Thinking About Homeschooling? Here's What You Should Know
Nowadays, homeschooling has become more and more popular, for a variety of different reasons. But, before you pull your children out of public school and teach them at home, it is important that you are properly educated on the subject. In the piece that follows, you are going to read some homeschooling information that you must know before making the choice to have your children home schooled.
Do not be afraid to get help with a troublesome subject. You may find that math is not your strong suit when teaching your child, which means you should look on homeschool community forums for help, or call upon family or friends. It is best to find someone that can offer a better understanding of the material and help your child flourish.
When your child has a question, don't answer it immediately! Show them how to research the answer on their own, so they can know how to do it when you're not around. There are many websites offering simple information which children of any age could understand, so point them in that direction.
Create your own flash cards. There is no need to waste money on expensive sets of flash cards when you can do it yourself. All you need to make your own are some index cards and a marker. Besides saving money, this technique also allows you to tailor the flash cards to your child's specific needs.
Create a schedule for when nometnes the kids are in class and when they'll get breaks. They can't learn all day long! You need to adhere to the schedule as tightly as possible to ingrain the routine into everyone's lives, even yours. The more you stick to the plan, the better the outcome.
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?
Set aside time for family fun. Sure, you spend all day long together working on school work and keeping the house in order. But, do you ever really have fun together? Set up a day and time to have movie night or even family game night so you can enjoy the time you spend together.
Cook bulk meals a couple times a week. Having a few dinners frozen and ready to heat and eat in the freezer can make crazy days better. Worrying about what you are going to feed your family as you are trying to homeschool will make things more stressful than they need to be.
When teaching your kids something, provide hands-on opportunities. One way to do this is through the food of foreign cultures you are studying. If they are learning about France, they could draw the Eiffel tower. When studying about a war, have them prepare foods from each country involved in the battles. Sensual learning means engaging all the senses, and this increases retention of knowledge.
Understanding your child's learning style and educational needs is the key to creating a successful learning environment. For example, many children experience peak learning times in which they are more receptive to new information and more likely to remember it. Identifying this peak learning time allows you to develop an itinerary that is perfectly aligned with your student's needs.
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.
Prior to making the decision to homeschool your child, evaluate the relationship that you have with them. If you do not have a great relationship, you are likely going to have difficulty in getting them to cooperate with homeschooling. Discipline in the home is critical if the child is going to do well in a homeschool setting.
To help your student learn even the most complex concepts, it helps to understand what he/she finds most interesting. It is much easier to engage a student who has taken an active interest in the subject at hand. As the teacher, you have the responsibility for maintaining structure but this does not mean your pupil can't determine the direction as well. Seeking your student's input ups the ante and facilitates active learning.
The goal of homeschooling is to instill knowledge in your child or teen, but it should also be viewed as something more. You have a rare opportunity to use learning as a means of bonding and interacting with each other in a way most parents never get. Highlight the student's accomplishments in your "˜classroom' just as you would for those earned in a traditional learning environment.
Look around for yard sales that have homeschooling materials. This is an inexpensive way to find things. You may also meet other homeschooling parents. Check your local paper. Also, keep your eyes open on the weekend for signs. You never know what interesting things you may discover by doing this.
Now that you have read this article, you can see that there is a lot to consider when figuring out if homeschooling is right for both you and your children. After all, taking your children out of public school and teaching them at home is a major change. However, if you use the tips from this article wisely, the decision should be much more clearer to you.