Page 42 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2016

KIDS 1+1=2
Homeschool
Teaching children at home is on the rise
story by Susan Ruddiman
photos courtesy of Susan Ruddiman
More and more parents are making the decision to teach their children at home. The online journal Education News reports the number of children being home schooled has increased by 75 percent over the past 15 years. This represents around 4 percent of children ages 5-17 in the United States who are receiving instruction at home.
Reagan Collum of Ocean Springs estimates there are between 1,000 and 1,500 families on the Mississippi Gulf Coast who homeschool. She is active in the Magnolia State Home Educators Association. Donna Ratliff of Gulfport is a member of the Coast Christian Home Educators Association. Both mothers agree these organizations are good places to start when making the decision to homeschool.
“We try to help families in selecting curriculum and help navigate the waters when starting to homeschool. We get together to host holiday parties, field trips and other educational functions. We sponsor a spelling bee, reading fair and even a book sale,” Collum said.
Collum and her husband decided to home school their daughter when she reached kindergarten age because she was reading at a fourth grade level.
“We knew a teacher couldn’t help her as well as an entire class. Today, my daughter is in eighth grade and in her third year of Latin. That is something she loves,” Collum said. She has now started teaching her younger daughter, who is in first grade.
Ratliff and her husband took the homeschool path for their son
LONDON RATLIFF, 14, practices his guitar in an informal outdoor setting. He also plays select soccer.
42 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • April 2016
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