Homeschooling is only a great choice if you and your children are prepared to be tough. While it may sound like a simple concept, it is much more than that! You simply need help from experts and those who have been there, and the information in this article is just that.
Include your child’s hobbies in their learning. If they enjoy building model cars, pick up reference books for them to read and include building a car as a project. Teach them about how an engine works, how cars affect the environment and even use the speed and distance a car goes in math lessons.
Real life will intrude on your school day! There is no getting around urgent situations or emergencies, and normally these things are not planned. Do not allow these things to add stress to your day. It is easy to make up a bit of time the following day when lessons have to be put on the back burner.
You expect your kids to be organized, so you have to be, too. You need to have your lesson plans in place long before you start them. You have to have lists of resources, materials at the ready and all the supplies you think they or you might need over time.
Create your own flash cards. There is no need to waste money on expensive sets of flash cards when you can do it yourself. All you need to make your own are some index cards and a marker. Besides saving money, this technique also allows you to tailor the flash cards to your child’s specific needs.
Can you afford to quit your job and homeschool? Have you created a budget to find out? Draft a budget of your current income and expenditures. Now, remove the income of the person who will be staying home. Also, include the cost of supplies, such as lesson materials, writing equipment, paper, etc. Can you afford it now?
Many children learn best when presented with tactile assignments and lessons that require a high level of participation. If you are teaching about other cultures, immerse your family in the ways of that culture by preparing meals from their and watching movies relating to it. For example, when learning about Stalin they could cook perogies and cabbage rolls. When you are learning about WWII, travel the relevant countries by making pasta, sushi and cabbage to represent the axis of evil. If people combine learning with action, it is possible they will more thoroughly understand the information.
The curriculum you choose should not put restrictions on what your kids are learning. Use the books as tools to guide you in the direction your kids need to go in schooling. Take the information from the books and build a learning platform that your kids will do well with. If that means that you are skipping a non-critical lesson or two that is fine.
Be persistent. If you are trying to teach your children something, don’t give up after one failed attempt. There is a time and a place to move on, but make sure you give it your best effort before you go back to the drawing board. Sometimes children just need to be exposed to something for a little longer before it “clicks.”
Set aside a room or a part of your home to school in. Some kids have a hard time changing their mindset from home, where they relax to school where they need to focus and work. If you make a schooling area in your home, your child will know that when he is in that area it is time to learn. Make sure this part of your home is designated as school only so you and your child are serious when you are in this room.
Have fun with homeschooling. When you find interest in something you’re teaching, learn all you can about it. The Internet and local library offer plenty of information for you. Use this information and give it to your child, they can use it in a lesson. This will be something that can benefit you both.
Ask your homeschooling child to help with chores around the house while you grade papers. Homeschooling involves a decent time commitment, and it might take away from time you have to complete household tasks. By asking your child to help, you will have more time to dedicate to lesson plans and grading papers. In addition, the chores provide your child with valuable life lessons and learning opportunities.
Don’t feel like you need to recreate the classroom experience. Your home is a different environment completely than a classroom. If you try to make it feel like one, you’ll find that it may be counter-productive to your child’s learning. Instead use your environment, your home, to it’s fullest advantage.
Make flashcards for every subject that you homeschool your child in. That way, they have something to study with when you are not personally available. It can help them learn while traveling in a car. Flashcards also make a good lesson plan or activity if your spouse has to do the homeschooling for you one day.
If you are having trouble with a particular subject, take some time to research it before teaching it. There are a lot of materials at the local library to help with this. In addition, you can find some useful resources on the Internet. Learning first will help you to be a better teacher.
If you are not good at a particular subject, it may be hard for you to teach it to your children in a way that will be useful. It would be a great idea to find another adult that is better at the topic and have them teach it to them.
