Home school families browse an assortment of educational materials on display at the Korea Home School Conference on Saturday at Seoul American Elementary School. (Jimmy Norris / S&S)
YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Parents of home-schooled children gathered at Seoul American Elementary School on Saturday to participate in the Korea Home School conference.
The conference, sponsored by the WorldWide IDEA program, was an opportunity for the home school parents to view educational materials from different vendors, attend workshops and network with other home-school families, said event coordinator Dawn Snyder.
The conference featured workshops on subjects including teaching children to write, appropriate curriculum, teaching math and record keeping.
The event began with a round- table discussion with representatives from the Department of Defense Dependents Schools in Korea.
Led by Korea district superintendent Charles Toth, the discussion focused on ways the DODDS schools could assist command-sponsored families who choose to home school.
According to Toth, command sponsored families who home school their children have access to extracurricular activities, field trips and even classes.
After supplying accredited transcripts, home-schooled children can apply for a Department of Defense Education Activity diploma.
The conference wasn’t just for command-sponsored families.
Families that are not command sponsored and even families who had no affiliation with the U.S. military attended and benefited from various workshops and networking opportunities at the conference.
“I think it was really good of them to open their doors to those of us outside the military community. This is a good chance for us to see what our options are and help us choose the best curriculum for our children,” said Brenda Covington, an American missionary who heard about the conference through her home schooling group.
