The decision to home school your child can be a very difficult one to make. With the high rate of two-income families today, many parents wonder if they can make the financial sacrifice, even it is the right thing to do. Many more wonder if their children can get the same level of education if they choose homeschooling. However, despite these concerns, the rate at which parents are choosing to home school continues to rise.

There are a vast number of reasons why parents choose to home school their kids. For many parent, it is because they want to add religious content to their children’s learning experience. For others, they see the decline in the public education system today and want to choose something better for their kids.

According to a recent an August 2006 ABC 20/20 special, many kids today are not being taught even the needed fundamentals to graduate. For example, one student was interviewed who was in high school but was only able to read at a fourth grade level. Another student interviewed mentioned that cheating was actually encouraged by his teacher.

Although the public education system is not as good as it should be today, the decision to choose homeschooling as an alternative is one that should not be taken lightly. When choosing to home school your kids, you must first consider these 7 things:

1. Time commitment that is involved.

Homeschooling has a tendency to take up a lot of time in your day. It involves more than just sitting down with books for a couple of hours. There are experiments and projects that have to be done, lessons to prepare, papers to grade, field trips, park days, music lessons, and the list just keeps on going. Fortunately, you can go online and search for some sample schedules that will help to give you an idea of a typical day.

2. Personal sacrifice.

The homeschooling parent has very little personal time or time alone and away from their children. If a lot of care is not taken to set aside time for yourself, it is easy for the parent to feel overwhelmed. It is not unusually for the parent and child to be together 24 hours a day, which can lead to frustration on both sides.

3. Financial problems can arise.

Homeschooling can be accomplished with very little cost to you; however, it usually requires that the teaching parent not work, either out of the home or not. Some sacrifices will need to be made if the family is used to two incomes. Of course, if you are a single parent, this could pose an even bigger problem.

4. Time for socialization.

More attention will need to be given to getting your children together with his/her peers. The best part of homeschooling is being able to have more control of the social contacts your child makes. However, the downside is that you must prepare your child yourself on how to socialize with other kids. Homeschooling can have a tendency to make your child feel isolated.

5. Household organization is harder.

Housework, laundry and other chores will still have to be done, but it probably won’t get done first thing in the morning. If you are a neat freak, you might be in for a big surprise. Not only does housework need to be let go at times, but also homeschooling creates messes and clutter on its own. You will have to get organized so that you can keep your home together.

6. Both parents must agree to it.

It is important that both parents agree to homeschooling. It is very difficult for this to work if one of the parents is against it. If your spouse is against it at this time, try doing more research and talking to more people so that you can be absolutely certain it is something that both of you can agree upon. Otherwise, the chances for success are much smaller.

7. Your child has to be willing.

A willing student is crucial to the success of homeschooling. Ultimately, the decision is the parents to make, but if your child is dead set against it, you might have a very difficult time in teaching them. The fact of the matter is that an unwilling child can sabotage his/her own school efforts.

There is a lot more to homeschooling than is often seen at first glance. As a parent, you must know that your child’s education is the most important factor in his/her future. You need to be thoroughly prepared for all of the time and commitment that is involved. If you are thinking of choosing homeschooling for your children, it will be critically important to network with other like-minded parents in your local area. Not only will this help with the planning process, but will also provide a place to share ideas and concerns with others who are experiencing the same thing.



Thanks to David Dunlap for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Best Home School Curriculum

Young children’s learning and development are integrally connected to their families. Parents are a child’s first teachers.  

Good communication between parents and caregivers in the early childhood setting is very important.   It is the goal of both parents and caregivers to provide children with the best environment for learning and growing. Caregivers should strive to earn the trust of each child’s parents.  This trust will allow parents and caregivers to work together for the good of the child.

To support and promote children’s optimal learning and development, early childhood programs must recognize the importance of children’s families, establish relationships with families based on mutual trust and respect, support and involve families in their children’s educational growth, and invite families to fully participate in the program.

There are numerous ways programs can support family relationships.  Parent-teacher conferences, home visits, and family nights at the child care center are acceptable ways of encouraging family involvement.

Teachers may also plan family involvement events that correspond with the curriculum.  For example, during a monthly unit on professions, the teacher may invite parents to visit the classroom and explain their professions to the children.

In his article, “Teacher-Parent Partnerships”, Kevin J. Swick states, “The partnership construction is based on the premise that collaborating partners have some common basis for action and a sense of mutuality that supports their joint ventures.  Teachers and parents have a common need for joining together in partnership: the need to foster positive growth in children and in themselves.  It is their challenge to create a sense of mutuality so that their efforts are meaningful to all those involved.”

Some parents do not have the characteristics needed to form a partnership and this is when the teacher’s efforts to create a partnership become vital.  Teachers can provide an environment that encourages the development of partnership behaviors in parents.  Modeling respect and communication skills, showing a genuine interest in the children, responding constructively to parent concerns, promoting a teamwork philosophy, and being sensitive to parent and family needs are some ways to promote this process.

Swick also states, “Teacher attributes that appear to positively influence teachers’ relationships with children and parents include: warmth, openness, sensitivity, flexibility, reliability, and accessibility” (Corner and Haynes, 1991).

Swick’s also comments on teacher-parent partnerships is the discussion on the unique roles teachers and parents play to create a successful partnerships. Swick says,”Parenting roles are performed within the family and within family-school relationships. Roles critical to family growth are nurturing, teaching, and modeling.  Within the larger contexts, they emphasize particular roles as family or family-school situations dictate.” Comer and Haynes add to this commentary stating  “For example, recent findings suggest that when parents sense an inviting school climate, they emphasize nurturing and supporting behaviors in their interactions with teachers; their participation in the school environment also increases”.

Teacher roles that are critical to partnership are family-centered in nature and include support, education, and guidance.  Teacher roles that focus on family involvement in school and classroom activities include those of nurturing, supporting, guiding, and decision-making.

Parents and teachers are on the same team and they both have the same goal.  To support and nurture the children the best way possible, at home and in the classroom.

Learn more about parent participation. Visit ChildCare Education Institute to discover over 100 online child care training courses that meet the continuing education requirements of the child care industry.  Register for a sample course and try online learning today!



Thanks to Childcare Education Institute for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Earn High School Diploma At Home

Would you like to have your own online journal to share information, experiences, thoughts, opinions, advice, and suggestions about homeschooling and your life as a homeschool parent? Then consider starting a homeschool blog. Blogging is a more recent and very popular phenomenon on the Internet.

A blog, or “web log,” is an online journal website where you can post entries as often and as long or short as you’d like. Blogs are usually subject-based and are geared toward a specific audience, and in this case, your main subject would be about homeschooling, attracting a readership of homeschool students and homeschool families or other individuals interested in homeschooling. Blogs also feature comments that allow your readers to provide feedback to a particular entry.

If you’re concerned about the fact that your writing abilities may not be “good enough,” take heart. The blogging world is fairly casual. You don’t have to be a stellar writer and your grammar and spelling need not be perfect. You do, however, need to have something to say. You need to find a voice, write in an interesting, engaging style, post often (or at least regularly), and interact with your readers through comments.

First of all, what can you write about homeschooling, the homeschool life, and your homeschooler? There are endless ideas here. You can write about the different benefits of homeschooling, the challenges of having a homeschool, how to switch from public school to homeschool, personal experiences, your children as homeschool students, opportunities for homeschool families, and curriculum issues and ideas.

Now that you have some ideas of what to write, you need to find your writing style. First, try to write the way you speak or think. Forget about being technical or trying to be a professional-be natural and relaxed, like you’re having a conversation. For example, don’t just regurgitate online research about Homeschooling, talk about your real homeschool experiences as well as thoughts and stories about your homeschooler. Also, keep your audience in mind as you write, and finally, check out other blogs about homeschool families or homeschooling to get a feel for it.

Furthermore, make sure you write in your blog regularly. You will lose your readership fast if you’re sporadic. It’s best to write as often as you can, even if you write short entries about your particular day as a homeschool parent. Posting daily or every other day is generally recommended, but if you can’t, try at least to post regularly and consistently so your readers will know when your blog will be updated.

Finally, interact with your readership. If someone comments on one of your posts about your thoughts of the homeschool life, reply with your own feedback so your readers know you are interested in their responses.



Thanks to Mimi Rothschild for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Best Home School Curriculum

Myths about homeschooling abound, either as false assumptions held by parents who send their children to public school, or by parents considering a homeschool for their preschool children ,or even those parents considering pulling their older kids out of public school to start a homeschool.

Many parents may think they are inadequate to homeschool their children because they are not “certified teachers,” not properly trained or qualified for this task. This thinking is linked to a widespread myth about homeschooling: Many people believe that a child learns and studies through a formal curriculum taught in a homestyle “classroom,” the kitchen table, dining room table or bedroom desk, by the parents as teachers.

However, the fact is that while children can learn in this way, they also can and do learn through a myriad of methods. These include formal teaching and lessons done by a parent; activities and get-togethers with the homeschool community and other children; everyday, real-life experiences; independent study time and activity time; helping around the home with chores; family outings, trips and holidays; and more.

As a matter of fact, one of the major benefits of homeschooling is that you as the parent can formulate a tailored “curriculum” for your child using a variety and a combination of resources and ideas instead of relying on prepackaged curriculum. You can be flexible and be in complete control of what your child learns and how they learn. You can also choose the approach of teaching and your own educational philosophies through homeschool depending on you and your child’s styles, preferences, and needs. You may even vary your teaching approaches from day-to-day and from subject-to-subject. Your approach is completely up to you. Studies have even shown that children score extremely high on standardized tests, even though many of them have not been taught formal curricula by their parents.

Another widespread myth about the homeschool life and homeschool families is that children are basically always stuck at home, and consequently become isolated and lack in socialization skills. However, the truth is that children tend to be very active in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities as participants in a plethora of activities including sports teams, volunteering, special classes, private lessons, babysitting, part-time jobs, church events, and clubs.

Homeschooling need not equate isolation. You, the parent, can help your child become involved in society and provide opportunities for social interaction daily. You have the added advantage of having a very flexible schedule, allowing you to do the things you need to do as well as things you’d like to do, whenever it suits you.



Thanks to Mimi Rothschild for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Homeschool Science Supplies

Homeschooling is challenging to get going with, add the suspicion of teaching a child with special needs and you are increasing the difficulty of homeschooling Tim and Lisa at home. This does not mean that it can’t be done, as there are lots of youngsters with disabilities being homeschooled and successfully at that. Irregardless, there are some confusions and roadblocks along the way so here are a few hints to keep on your fridge and examine when times get arduous.

* Baby Steps: Yes we understand quite heard this prior to, and it’s often an acceptable rule for altogether of us. Its especially imperative when homeschooling your special daughter. A good way to start is that the smaller the steps and the smaller the units, the slower you go. Furthermore, structure sure you invest a enduring time on each step to facilitate your son or daughter in education the information.

* Reading and Math Code: Instruct only these two subject matters if you are running out of time. Adjust sure Tim and Lisa can read and knows their numbers. Supporting subject matters can be taught within the context of these two skills. Don’t skimp on reading or mathematics.

* Reading Trumps Quite: Another thought of reading, if your son or daughter can’t read, free of cost else proceedings. Sometimes you will empathize with to do minimal cost even so reading until your children catches on. Think of going through the world without reading? Exactly, this is why I mention this reason why.

* Disability Pro: You should turn into the biggest authority on your son or daughter’s disability. Read up on it, track down back up groups, see what educating plans work boost than others for your children. You are only hurting your child if you try to ignore that he/she has some special schooling needs. Also, society schools may moreover have some resources here and there. For instance, some citizen’s schools offer nothing testing and will offer tip and tips on working with Tim and Lisa.



Thanks to Carol Currie for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Earn High School Diploma At Home