Homeschooling in Cherokee County

One of the questions that I am often asked about people who are reloacting to the area is if Cherokee County has good schools. Yes! Many of the county public schools are very good. We also have a great charter school and a few really good private schools.

What we also have in Cherokee county are loads of resources for those families, like mine, who choose to take the responsibilty for educating their children themselves. We homeschoolers are a very diverse bunch, but one thing we all have in common is the ultimate goal of providing our children with an excellent education. Cherokee County is rich in opportunities for such families.

Living Science, located off of North Arnold Mill Road, is one such treasure. This is a hands-on study center, not a school. As a Study Center, it is designed to support parent directed education.

The Timothy Ministry is a lay ministry of the First Baptist Church of Woodstock. They partner with the home school parent who wishes to supplement their home education with enrichment classes. The Timothy Ministry is a home school support ministry -- not a full-time school. They meet on Tuesdays for (2) 14-week sessions per year.

Crown Athletics is a a not-for-profit organization created for the benefit of home educated students living in the north metro area of Atlanta who are interested in participating in competitive athletics. They offer ten quality sports programs: football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, soccer, golf, tennis, cross country, cheerleading, and swim, and they have also recently begun a drum corps!

TLC Church Homeschool Classes offer a variety of classes similar to the Timothy Classes. They also offer annual standardized testing and other classes for parents including building and maintaining a portfolio, record keeping and more.

Homeschool Hangout is an excellent store with loads of curriculum and resources. Run by Mr. Hanno Berg, this store is not in Cherokee - but very close. And for families who live in the north end of Cherokee, he also has an Alpharetta location. My wife does all of our school-related shopping here. Not only do they sell anything a homeschooler could want or need, but they also offer classes. You can visit their website to find out more.

The King's Academy is a 2 day per week school that offers teacher-guided lessons and a full curriculum to follow on the other 3 days per week that the students do not meet at the school. This school is a very popular choice with parents and they usually have a waiting list to get in.

There are many other resources, private teachers, tutors for a variety of subjects and classes. This is just a taste of what Cherokee has to offer to the homeschooling family. For more information on homeschooling in Georgia, you can visit either www.ghea.org (a Georgia organization) or www.hslda.org (the Home School Legal Defense Association) to learn more about laws, curriculum resources and opportunities.