For many parents, their children’s education is of the utmost importance to them. For a variety of reasons, homeschooling may be the best option available to you and your family. If you are just getting started, or even if you are a seasoned veteran, this article can help you make the most of the experience for you and your children.
You would not want your children to get mixed up with the bad crowd in public schools, yet they need to have opportunities to interact with other children. Set up play dates with family, friends or even neighbors. Schedule a trip to the park so that children see new things and other kids to play with. Join teams, clubs, or other organizations.
When you home school your child, you take on more than the role of teacher. Actually, you’ll also have to be the cafeteria worker, physical education coach and possibly even a counselor. Consider the responsibilities each title carries as you plan out your daily schedule and routine. Prepare lunches in advance, schedule outdoor time and make yourself available for emotional support and motivation.
Home schooled students often face challenges staying connected with their peers. Without that daily interaction with other students, it is easy to become disillusioned with the experience. To combat this problem, encourage your student to join an online discussion group for home schooled students. These groups are available in nearly every country in the world, not to mention every state and possible even within the same zip code.
Treat homeschooling like a job. You’re a teacher now, and that means you also have to seek out more education. Professional teachers take “PA” days to attend conferences and training, so you should, too! Find homeschooling events near you or even attend one as a vacation. You’ll find they teach you not only specific topics you might not know a lot about, but also how to be a better teacher and how to plan out homeschooling lessons like a pro.
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.
Remember to spend time with your family outside of the classroom. You might believe that all the time you spend together in the classroom is enough, but it really is not. Family nights are an opportunity for the family to get together without the pressures of the classroom, and bring you all closer together.
When you are first beginning homeschooling it is a good idea to reach out to others who homeschool also. People who have been doing it for a while can give you valuable advice about things that worked and didn’t work for them. Even if you have been homeschooling for a long time, it is always okay to seek advice from others.
There are many homeschooling groups available in many cities and towns across the country. Search online to find the groups in your area. You can then take part in group activities and have other parents to talk with if you have problems. You are sure to quickly develop relationships with these families that you and your children will cherish.
You should not consider yourself to be your child’s teacher. You are more the facilitator to their education. You are there to help them, not lecture them for hours on end. Allow them to do their studies on their own and help them with any questions that they may have. You could very well learn as much as your child does if you take the time to learn with them instead of lecturing them.
Try to keep thing’s fun. Although you cannot keep every moment of everyday packed full of fun activities, there are many ways to include an element of fun into most learning activities. For example, if your child is studying history, go on a field trip to a museum or have a dress up day.
If your child is an auditory learner, there are a lot of helpful tools available for you to use. Audio storybooks, rhyming, lecturing and music are great ways to help your child learn. If you fine-tune your teaching abilities in the way, your child learns best, they will really get the most out of the lesson.
Quilting can be a great way to teach kids a number of things. Not only is it a creative skill, it can teach art skills. It is wonderful for older kids to understand geometric concepts. This art can provide them with a lifetime of pleasurable creation. It can provide gifts and financial rewards.
If you want to home school your child but feel as though you need to touch up on a certain subject, why not take a college course? This will be a great way for you to learn more about the subject and pass this knowledge on to your child. Who knows, maybe when your child goes to college, you can get a job in this field.
Make sure you have set aside a specific area for your “school”. That doesn’t mean that you can’t take field trips to other areas of the house. Setting aside a specific space means you can stay organized, and can help your children to focus when they are in this area.
Don’t just limit learning and teaching to the times you have set for schoolwork. All parts of life include teachable moments where they can apply skills learned in school work to the things they encounter and experience in life. This make learning much easier and more fun. It’s a great way to teach them things because they are having fun and interacting with you.
