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It’s safe to say that life as a parent can prove to be a challenge at the best of times. When we have children that are not able to get on board with the traditional schooling system, we may think about the benefits of homeschooling them. But homeschooling involves many decisions, so let’s show you what you need to do to be a more effective teacher for your child at home.
Look at Your Options
You can begin homeschooling anytime. Some parents find that it’s better to cut ties with a school when their child has finished their academic year. This would give you enough time to investigate the fine details and get started by the fall. The fact is, as enthusiastic as we can be about getting to grips with homeschooling and getting all the relevant stationery, forms, and equipment we have got to start by researching the best options. You need to educate yourself about the different routes you can take to define why you are doing this and what you believe homeschooling will achieve.
Look at Your Homeschooling Requirements
Rules and regulations on homeschooling will vary from state to state. For example, in New York, you need an individualized instruction plan, have to maintain attendance records, and conduct tests. You may not be able to play as fast and loose with the process as you think. When you have an understanding of the homeschooling requirements and if you can excel in them in comparison to the traditional academic environment, you then need to ensure you have adequate support.
Join a Homeschooling Group
When you meet other parents in your local area, you can gain valuable information for finding local homeschooling groups that can give you insight into their teaching habits and how homeschooling works for them but can also help to create a support group for your children. Homeschooling is a one-on-one practice and therefore your child can still benefit from activities like sports or clubs.
Setting Up Your Homeschooling Space
The right environment is pivotal to learning. Your child may not have got on well with the learning environment in school and so you have the luxury of being able to make it a more relaxed environment. Children that are more relaxed will ease into learning better. It’s important not to have that pressure, but at the same time, you still need to create a homeschooling space that will give your child the ability to thrive. You need to be organized by creating schedules and have the relevant equipment in place, like your computer, as well as storage cabinets, and bookshelves. A proper homeschooling space needs to be thoroughly organized.
Setting the Goals
Many homeschoolers go at their own pace. Depending on your child, you may want to speed up the process to keep them engaged or you may want to slow it down. You need to set short and long-term goals, but not just in the academic sense. Extracurricular activities are such an important aspect that you need to consider. You know how your child is at home, but when it comes to learning, you may have an insight into how their school life really was. There could be things that will help them to be more sociable, like classes in the subject they are passionate about, or even Boy Scouts. Because homeschooling is not just about the overall working day, it’s about everything that goes on outside of it as well.
Define the Right Schedule
You need to be organized, but you also need to work towards the academic schedule for the subjects and how your child will learn best. Your child might not be able to engage with subjects 30 minutes after rolling out of bed, and it’s at this point where you could move the school day forward to later in the day, starting at 10 a.m. Many people feel that it does help to break up the learning week by week. But of course, flexibility is one of the major benefits of homeschooling, so you can adapt your schedule based on your child’s needs. When you start to understand a few key things, like their learning style, when they work best, and how you can engage them on a one-to-one basis, you can maximize the impacts.
Understanding the Common Issues of Homeschooling
You may have a mission to teach your child but it’s not just about understanding the pitfalls that will face your child, it’s also about the ones that face you. Therefore, it’s a learning curve for both of you.
Firstly, a one-to-one environment can result in feeling isolated. This is where a support group will benefit you, so you can connect with other like-minded parents, but you can also run the risk of learning to walk before you can crawl and commit to a curriculum too early. You may find that you purchase a curriculum that doesn’t suit your child’s learning style, so you need to spend a month experimenting before you invest in expensive learning materials.
You also need to remember that there is a lot of freedom and flexibility associated with homeschooling, but you will have to adjust as you go on.
Learning how to teach is a significant challenge, not just when you haven’t had the experience but you are also up against your child. They will know the things that push your buttons, so it can prove to be an overwhelming component, but it can also help you improve your relationship with each other.
School may not have been ideal for them because it had a terrible impact on their sense of self. At home, you can check in with them and see how they are on an emotional level, and if they are feeling okay within themselves.
Homeschooling is one of those things that can create a significant number of barriers if we do it wrong, but if we do it right, it can set them up for life in a way that traditional school environments would not.
