Homeschooling in Colorado
Homeschooling in Colorado
There are three ways to legally homeschool in Colorado.
Option 1: Join an Umbrella Program (FACE is one of these programs.)Joining an umbrella program is legally enrolling in a private school. If you join an Umbrella Program you do not file a Notice of Intent. Private schools do have to follow certain laws and hold certain records. Each Umbrella school maintains these a bit differently. You follow the umbrella school requirements for documentation. If you need to transfer to an umbrella school as a traditional schooler you fill out withdrawal paperwork like you would for any other transfer to a private school. To learn more about joining our umbrella program or to get questions answered please visit: Prospective Family Information (While we accept students from all over the globe, we only guarantee we satisfy education laws for the state of Colorado. )
Option 2: Submit a notice of intentSubmit a notice of intent to any school district in the state. You are required to do 172 days of school per year, cover the required subjects, and every odd grade from 3rd on submit scores from a nationally normed test or an evaluation. You maintain your own records of attendance and what was covered. (For more info on this you can visit: https://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool)
Option 3: Be a licensed teacherYou don't have to enroll with anyone if you have an active Colorado teacher's license. We do havesome teachers enrolled with FACE either because they want to join in on classes and field trips, or because they want the private school transcript and diploma.
There are three ways to legally homeschool in Colorado.
Option 1: Join an Umbrella Program (FACE is one of these programs.)
Joining an umbrella program is legally enrolling in a private school. If you join an Umbrella Program you do not file a Notice of Intent.
Private schools do have to follow certain laws and hold certain records. Each Umbrella school maintains these a bit differently. You follow the umbrella school requirements for documentation. If you need to transfer to an umbrella school as a traditional schooler you fill out withdrawal paperwork like you would for any other transfer to a private school. To learn more about joining our umbrella program or to get questions answered please visit: Prospective Family Information (While we accept students from all over the globe, we only guarantee we satisfy education laws for the state of Colorado. )
Option 2: Submit a notice of intent
Submit a notice of intent to any school district in the state. You are required to do 172 days of school per year, cover the required subjects, and every odd grade from 3rd on submit scores from a nationally normed test or an evaluation. You maintain your own records of attendance and what was covered. (For more info on this you can visit: https://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/homeschool)
Option 3: Be a licensed teacher
You don't have to enroll with anyone if you have an active Colorado teacher's license. We do havesome teachers enrolled with FACE either because they want to join in on classes and field trips, or because they want the private school transcript and diploma.
So how does this work to homeschool in partnership with FACE?
The unique thing about our private school is that YOU get to pick the curriculum plan, style, and schedule that fits each of your students. This can also be the most daunting. If you don't know where to start, you're in the right place. FACE has supported families that want to create custom educational programs for their children's unique personalities since 1996. We're here to help. You aren't alone in this. We gathered some of our most asked questions about how to do this thing on this page for you. Enrolled families also have access to planning help guides and the right to call us and talk things through.
How do I get started?
The most important advice we can give you as you start is this:
DO NOT RUN OFF RIGHT THIS MINUTE AND BUY A VERY EXPENSIVE COMPLETE KIT FOR YOUR STUDENTS OR SIGN UP FOR A YEAR LONG COMMITMENT TO AN ONLINE ACADEMY. Those companies employ very convincing salesmen that want your money and don’t care if the product will work for you. They might be selling what works for you, but they might not. Spare yourself some trouble and hair-pulling with the following steps:
Step 1: Ask yourself how YOU work. Are you very rigid or go with the flow? Do you need a set schedule or do you like to follow the rabbit trail? Does the idea of a rigid schedule break you into hives or do you need something that is laid out in full? How much work can you handle in this? What is your end goal?
Step 2: Do the same for each of your children. Some families get all kids with the same wiring but that’s pretty rare. What is more likely is your kids will be all over the place in strengths, weaknesses, and interests. One might hate workbooks while another loves them best of all. Consider how your kids work as individuals! Talk to them. What are their goals? (Do they have them?) Maybe they’re short term, “I want to learn how to draw turtles” or maybe they’re long-range “I want to go to CU and be a biomedical researcher.” Whatever they are, it gives you a starting line.
Step 3: After you have considered what makes everyone involved tick, and what everyone’s goals are, involve your kids in the curriculum hunt. Look at samples together. Would they want to do this? Do you want to teach this? Does it fit your goals, your lifestyle, and your budget?
If you want a book to help you sort this all out, here are two reccomendations that have worked well for our families:
Blueprint Homeschooling: How to Plan a Year of Home Education That Fits the Reality of Your Life by Amy Knepper, Karen Conlin
103 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum or How to Choose Homeschool Curriculum both by Cathy Duffy
Where do I find materials to teach my kids?
Where do I find materials to teach my kids?
FACE does not provide curricula, nor do we dictate what curricula you use. The good news is there are tons of places to find curricula online. These range from large distributors that stock a wide variety of companies to individual subject-specific publishers. Some websites are even free! Here are a few ideas to start you on your search.
Large Distributors of multiple publishers
Free Curriculum Sources
Popular Publishers
Large Distributors of multiple publishers
www.RainbowResource.com - Large company that sells a huge variety of products
www.ChristianBook.com - Large company that sells both secular and parochial curriculum
www.Mardel.com - Large distributor of books
www.Homesciencetools.com - Science-specific distributor of curriculum and supplies.website. Alternatively, when you select a text box a settings menu will appear. your website by double clicking on a text box on your website. Alternatively, when you select a text box
Free Curriculum Sources
www.khanacademy.com - Free classes and tutoring
www.ck12.com - Online classes and textbooks
www.amblesideonline.org - Charlotte Mason Approach free plan
allinonehomeschool.com - Easy Peasy - Complete online curriculum
Your local library! Believe it or not many local libraries stock curricula and books that are very useful.
Popular Publishers
Everyone has their favorite publishers. We can't list them all, but here are a few:
BJU
Bookshark / Sonlight
ChristianLight
AlphaOmega (Lifepac, Monarch, Horizons)
Apologia
Master Books
Abeka
My Father's World
The Good and Beautiful
Time4Learning
MiAcademy
Power Homeschool/Accellus
Memoria Press
Classical Academic Press
Teachers Pay Teachers
Classroom Complete Press
Beast Academy
Education.com
Handwriting Without Tears
Teaching Textbooks