Homeschooling is a serious decision that millions of parents make every year. It is not easy to replace what traditional schools offer, but it can be done successfully. It takes commitment, discipline and attention to detail. If you have considered homeschooling, read the advice here to make the decision a sound one.
Homeschooling doesn’t mean you have to be their only teacher. Involve other experts, be it the Baker at the local bakery or your nearby librarian. Family members and friends can step in and help, too. The more teachers you provide, the broader the knowledge base your children will end up with.
Can you afford to quit your job and homeschool? Have you created a budget to find out? Draft a budget of your current income and expenditures. Now, remove the income of the person who will be staying home. Also, include the cost of supplies, such as lesson materials, writing equipment, paper, etc. Can you afford it now?
While you want your home schooled student(s) to learn as much or more as their traditionally schooled counterparts, remember that you don’t have to follow any guidelines when you are the teacher. Try different teaching and learning techniques to see what works best for your student. Also, consider using a reward program to make learning more exciting.
Utilize local resources to find resources you need. You can find resources for homeschooling at garage sales, curriculum sales and even homeschool groups on sites like Yahoo and Craigslist. Don’t worry if they are gently used. A workbook with a few scribbled pages can still offer plenty of workable materials for class.
Plan out a ton of activities to accentuate your child’s learning. If they’re learning about history, have them act out the time they’re learning about. They can dress up, speak like people of that time and even engage in battle, if that is what the topic is. It gives them a chance to truly experience what they’re learning, immersing them in the topic and ensuring they learn as much as possible from the lesson plan you present.
Don’t forget the ‘social’ side of school. A child gains much more from school than simply academics. Make sure that your child is involved in activities that a school offers such as sports and music. This can be achieved by meeting other homeschool parents and organizing extra curricular activities at the end of the school day or the weekend.
Homeschooling takes quite a bit of time out of your day. This can make it difficult to keep up with the housework. If hiring someone is not an option, incorporate different tasks into the curriculum. Have younger children match socks by size and color, and teach older children about measurements by cooking.
Write down a list of all the reasons why you have chosen homeschooling for your kids. Start off with a list of the pros and cons of public schools in your area. Next, write down how you’re going to overcome those cons and include the pros in your own classroom. Subsequently, create milestones and goals you want your kids to reach as you teach them. Create a timeline for those goals so you can be sure they’re attained.
The advantage about homeschooling is that you can be creative in the way you teach your child. Do not limit yourself to just activities at home. Take your child to different places and teach him on site. He can learn about nature at a national park, or history at a historical site. This keeps learning interesting and fun.
Hopefully the tips presented here have given you some ideas about homeschooling and the kind of commitment it really means. Homeschooling is not easy but it can be very rewarding. If you do take the plunge, give it all your energy and ideas. Millions of children are successfully homeschooled every year. You can be one of those success stories.