Need to Know

Home School Legal Defense Association believes that individualized instruction is a fundamental component of a successful homeschool. Therefore, we seek to provide you with tools that will aid you in understanding and meeting your child’s specific needs. Check out some of these resources.

The Early Years

HSLDA’s Early Years program is about to launch! Geared toward parents of preschoolers, elementary students, and middle schoolers, the Early Years will help families start homeschooling and provide resources for continuing the journey. The website goes live in April, and program coordinator Vicki Bentley is already taking calls and emails from HSLDA members with homeschooling questions.

“We want to help homeschooling families with young children get the best start they possibly can,” says Mike Smith, HSLDA president. “The Early Years is the culmination of our desire to provide expert advice to all of our members, at every level of instruction.”

Early Years Coordinator Vicki Bentley has 20 years of homeschooling experience as a mother of eight daughters, a former support group leader, and a former board member of the Home Educators Association of Virginia. “I was so excited when HSLDA asked me about being a part of this new program because it’s very similar to what I was already doing in the homeschool community,” Vicki says. “All the choices and decisions can be overwhelming to new homeschoolers, so I am privileged to encourage and equip them, helping them realize that they can do it! I am also blessed to be able to encourage veteran homeschoolers when they encounter challenges, whether they need advice or just someone to help them remember why they are homeschooling.”

You can visit the Early Years webpage for information on beginning to homeschool, choosing curriculum, scheduling, testing and evaluation, learning styles, and to sign up for the Early Years email newsletter.

HSLDA members may contact Vicki Bentley with questions regarding homeschooling by visiting www.hslda.org/contactstaff or calling 540-338-5600. We are excited to serve you through the Early Years!

Help for Your Struggling Learner

Read the archives and subscribe to the monthly struggling learner e-newsletters. You will find titles such as “Kids Who Have to Work Too Hard to Learn … Dysgraphia,” “Taming the Math Monster,” “Teaching versus Assigning,” “Right Brain Teaching Strategies,” and more. Sign up today to receive new tools each month through these informative, free newsletters. They are chock-full of new ideas!

About the author Chuck Hurst is HSLDA’s director of membership and human resources.