Posts Tagged homeschool
Want to Homeschool High School for Your Child?
With public schools becoming more dangerous and private schools being too expensive, many parents have opted to homeschool high school for their children. The benefits are actually quite wonderful and it allows you to bond with your teenager is many ways.
This allows you, as the parent, to make sure your teenager is getting the best education possible so that they can do well in college or in their future career. Homeschool high school allows the student to focus on their studies without all the peer pressure and problems that are associated with public high school.
Here are just a few of the benefits you and your son or daughter can enjoy using homeschool high school:
- No overcrowded classrooms. You are your child will be working together on a one-on-one basis and you will be able to provide all the attention and help your son or daughter may need. Public schools are getting more and more overloaded each day and the teachers just cannot spend the quality time with each student that they may need to succeed.
- Your child will never struggle through a lesson because you are there to realize that he or she needs to do some extra work in that area. You are able to immediately recognize trouble, and to go back over the lesson with your child.
- Homeschool high school is much, much safer than public schools. You know for a fact that your child’s life is not in danger when they are learning. Unfortunately, you just can’t say the same things about public schools anymore.
- No teacher in the world, no matter how good, can want the kind of success for your child that you do. As a parent, you can ensure that your child is successful, and you will work harder than anyone else to do so.
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The 5 Greatest Pros of Homeschooling
This article describes my experience as a homeschooler. Please, don’t jump on me for only only putting the pros in the title of this article and saying nothing about the cons of homeschooling. Each one of the 5 topics I will discuss could either be considered a pro or con depending on how you look at it. Either way I am glad I was homeschooled.
1.Parents
I can’t stress enough how much parents have to do with the process of homeschooling. Parents can either be the greatest con or one of the greatest pros of homeschooling, depending on how much effort they put into there children. If a parent is considering homeschooling then this is the most important consideration. Are they willing to spend the time needed with there children or not? It is without a doubt a full time job.
As a young child I was a fairly slow learner. Reading was the worst. I would get headaches while straining to figure out what word I was staring at. Fortunately, I was blessed to grow up in a home where my parents loved and cared for me. My mom was even able to be a stay at home mom. Despite my complaining, they kept with me. Listen closely, this is one of the greatest pros of homeschooling, they spent tons of quality one-on-one time teaching me how to think logically, how to read and how to write. As they kept with me even reading became easier. Parents get the benefit of being a greater influence in there child’s life. The time spent with my parents is beneficial to this day and as a result I have a better relationship with my parents then I ever would have without the benefit of homeschooling.
Because of the fact that as a child I was a bit slow, I started school a year late. Actually, I went to both pre-school and kindergarten before my parents made the decision to homeschool both me and another sibling. Though, I started school a year late I completed my Associates Science degree the same summer I turned 19. I contribute this success largely to the one-on-one time my parents spent with me. As a result of the hours of one-on-one time spent with my parents I have not only learned to read (without those terrible headaches) but I was even able to receive a full ride scholarship to the University of Toledo for Computer Science and Engineering.
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Home Schooling Curriculum – It's Your Choice – Be Sure To Choose Well
Finding the Right Curriculum
When choosing a curriculum, you need to keep in mind your teaching style and the learning style of your child. Some children work best with a lot of structure – others don’t. Some parents will find that a specific method works across all subjects – others won’t. In the beginning, you may not find “the” right answer for your child. You will have to pick something to start, based on your understanding of you and your child, and then you will have to experiment a bit.
Keep in mind that you ALWAYS have the option of making a change. If something you are doing is not working – then stop and do something else. Unlike a public school, you do not need to go through a committee and have it approved! You simply see that it is not working and make a change. Sometimes the change can be quite small, like allowing more freedom of choice for daily activities, and sometimes it can be quite large, like a decision to quit using a particular curriculum. Either way, the choice is yours!
There are three main curriculum choices available to you as a homeschooler.
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Homeschooling Burnout – How To Avoid It
When a parent takes on the responsibility of homeschooling his/her child, burnout is ultimately a risk they may face at some time during their homeschooling. The main reason homeschooling parents face burnout is due to a lack of a realistic structure of the child’s homeschooling curriculum. Often unrealistic goals are set, as the parent believes they have the opportunity to advance their child beyond what would be achieved in a public school system. This is obviously one of the key reasons for choosing homeschooling, but ideally it will result in burnout if order and structure is not adhered to in the homeschooling curriculum. There are other reasons that may also lead to this burnout they could be: an illness, an additional baby, added responsibility, change in routine etc.
When it comes to setting your child’s homeschooling curriculum, a realistic set of goals need to be set. Although your child is at your disposal, you need to be reminded that it is still a schooling environment you are creating at home. For this reason, frequent breaks and variation of educational techniques are crucial to ensure both you and your child to not experience homeschooling burnout.
The symptoms of burnout may vary from lack of patience to overeating and crying without any apparent reasons. Surprisingly, a burnout need not be such a bad thing. It is a wake-up call – an indicator that things are not going well and that you need to reschedule. Reversing or avoiding a burnout is possible if you get fair and early enough warning. Most importantly you need to communicate frequently with your child- let them (within reason) evaluate your homeschooling techniques to see what is helping them to learn more efficiently.
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Tips for Getting Started With Homeschooling
So you’re considering homeschooling? Where do you start?
As with everything in life, those who prepare are more apt to succeed. This is true for homeschooling too. The majority of the structure and organization of the homeschool is up to you. Planning ahead will reduce pitfalls and improve the effectiveness of your homeschool.
There are many ways of creating your plan but there are some basics you should address. Here are guidelines to help you get started with your homeschooling preparation.
- First and most important, get a commitment from everyone in the household who will affect or be affected by the homeschool. Make sure they understand that they are going to contribute to the success of the homeschool.
- Gather information and resources. You can get valuable information by visiting homeschooling web sites, signing up for free online newsletters, visiting homeschooling message board and join homeschooling chats and email lists. Find homeschooling events calendars online and attend homeschooling conferences. Subscribe to homeschooling magazines. Visit a book store or go to your local library.
- Become familiar with homeschooling laws in your state. It is usually simple to satisfy the laws. There are many websites that provide this information. The local public school district office and the public library can also help you in this area.
- Join a homeschooling support group in your area. It is very important to exchange ideas in a group. This can be a group of homeschooling friends or families associated with your curriculum. You can also find regional homeschooling support groups and state level homeschooling associations. Other homeschoolers can offer a wealth of information on a variety of subjects. They can help with many aspects of homeschooling, i.e. choosing curriculum, record keeping, meeting the state laws, and group activities. Some have been homeschooling for a long time and have solutions to difficulties you might encounter. You too can contribute by bringing new and fresh ideas. Even if you want to keep your autonomy, find a group that fits your needs. These groups can streamline your homeschooling and prevent common pitfalls.
- Choose your curriculum. You can choose a complete program or create one yourself. It can new, used, shared or borrowed. It can be expensive or cost nothing. This is where a homeschooling network is valuable. Get input from other homeschoolers. See what has worked them and what fits for you. Takes cues from your children. Use the Internet or go to the library to research your options.
- Set up a record keeping system. There are many different styles of record keeping. You can develop your own style of record keeping. Your record keeping can be as simple as a daily journal or as complicated as keeping track of daily schedules, and setting short- and long-term goals. Also, your curriculum may determine how you keep records. Determine what final result you want. Check out local colleges, trade schools universities and see what they require. Find out what record keeping is required by law. Consult your support group and find what has worked for them.
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