Homeschooling is popular in Canada. In recent years, the number of families choosing to homeschool has grown. 

Families choose to homeschool for many reasons, including:

• religious beliefs
• believing that the flexibility of approach helps children learn better
• special needs not being accommodated in school

There are also many misconceptions about homeschooling. This page can be be a starting point for parents thinking about home schooling their children.

Provincial Requirements

Homeschooling is legal in all Canadian provinces and territories.

However, each province and territory has its own regulations for homeschooling, so it’s important to familiarize yourself with the rules in your area.

Many provinces require parents to register their homeschooled children with the school board or ministry of education. You are not required to provide any more information than what is on their forms, and it is recommended that you answer the questions as simply and clearly as you can.

Some provinces offer some financial support for supplies. 

Some provinces may require parents to submit a learning plan or provide progress reports. You can look for requirements on the Education website for your province.

Your Relationship with the School

Some schools will want to keep an ongoing relationship when you switch to homeschooling, while others will not. 

It might also be possible for your child to be homeschooled for part of the day, and attend school for other parts. This is at the discretion of the school. 

Half days may also be possible. For example, your child could attend school during the part of the day when they have the support of an educational assistant, but be homeschooled the other part of the day. For older children or teens, they might be able to attend school for certain topics and do others at home, depending on their needs. The availability of these options will be different depending on the province, school division, and whether you are working with a public or private school.

Connecting with Other Homeschoolers

Connecting with other homeschoolers is recommended so you and your child can be around other people who understand what you’re doing and why. It is important that your child have opportunities to make friends and collaborate with other children, whether that is through sports and recreation or shared learning experiences such as field trips or volunteering.

To find others in your area, search for local social media groups of homeschoolers. There are also provincial home school associations that can help you connect. For example, in Manitoba you can visit the websites of the Manitoba Association of Christian Home Schools, and the Manitoba Association for Schooling at Home. There is also The Canadian Homeschooler.

Resources

Books About How to Homeschool

Homeschooling Your Child with Asperger Syndrome by Lise Pyles is a great read for anyone whose child has that diagnosis.

If your child has a more general autism diagnosis, try reading Homeschooling the Child with Autism: Answers to the Top Questions Parents and Professionals Ask.

Curriculum

You will need to design a curriculum based on your child’s needs and interests, but the provincial curriculum provides a helpful starting point. Start with your province’s curriculum. You can usually find it online. 

Pay closer attention to the curriculum’s general learning outcomes rather than the specific ones, especially in the early years. You can find these general goals in the beginning sections of each curriculum document. This will help you match learning activities to your child’s developmental level.

Alternative Curriculums

Other curriculums can be found online as well. 

Charlotte Mason is a popular homeschool curriculum/philosophy.

Time4Learning has a complete curriculum that your child can do online. They charge a monthly subscription fee. They test your child to help you decide where to start and create reports that show how your child is scoring on various subject areas.

Another great site (especially for social studies and science) is BrainPop (BrainPop Jr for Kindergarten to Grade 3). They teach through videos and offer activities to deepen and test learning, including a quiz for each section. Their online activities can also be printed off to be done manually, which can be helpful to practice writing.

Happy Hooligans can help you find crafts and sensory activities.

Planning to Homeschool

Schedules

The first step is to create a schedule, based on your child’s energy levels, interests, attention span, and how they change day-to-day). 

Generally, you should: 

• start with an activity or subject your child likes most to get them engaged 
• place the most challenging subject in the middle of the schedule
• finish with the easiest tasks, because that’s when it will be hardest for them to focus

Allow time for movement or sensory breaks to help them stay focused.

Teaching and Learning 

Resist the temptation to make the homeschool experience revolve around traditional academic activities if that kind of learning is not important to you or your child. After all, you have chosen homeschooling because you wanted something different for your child. Children learn in ways beyond reading, writing and words. Consider the possibilities of learning through: 

• physical activity
• music
• designing and creating
• observation
• nature exploration
• field trips
• trial and error
• building and fixing things

Consider your child’s strengths and interests, and what would be best for them.

Weeks or months could be spent focusing primarily on a set of skills that is most important and well-suited for your child. For example, you could spend most of the time working on life skills like learning and practicing hygiene, going to the store to buy groceries, and cooking.

Now you are the one who gets to decide what is best for your child – you are the Individual Education Planner.

Printing vs. Typing

If your child has any resistance, frustration or difficulty with writing or printing, allowing them to work mostly online can be helpful. This eliminates the fine motor barriers many kids have, and they tend to enjoy it. It also doubles as teaching computer skills. Once you eliminate the physical barriers (fine motor, holding the pencil properly, forming letters properly) that make so much of school hard for kids, they are free to focus on the content of the lesson. 

This doesn’t mean you abandon the teaching of printing skills, but printing practice can be a more limited part of the day. As long as you include some small amount of time every day to practice printing, this approach can alleviate a lot of frustration.

Tactile Activities

Try to incorporate at least one art, craft, or tactile activity every day. Kids often have sensory issues that make them avoid certain sensory experiences. Homeschool is a wonderful way to gently introduce them to new sensory experiences in a safe, non-judgemental way, while allowing them to avoid what they need to avoid. 

For example, a child who is interested in outer space might like the idea of making planets out of papier mache. Even if they don’t like having sticky hands, an interest-related project may help them overlook and overcome this sensory issue.

Organizing and Buying Materials

Consider buying a tall plastic tower organizer to organize all your materials. Label each drawer clearly with words or pictures so your child can find and put away their own things.

Dollar stores are great places to buy supplies. They have a great selection of:

• workbooks
• puzzles
• craft supplies and stationery
• fidget toys like slinkies and squishy things

Discovery Toys has some great games and educational toys.

Stores like Michaels and Scholar’s Choice offer educational discounts to both teachers and homeschooling families. Your local association can help you find good places to buy learning materials.

Tracking Progress

Keep a bin to store your child’s completed work. Take pictures of any of your child’s projects that are too big or messy to store in your bin.

Put the date on completed projects to track how far your child has come over different periods of time.

This can also be helpful if you ever decide to move back into the school system. A portfolio with samples of your child’s work can help your child’s new teacher understand what they can do.

Depending on where you live, you may be required to fill out and submit progress report forms. Ensure you’re following your area’s progress requirements. 

Conclusion

Homeschooling could be the best decision you ever make for your child, no matter how daunting it may seem.

There may be days or even weeks when you want to quit, but when things aren’t working, you just need to adjust your plan, pay attention to what is working for your child, and try again.

It can take a few months to get the feel for what your child needs, but once you do, you will settle in and learn to enjoy it.

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This content was adapted, with permission, from an article by Caitlin Wray, originally shared in the Facebook group Autism Manitoba – For Parents and Caregivers.