to go to college. High school diplomas are issued by state governments, they certify that the student completed all state required coursework, therefore, diplomas differ in what they mean from state to state, because each state has their own set of requirements. Of course there are similarities between what states require of their high school students, but it is not a universal standard, and because of the differences colleges do not at diplomas when they consider applications.

What colleges look at is the high school transcript. The high school transcript is the only thing they can use to compare applicants evenly, regardless of what school district or state the student graduated from. High school transcript shows the university what coursework in what subject areas the student completed and at what level of proficiency they completed it. They compare the transcript to the ACT/SAT scores looking for incongruity between them, that is taken into account. They weigh the transcript against their own admission requirements.

My suggestion is that you choose a shortlist of schools that your child is interested in and go to the school admissions page and find the requirements they layout for a high school education that meet their admission standards. Then create a high school plan that mirrors their admission standard, and set goals to meet that standard. This will result in the greatest success in college admissions as a homeschooler.

Another important component in preparing a university focused high school plan for your homeschooler, is to prepare them to be able to score well on the college entrance exams that they will need to take. ACT OR SAT depending on the schools, you are looking at. There are an extraordinary amount of ACT and SAT preparation, materials, courses and curriculum.

Create a detailed, homeschool transcript, the HSLDA has excellent resources and courses for parents to take in order to learn how to build a homeschool transcript. Recordkeeping will be very important. Keep records of important coursework and test, the scores given throughout the course, and concise teacher notes. Keep records of books read, field trips, service hours, and extracurricular activities.

All of this can be done without joining an umbrella, however, being a member of an umbrella is a great thing. I am a member of an umbrella, I make my own detailed transcript and keep records, but I also like having the transcript that the umbrella creates for me as well, it is a second document verifying my homeschool transcript.

If during your child’s high school education, they take courses at an accredited school, such as a community college in which they are concurred enrolled, you will collect those course transcripts as part of the paperwork you turn in during college admissions.

All of these records and test scores are the evidences needed for a college admissions board to consider your homeschooler for admissions. There is no need for diploma.

Middle ED Curriculum & Resources I LOVE

My kids are dyslexic, and as such the curriculum I have chosen meets that need. However, I believe that the curriculums are solid options for any child. If you have any questions about dyslexia I have a few posts about that subject:

When an Otherwise Bright Child Struggles to Learn

My Recommendations for Parents Homeshooling their Dyslexic Child

It's important when choosing curriculum that you know your child's learning styles. Dyslexic kids usually do best with multi-sensory methods, which means activating learning using as many senses s possible. Since reading and writing are a real challenge, they will retain more if the content is presented visually, dynamic discussion (auditory), and hands-on projects. To balance the struggle to master basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skill, I have to organize our school around their interests and help them to excel in their areas of strength. 

Here are a list of some of the types of learning styles that will drive your curriculum search:

• Visual Learning
• Auditory Learning
• Reading & Writing
• Kinesthetic (hands-on)
• Verbal Learning
• Social and Interpersonal Learning
• Solitary and Intrapersonal Learning
• Self-Led Learning
• Interest Driven Learning

Here's what has worked for us:

Math: Teaching Textbooks (great self-guided, easy to help your kids when needed) — some of my friends use CTC math and love it too. Kahn Academy is another option that my friends have loved. All are online with video tutorials and guided progression.

Writing: Writing Skills by Diana Handbury King (I’d also recommend IEW Writing) — build skills with a solid writing skills program but be sure you incorporate relevant writing assignments in other subjects you are studying.

English: The Good and the Beautiful (easy curriculum to use and follow)

Science: Dr. Jay Wile science books, you can find his curriculums at Berean Builders (Easy curriculum to implement and follow)

(If your student still needs spelling development I prefer “All About Spelling” — They have a placement test. If your student needs keyboarding there are several good online typing programs. If your child still needs to improve penmanship or you want them to learn and use cursive, the Good and the Beautiful has nice spiral bound penmanship books.)

History: I did high school level American History in 7th and 8th for high school credit (the public schools usually do this split in 8th and 9th, for high-school credit), splitting the curriculum into two parts. Colonial to Civil War in the 1st year, and I added a thorough Constitution study at that point in the study. 2nd year we studied post civil war to the present with an added study in free market economics. I used “The Patriot’s History of the United States” as our primary text, but also used “The Patriot’s History Reader” for source document assignments. I had my student study source documents, discuss, and then research and write short essays for assignments. I used Hillsdale Collage for the added units in the constitution and free market economics, they’ve created a middle school curriculum.

Elementary ED Curriculum & Resources that I LOVE

My kids are dyslexic, and as such the curriculum I have chosen meets that need. However, I believe that the curriculums are solid options for any child. If you have any questions about dyslexia I have a few posts about that subject:

When an Otherwise Bright Child Struggles to Learn

My Recommendations for Parents Homeshooling their Dyslexic Child

It's important when choosing curriculum that you know your child's learning styles. Dyslexic kids usually do best with multi-sensory methods, which means activating learning using as many senses s possible. Since reading and writing are a real challenge, they will retain more if the content is presented visually, dynamic discussion (auditory), and hands-on projects. To balance the struggle to master basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skill, I have to organize our school around their interests and help them to excel in their areas of strength. 

Here are a list of some of the types of learning styles that will drive your curriculum search:

• Visual Learning
• Auditory Learning
• Reading & Writing
• Kinesthetic (hands-on)
• Verbal Learning
• Social and Interpersonal Learning
• Solitary and Intrapersonal Learning
• Self-Led Learning
• Interest Driven Learning

Here's what has worked for us:

ELA: All About Learning Press — which includes All About Reading and All About Spelling (I use All About Spelling after age 9 for continuing skills development if needed after finishing All About Reading levels 1-4). This program is based on Orton Gillingham instructional models, uses systematic multisensory phonics instruction. It’s fantastic for dyslexic readers but it’s just as solid and effective for any child.

LOTS OF READING TO YOUR CHILD FOR FUN! Use Audiobooks too!! Help them love stories. Improves grammar and vocabulary as well as the character development if you make your literature choices in a thoughtful way.

In Early ED focus on storytelling, let your child dictate their stories to you. Play story telling games, expose them to great children’s literature. Don’t worry about teaching writing mechanics until at least 8 years old. They will pick that up much more easily at 8 and up and these skills can be solidly developed in only a few years (4 at the most).

Writing Skills by Diana Hanbury King is my favorite writing skills program for its simplicity and effectiveness with dyslexic kids. Developed by a 30 year teacher at a private school for dyslexic students wrote this systematic incremental approach to developing competent technical writing skills. A fantastic program that transformed my son’s writing abilities in a couple years.

IEW and Fix It Grammar are also solid programs. (But I don't start formal writing training until at least 8)

If handwriting is an impediment to developing writing skills, treat handwriting (penmanship) as a separate discipline and allow your child to do their writing exercises auditorily. I let my dyslexic/dysgraphic son use voice to text to complete writing exercises, you can use an app like notability to keep all their work in one place.

Handwriting Without Tears. — LetterSchool App has the HWT style for fun practice. For continuing penmanship development in upper elementary: The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Books. They have enough handwriting books that you can have your child continue to practice penmanship through high-school if need be.

Math Inspirations: For parent training in quality math instruction and hands-on math development for early/elementary ED. I used the things I learned in this program to build a solid hands-on math program in early Ed that I credit with creating excellent problem solving skills and excellent numbers sense which are the foundational skills for higher level math work. I transitioned to teaching textbooks later, but the foundation math inspirations helped me create continues to pay dividends. Teaching Textbooks has been excellent as a transition to more traditional math instruction at 3rd or 4th grade. Remember, keep early Ed off the computer, make it hands on and multi-sensory.

History: For kids 4 to 7 years old:

Don’t do a formal history curriculum. Instead read story books that tell the stories (real or make believe) of kids living in different periods of history and in different cultures and countries throughout the world. Talk a lot about what it would have been like to be a child then or there. Help them connect to different times and places through make believe, music, food, and learning about children around the world. Don’t worry about chronology. If you have a kid who is a little more advanced, a great idea is to play the card game timeline and they can begin to learn about events in a timeline.

8-11 years old: Story of the World is a nice read (do it like story time, or listen to the CD’s, Jim Weiss narrates the books and he is awesome!) There are 4 books but it doesn’t take 4 years to read through them. I don’t recommend the story of the world work books. What I recommend is that you zero in on stories and events your child is interested in and do unit studies for them (Homeschool in the woods has some great unit study printable with activities and hands-on projects to make world history fun.)

Homeschool in the Woods also has a very comprehensive world history timeline that you can buy the download.

Science: Dr. Jay Wile, Science in the Beginning

Fun and simple experiments, easy to read aloud text you can do with your child that is enjoyable. A solid foundation!

Followed by his 4 volume elementary science curriculum, starting with Science in the Ancient World.

I love this science for several reasons, 1) Science in the Beginning is a wonderful Early ED science primer that uses the 7 days of creation to classify basic scientific principles across earth science, physical science, and biology — with easy to understand text that is insightful and respectful of faith in God — lots of fun hands-on experiments that are easy to do at home with common household supplies. (I took two years to do this book. 2) The 4 volumes that follow are organized in a spiral method by spiraling through science history, giving your elementary/middle schooler a solid science foundation that promotes a true understanding of what science is which inculcates a healthy scientific humility which comes naturally when you understand the history of how we came to know what we know. This 4 volume science goes well with the 4 volume story of the world books for history. Together they create an opportunity to build a holistic cross-disciplinary approach to education in your home.

GO SLOW… repeat lessons or levels as often and for as long you need until they are comfortable. Stay patient.

Some of my Favorite Classic Children's Books

• Curious George, the originals
• Winnie-the-Pooh
• The Marvelous Mouse Man, by Mary Ann Hoverman 
• Thomas the Tank Engine (originals)
• Chris Van Dusen Books
• Usborne Illustrated Classics
• Stuart Little
• Charlotte's Web
• Little House in the Big Woods
• Farmer Boy
• The Narnia books
• Trumpet of the Swam
• Heidi
• Beatrix Potter
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• Father's Dragon
• "The Book With No Pictures" by B.J. Novak
• Any Thornton Burgess books
• Little Toot
• The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge
• Gail Gibbon books
• Catwings
• My Father's Dragon series
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle
• How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head
• Abel's Island
• Basil of Baker Street
• Amos & Boris
• The Nutcracker based on the original Hoffman story
• The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
• The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
• Elsa Beskow books
• Little Britches
• The Brambly Hedge series
• Flicka, Ricka and Dicka; Snipp, Snapp and Snurr
• Peter Pan
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• More Quality Reading Recommendations

OTHER RESOURSES FOR EARLY & ELEMENTARY ED:

Apps I like the most:

• Endless ABC
• Endless Reader
• Endless Numbers
• Phonics Farm from 22Learn
• TallyTots
• Bob Books Apps
• Quick Math Jr.
• Phonogram Sounds: All About Learning Press
• Duck Duck Moose Apps: all the apps in this family of early ed apps are great the ones that you start with are
• Letter School App: This is a handwriting app that has the Handwriting Without Tears font as well as two other standard programs.
• MakeChange App: For learning money
• TT Clock: For learning time

Activities that help prepare a children for reading and math:

• Leaf Frog Alphabet Magnet Toy
• Leap Frog "Letter Factory" DVD (other Leap Frog Videos)
• Word World program on PBS (Streams on Netflix)
• Read out loud to them!
• Doing Puzzles
• Learning Patterns (string beads in patterns), they make large wooden beads for toddlers
• Coloring; some toddlers won’t tolerate coloring and building things, painting, or clay would be better.
• Cut & Paste activities (and other small motor activities), Legos words for fine motor skills as well.
• Connect the dots; again, some toddlers and young children, especially kids who are likely dyslexic will not tolerate this kind of activity.
• Storytelling Activities
• School House Rock: all of the old stuff
• Explode the Code Primers
• Handwriting Without Tears
• Math Manipulatives, such as, base ten blocks, cuisenaire rods, abacus, teaching clock
• Math Inspirations Method

Games we Love:

• Sequence for Kids
• Monopoly for Kids
• Rummy Card Games
• "Chunks: The Incredible Word Building Game" by Smart Kids: (for beginning readers; age 6)
• Bananagrams: You can use this for lots of early learning activities and you don't have to play the intended game. Early on I would have Charlie put a set of random letters together and we would try to sound out the word he made. Most of the time the words were a jumble of sounds, but it was funny and helped him understand that letters need to be placed in the order with vowels to make sounds and words we can understand.
• Learning Resources "Pop for Letters" game: All of their games are fun.

A Homeschool Treasure Trove from a Veteran Homeschool Mom

As a homeschool mom on the verge of being a homeschool grandma, some call us veteran homeschoolers, but I often think that homeschooling, like mothering, is never really done; I get asked lots of questions about homeschooling. How to start? What curriculum to use? What educational philosophy is best? I've probably answered hundreds of questions in person and on social media, and spoken to several of these topics at homeschool conferences. I probably could have written a book with the content I've shared bits and pieces at time.

This post is a compilation of what I call my treasure trove. I will provide my personal treasure trove of curriculum and recourse suggestions at the end, but what I want to share first are those precious treasures of wisdom I've gathered over the years about homeschool life and structure, philosophy on education, and generally creating a house of order and learning, a house of prayer, a house of God.

Generally the first thing parents think about when they make the choice to homeschool what curriculum to choose for their kids. The problem with starting there is that there are thousands of options out there. In order to make good choices that don't end up breaking the bank and causing unneeded stress and anxiety, that may threaten to sink your homeschool before you get it off the ground, you need some idea about what educational approach you want to use. Your approach and educational philosophy will guide your priorities and give you some idea of what you are searching for in curriculum and learning resources. Your homeschool approach should match your children's needs and learning styles, while at the same time, it should draw on your unique strengths. It's because of all these important and unique aspects of building a custom education for your child that every homeschool looks different, just like every child is different.

When you decide to start homeschooling, start with the questions like:

• What is my vision for my homeschool and my child's education? 
• What do I want my child to learn during these years I have with them? 
• You can’t teach them everything but you can teach them what matters most, so what matters most? 
• What do you want them to learn? 
• What do they want to learn? 
• How do you want them to learn it (this is an education philosophy question)? 
• What is the destination? 
• What are you preparing for? Family life, Moral Strength, College, Trade, Business, Service to their nation, community, and church.
• What are your child’s aptitudes, interests, and challenges? What do they need to excel in? 
• What are their areas of strength? 
• What level of proficiency do you expect for their academic attainment in areas of weakness?

Begin your homeschool journey with introspective questions like these. Journal your ideas and thoughts. Counsel in your family. Talk to homeschoolers you know and trust. Go to a local homeschool convention and take classes that peak your interest. Then take all that you learn from this exploration and begin to create the big picture vision. With this foundation you can begin to search for curriculum and resources with purpose. Based on your vision make a more detailed academic plan, but don’t plan too far out, your detailed plan is going to change and adjust in dozens of ways over the years to come; but begin with the end in mind and set up your plans for this year with your long vision in mind.

What Are Some Well Known Educational Approaches:

• Classical Education
• Charlotte Mason
• Well Trained Mind
• Well Trained Heart: Libraries of Hope
• Forest School
• TJED (Thomas Jefferson Education)
• Unschooling (Discovery ED)
• Unit Studies
• Online Schools — Online Private & Public Schools
• Online A La Carte: Outschool or The Great Courses
• Traditional Text Book Curriculum
• Eclectic -- Mix and Match