General Homeschooling Questions?
Please see the Helps page on North Carolinians for Home Education's website. Another good place to read about homeschooling is found here.
You may also wish to look at the North Carolina Home Education Law at the Division of Non-Public Education.
What kind of group is GHE?
GHE is a Christian homeschool support group. We do ask that you sign a statement of faith to join. We are also a real life group with meetings and activities that you can attend rather than an email-only group.
How do I contact GHE?
Why should I join any support group?
Not every family will need a support group nor will they all need the same sort of support, but we believe that most families need some kind of support group. There should be a place for the teaching parent to be able to talk with other parents about struggles in teaching or choosing materials or other issues as they arise. There should be a place where homeschool children can meet with other children who are homeschooled.
Why should I join a live group when I could simply participate in an email or other web-based group?
Sometimes email and other web based communications don’t adequately serve someone. Either information is lost or not communicated due to a lack of other visual or auditory clues in speech or the physical contact is lost. (Although, “hugs” are often sent by email, would you like to be a spouse or child who only got email hugs?) Because of this we urge you to find a group where you can make connections with others in person. For more see this article from NCHE.
How do I decide which support group to join?
This is a personal decision and may include several factors. We suggest you think about each of these factors before reviewing support groups and then investigate each group as much as you can before joining. If cost is not an issue, you could join a couple of groups so that you can sample what kind of group they are. Try to go to a variety of events and meet people.
We urge you to join at least one group that offers regular face to face meetings for both you and your children and that you attend those meetings. Email and web support are not enough in times of crisis or doubt.
A list of possible factors to consider are:
Religion
Parenting style
Homeschooling style
Membership Requirements
Location of events
Friendliness of the group
Size of the group
Type of group events and services
Are there events that my family will be interested in?
Individual members schedule field trips and other events. We encourage members to schedule field trips and events that their family is interested in so that they can share their interests and meet others who share them.
How can I make contact with other GHE members?
GHE has a directory which lists members. It includes information such as age of children and curriculum used. From it you could easily create a list of other members with similar aged children or using similar materials. The directory is on this website under the Members only section.
Can GHE help me meet my state-required testing?
Yes, each year GHE has a group testing date. To participate you will need to sign up in advance and plan to volunteer to help with the testing.
What if I can’t test with GHE?
You have many other options. First, go to the DNPE’s web page which lists sources for standardized tests.
What about sports for homeschool children?
See this link for a sampling of options for homeschool sports.
Many homeschoolers also organize their own sports activities by participating at local gyms or on community teams, for example the YMCA or the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department.