Exactly a year ago, on August 13, 2009, I published a Virtual Homeschool Fraud Alert that you might remember reading. My reason for sharing this information was to hopefully minimize the amount of families who might fall victim to these companies and their deceptive tactics. Little did I know that so many of you would share this information with so many others -- including your homeschool support groups, state leadership, HSLDA, etc. I had only hoped that some families who were considering one of these companies might find and read the alert and still have time to preserve their limited budgets for homeschool curriculum resources for the year. At the time I first shared this information, I honestly thought it was mostly common knowledge. For years there have been complaints against Mimi Rothschild's companies. Whenever I read a forum where a newbie was asking advice about signing up for one of her "academies", someone quickly jumped in to point them to lengthy online discussions with multiple grievous complaints -- and warn them away. I honestly didn't realize how many thousands of families had no clue that anything was amiss with Mimi Rothschild and her companies. I was only really thinking about families who were just beginning to homeschool -- those who would not have been around long enough to have seen the dozens of testimonies of families who had been defrauded over the past few years... (Read full article for more)

A list of South African homeschool events, including South African homeschool expos, curriculum fairs, open days, encouragement days, workshops and other homeschooling events around the country.

Library Welcomes Science and Social Studies Teachers for New School YearThe Library of Congress began the 2023-2024 school year by welcoming two teachers to its Capitol Hill campus.  Kelsey Beeghly, a science curriculum and assessment coordinator from Orlando, Florida, will serve as the Library’s 2023-2024 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow.Tyron Bey, a middle school social studies teacher from Prince George’s County, Maryland, has been named the 2023-2024 Teacher-in-Residence at the Library of Congress.Beeghly and Bey will work closely with staff members in the Library’s Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement to help make primary sources from the Library’s collections more accessible for teachers, students and families throughout the United States. They will assist in developing materials and experiences for other educators, and collaborate in the creation of a space in the Thomas Jefferson Building’s future Learning Center for families and student groups.Click here for more information. You are subscribed to Latest News from the Library of Congress.

A Homeschool Mom’s Guide to Teaching Geography As homeschool moms, we wear many hats, and one of them is that of a geography teacher. While it might not be the first subject that comes to mind when planning our curriculum, teaching this subject to our children is a crucial part of their education. Not only...

In an effort to reduce truancy in Brown County, Wisconsin, police officers are enforcing the county's 1998 daytime curfew ordinance. You will find WPA's information helpful should you be approached by anyone asking questions.If a police officer questions you, WPA suggests you follow these general principles:• Stay calm and be polite.• Know and exercise your legal rights.• To protect your homeschooling freedoms, civil rights, and privacy, do only the minimum that is required to avoid having the situation become more serious.• Make sure any young people who will not be accompanied by an adult while they are out in public in the Green Bay area during conventional school hours are prepared to talk with police officers. Consider practicing with them.• For adults only: Explain that children who are accompanied by their parents are exempt from the Daytime Curfew ordinance. If necessary, show them a copy of the ordinance (see below).• For both adults and unaccompanied young people: Explain that you are a homeschooler and homeschoolers have the legal right to set their own calendars and schedules. If necessary, show the officer your PI-1206 form, including the information you have printed on the back (see below).• Don't volunteer any additional information. Don't outline the schedule your homeschool follows. Don't try to explain that whatever you were doing is part of your curriculum. Volunteering such information may lead the police officer to ask you more questions or report you to a school official or social service worker for more investigation.• In addition, WPA does not advise homeschooled parents to provide their children with written proof that their child has been excused from attending school at a particular time for two reasons. First, using the PI-1206 form to establish that the child is a homeschooler should be sufficient to prevent the child or parent from being arrested. Second, providing such excuses invites more questions.

Free online guide provides book lists, homeschool curriculum, kids games, and fun easy recipes for kids.

• Tell other homeschoolers: You are required to file form PI-1206 even if you begin homeschooling after the third Friday in September. (An organization based outside Wisconsin says on its website that families who begin homeschooling after the third Friday in September do not have to file the form.) • Tell other homeschoolers: You are required to file form PI-1206 ONLINE each year you are homeschooling. (The organization based outside Wisconsin states on its website that filing a paper version of the form is an “option.”)An organization based outside Wisconsin has posted inaccurate information about homeschooling in Wisconsin on their website. If homeschoolers take action based on this information, critics and opponents of homeschooling will be able to claim that homeschoolers are not obeying the law. This could easily lead to increased state regulation of homeschooling in Wisconsin, which since 1984 has had one of the best homeschooling laws in the country. Wisconsin homeschoolers are NOT required to take state-mandated tests, are NOT required to submit their curriculums for review and approval, are NOT required to report to school officials, etc. Homeschoolers in most other states are required to do one or more of these. Let's work together through WPA to maintain our freedoms. Let's not allow dangerous and inaccurate information from outside Wisconsin to rob us of our freedoms.

“Are homeschool conventions still relevant in the highly digitalized, online-driven, AI-prevalent, world of 2024?” Well, in light of those descriptors (not in spite of them), I’d argue that yes–homeschool conventions are possibly more relevant than ever! Sure, you can Google anything under the Sun, including information about homeschool styles and curriculums. And of course, we...