How to Outsource Subjects in Your Homeschool

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This post is sponsored by TakeLessons.com.

North Carolina's state legislature recently passed a bill that rewords the law that defines homeschooling. It was a relatively minor change in wording that means big things for homeschoolers in our state. Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year the law is as follows:

“Home school” means a nonpublic school consisting of the children of not more than two families or households, where the parents or legal guardians or members of either household determine the scope and sequence of academic instruction, provide academic instruction, and determine additional sources of academic instruction.

What does that mean? It clarifies that parents are responsible for directing the education of their children but are not necessarily responsible for teaching every subject. This was previously a gray area in the NC homeschooling law. Now parents can legally outsource subjects. (Did I just hear a cheer from NC parents terrified of teaching advanced high school math?)

How to Outsource Subjects in Your Homeschool

Which subjects should I outsource?

First, you need to think about which subjects would be best taught by someone else. In the lower grades, you will probably outsource fewer subjects. You'll probably be looking at mostly extracurricular subjects like art, music, and foreign language or you might outsource academic subjects in order for your child to be a part of a group learning environment. If you have older children, here are some subjects that you might want to outsource:

Math
Science
Foreign Language
Art
Music
Writing

Where do I go to outsource subjects?

There are lots of places to go to outsource subjects in your homeschool. The options vary depending on where you live and what kind of homeschool community you have. Here are some places to start:

Family and friends
Family and friends are a great places to go to look for teachers too. You may know someone who is a professional in a particular subject area or has a great love for a subject who would love to pass that on to your kids.
Local homeschool co-ops and support groups In our area, we have tons of co-ops to choose from and many churches have homeschool groups. This is a great place to find classes for younger kids.
Local homeschool resource locations We also have a homeschool curriculum consignment store in our area that has two classroom spaces that are used for homeschool classes. Various teachers and parents from the area offer classes ranging from high school math and science to art and music and sign language.

Go to the Internet to Outsource Subjects

If you live in a area where homeschooling is not as wide-spread and lacks resources like co-ops, look online to outsource subjects. TakeLessons.com is a website dedicated to helping you outsource subjects in your homeschool. Tutors are screened and pre-qualified. They've been in business since 2006 and tutored over 30,000 students. TakeLessons.com handles all the details so you can focus on the lessons.

TakeLessons.com can help you find In Home, In Studio, and Online via Skype lessons. Subjects areas include: guitar, singing, piano, drums, violin, dance, acting, and academic tutoring. Lessons can be booked Quarterly (buy 12 lessons, get one free), month-to-month, and flex as needed. There's a 100% money back guarantee, so if you're not happy with the instructor after the first lesson, your money will be refunded.

To learn more, go to TakeLessons.com. Use the code “PELSERS” at checkout to get 20% off music lesson or tutoring packages. You can also call 619-618-7466 to speak with a TakeLessons Student Counselor. Hurry! The code is only good through July 6.