Home Schooling

I won't lie to you- home schooling can be difficult. But the result is so worth the effort. Many children struggle in school, and many parents struggle with what to do about it. One alternative is to home school your child. Home schooling allows your child to learn at his or her own pace. You can use traditional school grades as a guide, but if your child is really struggling, slow down a bit. By the same token, if he's getting all the subject matter with little or no effort, bump him up a notch.

When you home school, your child's education rests on your shoulders. That in itself is incredibly overwhelming at times. I home school my two boys- 8th grade and kindergarten- and I don't even have a college degree! So what makes me so qualified? I love my boys. I have their best interests in mind at all times. I don't have to worry about any other kids- only my two.

As a home school teacher, I have sacrificed a lot. Mostly a social life. My kids are with me most all of the time. And, let me tell you, I am not one of those people who just loves to be with her kids all the time. No- I say too much of a good thing is not always good. So I have to make a little more of an effort to get out a bit. I've just started back to work- evenings- and it kind of feels like my quiet time. I'm loving it.

Another thing that I've given up is my dining room. Now, this may sound strange, but that's where we have school. I know you're supposed to have a dedicated space for school, but until I hit the jackpot and can afford a bigger house, the dining room it is. I think I am borderline OCD sometimes. Things should just be put in their proper place so you can find them later. This reeks havoc on me and my dining room sometimes!

But there are tons of benefits to home schooling. You can set your own hours. We decided we wanted to take every Friday off. So we have school from Monday to Thursday. As long as we still get our work done and a minimum number of school days in- we shoot for 140 days per year-it works great. My boys always have a long week end to look forward to. If we have something else to do, we cancel school for the day. We can always make it up on Friday! If we want to go on vacation we just take our books with us. We have shorter lessons on vacation, but it's still more fun to do math In Orlando from the balcony of the condo overlooking the pool!

Since we home school, we almost never have homework. My boys have friend who spend hours every night doing homework! That cuts into family time a little too much for me. That, in fact, is the very reason I pulled my oldest some out of traditional school after the fifth grade- too much homework. I was already spending two to four hours a night helping him, why not just do all the teaching? Now we have more time to do other things.

One of the biggest arguments I hear against home schooling is the socialization issue. Well, let me tell you, it's a crock. My boys have lots of friends. Good friends that I know well and I know their parents. I know who my kids are hanging out and what they do all day. I know when they're upset. I get to see the joy (and relief) on their faces when they do a great job.

With my little guy, I get to help him learn to read. He will be five in a few weeks and is just starting the first grade Hooked on Phonics reading program. Just because he can. Some of his friends that are a year older are learning their colors and letters and letter sounds. Fine for them, but I can do better for my kid.

One of the most important things I try to teach my boys is that they don't have to know all the answers- just how to find them. In traditional schools, they were taught to memorize subject matter to pass a test. Now, I try to make sure they "get" it. Some things we go over very fast, other things we take our time on. It all depends on where he is at that moment.

Home schooling is a drastic choice. It's all or nothing on some days. But it's wonderful and rewarding and terrifying and trying. But it's always for the best interest of MY child.

Making reports, filing papers, fielding phone calls and placating your boss at the office takes only eight hours. Do you rest when you return home? The answer is no as you have to prepare dinner, share stories with your husband, spend time doing homework with the kids.

This is a situation typically encountered by working mothers, who for 24 hours and 7 days balance the innumerable demands of career and home. The children are however always at the receiving end and this is the problem. The reason for this needs to be asked.

The cause being the tendency of parents, particularly mothers to submit their children to schools with the faith that the children would be provided the best education by the institution.

Some parents however, in today's changing world have realized that in order to provide the best education to their children sending them to school is no longer the best option. This is the reason for their choice of home schooling to provide their children the kind of education they desire for them.

Most parents devote their time and attempt to give their children the best education at home in home schooling. This does not imply however that more time should be devoted to home schooling than to household chores. Home schooling uses the 'one to one' teaching method as its fundamental tenet. The reason being children can understand the concept quicker and easier due to a more individualistic method.

To plan the right amount of time needed in home schooling given here below are some guidelines:

1. Learning style of the children.

Examples can be found that the time requirements in home schooling may be dependent on the children's learning style. An example would be that you would have to dedicate much less time if your child can learn things at a much quicker pace. You would however have to dedicate more time explaining certain concepts of the subject matter being taught, if your child requires more time to understand the things which are taught to him.

2. The kind of method used.

Teaching methods relating to home schooling are many in number. However they differ regarding the time required by the parent to be dedicated to each program, as each has its individual teaching method.

3. The number of children within the family.

Having many children in the family would mean long hours of teaching similar to a typical classroom setting where usually the number of children are many. The reason being that you would have to inculcate in students the substance of the subject matter, and would have to explain all over again if one of them fails to understand the idea.

4. The age of the child.

More time is required in home schooling, the lesser the age of the child. The reason being that in comparison to children at the higher levels younger children tend to comprehend things being taught much slowly.

The vital factor is having quality time to spend with your parents or students though from the overall point of view the time needed may be influenced by these above-mentioned factors.