Home Schooling 101

Why bother home-schooling?

Why bother? Well, if you are thinking it is a bother, you might re-think your decision right there. To educate your child at home is not a bother, but a wonderful, richly rewarding experience that benefits you and your child. So, take the "bother" word from your vocabulary if you really would like that opportunity. Yes, this is your opportunity and your child's opportunity.

If you are a stay-at-home mom or dad, then you have the opportunity to have wonderful learning experiences by home-schooling your child. In most states, home-schooling is legal, a legal option. There are some guidelines and rules and regulations that you need to follow, but after that everything rocks! (In some states, there are a certain amount of days that you have to notify the Board of Education that you intend to home-school your child).

You cannot simply keep your child from school and decide to home school. You must, almost always notify the School Board or the Board of Education. You can find out the rules and regulations through your government officials or through some wonderful home-schooling magazines and literature. Once you find out the rules and regulations, you are set to go.

Are there benefits to home-schooling?

Time, Balance, Growth & Togetherness

When home-schooling is done in the proper way, your child will have a fully-balanced education and will become a well-rounded good student. The rewards are unmeasurable. First, one of the benefits is that you both spend more time together and give each other more attention. The average student sees their parent for probably a few minutes a day during the week, or at most an hour or two. However, the average home-schooling parent or guardian sees their child on a regular basis for a few hours a day (when that parent or guardian is teaching). You will learn together! Now that's one of the biggest and best benefits of home-schooling. The teacher and the student learn from each other. You grow together. And you can look back on this experience in years to come and both of you will be happy about your choices and decisions. Children get to spend more time with their siblings, and the younger ones will learn while the older ones are learning also.

You will have more time for each other. You can make practically any life-lesson an education lesson. Going to the supermarket or going to a department store is a lesson in buying, purchasing, finances and product comparison. Going to a fast food place is a lesson in food, health, and in purchasing and even a lesson in customer service. The fast food process shows the children very valuable marketing lessons. So things in every day life add to your home schooling experience.

Good Education

Another benefit is a great education. You see first hand what your child is learning without the need for PTA meetings and without the need for a strangers' report on your child's progress. You choose your child's education. If you want to teach your child spiritual lessons, you can do that. You can teach religion as history and history as religious lessons. (Look at all the Christians in history and look at the impact they made in our land). You can teach fun science lessons and math lessons. A trip to the bank and to the ATM will be a great business math lesson.

You can even take a trip to the Treasury Building and other related places. Your child will benefit first hand so much more in seeing and doing rather than relying on mostly book-based education. (Yes, you need books and you use books, but you do not depend on them solely as your only education tool). Socialization happens just as easily with home-schooled children as it does for children who attend school in school buildings. Many times when we do television shows, we invite the home-school children, parents and guardians to come into our studio, take a tour and be on the show. So, your options are wide open and your world is your education. Another benefit is a focused education. You are the teacher; you are in charge. That gives you lots of options and lots of opportunities.

What are the problems related to home-schooling?

There are few problems to home-schooling, and these are some:

Your child might miss the classmates if your child started out with regular education and now switched to home-schooling.

How do you solve those problems?

The way to overcome this is to have your child interact as much as possible with the children from the other schools. Invite the children (with parents' permission) to come on some day trips with you . Or invite them over after school. Have your child enroll in a hobby that he or she likes . (Children take up piano or bowling, or art , and in these hobbies the children make new friends and have interaction with children their own age). Use your own imagination and you will find ways to have your child interact with other children and still be home-schooled.

Testing

Most school districts require specific tests for home-schoolers. But the tests are no harder than those given to regular school children. So, prepare for the tests. They also usually require that a licensed teacher observe or give the tests. This can all be arranged. If you are determined to home-school, there is nothing that should stop you from at least trying this option of education.

Stigma

Years ago, there used to be a stigma attached to home-schooling. Years ago, most times farmers and poor people and migrant workers home-schooled. Sometimes children and even adults made fun of home-schoolers. But today, that is all changed around remarkably. And this was especially noted when one year, the home-schooled child won the National Spelling Bee on national tv, proving that she was the best speller in the nation. Even after that so many came forward on television stating they had been home-schooled and were now attending college or had graduated from conventional colleges.

What if you change your mind? If you change your mind about home-schooling, you have a right to have your child attend public school. Check with your school district. Most times in most cities, every child is entitled to a free public education, and most likely you live in a city or town like that. So don't worry about changing your mind -if you find that home-schooling is impossible for you to do.