Can you homeschool in canada

There are supposed to be asynchronous on the student's own schedule non-screen options for remote learning as well as the default synchronous online classes everyone "attending" the virtual class at the same time. Please check with your school. A number of approaches to homeschooling are described on our webpage about teaching methods and learning philosophies.

To choose the one that's the most aligned with your own beliefs and overall parenting philosophy and goals, you can explore the questions in our blog post, " How do I decide what approach to take? Unschooling is one of the educational approaches that can be taken when choosing to withdraw a child from the school system, or not to send a child to school in the first place.

See more details on our Unschooling page. It involves reevaluating what education is really about, what the learning process looks like in real life as opposed to just the institutional setting of school, what knowledge and skills are important to learn as opposed to just assigned by the standardized curriculum of the school system of mass instruction.

For links to articles with more details and tips, see our page on Deschooling. Homeschoolers in Ontario are not required to follow any particular curriculum, use any particular curriculum materials, nor teach any particular subject as such.

The main expectation is that the education result in adequate literacy, numeracy, and general knowledge and culture. How that is accomplished is up to each family. For more details on what a curriculum is and how to choose one if any , see our page on Curriculum. For ideas and suppliers, see our pages of Resources.

If you wish to follow the same grade-by-grade sequence as the public school system, see the Ministry of Education's Ontario curriculum guidelines. If there's a topic of knowledge or a skill you haven't acquired yourself, or if you just don't feel able to present something in a way that helps your child learn it, don't be afraid to delegate the task to someone else who has more experience or ability. There are tutors, courses and workshops offered through community centres and colleges, correspondence or online courses, and video tutorials.

Even some textbooks are well enough written that a child or teen can learn from them without assistance. In fact, you might be surprised at what your youngsters will learn on their own if you let them do their own exploring and research.

You might also like to learn right alongside them — not only to acquire the same knowledge and skills, but to demonstrate lifelong learning in action and show them how one goes about figuring out how to learn something one has decided to learn. And if you or your child or both of you do need a little extra help, ask among your family members, friends, and acquaintances, including fellow homeschooling parents from your local support group.

Children are always learning, all you have to do is observe their progress as it shows up in what they do and say. Conventional testing and quizzing may be more efficient for a classroom teacher than direct observation, but only because the child-to-adult ratio is so high — usually or or even higher. For a parent at home with their own children, however, the child-to-adult ratio is much smaller and the relationship is much more intimate, so direct observation is easier and more accurate.

Whether you're trying to assess what your children have learned naturally on their own or how well they've acquired the knowledge and skills you've tried to teach them, in a homeschooling environment it's easy to notice when an individual child is catching on and when they're not.

If you use a curriculum package with your child, you'll know whether or not they understand the material they're learning when you review the lessons with them and look at their work. If you're not using conventional curricula and a schedule of learning expectations, you can easily use non-intrusive methods of finding out what they know: direct observation, conversations that solicit their input, activities that put their knowledge and skills into practice, and games that make use of their learning.

Children are constantly asking questions, so we know that they are thinking and curious. But everyone has their own internal schedule for learning. For instance, not every child is ready to read at the age of 5 — some may start to read as early as age 3 and others may not be ready until they're 8 or 9, or as late as The usefulness of standardized testing is being questioned by educators themselves, and there are ways in which it can even be harmful.

For one thing, it can mislead you into thinking you have a clear picture of a child's ability based only on their one-time performance on an artificial test of their competencies, taken out of the natural context of how their learning will serve them in real life. The premise of testing, and its environment of restricting access to aids, is stressful to children and can cause them anxiety, especially if they feel it's intended to evaluate whether they're failing to perform to your satisfaction.

Anxiety, in turn, can cause them to perform poorly. Depending on how you react to that, it can lead to a snowball of stress. Do you really need to know if your child is "at grade level"?

You should be able to tell through your teaching itself whether or not your child is "getting" what you're teaching. So unless there's an external reason for testing see below , you might want to respect the internal schedule of each child, trust that they will indeed eventually learn a given topic or skill if given the kind of encouragement and stimulation and resources they need, and monitor their progress as unobtrusively as possible.

In this way, your child can retain a love of learning and not have it subverted to learning for a test score. Sometimes there's some external requirement for a child to be "at grade level" or a teen to have SAT scores in their portfolio — for instance, if they're preparing for entering or re-entering the school system; or there may be a court order on behalf of Children's Aid. If there is no such requirement, please be sure you've considered the possible effects of testing on your child's psychological well-being before deciding whether or not to proceed see the above FAQ, "Should I test my child?

If you still must or want to have your child tested, you have the right to have it done through the EQAO along with the school-children at the local school. If it needs to be immediate rather than on the EQAO's schedule, there are businesses that offer testing services for a fee. See our Resource Directory and the article about testing your children.

See the blog post on "How do I homeschool my 3-year-old? There are no requirements for how many hours, or which hours of the day, to spend on homeschooling.

The government's policy PPM recognizes that homeschooling parents "may not be following the Ontario curriculum, using standard classroom practices in the home, or teaching within the standard school day or school year.

Readiness is also an important factor. When you allow a child to learn at their own pace, there's no need to rush them through a given lesson just because it's on the artificial schedule of a standardized curriculum. Conversely, there's no need to hold them back from zipping through material for which they have a high interest or ability.

If you choose to allow natural learning rather than imposing formal lessons, the question of hours spent on learning becomes moot: children are learning all the time, whether or not you recognize their development as such, and whether or not the acquisition of a particular knowledge, skill, habit, or worldview, was on your agenda to teach them deliberately or at all. Homeschooling doesn't have to be expensive, although it certainly can be if you take advantage of all the educational products and services that are available on the market.

Your homeschooling costs can be tailored to your budget and the approach you have chosen, and can depend as well on what your children's interests are if your child is going to be a computer programmer when she grows up, she will need a computer; if he hopes to be a research scientist, a microscope might be a worthwhile investment. If you have decided to buy a ready-made curriculum package for each grade, you will of course spend a lot more than if you use only free or low cost resources such as the library, the internet, or learning opportunities that are available in the community museums, tours, demonstrations, field trips or through your local support group.

Even with prepackaged materials, though, you can often buy them second hand, either online or from other homeschoolers, used book stores, garage sales and curriculum fairs.

Expect to pay a few hundred dollars a year if you use mostly free or low cost resources, and several thousand if you are buying prepackaged curriculum for a family of several children at different grade levels. Please note that in Ontario the Ministry of Education does not provide any funding to homeschooling families.

Therefore, if you plan to purchase any curriculum materials or resources you will have to pay for them yourself. The place to start is to decide what approach you'd like to take — see the above FAQ on choosing an approach. It will likely change over time as you observe how your children respond to your methods and materials, but you have to start somewhere. The reason to consider the question of approach first, is that it will make a difference in your choice of materials.

There's no point in investing in expensive materials if it turns out you won't be using them after all. If you haven't explored the question of approach yet, consider the following: education as provided in schools is institutional mass education, in other words it is based on delivering instruction towards a predetermined set of knowledge and skills, to a group of 25 to 35 children simultaneously, on a set schedule, in a set order.

The standardized curriculum that informs that instruction is designed to conform to the logistics of that type of mass education, not to the interests, abilities and readiness of any particular individual child. As a parent, you have the opportunity to tailor your child's education to his or her own style of learning, growing abilities, state of readiness, and personal interests.

You may or may not be able to do that with a standard curriculum and the materials that support it. You will need to decide what your parental and educational priorities are and how best to fulfill them in practical terms. No matter what your approach, your children will learn through daily life, conversations and exploration of the world around them — it's just a natural part of their development. The materials that support this type of learning will therefore naturally include household objects, toys and boardgames, bikes and baseballs, tools and gadgets, CDs, DVDs and books, and whatever else you already own or have access to e.

If you choose to, you can supplement this natural learning with deliberately educational materials to whatever extent you feel is needed or desired. If you're planning on following a child-led approach, you likely won't be looking at curriculum packages although you might if your child asks for them but you still might want to have certain reference books on hand e.

You might also find some of the hands-on educational supplies math manipulatives, science kits fit in with your perspective on how to stimulate your child's creativity, curiosity and experimentation. If you're planning on following a curriculum-based approach, you'll be wondering which brand is best suited to your own philosophy and beliefs and to your child's learning style and interests.

Eventually we hope to provide product reviews of some of the materials available, to help you in your decision. Meanwhile, you can ask fellow homeschoolers to share their opinions, advice and experience of what worked well for their own children, and this might give you an idea of what could work well for yours.

You can contact fellow homeschooling parents through local and online support groups. No matter what your approach, your children will learn through daily life, conversations and exploration of the world around them.

See our pages of resources for ideas and suppliers. Aside from being sold through brick-and-mortar stores and online, materials are also available from vendors at Home Education conferences and curriculum fairs. There are also Facebook groups dedicated to the buying and selling of homeschool resources. Yes, as long as you meet all the benefit eligibility requirements. If you're on Ontario Works, you must still remain available for work or training, and will need to find a "babysitting" solution for the hours you are involved in OW job-related activities.

The educational part of it is covered by "at home or elsewhere" and it would be like attending a non-registered private school or hiring a tutor. For the care-provider aspect of it, it depends on the ages of the children.

If there are children under age 4, the person providing the service has to abide by the rules and ratios in the Child Care and Early Years Act. Assuming all the children are of school age, though, the situation is similar to that of the many after-school daycare providers who take several children into their own homes after school while waiting for their parents to be off work.

The only difference, aside from which hours are involved, is the fact that the care-provider would be taking care of their education as well. If you work but still wish to be the one homeschooling your children, you will simply need to find a "babysitting" solution for the hours you work. Then, during your free hours at home, you can provide any instructional or non-instructional learning opportunities you wish.

Your children will, of course, still be learning during their other hours as well, but if you want to provide a specific education and you want to be the one to provide it, it doesn't matter what hours of the day the "official" homeschooling happens — within the boundaries of what's healthy for them getting enough sleep at a time that's appropriate for their own circadian rhythm.

Yes, you may homeschool a child with special needs. We have a section of the Resource Directory dedicated to Special Needs resources, and a volunteer able to help you with your questions about homeschooling a special needs child. To contact our volunteer, email specialneeds ontariohomeschool. Academic pursuits take fewer hours a week than in school because of the one-on-one tutoring, therefore a homeschooling parent does not need to spend the same amount of time as the school system to teach their children.

Learning to work independently teaches children how to fill their time wisely which is more feasible in the homeschooling environment with the parent acting as a resource and facilitator. It has often been noticed that when a child is ready, many concepts that can take years to learn in the school system are mastered within a matter of weeks. Readiness is everything. Here are some ways to avoid burnout:.

Many families do not experience the feeling of burnout since they fall into a natural rhythm of being home with their children on a regular basis. When children attend school, the family usually follows the schedule of the school - i. In the homeschool environment, the family can set their own schedule. If a child is sick then any activities that were scheduled can be canceled with minimum fuss.

Parents do not have to worry about who is going to watch their children when they are not in school due to illness or school closure days since they are home with their children on a daily basis and have taken full responsibility for the care and education of their children.

OFTP maintains a list of local support groups that we are aware of. If you do not see a group in your area on the OFTP list, then perhaps you could place a notice in your library or community centre indicating that you are looking for a homeschooling support group. If one does not exist in your community then perhaps you may want to consider starting one. Post a notice in your local library indicating that you are wanting to start a support group and invite other homeschoolers in your area to join you.

If you know of a group, or are forming a new group, please encourage them to email us the details so we can post a listing in our Resource Directory. In provinces where funding is available to homeschoolers, it goes hand-in-hand with compulsory registration and government supervision. In Ontario, there is no funding nor tax credits but there is also no routine monitoring. Many parents prefer greater autonomy over funding. Depending on the province or territory, children may start at the age of 5 or 6 and continue until they are between 16 and As noted earlier, home education in all Canadian jurisdictions satisfies compulsory education requirements.

Yet while the right for parents to choose to home educate their children has been protected since confederation, the regulatory framework within which home education has been delivered in Canada has varied over time and across educational jurisdictions. Legal provision for the freedom to home educate, however, implied neither general awareness of the practice nor accessible expertise to support the practice.

This first phase of modern homeschooling in Canada—protected by residual regulation from pioneer times—was often met with attempts to either shut down individual instances of the practice, naively subject the practice to hostile interrogation, either formally or informally, or simply marginalize the practice by regarding it as a curiosity.

The second phase of homeschooling in Canada begun in the early s and lasting to the mids, resulting in a comparative explosion of adherents. Homeschooling families were often dealt with by the authorities on a case by case basis, their treatment ranging from lenient to invasive. Even where provincial policies existed, application of the policies varied board by board. A festering discontent emerged over the prevalence of unevenly applied, vague laws and policies, which resulted in many families hesitating to declare their status and be counted in official statistics.

The variation in accountability measures during this phase—many of which resulted in provincial inquiries and several of which moved into the courts—could not be sustained.

Combined with the increasing numbers of students that had to be somehow incorporated into the educational framework, Ministries became more invitational in their approach to homeschooling. In contrast to the two earlier phases, the current third phase of home education in Canada is marked by normalization of the practice. From the mid- to late s until the present, not only were regulations and policies standardized within each province, but the aura of suspicion surrounding the practice in many provinces began to lift.

An atmosphere of freedom and trust began to surround the practice as a new phase of long-term reporting and standardized regulation came into place in most jurisdictions. The process of normalization has primarily moved from west to east, with Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador remaining anomalies as both jurisdictions continue to evidence an inhospitable disposition towards home education. For example, in Ontario a Ministry of Education Policy Program Memorandum ushered in a new era of official accommodation toward home education, as did a section added to the Prince Edward Island Education Act.

Although they allowed for it, the statutes in those provinces did not then make specific reference to homeschooling. But over the past 15 years or so, notable changes have been made. Twelve provinces and territories now specifically recognize the option of homeschooling by some similar name within their statutes. These Education or School Acts not only specifically name the practice, but include varying amounts of detail on its governance.

Only in Ontario and New Brunswick is the practice not recognized in legislation. Furthermore, a growing number of jurisdictions have developed regulations governing the practice of home education. In general, these regulations cover such issues as the responsibilities of the various parties, the notification process, and assessment and funding arrangements, where applicable, thus increasing official recognition of the practice.

In short, the practice is increasingly regarded as acceptable and is less frequently viewed with suspicion. Section 29 of the School Act states that a parent of a student may provide a home education program for the student if the program meets the requirements of the regulations and is under the supervision of a board or an accredited private school.

Now you know all there is to know about homeschooling in the Great North of Canada! For more information, please use the list of resources below and contact your local government. Government of Alberta: Home Education. Government of British Columbia: Homeschooling. Government of Manitoba: Education. Government of New Brunswick: Home Education. Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Homeschooling. Government of Ontario: Education. Government of Quebec: Homeschooling.

Government of Saskatchewan: Homeschooling Program. Government of Yukon: Homeschooling. Homeschool Canada. The Ontario Federation for Teaching Parents. Alberta Homeschooling Association.

Nova Scotia Home Education Association. English Montreal School Board: Homeschooling. Hello, and thanks for reading! I love nonfiction and will read or watch just about any biography or documentary. Then we went island hopping to the Philippines and Puerto Rico before cruising on over to South […]. Then we went island hopping to the Philippines and Puerto Rico. Your email address will not be published.

Thanks for your interest in Bridgeway Academy. We would love to help answer any questions you have. English Spanish. Bridgeway Academy Our total care accredited academy programs offer an all-inclusive homeschool solution. Charter School Students This section is for our school partners and families. Shop Elementary Choose individual courses, full-year kits or academy programs. Shop Middle School Explore independent textbook or online courses, full year kits or a Total Care program.

Shop High School Earn high school credit independently or enroll in Bridgeway's private homeschool program. Hit enter to search or escape to close window. Program Finder Contact Us. Bridgeway in Canada Bridgeway Academy is the homeschool choice for many students in Canada! Parents must notify the school of intent to homeschool by September 30 each year.

Additionally, a teacher from the associate school board or associate private school will visit homeschooling families twice a year to assess progress and review student work while also observing students as they perform learning tasks; the teachers will then share this information with parents. British Columbia Overview: British Columbia is the third-largest province in Canada by population, due largely to the beautiful city of Vancouver.

Guidelines: Parents must enroll their child in a public or independent school of their choice by September 30 of each year. The school maintains contact with the family and offers evaluation and assessment services, plus instructional resources. Conversely, homeschoolers in British Columbia are not required to be supervised by a teacher, meet provincial standards, or be subject to an inspection by the Ministry of Education.

Funding: The school accepting the homeschooled student receives a nominal fee. The education program must be completed according to a Notification Form Template. The parent or guardian is required to provide the minister with periodic progress reports for each student in January and June of each school year. Each report is reviewed, processed, and filed by the school. Funding: Manitoba offers no funding to parents for homeschooling. Guidelines: Ensure that homeschool is right for your family.

The province wants families to take all considerations into account before deciding to homeschool: finances, time, parenting skills, time-management skills, and a common vision.

Apply for homeschool exemption. This is done through the Annual Homeschooling Application Form that is submitted to the school district and reviewed by the minister of education.

Plan the homeschool curriculum. Prepare for continuing education or employment. Students who complete their education at home are not eligible for a New Brunswick high school diploma. Parents are responsible for understanding the entrance requirements for any post-secondary institution.

Funding: New Brunswick offers no funding to parents for homeschooling. Newfoundland and Labrador Overview: For such a sparsely populated province with such low homeschool enrollment, Newfoundland and Labrador has a fairly significant list of requirements for homeschoolers.

Guidelines: Parents must apply to the local school district, and the application must be approved by the director of education. A homeschooling coordinator will be designated to each family. Only two progress reports January and June are required in subsequent years.