Can you answer Melissa V’s question about Homeschooling?:

I was wondering how much time I should spend a day homeschooling my daughter. She will be in kindergarten this year. I have heard some people say it only takes an hour or two, but I want to make sure . Also I am looking for an afordable curriculm that has some invovment but leaves most of it up to me. What do you use?

Christian Homeschooling Books

There are certainly instances where children can’t attend regular public schools. Or, perhaps their parents will choose to have their children educated in a different manner.for many parents this different manner is homeschooling. In fact, each and every year a growing number of parents are discovering and taking advantage of the homeschooling option in their state.

One of the options that parents have when homeschooling their children is to go with an accredited homeschooling curriculum. These types of schools can give your child the same education as they would otherwise get in a public school, yet accredited home schools make this task a bit easier.

Accredited home schools basically have the same type of curriculum as those of the public schools. However unlike their public school counterparts these accredited homeschooling curriculum allow for the students to learn the subject matter at their own pace. Parents and kids can also telephone their teachers and receive extra help that they might be. This type of coverage will very from subject matter and from one accredited type of homeschool to another.

These types of homeschooling programs are gaining popularity with many parents. With the growing concern of not only the educational quality of the public school, but the safety of the children while in these public schools as well; accredited homeschooling is becoming a more and more viable option for parents wanting to educate their children outside of the public school system.

Another great advantage to homeschooling your children is that with homeschooling as parents you aren’t subjected to attendance rules and strict scheduling requirements found in the public school system. Homeschooling your children is all about flexibility both with the education and with the family schedule.

As we speak there are over a million children now who are receiving some sort of homeschooling. Parents opting to use some form of accredited home schools enjoy the advantage of having the accredited schools keep track of their students progress and also have any records of the students and their studies if such documentation is needed. Although most state colleges readily admit home schooled children, some parents preferred the peace of mind to have the documentation handy from an accredited homeschooling source.

As a parent if you’re considering homeschooling your child there are certainly a number of considerations to be aware of. Don’t let the vast amount of information available to you get you overwhelmed. Take your time in looking over all of the material that you gather, but don’t try to gather it all. Take into consideration your family values and what you consider important in your child’s education.

If you’re new to homeschooling, you may wish to get started using a prepackaged curriculum or some type of accredited homeschooling program. Many parents find this type of structure the best use of their time and their child’s education.

No matter what type of homeschooling format you choose, I think you’ll find the work is hard but just as rewarding as you watch your child grow into an adult knowing that you’ve provided the best foundation that you could for their lifelong successes.



Thanks to Mary Joyce for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Best Home School Curriculum

In home schooling is on the rise in the United States and around the world, and many families are happily enjoying the success and satisfaction of teaching their children well.

Foundational to this endeavor is homeschooling curriculum and at times choosing the right curriculum can be more challenging than the education itself.

One of the challenges that families with kids studying at home face is the cost of acquiring the homeschool curriculum materials, which can be substantial. Although the investment in curriculum materials is generally less that what it would take to enroll the child in a private school, it can still add up quickly.

Add to that the fact that most families have one parent at home all day and out of the work force, so budgets are generally already stretched very thin with only one income for the household. But, families report that the sacrifice and budget juggling are well worth it and that they are amply rewarded.

One simple way to lessen the cost of homeschooling curriculum materials is to seek out used books and workbooks. Spending some time searching the internet will often reveal a number of sources of used material for those studying at home and in most towns and cities there is a least one used bookstore that specializes in handling such books.

Buying used can save you significant amounts of money, and reselling the books when the child moves on to the next course can help offset the cost of the next round of needed materials.

Another good way to save on curriculum materials is to be sure to attend the homeschool curriculum conferences and fairs. Often there will be a time and a place where parents can got together and sell or exchange books.

The drawback to relying on used homeschooling curriculum materials is that sometimes the particular tome is not available when you need it, which might then require a new purchase. But, again, part of that money can be recouped when selling it to the next person.

Of course one of the greatest resources available today for in home schooling are the many online courses and programs for those at home. Many of the resources available online for those studying at home are very cost effective, flexible and good quality material.

However, as with the traditional homeschooling curriculum materials, the online courses will require a sufficient level of research into the various offerings available to determine which is the right way to go.

Online classes for those at home can be used to augment your child’s other studies, or they can be the core of the studies and other activities and learning methods can be worked around that foundation.

There is a huge variety of additional option for homeschooling as well, and what has been discussed here has only begun to scratch the surface of the resources you can find. It can be a time intensive endeavor to research all of the possibilities available to you.

But, since homeschoolers each have unique and special needs, interests and motivations, it is important to invest the time into finding the right fit, even though that in and of itself can be tricky before the student has a chance to crack open the books.

Spending a lot of money does not assure that something is going to be the best homeschooling curriculum choice for your student. Often it is better to start with lower cost materials, in case it’s not the right fit for your child. Then additional materials can be sought without too much strain on the budget.



Thanks to MIKE SELVON for contributing this article to our Homeschooling blog:

Free Homeschool Software

Can you answer I am a Mom’s question about Homeschooling?:

I am homeschooling my 4 children. If you have used both, could you please tell me what are the differences in the Abeka & BJU curriculum? Differences In the parent guides/lesson plans, student work, etc.

Please no comments about how homeschooling is wrong, you don’t know my situation, and it is the best answer for our family.

Home School Special Education