Homeschooling - Education

Homeschooling (6)

Growing numbers of parents are opting to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they are unsatisfied with the schooling in their area and feel they can do a much better job or would like a more direct input into their children's education. In this category will help to educate our readers on all aspects of this increasingly popular method of educating our children.

Should I Homeschool My Kids? A Mom's Perspective

Written by Strathy

Making the decision to homeschool your children, should not be taken lightly. I know, because I am the parent of a homeschooled child. We made the decision to homeschool our children for a variety of reasons. Here I will delve into some of these reasons. Perhaps this will help you in any decision you may have about homeschooling your own child.

Safety

Where we live, there is a concern over the safety of children in our local schools. We are often hearing of school lock downs in the news for a variety of reasons. Crimes such as stabbings, drugs being found in school lockers and bullying are just a few of the reasons why we do not feel comfortable sending our young child out into a school environment where he cannot be protected. The student to teacher ratio is just not conducive to keeping all the children safe, either while in school or in the playground. Not only that, but this ratio makes it more difficult for learning in a classroom environment, which we will discuss in our next point.

Accelerated Learning

As stated in the previous paragraph, it is difficult for a child to learn and be educated when they are one of approximately 30 students in a classroom assigned to 1 teacher. It is particularly challenging for the teacher to give one-on-one attention to each student, assess their needs, and provide them with the tools necessary for each one to excel. Students who are gifted are not challenged and waiting around for the other students to catch up. Students who are slow, are not getting the attention they require to catch up to the other students.

Providing a homeschool environment for the student allows the child to learn at their own pace. It does not force them to go on to the next section if they have not fully understood the previous one. One-on-one attention by a parent/teacher allows the student to ask all the questions he or she feels are necessary in order to understand and learn. In addition, the waiting time of a teacher working with 29 other students is not there and so the homeschooled student has the opportunity to excel at a more accelerated pace. You will often find homeschooled students are further ahead in their learning than their regular schooled peers.

Learning Environment

The learning environment of a homeschool is such that the child feels safe and free to learn at their own pace. The location being flexible is also a great benefit. If it's a nice sunny and warm day, the parent can move learning time to out in the back yard. Or, if the family is on a camping trip, school goes along with them. Being a homeschooled family allows you to be flexible in the location of study and as such frees up the family to travel and spend time away from their home. All while learning. You will often find homeschooled children in families that are on the road on an extended vacation. These children will most likely have education surrounding their current locale included in their schooling. Breaking up the monotony makes things more interesting. If a child is interested, they will learn and remember.

Course of Study Control

Having control over the course of study of my homeschooled child is very important. We are free to choose the cirriculum that we wish to use. We can mix and match different areas and customize it to our child's specific needs. Having the ability to teach our families' values to our children, and not someone else's, is important to us as well.

More Family Time

Homeschooling allows us to have more family time together. Our children are always with us and we take them pretty much everywhere. They have the benefit of knowing that they are in a secure and safe place. Spending time together as a family gives a security to children. One that they will value and learn from as they grow older and go out into the work force.

I could probably go into other reasons why we homeschool our children, but for now I thought I'd give you a little insight into my perspective as a mother who homeschools. If you are thinking of homeschooling your children, maybe some of the reasons I've discussed above will help you make your decision.

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Misconceptions about Homeschooling

Written by Strathy

There are many misconceptions about homeschooling. For those who have not tried it, it comes as no surprise that they are not educated about this method of schooling. We are programmed to believe that following the traditional public schooling method is the only way. Since the majority of parents send their children to a traditional school, the belief is that somehow this is the right way and thus the only way.

Credentials

People will often question a homeschooling parent along the vein of finding out whether the parent is 'qualified' for the job of teaching their children. In fact, you will find that homeschooling parents have actually been educated themselves! They have attended school! They have graduated high school, and many have obtained a higher education such as a university or college degree just like everyone else. The fact that many have such a degree doesn't mean that they are more qualified than any other. In actuality it doesn't take a teaching certificate to teach a child how to read. A parent is just as qualified and competent to do this as your child's 22 year old kindergarten teacher. It is not as difficult as we have been programmed to believe. There are many books out there that can help those along who may not know where to begin. Once upon a time, a teacher didn't have to have anything other than a high school education in order to teach other children! In my parent's generation, this certainly was the case and that wasn't that long ago!

Socialization

The assumption that a homeschooled child is lacking in socialization is a total fallacy. Homeschooled children receive just as much if not more social activities than traditionally schooled children. Homeschooling parents will have their children enrolled in various activities such as extra-curricular sports, music, art, etc. You will also find them at your local "Y" and in various 4H clubs. Homeschooling families frequently get together with other homeschooling families for field trips, picnics, and a variety of subjects in each others homes. Children who are homeschooled are not quarantined to their homes. They do socialize with other children and are just as frequently out their playing street hockey with the neighborhood children as any other child would be.

School Memories

On occasion, another misconception heard from homeschooling families is that they think the homeschooled child is missing out on valuable school memories. They are concerned that the child will miss out on a prom or other school specific events. As mentioned above, homeschooling families network with other homeschooling families. They get together for various activiites, picnics, productions of plays, etc. There are various social activities as well. Being homeschooled is not to mean that a child is missing out on anything that is related to being in a traditional school environment. What people often forget to mention are the bad memories. We all have memories of being in the traditional school system which are not all good. Whether they include bullying, peer pressure, dangerous environments by kids bringing knives to school, or what have you. School memories are not all good. A homeschooled child is 'missing out' on those memories as well!

Reasons for Homeschooling

Parents who homeschool their children are not necessarily doing so for religious reasons. In fact a variety of reasons may come into play here. Homeschooling parents may be homeschooling their children because they are not happy with what is being taught in the traditional school system. They may desire a more direct and individual approach to teaching with their child. This is more preferable than having the 1:30 teacher/student ratio that is more common in a traditional school. Many city schools are prone to violence by other students. The news often reports of school lock downs for just such reasons. Subjecting your child to such a danger is not desired by anyone. Overall many homeschooling parents choose to homeschool their children because they can do a better job than the traditional system.

Is it Legal?

Yes, of course it is legal. Homeschooling exists because it is very much legal. Depending on the location of where the family lives, as long as the child is being educated, that is all that matters.

Becoming educated in homeschooling, pardon the pun, will help to alleviate common misconceptions and fears that the lay person has about this methodology of schooling.

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Homeschooling from Anywhere

Written by Strathy

Just because the root word "home" is in the word homeschooling, doesn't mean that homeschooling is only done at home. Homeschooling families "do school" just about anywhere. Setting up a homeschooling area at home is the norm, but families will also teach school outside of the home.

A homeschooling area at home is often just a designated area of a kitchen or dining room. Sometimes the family will have enough space to have a dedicated room for school instruction. The area will most likely include a table (even if it's the kitchen table), chairs, bookshelves and cupboards. The walls will be decorated with colorful charts like the alphabet, or other areas of study depending on the age of the children. There may be children's projects or artwork displayed on the walls as well. The shelves will contain books for reading as well as workbooks. The cupboards will contain other materials like flash cards, pens, pencils, paper, art materials, etc. All in all, a homeschooling room looks much like a traditional public school room in it's function.

A homeschooling family will often take school with them when they go on vacation. Extended family holidays are not unusual due to the flexible schedule a homeschooling family has. They may bring along a few workbooks, books for reading and, pencils. Students will be learning not only from their workbooks on their trip, but the parent will also gather information about the areas they are visiting as well. If the family is traveling by plane to Hawaii for a sun-filled vacation, the students may learn about various types of aircraft, how many passengers can fit on which types of planes, physically how a plane can stay in the air and then they may even learn about the country they are visiting. The parents will likely gather brochures about the travel destination in advance to prepare the children for the trip. A vacation like this will be turned into a field trip. The homeschooling student will be taught about the country, the population, the geography, the history, the native language, etc.

If the family is going to the cottage for the weekend, or maybe to visit the grandparents, homeschooling materials are brought along. Often other family members will participate in the education of the child. Bringing in other perspectives and methods are all part of the beauty of a flexible homeschooling schedule.

Homeschooling need not be confined to the home for a student to learn. Learning is everywhere. Children will often take in more by doing and thus the homeschooling family will take advantage of field trips and other locations to teach their children more in a shorter span of time.

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A Typical Homeschooling Day

Written by Strathy

A day in the life of a homeschooled child can begin at any time. Most homeschooling families try to follow a schedule of 'doing school.' This way the child gets used to the idea and is well aware of what to expect for the day. Since the amount of schooling per day that a homeschooled child receives depends on their age and therefore their attention span, for the purposes of this article we will imagine that the child used in our example is a ten year old boy.

School will encompass a variety of subjects with some subjects not being taught ever day. Such things as art, music, etc. may be taught once or twice a week instead of every day. Again, each homeschooling family will choose to do things differently from the next. That is the beauty of homeschooling. You can be as flexible as you like.

Most homeschooling families have either a room or portion of a room dedicated to school. They will have cabinets and bookshelves used to store and display their school material. They may even have a wipe-off board or chalkboard on the wall along with student-created posters,projects and artwork. There will be a table or desks for the students to work on. Typically, homeschooling families will set up the children around the kitchen or dining room table.

For this example, we will assume school is beginning at 9am. Our student is set up at the table with his school books out for the subject of reading. An independent learning assignment has been handed out with which the child has been asked to read a short story. After the child has read the story, the homeschooling parent will then ask a series of questions about the story to promote thought as well as to test comprehension. There may be some memory words for the child to look up in a dictionary. The child may be asked to memorize how to spell some of the bigger words for a test at the end of the week. It may be time for a recess break.

After the break, the student is back at the table. Let's assume that the story he read earlier takes place in Ireland. The parent may then get out a map and show the student where Ireland is as compared to their home country. This may lead to the subject of geography where the student is taught various things about the country's location, population, agriculture and other particulars. Another sequeway can easily be made into history where the child is taught about the politics surrounding Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and they came to be that way. The potato famines may come up. The parent may talk about the type of animals that live in Ireland and any similarities there may be with their home country. Perhaps some of the student's ancestors came from Ireland. Math can easily be brought up by comparing Ireland's population to the United States and the rest of the world. Ratios and pie charts can come into play.

Before you know it, the half day is up and the child has learned a lot and been free to ask as many questions as he likes. If you can get him interested in the subject, then it is all the more likely that he will retain the information. The following day, the homeschooling parent may lead off with a review of the previous day's learning and continue the program from there.

The afternoon's in a homeschooled child's life may contain playing with other children, attending a field trip to a library or museum, or perhaps swimming lessons or soccer practice. One of the best things about homeschooling is that the parents set the schedule and it can be adjusted to fit what is suitable to the child's needs and what is offered out in the community.

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Socialization for Homeschooling Children

Written by Strathy

A very common reaction received by homeschooling families includes the negative belief that homeschooled children are not receiving enough socialization. People who don't know enough about homeschooling are quick to use this as a reason for why they think a homeschooling parent is damaging their child. In fact, a homeschooled child is no different from those attending the public school system. Socialization means having acquired the skills necessary to have fun with other people.

A homeschooled child is often very active in extra-curricular activities outside the home. The local town recreation department, the "Y", or 4H club has numerous activities and classes for children at reasonable rates. You may have your own children enrolled in such activities as swimming, soccer, kindercorner or music lessons. You may be surprised to know that your child has class mates you are actually homeschooled. It is not as uncommon as you may think.

A homeschooled child does live in a home with 4 walls and as such does have neighbourhood children and friends with which to play with. They also have local homeschooling groups with which they do field trips and other activities. Often homeschooling families will get together regularly at meet-ups. They have picnics, put on Christmas plays, and even visit back and forth at each others homes. Sometimes they will share expertise as well. One homeschooling parent may be well-versed in the arts and will trade teacher for teacher services with another family who perhaps is knowledgeable in math.

Instead of being mixed up with other children of their own age group, homeschooled children are intertwined with people of all ages. My goodness, how did our parents ever survive growing up in a one-room school house!? Having the advantage of learning alongside older and younger children has wonderful benefits. Learning along with older children provides the younger child the advantage of hearing what the older child is learning and even learning along with them. Younger children always strive to be like the older one and this gives them the initiative to be better than they are. Older children who have younger children in the same learning environment can be given responsibilities to help teach a younger child. Strengths they will gain from this environment are not necessarily something they will have coming out of the traditional school setting.

Socialization for homeschooling children is not a reason to not homeschool. As described above, homeschooling families do not seclude and quarantine their children in their homes. A homeschooled child is just as social as any other child. Any behaviors you may observe and try to attribute to a lack of socialization are simply representative of normal childhood and can be found just as readily in the public school system.

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Homeschooling for Dummies

Written by Strathy

Every parent has the option to homeschool their children. Making the decision for homeschooling can be a tough decision. Especially if both parents are not on the same page. Homeschooling your children is a joint effort. Both parents need to be in agreement with the idea and support one another in the process. If one parent disagrees with homeschooling then that person's attitude will rub off on the child. A homeschooled child needs to know that he or she is in the right place. They need to have the support and encouragement of both parents.

Homeschooling is not just for those of a particular religious persuasion. In fact, this is a common mistake. People of all types homeschool their children and for a variety of reasons. Homeschooling may be chosen by parents who have a special needs child. Or, sometimes the parents are not in agreement with the methodology and subject matter being taught in the schools. Another reason for homeschooling could be due to the fact that their child is one of 30 students in a classroom and therefore not receiving enough attention and therefore not being taught well enough. Perhaps the school is not a safe environment for children in your neighbourhood. There are a lot of areas with much violence and bullying. Homeschooling parents may just be doing so because they think they can do a better job than the school system.

Methods of homeschooling vary in their approach. Some parents will follow a structured and traditional curriculum that they have purchased from a well-known organization. Other parents may be following the 'unschooling' method. In between these extremes, there are those that follow a more relaxed approach. Following a structured curriculum, depending on the child's age, may take up to 1/2 a day or more of school work. The unschooling approach loosely follows the topics that a child has expressed interest in with the main focus of educating a child rather than 'doing school.'

As mentioned above, the age of the child has a lot to do with the amount of time spent on homeschooling each day. A preschool or kindergarten age child may only hold an attention span of 1/2 to 1 hr per day. This is fine for this age group as you are giving them individual attention for that entire time and they are learning! As the child grows, he/she will mature enough to have a longer attention span. At that time, the child is able to take in more. Generally speaking, homeschooling by it's very nature is more concentrated than the mainstream school system. For this reason, many homeschooling families only need to spend about a 1/2 day on their school work. This leaves the rest of the day to do other things the child may want to do.

Choosing to homeschool your child is perhaps one of the most self-less things you can do for your child. Give it a try and if it doesn't work out then you can always move the child into the public school system. Before you give up, be sure and connect with other homeschooling families. You can receive a lot of support an encouragement from other like-minded individuals who will no doubt contribute to the success of your homeschooling activities.