Home Schooling - Where To Start

Homeschooling is the traditional way to teach children. It wasn't until the last century that public education became compulsory. Children who have had illnesses keeping them from attending school, those who live in remote areas and religious reasons are a few current reasons for homeschooling.

In a web poll taken in 2012 out of 989 respondents, 49 percent said religious convictions were the main reason they homeschooled. Fifteen percent believed that public education prevented positive social environments. Fourteen percent felt homeschooled children had a better education. In addition, 12 percent claimed the specific needs of their children were their reasons for homeschooling. A mere 5 percent of parents who preferred to teach children at home, at least during primary school, claimed they homeschooled for convenience sake.

Over the years parents discovered they could homeschool. They began to tell their friends who told their friends and so the modern homeschooling movement began.

What you need to Home School

An entire world of opportunities or learning and teaching can be opened up with a homeschool. A curriculum may be advantageous to your children in a home school environment, but you can do it without a pre-packaged curriculum. However, to make it a bit easier, try a free homeschool curriculum for at least one semester. A set curriculum and a support group can give you great ideas about what works and what will not work for your family situation.

Check out the laws and requirements of your state. There are definite requirements when homeschooling. Your home-taught children will need to take state-sponsored tests to determine if they are learning up to pare.

Make a plan for how you will teach. Think about your relationship with your children. Are you strong enough to handle the emotional and stress of being with your children through learning and playing? Ask other homeschool teachers the resources they use. There are plenty of free resources and materials on the internet and libraries are excellent repositories of homeschool materials.

Ideal places to learn are not just at the kitchen table or a separate room in the house. A hammock in the garden or at the park can be fun places to learn.

You have already begun homeschooling your children if you talk to them, read with them, visit a museum. Point out things of interests around you, answer questions, count cookies and fold towels in different shapes.

Homeschooling is an awesome opportunity to learn alongside your child. It is impossible for you to know everything you need to know, but a good way to cover many issues is to say, “I don’t know – let’s find out.”

Study and learn the pros and cons of homeschooling before you make this a life choice. It is great to teach your child in a comfortable and familiar setting. There is also something to be said about learning how to cope in the crowded and varied world of public school.