How do you show the state that your child IS learning?

[MyVavies]

Hey, I was told that some states have to prove that their children learn. Either through test or activity sheets. How do unschooling kids do that if the reason of unschool is not having those things UNLESS the child wants to. Thanks.

[imadekyle]

I live in California also.....no issues here. Im a private school, and I just keep records. No issues so far for us.

[arkansasmama08]

Here we don't have anything until standard testing in third grade. Hoping to get exempt from it because of they're special needs

[morriganna]

 Thank you!!  The Florida Virtual High School would work for my older two but my younger son is an ESE student and I need more flexibility.  He learns it but getting him to "prove" it is a fight.

Quoting my2.5boys:

It does depend on which umbrella school you choose. The one I went with is called Florida Unschoolers. There is no registration fee, and attendance is reported once a quarter, via an online form. It really is simple and easy.

Quoting morriganna:

 I was planning to start this year in Florida, how does that work?  I looked up umbrella schools and it seems you pretty much pay them a registration fee and that's it?  You just check a sheet saying they "attended" class everyday?  This is the first I've heard of an umbrella school. 

 

[myfirstloves]

Quoting my2.5boys:

There are ways of getting around it. Here in Florida, if i registered my children as home-schoolers, I would have to keep a portfolio and have them evaluated every year (either by taking the state test, or having a certified teacher review their portfolio). But, to get around all that, I've enrolled my kids in an umbrella school. I only have to submit attendance reports to the school. No portfolios, no testing, no evaluations. My kids are counted among private schoolers instead home-schoolers.

How did you go about enrolling them in an umbrella school? I am interested in doing the same for my dd. 

[tairakittie]

Is this an all over thing in FL or just county or city wide? I want to home/unschool my daughter after she gets out of VPK this year. Im debating on putting my son in VPK while I school my DD at home first... or since they are only 18 months apart and pretty much on the same level, start K level stuff this year, but I really had no idea which cirric, if any, I wanted to use. I REALLY want to school at home, I have been unschooling/schooling my kids since they were babies, im at a loss as to where to start with more advanced stuff like Kinder and beyond. Anyway, seems I need to google umbrella schooling!! I was almost starting to panic because I dont know what to tell the school board this summer when I DONT enroll my daughter for public school... :/

Quoting my2.5boys:

It does depend on which umbrella school you choose. The one I went with is called Florida Unschoolers. There is no registration fee, and attendance is reported once a quarter, via an online form. It really is simple and easy.

Quoting morriganna:

 I was planning to start this year in Florida, how does that work?  I looked up umbrella schools and it seems you pretty much pay them a registration fee and that's it?  You just check a sheet saying they "attended" class everyday?  This is the first I've heard of an umbrella school.