OMG!!! I'm here in Florida also and officially just started homeschooling my 8-year-old. I'm a nervous wreck but just watching your video made me feel so confident. The whole portfolio thing is what had me worried the most, but I appreciate you sooooo much for clearing this up. Now I can take a sigh of relief and keep doing what I'm doing. Thank you so much.
This makes me so happy! This was a big part of why I started the channel. To help moms like you! It's really not bad at all! You guys have got this! Enjoy the start of your homeschooling journey and I'm happy to answer any questions I can that come up along the way.
I have questions. 🙏🏻 Thanks for your informative video. 💯 Look forward to meeting the Laws and Regulations for the State of Florida to complete my son in kindergarten, from a severe, catastrophic separation. Six weeks till the end of the yearso I'm definitely in the position to move very swiftly and quickly, could also incorporate our field trip yesterday. I have respectful correspondences with District. I'm definitely excited to move forward in this process productively. I've already completed the first initial process, with the letter of intent yesterday April 19th, 2023. District is waiting upon my concrete rational processing to move forward in unforeseen experiences. Praying for your contact today, if possible. Look forward to hearing from you! ❤️ Excited for A+ educational experience for my kindergartner! Patiently awaiting 🥰
Great point! I know many families who do just that! But I really don't mind setting them up and like the keepsake. I also like the second opinion on their progress. Thanks for sharing and watching!
@@Svargasc3 It really depends on the umbrella school you choose. There are some out there that require weekly or monthly check-ins and there are some that require no reporting at all. I don't know a ton about the actually process as we do not choose to use one. But I'm sure a quick Google search could point you in the right direction.
We are in Florida and started homeschool when we moved here in January. I'm trying to get the first part of our year (we do a year round starting in January every year) together. I have a question. Can the log of activites be his weekly log and some samples from each week? Can we do the portfolio as an online blog or can we show pictures from trips online and combine with the hard copy binder?
Yes and yes! Keep his log (checklist, planner, or just simply a list of activities). You only need a few samples from the beginning, middle, and end of each year. Maybe just his best 1 or two items from each would be sufficient. I LOVE the idea of keeping a blog as a portfolio! It can absolutely be online, just make sure you have a computer to pull it up for your reviewer. They actually like creativity 😉 Welcome to the homeschool world! You guys are going to do great!
Great question! Do you mean you the parent are not seeing progress or you had someone do a review and they did not see progress? Is it in all areas, or just one or two? First I would look at the curriculum you are using. Is it serving you well? Is it too challenging or not challenging enough for your student. How is your child's behavior while using the curriculum. Do they seem bored or frustrated? If curriculum doesn't seem to be an issue, then I would consider looking into a neurodivergence diagnosis. Could it be that the child is dyslexic or have dysgraphia? Is the child struggling with ADHD? Knowing what you are up against can help you have a plan of action to work towards creating the best learning environment possible for the child to make learning easier for them. Also remember that "progress" doesn't mean big change. Any improvement in knowledge or ability is progress. If the child is struggling to learn letter sounds, but knows 15 at the end of the year instead of 10, that is still progress. It took YEARS for one of my daughters to learn to read. YEARS! But she was progressing a little bit all the time. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can go at the child's pace and not societies. Hope that helps! If you have any other questions or would like to talk more specifics, feel free to message me over on Instragram.
How do you do homeschool without private or umbrella?? Do you have to do the evaluation?? What if you até certified teacher?? Does that count as a professional growth development??
In the state of Florida you either have to test, or have a portfolio reviewed by a Florida certified teacher. We have a fellow homeschool mom that is one, so she does our evaluations. But anyone with an active Florida certificate can do it for you. I believe that if you are a certified teacher than you can submit your own verifications, but I'm not 100% sure. My certificate had expired by the time we were ready to do evaluations. I my not sure about your last questions either. In our county there is a person in charge of all homeschooling at the school board. I would try making a phone call to your county school board to get those answers. Hope that was helpful!
@@Homeschoolology Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions! I really appreciate your help and guidance. Your responses have been incredibly helpful and insightful. I'm grateful for your support and expertise. God bless you abundantly!
hi new follower, thank you for the information, I am starting to homeschool my kindergardener soon and I also in Florida in Polk area. I wanted to know if Online virtual classes or Self-Planning curriculum is easier to homeschool. I am undecided I don't were to start and was best.
So I personally prefer curriculum that I purchase. You can absolutely do the planning yourself if you are on a budget. There are sooooo many free resources out that that you can use with a little extra time planning it out. But I like having the work done for me. As far as virtual, we have not use a ton of that. We do utilize online programs and resources, but never with a teacher or structured assignments and such. We like having flexibility to school when we want and take off when we want. Virtual makes that a little challenging. But it is an option. Just remember that distance learning is not necessarily the same thing as homeschooling. It's in the same category, but it can sometimes come with more busy work and such. Things we try to avoid around here. Hope that helps a little. I have tons of videos on my channel about curriculums we use. Take some time and do some research on the options that are out there. Try a few different ones before you take the plunge one way or the other.
We have a fellow homeschool mom who is a certified teacher who does our evacuations. It can be any Florida certified teacher, so if you know someone they can do it. If not a simple search in a local homeschool group can help you find someone. If not, my evaluator does online evaluations. Email me if you would like her information.
Florida does not require any specific curriculum. The only requirement is that students show improvement from one year to the next. It's really that simple! That being said it can be kind of hard to know where to start if you have no guidelines. You can refer to the state standards, but reading those can be a challenge. There is a book series from Core Knowledge called "What Your _______ Grader Needs to Know". Those can be really helpful to get you started on what to cover. But you can absolutely create your own. And there are many free curriculums like Core Knowledge and Khan Academy as well. I personally choose to purchase for convenience, but it is not necessary at all. I have lots of videos that talk about the different approaches to homeschooling on my channel. And feel free to ask me all the questions!
One of the local homeschool groups does an "Open House" each year. We attended that event and she did a presentation on how to put a portfolio together. If you have a local homeschool group, I would ask them. Or search on FB for homeschool groups for your area. Hope that helps. Welcome to the homeschool world!!
My reviewer is mostly looking at things like handwriting and such. I do try to provide at least one sample from all of the things we do that produce a product, but I think the most important thing is that you are demonstrating how the student progressed throughout the year. Thanks for watching!
No subjects are required to show necessarily and any certified teacher can look over your portfolio/school work samples (very diverse is allowed) and sign. I have never had a reviewer tell me what I must have either. Unchooling is accepted here so of course it will not please every reviewer so you pick someone that is comfortable to your type of schooling.
Through my local homeschool group. But if you email or call the contact person for homeschooling at your district office, they should have some recommendations.
It varies from person to person. Every evaluator sets their own prices. My evaluator has not changed her prices for me, but I'm not sure about new people. Sorry that is not very helpful.
There are several options: First would be Florida Virtual School (FVS) it is somewhat like distance learning, but not quite. They have teachers that they submit work too and often have video classes to attend. Pros: Not much work for you. Con: can be quite a bit of work for students. Second would be sign up for a program like Oak Meadow. Again they have video classes and items to turn in to actual teachers, but is slight less of a time commitment for the student. Or option three, find your own curriculum (there are so many options available. RUclips is a great resource for finding ideas). Your only requirement in Florida is that the student shows progress over the course of the year. So you can choose whatever you think would be the best fit for your family. Hope that helps! Welcome to the homeschool world!
That was SOOOOOOOO much and looks very complicated! Why do people comply with all of this? It is none of the governments business, UGH. Is there anyway to avoid this and not get "in legal trouble" ? So stupid
I promise it is not complicated. What I share here is above and beyond what you actually need. I like to make this for the keepsake aspect. I actually did not have time this year, so I stuck to the basics. I have a video coming out next week where I share what the absolute minimum is. You can register under an umbrella school to have even less reporting, but I don't know too much about that. But you can Google "umbrella school Florida" to find more. Or ask in some homeschool groups on FB. Hope that helps and look at for that video next week!
I am starting my unschooling journey with my children going into 3rd and kindergarten I'm so confused. 🫣 I'm in Fl. So I need to right a letter for each child and then how do I register and what's the best programs for simple curriculum. I'm so lost I want to best for my kids but I'm starting to get overwhelmed 😕 scared I'm gonna do something wrong
Filling your letter of intent is step 1! Once you do that your only requirement is that you have a portfolio reviewed each year. Keeping a few examples of work from the beginning, middle, and end of each year. Keeping a record/log of what you use curriculum wise, activities, field trips, etc. And a reading list. That's it for the portfolio! Yiu need a certified teacher to review it.
As far as curriculum, there are tons of options and it can be really confusing for sure! I have a video that walks you though the process of how to choose curriculum as well as an entire playlist on getting started with homeschool. ruclips.net/p/PLRWXQD4I6sErx8CpMi0Yd1GSwzPknmf_A&si=2DNto-Ry7-3oLjs6
OMG!!! I'm here in Florida also and officially just started homeschooling my 8-year-old. I'm a nervous wreck but just watching your video made me feel so confident. The whole portfolio thing is what had me worried the most, but I appreciate you sooooo much for clearing this up. Now I can take a sigh of relief and keep doing what I'm doing. Thank you so much.
This makes me so happy! This was a big part of why I started the channel. To help moms like you! It's really not bad at all! You guys have got this! Enjoy the start of your homeschooling journey and I'm happy to answer any questions I can that come up along the way.
I'm starting this school year and im nervous as well.. he too is 8. Good luck mama.
I have questions. 🙏🏻
Thanks for your informative video. 💯
Look forward to meeting the Laws and Regulations for the State of Florida to complete my son in kindergarten, from a severe, catastrophic separation.
Six weeks till the end of the yearso I'm definitely in the position to move very swiftly and quickly, could also incorporate our field trip yesterday.
I have respectful correspondences with District. I'm definitely excited to move forward in this process productively.
I've already completed the first initial process, with the letter of intent yesterday April 19th, 2023. District is waiting upon my concrete rational processing to move forward in unforeseen experiences. Praying for your contact today, if possible.
Look forward to hearing from you!
❤️ Excited for A+ educational experience for my kindergartner!
Patiently awaiting 🥰
I should include our trips as well as our field trips!!!
It all counts! Add it in for sure!! Thanks for watching!
Or join an umbrella school. Beautiful presentation and organization though, love it!
Great point! I know many families who do just that! But I really don't mind setting them up and like the keepsake. I also like the second opinion on their progress. Thanks for sharing and watching!
Do you have to follow any rules under the umbrella school option? Do you have to report anything back to the school?
@@Svargasc3 It really depends on the umbrella school you choose. There are some out there that require weekly or monthly check-ins and there are some that require no reporting at all. I don't know a ton about the actually process as we do not choose to use one. But I'm sure a quick Google search could point you in the right direction.
Thank you so much ❤
You're welcome 😊
We are in Florida and started homeschool when we moved here in January. I'm trying to get the first part of our year (we do a year round starting in January every year) together. I have a question. Can the log of activites be his weekly log and some samples from each week? Can we do the portfolio as an online blog or can we show pictures from trips online and combine with the hard copy binder?
Yes and yes!
Keep his log (checklist, planner, or just simply a list of activities). You only need a few samples from the beginning, middle, and end of each year. Maybe just his best 1 or two items from each would be sufficient.
I LOVE the idea of keeping a blog as a portfolio! It can absolutely be online, just make sure you have a computer to pull it up for your reviewer. They actually like creativity 😉
Welcome to the homeschool world! You guys are going to do great!
As someone from another state where there are minimal rules and no reviewing, what actions do they take if your child doesn't show progression?
Great question! Do you mean you the parent are not seeing progress or you had someone do a review and they did not see progress? Is it in all areas, or just one or two?
First I would look at the curriculum you are using. Is it serving you well? Is it too challenging or not challenging enough for your student. How is your child's behavior while using the curriculum. Do they seem bored or frustrated?
If curriculum doesn't seem to be an issue, then I would consider looking into a neurodivergence diagnosis. Could it be that the child is dyslexic or have dysgraphia? Is the child struggling with ADHD? Knowing what you are up against can help you have a plan of action to work towards creating the best learning environment possible for the child to make learning easier for them.
Also remember that "progress" doesn't mean big change. Any improvement in knowledge or ability is progress. If the child is struggling to learn letter sounds, but knows 15 at the end of the year instead of 10, that is still progress. It took YEARS for one of my daughters to learn to read. YEARS! But she was progressing a little bit all the time. The beauty of homeschooling is that you can go at the child's pace and not societies.
Hope that helps! If you have any other questions or would like to talk more specifics, feel free to message me over on Instragram.
How do you do homeschool without private or umbrella?? Do you have to do the evaluation?? What if you até certified teacher?? Does that count as a professional growth development??
In the state of Florida you either have to test, or have a portfolio reviewed by a Florida certified teacher. We have a fellow homeschool mom that is one, so she does our evaluations. But anyone with an active Florida certificate can do it for you.
I believe that if you are a certified teacher than you can submit your own verifications, but I'm not 100% sure. My certificate had expired by the time we were ready to do evaluations. I my not sure about your last questions either. In our county there is a person in charge of all homeschooling at the school board. I would try making a phone call to your county school board to get those answers.
Hope that was helpful!
@@Homeschoolology Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions! I really appreciate your help and guidance. Your responses have been incredibly helpful and insightful. I'm grateful for your support and expertise. God bless you abundantly!
hi new follower, thank you for the information, I am starting to homeschool my kindergardener soon and I also in Florida in Polk area. I wanted to know if Online virtual classes or Self-Planning curriculum is easier to homeschool. I am undecided I don't were to start and was best.
So I personally prefer curriculum that I purchase. You can absolutely do the planning yourself if you are on a budget. There are sooooo many free resources out that that you can use with a little extra time planning it out. But I like having the work done for me.
As far as virtual, we have not use a ton of that. We do utilize online programs and resources, but never with a teacher or structured assignments and such. We like having flexibility to school when we want and take off when we want. Virtual makes that a little challenging. But it is an option. Just remember that distance learning is not necessarily the same thing as homeschooling. It's in the same category, but it can sometimes come with more busy work and such. Things we try to avoid around here.
Hope that helps a little. I have tons of videos on my channel about curriculums we use. Take some time and do some research on the options that are out there. Try a few different ones before you take the plunge one way or the other.
How you evaluate?? Where get the assessment??
We have a fellow homeschool mom who is a certified teacher who does our evacuations. It can be any Florida certified teacher, so if you know someone they can do it. If not a simple search in a local homeschool group can help you find someone. If not, my evaluator does online evaluations. Email me if you would like her information.
How do you know what the Florida required curriculum is ? And can you just create one if you don’t purchase one?
Florida does not require any specific curriculum. The only requirement is that students show improvement from one year to the next. It's really that simple!
That being said it can be kind of hard to know where to start if you have no guidelines. You can refer to the state standards, but reading those can be a challenge. There is a book series from Core Knowledge called "What Your _______ Grader Needs to Know". Those can be really helpful to get you started on what to cover. But you can absolutely create your own. And there are many free curriculums like Core Knowledge and Khan Academy as well. I personally choose to purchase for convenience, but it is not necessary at all.
I have lots of videos that talk about the different approaches to homeschooling on my channel. And feel free to ask me all the questions!
Is there any way you can provide us with pdf forms to organize for printing and editing? For example each section will have its own section of subject
That is a great idea! I will add it to my projects list. Thanks for sharing!
How do you find your portfolio reviewer? My daughter is starting kindergarten and we are going to home school in Florida.
One of the local homeschool groups does an "Open House" each year. We attended that event and she did a presentation on how to put a portfolio together.
If you have a local homeschool group, I would ask them. Or search on FB for homeschool groups for your area.
Hope that helps.
Welcome to the homeschool world!!
Are you required in FL to show work from all subjects you teach or can it be just the main ones like english math and handwiriting ??
My reviewer is mostly looking at things like handwriting and such. I do try to provide at least one sample from all of the things we do that produce a product, but I think the most important thing is that you are demonstrating how the student progressed throughout the year. Thanks for watching!
No subjects are required to show necessarily and any certified teacher can look over your portfolio/school work samples (very diverse is allowed) and sign. I have never had a reviewer tell me what I must have either. Unchooling is accepted here so of course it will not please every reviewer so you pick someone that is comfortable to your type of schooling.
How did you find a certified teacher?
Through my local homeschool group. But if you email or call the contact person for homeschooling at your district office, they should have some recommendations.
I know this is an older video, but what kind of price range is charged for a portfolio evaluator in Florida?
It varies from person to person. Every evaluator sets their own prices. My evaluator has not changed her prices for me, but I'm not sure about new people. Sorry that is not very helpful.
I know of an evaluator that charges 38 for the first child and 10 for each additional child. It seems reasonable.
@@kavali938 Thanks. I was just curious. That sounds very reasonable.
Hello. I'm just starting to home school my child. (Florida 8th grade) how can I find the right course for my child ?
There are several options:
First would be Florida Virtual School (FVS) it is somewhat like distance learning, but not quite. They have teachers that they submit work too and often have video classes to attend. Pros: Not much work for you. Con: can be quite a bit of work for students.
Second would be sign up for a program like Oak Meadow. Again they have video classes and items to turn in to actual teachers, but is slight less of a time commitment for the student.
Or option three, find your own curriculum (there are so many options available. RUclips is a great resource for finding ideas).
Your only requirement in Florida is that the student shows progress over the course of the year. So you can choose whatever you think would be the best fit for your family.
Hope that helps! Welcome to the homeschool world!
@@Homeschoolology thank you for some guidance
@@BobbyJones-bh3ii You are very welcome!
@@Homeschoolology and pricey "-
That was SOOOOOOOO much and looks very complicated! Why do people comply with all of this? It is none of the governments business, UGH. Is there anyway to avoid this and not get "in legal trouble" ? So stupid
I promise it is not complicated. What I share here is above and beyond what you actually need. I like to make this for the keepsake aspect. I actually did not have time this year, so I stuck to the basics. I have a video coming out next week where I share what the absolute minimum is.
You can register under an umbrella school to have even less reporting, but I don't know too much about that. But you can Google "umbrella school Florida" to find more. Or ask in some homeschool groups on FB.
Hope that helps and look at for that video next week!
I am starting my unschooling journey with my children going into 3rd and kindergarten I'm so confused. 🫣 I'm in Fl. So I need to right a letter for each child and then how do I register and what's the best programs for simple curriculum. I'm so lost I want to best for my kids but I'm starting to get overwhelmed 😕 scared I'm gonna do something wrong
Filling your letter of intent is step 1! Once you do that your only requirement is that you have a portfolio reviewed each year.
Keeping a few examples of work from the beginning, middle, and end of each year. Keeping a record/log of what you use curriculum wise, activities, field trips, etc. And a reading list. That's it for the portfolio! Yiu need a certified teacher to review it.
As far as curriculum, there are tons of options and it can be really confusing for sure! I have a video that walks you though the process of how to choose curriculum as well as an entire playlist on getting started with homeschool.
ruclips.net/p/PLRWXQD4I6sErx8CpMi0Yd1GSwzPknmf_A&si=2DNto-Ry7-3oLjs6