What is home schooling?
Homeschooling or home school (also called home education or home learning) is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in a formal setting of public or private school. Some types of home schooling are very formal and very similar to what takes place in a school, while others are quite informal (such as unschooling, a child-led home education method).
Are you a school?
No. We are a support network for parents who educate their own children at home.
Is Home Schooling legal in Doha?
If you are not a Qatari citizen, yes. Or, more precisely, there is no law against it for expatriates.
How do I register to Homeschool?
Since there are no laws on the books for the regulation of home schooling in Qatar, any registration would be under the laws of your home country/state/province/city. A great resource for finding the laws you need is the Home School Legal Defense Association. Though a U.S. organization, HSLDA is a great resource internationally, too.
Are there requirements to join Doha Home Educators?
Yes, you must be an expatriate who is home schooling at least one child school-aged child (4-18) and live in Qatar. If you do meet these requirements and would like to join our network, we invite you to fill out our Membership Form and someone will be in touch via email within a week. Please do monitor the Inbox and Spam folders of the email address you provide us in the Membership Form as some email providers are a bit too enthusiastic in flagging email as spam.
I want to Homeschool my child but don’t know where to begin. Could you help me?
If you are considering home schooling your child, you may want to read up on what home education really is and how to begin homeschooling, as they provide an excellent starting point for those considering homeschooling as an option. We also suggest having a thorough read of our site. After that, if you have any specific questions, feel free to contact us.
How do I contact you?
There are a couple of ways in which you can contact us. Email us at dohahomeeducators@gmail.com. You can also contact us via our Facebook Page.
What is it like to Homeschool in Qatar?
Qatar is a vertiable melting pot and homeschooling here gives you a marvellous opportunity to meet other homeschoolers from various backgrounds, ethnicities, languages and cultures. You will find that the Doha Home Educators network is quite diverse and welcoming.
What do you offer as a Network?
We organise many activities, field-trips, opportunities to socialise (especially for out younger children) and classes specifically for our members. In addition, we have attended workshops and we have been holding consecutive cooperative classes for our children from 2012. To get a better idea of the things that we do and offer, please read this post and also read the section of What We Are… and What We Are Not.
Do you offer tutoring or baby-sitting services?
We DO NOT offer tutoring or baby-sitting services on a general note.
I’m moving to Doha and have lots of questions. Can you help me?
While we are quite happy to help you as you get settled, we are probably not the best place for finding all the answers to your “moving to Doha” questions. Please check these online forums first to see if the information you are seeking has already been discussed.
http://www.qatarliving.com/
http://www.expatwomanqatar.com/
http://www.qatarhappening.com/
http://www.expatarrivals.com/qatar/education-and-schools-in-qatar
Other resources:
To get around Qatar, we usually recommend that our members download the online map Waze, as we find that it is the most up-to-date (though not necessarily completely up-to-date) map for the ever-changing roads of Qatar.
Marhaba is a quarterly magazine that you can buy at any good supermarket. While the information in it isn’t comprehensive it still does contain a wealth of information. The sections are divided into Shopping, Tourism, Restaurants, Hotels, What to do, etc. It is a great resource to have around for anything from phone numbers one’s likely to need to ideas on what to do.
For questions about your move that specifically relate to home schooling your children, please email us at dohahomeeducators@gmail.com.
I have a preschooler not in nursery. Can you help?
DHE is specifically designed for those schooling ages 4-18 (IE. school-aged children) and is not an alternative to nursery. However, if you are considering home schooling your child, we can help you get started. In this case, please do not try to join the forum, but instead email us at the address above for more information. We will get you in touch with those who are running activities for our “littles”!
Where can I find a curriculum for my child?
Check the links here on our site! If you are looking to home school temporarily or are nervous about finding the right program for your child, we recommend an all-inclusive curriculum program, such as K12, Calvert, or Worldwide Education Services. If you are home schooling because your child learns in a different style than the schools provide here, you may want to mix and match curriculum to suit your child.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for, email us or check out our Facebook page.
Is it Hard?
Like all things that are worth it, it takes an effort! Especially if your child has already been in school for a while, don’t be surprised if it takes a few months to make the transition into home education. Be patient, with both your child and yourself! But in the end, most who home school successfully find that the hard work pays off with a child who enjoys learning more, and is able to learn well.
Doha Home Educators 