Jen Garrison Stuber

Homeschool Police

The Homechooling Police If you’ve seen me speak about homeschooling in person, you’ve probably heard me joke that I am the homeschooling police in WA. I am the person your friends, family, or neighbors write to when they want to nark on you and about how they think you’re doing a crappy job homeschooling. I

Part time Homeschooling

Email of the Day: I want to homeschool my public school student for 1 or 2 classes only. Can I do this? How can I do this? How do I get them to accept credit toward graduation / advancing to the next grade? Answer: While homeschoolers and private schoolers are guaranteed the right to attend

Transferring Highschool Credit

Email of the Day: This may be a question for Jen-do public schools have to recognize homeschool transcripts for credit towards graduation? We ran into this with our oldest son and the charter school he started at his senior year would not accept the credits earned from the previous year homeschooling. We worked it out-he

Sports and Immunizations

Email of the Day: My sons are participating in sports at Local HS this year, which has seen an influx of such students this year. They are telling us it is required to submit their immunization status for the registration of those students. The main reason, we are told, is “wouldn’t we want to know

“Why does she need to know that *now*?”

In October of 2003, I was a newly-minted homeschooler, trying to pick up where the school left off with my then-second-grader, and struggling to get her to memorize her times tables. I knew exactly one other homeschool mom, and while I was expressing my frustrations to her, she looked me straight on and said, “Why

CPS Threats

Email of the Day: My daughter is 7 and we are new to homeschooling. We haven’t done much because of personal issues going on this school year. My daughter’s counselor is threatening to call CPS if I don’t show her I am 1. Having her doing 4 to 5 hours of some type of curriculum,

Can you recommend a curriculum? (A: No, I can’t).

Email of the Day: We’re just starting out mid-year. I need some help or recommendations as to curriculum. Most of the things I’ve found on my own have a world-view that’s not a good fit. Answer: This is, I fear, an impossible question. It is one that only you and your son can answer. Here

Dear Lurker

Psst. Yeah — I’m looking at you, my dear lurker. Your kidlet is still in public school, but you’ve been lurking around this page, contemplating homeschooling. But Jen, you say, here’s the thing: my kidlet does really well in school. A+ student. Talented and gifted. And bored. I’m terrified, Jen — I’m terrified of homeschooling

Middle School Suicides Reach an All Time High

This is a hard one to talk about. Middle School Suicides Reach an All Time High Here’s what I want you to know: If this is you and your kidlet, and this is why you are contemplating homeschooling — you are not alone. Take a look at this: https://www.psychologytoday.com/…/20…/the-danger-back-school It’s November. It’s going to get

Letter from a school about the DofI

Email of the Day: Hello, I am the School Secretary for the School District. I hope I have reached the correct e-mail address to make a suggestion to your *Declaration of Intent to Provide Home-Based Instruction Form.* Our District is now required to provide an Annual Report where the information from the *Declaration of Intent

Homeschool before Hogwarts

For your consideration: “Hogwarts’ young witches and wizards usually start their first year when they’re around 11 years old. So how do they get an education in their first decade? “Most are homeschooled, because they aren’t really able to control their powers,” Rowling revealed in a 2007 interview with TIME magazine. “It would be too