Home Schooling

Making the important decision to home school your children is not one to be taken lightly as there are many considerations to think of first as well as specific requirements to be followed to ensure your child receives the education they so rightly deserve.

Getting Started with Home Schooling

The prospect of home schooling is often a daunting one for many parents who simply don't know where to begin. However, it really doesn't have to be stressful but rather an enjoyable experience to cherish throughout your child's school age years and beyond.

The first task is learning of the legal position regarding education in the area you live. Although home schooling is completely legal, some states require that a certain number of hours or days be spent schooling. Most states have no requirements in regard to the parent's educational background, meaning you will not need a college degree to teach your child at home.

Once you have the technical aspects taken care of it's time to set goals and decide how your schedule will be. Will you keep regular school hours or work on more flexible level? This schedule doesn't have to be set in stone right away, but it is a good idea to have at least a loose guideline to follow especially in the beginning when it's often easy to stray from the task at hand.

You will also need to choose a method, or two or three, of teaching your children from home from the large number of various styles used by home schooling parents.

Different Methods and Styles of Home Schooling

Perhaps one of the absolute best things about home schooling is the opportunity to explore different methods and styles of teaching. In traditional school, a classroom is usually filled with 20 to 30 children, all of whom have their own way of learning along with individual strengths and weaknesses. It's simply not possible for teachers to spend one-on-one time with each child, working with them to iron out any problems they're having while focusing on their strong points.

With home schooling, the parent has the unique chance of observing their child's learning capacity and abilities and then tailoring their method of teaching and curriculum accordingly. Eclectic home schooling is a term coined to describe picking and choosing from all the various methods and types of teaching used by parents, guardians, and educators today.

Cottage schools and resource centers are something relatively new to the world of home schooling, but these "mini-schools" are popping up all over the nation. Also, cooperative home schools, where families or groups of people band together to educate the children at one time, are also quickly gaining in popularity around the world. With this method, parents pool their talents together and use their expertise for teaching small groups of children at a time.

This is also ideal for socialization and expanding a child's capacity to learn as they are also exposed to different cultures, ideas, and thoughts. Other options for home schooling your children include tutoring, participating in umbrella schools, which include distance learning programs, cyber schools, charter school, and independent study programs.

In the last 30 years or so, a quiet revolution has begun, and it's changing the way people look at the compulsory nature of school forever. What started out in the 60's as a radical choice made mostly by parents concerned about the lack of religious teaching in public schools has evolved into something spectacular...something so perfect that it seems intimidating. And it's available to any family willing to make the change.

So often, when people find out that my kids do not go to school, I get responses like " Oh, I could NEVER do that. I'm not smart enough." or "I don't think I could stand being with my kids all day every day." and "You must be really disciplined." Truth is, I don't have a college degree, but I am absolutely 'smart enough' to be a home schooling parent, and I have every right to do so. I don't necessarily consider myself a disciplined person, either, and that is just one of the multitude or reasons why home schooling is a perfect match for our family.

There are many reasons why a family might choose home schooling over public or private school. A child may have an illness or disability for which public school cannot provide proper care. Of course, public schools try hard to be politically correct, and will do what they can to assist any children with difficulties, but it's hard enough for one adult teacher to watch over and effectively control a class of 25 'normally functioning' students, much less having one or two kids thrown in who have very special medical and physical needs.

I can think of no environment more nurturing, more secure and loving, especially for a physically ill or disabled child, than the comfort and familiarity of their own home and attentive parents. After all, who understands a child's needs better than an attentive parent?

Home schooling is perfect for Moms like me who work from home. It gives flexibility and plenty of time to spend with the amazing individual minds that society calls my children.

Perhaps the child has been labeled ADHD and put on medication. These narcotics subdue the active child, effectively enabling him to sit still longer and to 'pay attention' to what the teacher deems important...a necessary requirement in school. Home schooling, however, imposes no such limitations. If your child needs to bounce, to talk, to run or even to roll, these things can be allowed and even encouraged in a home schooling environment.

The negative and long lasting effects of the commonly prescribed drugs are now coming to light. Concerned parents are becoming more skeptical of physicians quick fix diagnoses and the schools insistence that such things are required to keep the classroom 'functioning'....especially when it involves their own children.

Perhaps the child just doesn't excel in school, has discipline problems or just plain 'hates' it. Why make them do something they hate every day? Why not give them the joy that comes along with being free to learn on their own time and focus on what interests them?

No matter what the reason a home schooling parent gives for taking their child out of school, one thing is certain. Home schooling is growing in popularity to the point where almost everyone knows someone who is or was home schooled. It may be a quiet revolution, but it's voice is growing louder year by year.