Can my child participate in sports and special activities?

Sometimes the factor that keeps a parent from choosing to homeschool is the belief that their student cannot participate in organized sports and special activities. The truth is that your student actually can participate in these activities. Your local school district should accommodate your request for your student to participate in their activities and on their teams; you will of course need to check with your local school district for details, as well as your state’s homeschooling laws.

If the activities or teams your student wants to join are not affiliated with the school district, it will be even easier for your student to participate. Activities outside of a school rarely make a distinction between homeschooled and traditionally schooled children. Instead, the focus is on the participation of the student and their skill level and collaboration skills. If you are concerned that your student will not have peer-segregated socialization opportunities, here is your chance to involve them in these activities.

Will colleges accept homeschooling as valid?

As a growing number of families are turning to homeschooling for their students’ education, more and more colleges are seeing applications from these homeschooled students. Where once homeschooling was viewed as fringe and questionable, colleges and universities are no longer skeptical of admitting homeschooled students, namely because of their performance once being admitted.

Homeschooled students have shown themselves to be as capable of attending and completing their college studies as their traditionally schooled peers, if not more so. In fact, the research indicates that a greater percentage of homeschooled students graduate from college than do their peers from traditional public schools. The research has also shown that homeschooled students tend to have higher GPAs than their traditionally schooled peers.