Homeschooling in Alberta 101

Step 1

Choose your style of homeschooling.

Aligned/Teacher Directed – you are following the Alberta Curriculum fully.  This style is usually online with timed classes assignments and homework.  Basically public school at home.  You must align with their schedule. Following this path will qualify your child for an official Alberta High school diploma.

Blended – classes of your choosing are aligned, you choose the curriculum for the rest.

Traditional/Parent Directed – you, the parent chooses all of the curriculum for your child.  Curriculum choices are vast and can take the form of in person classes, online courses (both timed and self paced), workbooks, traditional text, nature , trips to museums…the sky’s the limit.  Your schedule is your own.  This option gives you the maximum freedom.

Each style has its own pros and cons, base your choice on what is best for your child AND you.

Step 2

Choose a School Board

Now that you have chosen a style, you can choose a school board that supports that style.

The following chart is from the AHEA website

I’ve added an * beside boards that support online learning.

Here is a great spreadsheet comparing various boards.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A4LjhRKE34nShfQzCI6y4kC1CWPxu0LuAtNqH7i1wWA/edit#gid=0

Step 3

Notify

Once you choose a board, go to their website and look for a link to a notification form.

If they don’t have one, give their office a call.

Fill it out and send it via whatever email they provide you with.

You will receive an email recognizing that your notification has been received, and then you’ll receive either a letter or email with your official acceptance to the board.

The school board will assign you a facilitator.  This is the person that you will meet or talk with officially twice a year as is required by Alberta law.  Don’t worry, they’re all pretty nice people.  Their job is to support and guide you on your homeschooling journey.  If you have questions or concerns this is the person to contact. 

With the influx of homeschooling this year, expect that it might take more time than usual for your facilitator to contact you.  If you need help ASAP call the office and ask if you’ve been assigned a facilitator, or reach out to the wonderful support groups on facebook.

Step 4

Choose Your Curriculum

This is dependent on the style of homeschooling you choose.  If you are fully aligned, then the curriculum is chosen for you.  This section is mostly for those that choose a blended or traditional style.

If you have chosen traditional homeschooling you might want to break things down even further and decide whether you want to follow a specific sub style such as;

-Classical

-Charlotte Mason

-Unschooling (it’s not what it sounds like)

-Montessori

-Unit Studies

The benefit of doing this now is that it will weed out a lot of curriculum and make your sea of options so much smaller, therefore much less overwhelming.

You might be a mix of two or three.  If you do choose a sub style, you can always change it.  Homeschooling is it’s own living thing, it has the capacity to grow and change naturally as time goes on.  For example, when we started I was 1000% all about classical education.  I thought unschooling was nuts (because I didn’t research it). I’m now a blend somewhere in between classical and unschooling.  I never thought the two would go together, but it works for us in our home.  It was never my plan, yet here we are, and I’m glad I didn’t resist it.

When choosing a curriculum consider not only how your child learns, but also how you might teach, and how you live.  If you don’t feel comfortable teaching subjects like math, there are some great computer based and online resources like Teaching Textbooks, and Mathseeds for younger kids.

You don’t need to be proficient in a subject or have a 

degree to teach your children.

Many curriculums are scripted like Saxon Math, All About Reading/Spelling, Language Lesson for the Well Trained Mind, I personally found those helpful in the beginning.

Learning with your child is one of the many joys of homeschooling

If you feel overwhelmed in choosing curriculum look at pre packaged literature based programs from Sonlight

Or

Computer based and online programs like Switched on Schoolhouse, or Monarch from Alpha Omega

Or

A subscription based program like Time 4 Learning

You can find some great deals on Homeschool Buyers Co-op.  Not all deals apply to Canadians, but many do.  It’s definitely worth a look.

There are SO many more, these are just a few examples.  I don’t want to overwhelm you more than you might already be.

If you choose a curriculum and then decide it doesn’t work for your child, there is NO shame in dropping it in favour of something that might work better.  You want to instill a love of learning, the opposite will happen if you force something that’s not a good fit.

Step 5

Create a Program Plan

The website of the board you chose should have examples of how to write a program plan.  Here’s a link to resources for my board https://wisdomhomeschooling.com/forms/education-program-plan

You are not creating a marshall law, this is simply your guide of the hopes and plans you have for your homeschool year.  Be realistic, of your expectations of you and your child.

It is not written in stone, you CAN change it through the year.

You will receive an email letting you know that your program plan has been approved or if you need to make any amendments.  

This document is essential and you cannot access your funding unless it has been received and approved.  

You only need to do that hard work of creating it once, after that all you have to do is amend and update the original copy every year.  You’ve got this!

Step 6

Funding

Every school board is different when it comes to funding, read the policies of your specific board.  This is my experience with my board.

If you follow the traditional route, you will receive around $840+/child for the year.  Half of this will be released in the fall, the other half in the spring.  Save your receipts as these are what you will send in for reimbursement.  Some boards, like Wisdom, offer Purchase order numbers.  They are accepted at certain stores and the funds will come directly from the board to the store without you needing to use cash out of pocket.  I <3 PO’s.

Your board should also have a document detailing what is and isn’t allowed for funding use.

I hope this short little guide is helpful to you. I could write a novel I’m sure, lol, but if you’re reading this you’re on a steep learning curve and simple is most definitely better.

Wishing you the best in your homeschooling journey!

Leslie