How to Start Homeschooling in Virginia Beach
The growing population who homeschool in Virginia Beach take advantage of the city’s rich historical sites, museums and parks. By combining these educational activities with your core curriculum, you will have the power to expand your child’s learning experiences.
As an added benefit, requirements to homeschool in Virginia Beach are minimal, which gives you the flexibility and freedom to go beyond the traditional textbook learning methods. It’s an exciting opportunity to accompany your children on their educational journey inside and outside the classroom. Let’s get started.
- How to Homeschool in Virginia Beach
- Time4Learning Curriculum for Homeschooling in Virginia Beach
- Field Trips in Virginia Beach and Beyond
- Additional Resources Related to Homeschooling in Virginia
This information should by no means be interpreted as legal advice. It is your responsibility to interpret and understand the laws that you will be homeschooling under.
How to Homeschool in Virginia Beach
In order to homeschool in Virginia Beach, you will need to follow the Virginia state rules, which include:
- File a Notice of Intent to homeschool in Virginia Beach that includes a description of the curriculum.
- Provide proof of at least one of the following: parent holds a high school diploma or equivalent (or higher), parent holds a teacher certification, student will be enrolled in a correspondence course/distance learning program, or evidence that parent is able to provide adequate education for a child.
- Submit evidence of academic achievement by August 1 of each year.
- This is not required, but it’s recommended that you participate in Virginia Beach homeschool groups. These groups help you bond with other like-minded parents.
- Also not a requirement, but a huge perk is to take advantage of the city’s cultural and historical significance by including field trips in your curriculum.
Since parents are required to submit evidence of academic achievement, it’s recommended that you choose a curriculum product that tracks your children’s academic progress and keeps records.
Time4Learning Curriculum for Homeschooling in Virginia Beach
As we just stated above, choosing a homeschool curriculum that incorporates a built-in record keeping system is key. Time4Learning’s automated system grades lessons, tracks progress and keeps reports that will track your child’s academic achievements.
The online interactive program offers the core subjects, (math, science, English language arts, social studies and reading) for K through 12th, 14 high school electives as well as additional premium electives. Additional benefits include:
- Access to virtual labs, interactive projects, guided notes, and much more to help improve material, bring concepts to life, and allow students to apply what they’ve learned to real-life situations.
- An interactive environment that goes beyond teaching basic skills by putting an emphasis on problem solving skills, lateral thinking, complex analysis and improving critical thinking skills.
- A curriculum that is flexible enough to be tailored to meet your child’s individual needs and learning styles.
- Multimedia lessons that feel more like video games making it perfect for teaching new and more difficult concepts.
- The option to change courses anytime to either review previous concepts or start advancing on the next year’s lessons.
- An affordable monthly payment plan that offers a 14-day money back guarantee.
- Access to resources such as printable lesson plans, homeschool teaching tools, detailed reporting, activity scheduling and parental support.
- As an added bonus, Time4MathFacts is included for students in elementary school. The gamified lessons are a huge success in building math fact fluency that will only prove beneficial in later years.
- Time4Learning is also a huge hit among Virginia Beach students as an after school program.
Field Trips in Virginia Beach and Beyond
Virginia Beach offers a plethora of educational activities for children of all ages. From hands-on learning experiences to art programs and entertaining and educational exhibits at their world-renowned museums, there are no shortage of things to do with your children.
The list below are just a few ideas to go on field trips on your own or with a group of homeschoolers.
Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art – Regularly rotating exhibitions feature painting, sculpture, photography, glass, video and other visual media from internationally acclaimed artists as well as artists of national and regional renown. Kids of all ages can experience art classes and activities at the museum or remotely.
San Diego Natural History Museum – Founded in 1874, the Nat is the oldest scientific institution in Southern California. In addition to conducting research in various fields, the museum also seeks to educate visitors through engaging exhibitions, special events, and tons of other activities such as hiking and whale watching.
Virginia Sports Hall of Fame – Enjoy a multitude of interactive multimedia exhibits, which guide you as you explore Virginia’s sports legends. The main exhibit is the Walk the Hall feature, a free pedestrian tour of educational displays within the Town Center of Virginia Beach. Learn about Virginia’s colleges and university sports programs, golf masters and more.
Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum – Learn about the history of your coastal community through exhibits, educational tours, virtual tours, hands-on activities and more. When you visit this museum you’ll be taken back into the maritime heritage of Virginia Beach and get to know the people who helped shape the community.
Back Bay Wildlife Refuge – Hands-on activities abound on this educational field trip. Your kids will use nets, strainers, and buckets to collect, identify, and observe a variety of pond life; become biologists as they indicate what plants, animals, insects, and birds they saw as they explored the wetlands and marshes. It’s an amazing adventure.
Military Aviation Museum – Go back in time and discover the fighter planes that were used in World War I and II. The museum offers educational experiences, group tours and field trips. The Military Aviation Museum displays one of the largest flying collections of WWI and WWII aircraft in the country and their STEM Exploration Tours encompass the science and history of flight through Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) aligned, hands-on experiences that bring science and history to life.
There’s so much for students to explore beyond Virginia Beach! Check out more educational field trips in the state of Virginia here!
