Canadian mamas, do we get funding for HS activities??

[kdescalzi]

Hi there,

I am just beginning to figure out how to HS my ds for kindergarten. I find so many great resources here and on other sites but I get a little overwhelmed with all the info. I am seeking tips or great websites to get started that have really helped you out. I live in BC, so any info pertaining to my province would be greatly appreciated. I have always heard that the gov gives money to help subsidise home learning but can't find info in our province. Any help would be warmly welcomed

[bass chick]

I can't say about BC, but I'm in Alberta and here it is required that you register with a school board. There are quite a few school boards that I was able to choose from and we found a good fit. We are 100% parent directed (non-blended, traditional homeschooling) and as long as we register with a school board by the end of September of the beginning of the school year we have funds available to us for reimbursement. For us it is around $700. If you go with a 100% teacher-directed program the funds increase to around $1400, but you have to pay a program fee and you have someone telling you what to do. You can go with a blended program and the funds will be somewhere between the 2 numbers.

Since Kindergarten is not mandatory in Alberta (not sure about BC), there is no "kindergarten homeschool". No school board here would take my son until he was supposed to be in Grade 1. So no funding for kindergarten which was okay because we didn't need any. I will try to look around and see if I can find any helpful links for you.

[Dillpicklechip]

I could be wrong, but I believe Alberta is the only province that gives money to homeschoolers.

[auds]

hey, the school we are signed up with in bc (hands on home learning) doesn't 'give' us money but will pay directly for approved activities and supplies up to......i also know that the self deisgn program does it a bit different and gives the parents a preloaded card to pay for approved activities and supplies.

in case i wasnt clear, this is information for British Columbia

:)

[moominmamma]

Yes, in BC you have the option of enrolling your child with a "distributed learning" program and receiving access to funding. Funding varies by program but seems to average about $1000 per full-time child. By law the money can't be dispensed to the parents, not even in the form of reimbursements for receipted educational purchases. So programs have developed various ways of paying vendors or service providers directly on the child's behalf. 

Along with access to that funding comes obligations, as you can probably imagine. No free lunch. Again, it varies by program, but you might be required to keep records, submit portfolios and/or adhere to an approved curriculum approach. Some programs are light on the curricular control but heavier on the reporting end. Others minimize the reporting, but expect adherence to particular structured courses of study. There's a lot of variety out there, and usually something for everyone.

The final alternative is to declare yourselves as Section 12 homeschoolers (refers to Sections 12/13 of the Education Act). No funding. No reporting. Total freedom.

Miranda

[Tjej]

I'm in BC and trying to figure out HSing for K next year as well.  One program in the Fraser Valley that has different ways of doing it helped me understand my options.  It's a Christian online school, but even if you are not Christian I found the table helpful in understanding the different situations - homeschooling, distance learning...

Self Design is an unschooling based "school" that you can enroll through that appears to me to give the most flexibility, but I'm still trying to figure it all out.  It seems like a person can get up to $1000, including $300-400 to pay for internet access, to pay for cirriculum, activities, etc.  Most of the places I have looked into you tell the school what to buy for you and they do it (within reason).  Self Design seems to put the money in portions on a prepaid visa, and what you buy has to fit in with the learning plan you design with them (but that plan can be amended whenever it needs to be). 

If you are willing to have some oversight (a teacher or learning consultant and some standardized tests), the government will help pay for cirriculum and activities.  If you want total independence, then you get it - BUT, you then have financial independence too.

HTH

Tjej 

ETA: A thread I started quite a while ago might be informative for you - I have been all over the map in ideas of how to educate, but a lot of people who have done Self Design chimed in (along with others who know about schooling in BC).

Oh, I should have said that if you register as a homeschooler you get a little money, $100ish?, but if you don't even want to register you don't have to.  I am not sure if people who are registered as homeschoolers then are supposed to take the standardized tests...

[moominmamma]

Originally Posted by Tjej 

Oh, I should have said that if you register as a homeschooler you get a little money, $100ish?, but if you don't even want to register you don't have to.  I am not sure if people who are registered as homeschoolers then are supposed to take the standardized tests...

That's true of a few homeschooling-friendly independent schools. If you register with your local public school district, you probably won't get any funding. You may get access to any surplus learning resources they have available though. And no, there's no requirement to take standardized tests if you're a registered homeschooler.

Miranda