About Carolina Homeschooler
Is Carolina Homeschooler an Option 3 association? Can I register my homeschool here?

How can I join Carolina Homeschooler? How much does it cost?
Can I join if my association doesn't participate or if I live in another state?

What do your trip registration fees and course fees cover?

Why do you have ads on your website?

I email you (about homeschooling, your trips, etc), but you never answer. Why?

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Is Carolina Homeschooler an Option 3 association? Can I register my homeschool here?

Carolina Homeschooler, LLC is a support and information network, not an Option 3 accountability association. You'll need to legally register your homeschool with an association as the law specifies (see our legal requirements area, and the beginning homeschooling section of these FAQs for more information). We work with homeschoolers through existing Option 3 associations that participate in our network.

How can I join Carolina Homeschooler? How much does it cost?

If you're a member of an association that participates in the Carolina Homeschooler network (see our associations page for a list), then you're already a member of Carolina Homeschooler. You'll receive discounts on trip registrations, course fees, and any other services and programs we offer in the future. Your membership is already paid for by your association (be sure to thank them!).

Can I join if my association doesn't participate or if I live in another state?

Our primary goal is to support South Carolina's 3rd Option homeschoolers. After trying different approaches, we've found that the most efficient and cost-effective way to carry out our mission is by providing memberships through participating 3rd Option associations. Homeschoolers in non-participating associations and in other states can (and do) participate in our programs, but their course fees will be a little higher, and their trip registration fees may be higher if the trip is planned primarily for South Carolina homeschoolers. They will still get discounts on our SC trip registration fees if they participate in our fundraising projects or have traveled with us on any of our previous trips. Our other services (message boards, mailing lists, chats, etc) are free and available to everyone.

What do your trip registration fees and course fees cover?

Trip registration fees help cover the cost of planning and organizing each trip, plus help cover our overall operating expenses (printing, mailing, long-distance, website, contest prizes for the children, etc). Course fees (when courses are offered) also help to cover our expenses. We hope to eventually build a surplus so we can introduce more services and programs as we grow.

Why do you have ads on your website?

I added Google and Amazon ads to the website in order to raise funds for our trips. Sometimes our funds cover the cost of one site admission for the children, sometimes they cover the cost of getting advanced time tickets to sites so we don't have to wait in line once we arrive, sometimes they cover any price increases that occur from the time I make reservations for a site and the time that I actually pay for our group. (This happened with two different sites on our 2009 NYC trip, but I didn't have to ask families to send more money because our fundraising money covered it.) Sometimes they cover my travel costs if the trip isn't a vacation for my family (if I'm organizing the trip only for the benefit of others, and my whole family isn't going). Sometimes it covers the cost of deposits that I have to pay months in advance of a trip (before I start collecting deposits from families). In one way or another, all of the proceeds from Google ads, Amazon purchases, and from Box Tops go toward making the trips more affordable for homeschooling families.

I email you (about homeschooling, your trips, etc), but you never answer. Why?

I reply to all of the emails I receive. If you're not getting my replies, then either your ISP is blocking my emails (very common with Juno, NetZero, PeoplePC, and Earthlink) or they're in your spam folder. Please talk to your ISP if I'm being blocked, or add my editor@carolinahomeschooler.com email address to your "accepted mail" roster if my emails are landing in your spam folder.

Also, if you email me and my reply bounces back to me by your Spam Blocker software that requires me to click on a link requesting permission to reply, I won't click on it. I shouldn't have to (and won't) "request permission" to answer your question. Please make certain that my email address will not be blocked by your software, or you will not receive a reply.

We hope this section of our FAQs has helped you to better what Carolina Homeschooler is all about. If you have any questions or concerns about the answers here, please email us. Although we've tried to include the questions that new homeschoolers seem to ask the most, we're always open to new questions.

Disclaimer: Any legal information provided on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be considered complete, professional legal advice.

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