Home Schooling in Canada, questions

[countryangels]

Hello Ladies:


If you have lived or live in Canada, do you know what the rules, laws
to homeschool are?
Is it easier or harder than in the US?
Do you have to ask permission & or report to someone?
Is it different province to province? If so, which province is the easiest one?

For example, in Texas you do not have to report or do anything with the state.

Are there a lot of home schoolers, groups, Co-Ops, etc.?
Are you also able to use the facilities of the local public school, like their library, etc.?

Basically, let us know everything you know about home schooling in
Canada the good, the bad & everything you deal with in between.

Thanks!

[BedHead]

It not only differs from province to province, but from school board to school board. I'm in Alberta - I know nothing about homeschooling in other provinces at all. We have a twice a year sit down with our facilitator, there's no testing at all, no grades, no reporting to anyone but the facilitator, and we get just over $700 per year per child from the Alberta gov't.

[accidental_hs'er]

In Ontario here

Just like Bedhead said, it really varies.

In Ontario there is no funding but you don't have to answer to anyone. They would like you to send in a letter each year for children after age 6 but it is not technically the law and you don't have to abide by it. More of a good-will thing. I sent in a letter this year because my youngest was in school for 2 weeks.

Some provinces have funding. Some have stricter guidelines on what you can and can't do. As much as I would love a few extra dollars to help with the expenses, I really love that I am not accountable to anyone.

[Callimom]

Hi
I'm also in Ontario.

You can get a feel for homeschooling in Ontario by visiting the OFTP (Ontario Federation of Teaching Parents) website.

Ontario is probably one of the easiest provinces to homeschool in with respect to reporting - there isn't any -lol. It's far easier than many of the states. Themost restrictive province is Quebec. Others have some combination of reporting structure and testing/portfolio review. Based on discussions I see online, they don't tendto be a huge deal for most homeschoolers.

Some Ontario school boards attempt to be a bit more intrusive but it usually amounts to nothing. In Ontario you follow the provincal rules, so there is no variance by board.. Some boards arevery homeschooling friendly and allow us to use the library etc. For us, our public library is a far better resource than the schools are. That may be different in small towns but unless you are talking the far north, there is reasonably good local access to public facilities.

AFAIK each city has a homeschool group with the larger ones having many, some organized by religious affiliation, area, style etc.

Varying laws and weather aside, I imagine the experience of homeschooling in Canada is not much different than in the US. Possibly more diverse from a religious standpoint but that's just a sense I have rather than something I can back up with data.

hth
Karen

[Geerbabe]

BC has three options available:

1. Register as a home schooler and have no reporting but also no financial support
2. Enroll with a distributed learning program through a public school and get about $1000 per child per year
3. Enroll with a distributed learning program through an independent school and get some funding (I'm not sure how much). Bonus is that you can use religious materials if that is important to you.

[countryangels]

Wonderful replies!

Originally Posted by BedHead

It not only differs from province to province, but from school board to school board. I'm in Alberta - I know nothing about homeschooling in other provinces at all. We have a twice a year sit down with our facilitator, there's no testing at all, no grades, no reporting to anyone but the facilitator, and we get just over $700 per year per child from the Alberta gov't.

Thank you to all, for the wonderful replies! It has been really helpful.

I was wondering, what exactly does the Facilitator ask you & or what do you report to him or her?

Do you show them a portfolio of your children's work, or what exactly ?
Do you have to go by a set of classes, that you MUST teach, any required subjects, etc.?

To others in Canada, please keep more posts coming

Thanks!

[Callimom]

Originally Posted by countryangels

Thank you to all, for the wonderful replies! It has been really helpful.

I was wondering, what exactly does the Facilitator ask you & or what do you report to him or her?

Do you show them a portfolio of your children's work, or what exactly ?
Do you have to go by a set of classes, that you MUST teach, any required subjects, etc.?

To others in Canada, please keep more posts coming

Thanks!

This really varies by province. Is there one you are considering homeschooling in? We could probably give you better information or point you in the right direction. This page has links to the provincial organizations which can give you specifics.

hth
Karen

[countryangels]

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Karenwith4

This really varies by province. Is there one you are considering homeschooling in? We could probably give you better information or point you in the right direction. This page has links to the provincial organizations which can give you specifics.

hth
Karen

Thanks for the help!
Well, a cousin of mine, as well as myself are interested in the following areas:
Vancouver, Hallifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Quebec & maybe the province of Alberta ?
Hopefully a nice area, that is easy to homeschool in.

Thank you for your replies!