As schools plan to begin in-person classes, some parents across the U.S. decide to stick with homeschooling for their children. If you want to jump right into how to go about homeschooling your children, here are ten tips you should go through right away.
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1. Answering the ‘why’ question
Why do I want my child to be homeschooled? This is a question that every prospective parent must have come across while thinking about homeschooling.
The motivation can differ from person to person. Some might think that their children are not learning at school or they spend too much time doing homework or are absent from school for long durations due to a lack of interest. Whatever the reason may be, it surely has to be a valid one.
The family needs to sit down and think about why they want to pursue this mode of education. While doing so, the parents must also check in with their children. How comfortable are they with the idea of being homeschooled? How long would they want to do it? And so on.
Depending on this starting point, any family can decide on their kids’ homeschooling duration. Another question that should be answered is how to start. Should it be a gradual process or a sudden change?
Therefore, brainstorming about the ‘why’ question will help you start off on the right foot.
2. Knowing your state’s legal requirements
Once you have figured out the ‘why’ part of homeschooling your child, the next step is to understand the legal requirements of doing it.
The requirements vary from one state to another. In Texas, homeschools come under the private schools category and subjects like science and history are not required by the state law. This may not be true in another state like New York, where children in grades 1-6 are required to study US history and science as part of their curriculum.
You can visit the official website of your state’s education department or ask them to send you the required documents by postal services.
Non-profit advocacy organizations like HSLDA (Home School Legal Defence Association) also provide the right kind of information and legal help for homeschool families to overcome any challenges which they may encounter.
Related Reading: Best Homeschool Curriculums for Children with Special Need
3. Local support groups
Every town, community, or state will have at least one homeschool group that serves different needs within the community. There are forums like the Netmums page where parents can directly ask questions to other parents who have already been homeschooling their children for a long time. Support from such groups will help you understand the initial challenges better that might impact you and you will have creative solutions readily available.
There are other sites like Homeschool World where groups are demarcated based on the different regions from the US.
4. Curriculum
While choosing the right type of curriculum for your child several factors need to be considered. Some factors include your child’s learning style, age, stage of cognitive development, personality, etc.
Researching various types of education systems and going through state-recognized standards (in your state especially) will help you identify the necessary learning outcomes for your child.
One can start with a broader learning objective or milestone (yearly), then narrow it down to months, weeks and further divide it into daily tasks or activities if needed. This type of systematic breakdown will also help you keep track of your child’s progress throughout the year.
5. Low-cost resources
Another consideration that homeschool parents need to keep in check is controlling expenses by acquiring free educational materials online. They can do so by using search engines like Google and Yahoo, or sites like Pinterest, Facebook groups, etc.
Parents could also wait and buy resources in bulk when discounts are in place. Sometimes, homeschoolers are offered extra discounts, so looking out for such offers online is important. A good way to learn about it is by subscribing to newsletters of various groups or online educational sites.
Buying annual subscriptions also helps in reducing the overall cost. Platforms like SplashLearn have a cost-effective annual subscription model, and you can impart learnings to your child with their much loved game-based learning model today!
6. Time management
In a traditional school setting, kids follow a particular schedule to learn various things. The schedule becomes much more flexible in a homeschooling setting.
However, some states do require the parents to keep a record to meet the state requirements. Morning and evening are a good alternative to daytime learning for working parents and can easily fill in the hours. According to The Everything Guide To Homeschooling by Sherri Linsenbach, the actual time that must be spent on core skills like Language Arts, Social Studies, Math and Science are:
- Preschool and Kindergarten: 30-60 minutes per day
- Elementary school: 60-90 minutes per day
- Middle school: 1.5-3 hours per day
Younger children need more time than older children who can decide what they want to study.
7. Free Time
Free time is generally given once the main activities for the day are done. But there can be exceptions too in the case of two-career families or single-parent families who might prefer to give their children free time during the first half of the day and concentrate on the core skills later during the evening.
As parents, you can think about how much time each day your child should spend on activities like arts and crafts, games, hobbies, reading, and so on.
Sometimes, your child might miss learning opportunities for days or weeks due to unexpected circumstances. Don’t worry; flexibility is the key to your problems.
You can either have the spring break early or can shift the mid-winter break at your convenience. Including holidays and free time scheduled well in advance will help achieve the learning goals set out at the beginning of the year.
8. Assessing your children
Assessment becomes an integral part of a homeschooling curriculum if the state requires it as a parameter to test a child’s annual progress.
Related Reading: Helpful Homeschooling Resources for Parents
Parents, in such cases can rely on standardized tests, formative assessments, or regular home assignments. Tests like the New York State High School Regents Exam and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills are a few tests students can take (Homeschool Your Child for Free by LauraMaery Gold, Joan M. Zielinski).
9. Social interaction
Socialization looks much different for homeschoolers compared to kids who go to school daily. As parents who are just starting out, this one burning question plagues them: will my child be able to socialize better at home as against a school environment?
The concern is understandable, but many experienced homeschool parents will tell you that their children do just as well as any regular school child. There are many ways through which socialization needs can be taken care of.
Parents can join a local homeschool community where they can meet like-minded people. They can also volunteer, join a hobby class, after-school programs, etc.
10. Importance of a tutor
Sometimes, homeschool parents include online tutoring as an acceptable practice. The reason for this acceptance comes from the realization that they might not be good at some core subjects the child might need to learn, such as math, history, science, economics, etc. In such cases, the child needs the help of an experienced tutor or an educator who will help them fill in the learning gaps and motivate them.
Children can also enroll in online tutoring on SplashLearn and take their journey of becoming fearless learners!
These are a few starting points you can consider while starting with homeschooling for your child. Further research and talking to experienced homeschool parents and educators will help you decide whether or not you are ready. There will be challenges along the way, but nothing is impossible with the right mindset and adequate community support.
Why Do Parents Choose Homeschooling?
Homeschooling started as a temporary solution but became a popular choice among parents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of homeschooled children rose to 11 percent by September 2020. It was the largest in Black households.
Brian D. Ray, an internationally known researcher, states, “There can be more than one reason why people are choosing homeschooling as opposed to the traditional way of schooling.” Some of the reasons are listed below:
- A child learns in the comfort and security of his/her home, where they feel the safest, as opposed to a school environment where it takes time for a child to feel comfortable and safe.
- A child learns at his/her own pace and time.
- Focus on the individual child’s learning requirement is at the forefront, which is sometimes missed in a traditional classroom setting due to class size.
- Bring families closer due to the sheer amount of quality time spent with each other.
It sounds so promising, but you might wonder if you can do it too, and the answer is ‘why not!’.
Homeschooling is not limited to a teaching style as it encompasses everything kids do in their daily lives. It’s a natural way of learning and living each day at home and goes beyond it.
Parents make great teachers as they know their children in and out. This is surely an added advantage. However, a little preparation won’t harm anyone!
Related Reading: Best Books for 5th Graders That Will Make Reading Time Fun for Kids
