Home schooling Solution

Why let Tim and Lisa learn at home than send them to school? Well, first of all, you don’t have to wake them up at 7 every morning and bundle them off to school with umpteen numbers of instructions, and wait with an anxious heart till they return. Homeschooling gives you more control over the influences that affect your child. The growth and development of your child is removed from the realm of the unknown. You, and you alone can decide what your child needs to do or learn. Tailoring the curriculum to suit the needs and interests of the child is one of the most obvious benefits of homeschooling.

Individual attention is another salient benefit of homeschooling. For instance, if Lisa needs more time to learn Math, then she can reduce the time for her English lessons. There are no fixed hours of learning per subject. This means that a child has the advantage of assigning more number of hours to the subject that seems tough WITHOUT any additional pressure. The amount of time needed to learn each subject will depend on the abilities and interests of the child.

The schooling of the child becomes an extended family activity. Parents get involved in every step of the learning procedure. Field trips and experiments become family activities. Thus, the child receives more quality time with his parents. The entire family shares games, chores and projects. Family closeness becomes the focus here. The child is also free of any negative peer pressure while making choices and decisions.

Competition is limited when it comes to homeschooling. The child does not need to prove his ability with regards to other children. His confidence remains intact. Since parents have a deep understanding of their child, they can plan the learning program to pique the child’s interest. It is also possible to intersperse difficult tasks with fun activities. A tough hour with Algebra can be followed by a trip to the nearest museum. Learning becomes fun. Parents can also tailor the curriculum to suit the learning style of the child. Some children learn through reading, while others need to write, and still others need to see objects in action.

Homeschooling allows parents to take control over the moral and religious learning of the child. Parents have the flexibility to incorporate their beliefs and ideologies into the child’s curriculum. There is no confusion in the child’s mind either because there is no variation between what is being taught and what is being practiced.

Lastly, more and more parents are getting disillusioned with the public school system. They believe that their children are being pushed too hard or too little. Other worrying issues pertaining to discipline and ethics also make the school system less welcome. Many repudiate the educational philosophy of grouping children solely on the basis of their age. Some parents themselves have unhappy memories of their own public school experience that motivates them to opt for homeschooling when it comes to their own children.

Homeschooling is the best way to teach a child if you have the time, the ability and the interest to follow through with his education. After all, nobody can understand or appreciate your child more than yourself.

Besides lesson plans, the hardest part of establishing a home school environment in the home will be choosing the curriculum. When it comes to what and how you will teach there are a few options that can be explored. Planning well in advance means a well thought out curriculum once the first day of class arrives.

What is your philosophy of teaching? Many parents may think that they don’t have one but if you have a reason for taking your child out of public school, then you do. The philosophy is directly related to those reasons. You want to influence change that will give your child a better education. The public school is not doing a satisfactory job in your opinion or you would be considering the option of teaching your children at home.

There are several curriculum plans in existence today. Each is based on a different philosophy of teaching. Some curriculums are less stringent which allows for children to experience a variety of subjects and teaching structures. Children can experiment with their learning process to find what fits.

Other programs are quite rigid. Every aspect of each subject is planned down to the day as to what will be taught and in what order. For the new home schooling parent, this takes the guesswork and headache out of the structure of the learning process.

Home school curricula are not just based on academics, but religion. Spiritual components of education resulted in Christian home schooling. These programs comply with the state requirements but emphasize Biblical education.

Once parents become comfortable with home schooling, they can move from a rigid program to a less structured one or a curriculum guide. Curriculum guides are cheaper but only serve as rough guidelines. The parents still have to purchase worksheets, study guides, and other materials for teaching. This is not a concern with complete packages because they include everything for your dollar.

Some curricula have an online component as well. Part of the program involves book work and activities that kids can do online. It is easier to record keep online than with a paper and pencil. Some people like paper and pencil though because computers crash or get temperamental and lose your stuff. After all of that, it is time to do a lesson plan for each class for each student grade level.

Before the fun of teaching your children can begin, you need to have a plan. This is the tough part. It will involve a lot of head scratching and sweating, but once it’s done, the next time will be easier.