Homeschooling gets a bad rap. The students don't learn how to socialize, the parents aren't experts in chem or ancient Greek, everyone ends up sounding like the kids on Little House on the Prairie...yeah, people have weird opinions.

But what if you only want your students to partially sound like the kids on Little House on the Prairie?

Partial homeschooling allows parents and their child to choose which courses and activities students take where: school or home.

Sounds nice and flexible, but the school system has to be on board in the first place—and they have to agree with the options you pick for your child. Some schools don't allow parents to choose one class here, one class there; others do.

The key factor in whether schools are flexible. And as you might've guessed, it's got to do with the cash money. Your best chances occur in states where schools get partial funding for part-time students. So in states like Virginia and Washington, partial funding for part-time students means more flexibility for your family.

Okay, now that you've packed up and moved to a state where you can make it happen…how do you make it happen?

The answer: take an afternoon to go in and speak directly with an administrator about your options and the school's openness to partial education. Go in with a plan in mind and willingness to be flexible. The specific plan often depends on the specific student, so this is the kind of meeting that'll ensure that your child is still getting the top-notch support at school that they get at home.