Tips on How to Home School
The decision to home school is one that involves many considerations. Some people choose to home school because of religious reasons, available schools don't meet the needs of their students or they feel this is the best education for their children. There are many reasons that people decide to home school, and one of the first steps in this consideration is learning how to home school.
How to Home School: The Basic Set Up
When contemplating how to home school, look at your space available for a classroom set up. If your student is going to be participating in online home school activities make sure you have the proper internet access and area for them to work. Look at tables and chairs and where you would have space to teach.
Another part of the set up is making sure that you have the resources to teach. When looking at how to home school take the time to investigate curriculum options. Go online and research available text books for home schooling. Find out about local groups that support home schooling. Many areas have a large group of parents that home school and these are the people that have already gone through the beginning stages of learning how to home school.
If you're unsure of where to find resources, check with your local board of education. They may not be able to recommended specific curriculum but they may be able to point you in the direction of groups that already support home schooling.
Once you've decided on curriculum, and got the area set up for home schooling, the next step in learning how to home school is setting up a schedule. Since you are at home, it can be very easy to slide into an ever changing schedule. Set up a time for each subject and try to stick with it. Remember you're a teacher, and making a schedule of daily topics a month in advance can help you facilitate a set schedule.
Field trips can be an important part of the home schooling experience so make time in your monthly schedule to incorporate trips to local areas that can enhance the learning experience. Some local home school groups even have monthly outings where the children can get together to socialize.
Some public schools even offer drop in programs for home schooled students. This means your child could participate in music, art or even P.E. Check local schools for their availability.
Learning how to home school can seem to be overwhelming, take time to investigate the options available and learn from other parents who have the experience of home schooling.