Stages
- DON’T KNOW ANYTHING: Just came across the Homeschooling concept and looking to know what it is.
- NOT DECIDED YET: Your child still goes to Traditional schools. But you want to explore the option of Homeschooling.
- DECIDED: But do not know where to start
- STARTED: You have recently started and are looking for help with everything
- EXPERIENCED: You have been teaching your kids for quite some time now. Looking for Co-ops, etc.
When it comes to your children, you want the best. Homeschooling is your chance to shine, as not only a parent but as a teacher. By keeping your child at home, you can conduct their lessons in a timely and efficient manner and help your child to stay on track with their education. To make sure your child’s home-schooled education is successful, there are several things you can do.
The first, while it may be obvious to some, is the most important. You want to make sure that you and your child are on the same page. You’ll need to sit down with your child and explain the steps that will be taken to ensure their education is successful.
Setting up a scheduled time for their education is important. Just because they are receiving their education at home does not mean they do not have a schedule. In fact, with homeschooling, your child must have a schedule and it is up to both you and your child to stick to the allotted time. Before you start, talk with your child and discuss what is the best time of day to start. Some children are best right after breakfast and others do better at learning after they’ve been awake for a couple of hours. The wonderful thing about homeschooling is that you know your child and how their personality and disposition will work throughout the day.
Once you have planned out a schedule for your child, you’ll also want to get organized. Make sure you involve your child in this, as well. If you have an area of your home or a room that is a relatively quiet and relaxed atmosphere, this will work best for your child. Setting up a designated area for your child’s schooling will help your child to understand the difference between school time and playtime. When you have picked out the area, you and your child should make sure it is furnished properly. Your child should have a comfortable desk and chair, as well as all the items necessary to complete their homeschooling, such as paper, pens, pencils, and anything else you may need.
By knowing when and where their home school will be, your child will be more successful in taking care of business when it is time. Having all the necessary items your child will need can take the edge off, as well, and the more you involve your child in the planning and organizing of their school day, your child will be apt to participate in their learning.
Getting Started with Home Schooling
If you are a parent considering the option of homes schooling, you may be at a loss as to where to begin. In this article, I provide you with a few tips for getting started.
As a mother of a two-year-old, the thought of “school” crosses my mind more than occasionally. I have to admit, I don’t like what I see. Schools these days have many problems. Violence is growing. The standards aren’t high enough to make sure our children are learning. Many parents are not taking their child’s education seriously enough or just aren’t getting involved. And unfortunately, there are teachers and school administrators out there that are more interested in numbers, politics, and money than they are in the welfare of their students.
All of these things and other considerations are making more and more parents look into homeschooling as an option. This allows parents to spend more time with their children. It also allows them to be actively involved in their child’s education to make sure their child is succeeding.
But, where do I get started? I’m not a teacher. Where do I get the materials? What do I teach them? Is there some guideline to homeschooling that has been successful for other parents? Where can I find more information about Home Schooling? In this article, I will do my best to help you find all of the information and resources available to get started with Home Schooling.
First of all, homeschooling is not free. There are a lot of materials you will need. Depending on the age of your child, there are specific requirements and specific subjects they must learn as well as standardized tests they must take. This is all set up to be sure parents who take their children out of school are home-schooling them.
The first thing you will have to do is find out what the homeschooling laws are in your state. Open a new browser window so you can keep this article open and right click on this link and select open in the new window. Home School Laws There you will find out what the laws are in your state. Some states do not require you to notify them and others do, so make sure you study up on your state’s requirements.
The next thing you want to do is talk with people you know that are already doing homeschooling. They will be able to offer you valuable homeschooling advice. Try your local church or social group if you do not know anyone doing homeschooling. You can also search at Ask.com for “Home Schooling Support Groups.” These are groups of parents that share their information and experiences with homeschooling.
You can buy complete home school curriculums for children of any age by searching for “Home School Curriculum.” Many come on CD-ROM with workbooks and everything you need. You can buy everything at once or you can pick and choose the subjects you want to teach first. You can also find curriculums that incorporate your religious beliefs. There are many options!
There is also the theme method of homeschooling where you teach your child everything at once by using a theme. You pick a theme your child likes like “The Old West” or “Outer Space”. Then you combine teaching them math, geography, history, language skills, etc. based on using their favorite theme.
Children learn very fast when things are interesting to them. Theme-based homeschooling is one way to keep your child interested and also a great way for both of you to have fun learning. If you combine this theme-based method of homeschooling with field trips or vacations that go along with it, you will find your child interested in learning more. For instance, a field trip to the space museum or observatory if you are using the space theme. A vacation to a ghost town on the western theme would work as well.
If you are considering homeschooling, you will also want to make sure your child has ample opportunity for social activities. You may be able to provide them with the highest standards of academics, but children also need to socialize with their peers. This can be done through organized sports, and music classes, and many areas have home school “community groups” that get together. Once you can connect with other home school parents in your area, you will be sure to find an abundance of activities for your child to participate in.
The bottom line is this. Do not be intimidated by home-schooling your child even if you did not do well in school yourself. You can learn together. The benefits of homeschooling can far outweigh the disadvantages. If there is a day where it is just not going to work out, don’t worry. Don’t force it. Be creative and make learning fun for your child. If you are committed, you will succeed.
Transitioning To Homeschooling
If you have decided to homeschool and part of that decision will involve transitioning your child(ren) out of the public school system, there are some aspects worth considering.
Once your kids begin their educational life outside of the public school, there will be a transition time for them; as there would be a transition time for anyone changing their lives and their routines. If this is about to become your homeschooling scenario you should understand that the time after public school, yet before you begin homeschooling is a good time to help your child through this period and prepare for their upcoming new educational experience. It’s important to use this time to help your child understand that learning and education can take place within their home and their family unit.
Even once your homeschooling year begins it’s important to understand that your child will probably still need some time to adjust to the new routine and the new freedoms of education at home. Early on, let your child dip their toe into the water of homeschooling before jumping in. Remember, aside from the teachings, the lessons, and the learning, this will indeed be quite a different environment for your child as opposed to the bells, the crowded halls, and all the noise and distractions they have become accustomed to in their previous learning environment. So, some decompression time may well be for them.
During this time, don’t worry about setting expectations too high, or feel as though if you don’t get started ‘doing’ something you will soon fall behind schedule. Remember, flexibility and schedules are one of the great benefits of homeschooling. Relax. Besides, I truly believe you’ll soon find that once you do get into the rhythm of your schedule, you’ll find that with the individual attention that your child receives with each subject, they’ll soon not only make up for any early lost time, but they’ll probably surpass what you even had scheduled initially!
Use the transition or decompression time to talk with your child about what it is that they are interested in and what they like to learn about and dream about. Talk to them about setting little and longer-term goals and how by reaching each little goal one at a time they are on their way to realizing their dream. Let them know that they will be able to learn and study subject matter that they are interested in much greater detail than they have ever been able to before. Get their mind jump-started on all the great projects and subjects that you will cover with them in your new homeschooling environment. If you do this, you’ll find that your kids will make it through the transition from traditional education to homeschool education excited and energized about these wonderful possibilities for learning.