Is Homeschooling Something YOU Could Do?
I am guessing you aren’t happy with the schooling your kids are getting, for whatever reason. You’ve suggested homeschooling to yourself. But you can’t imagine yourself doing it because you aren’t superwoman, able to juggle lessons and other mom duties.
As a homeschooling veteran, I can tell you this: you CAN do it IF you love your kids. That’s what it takes: dedication to your kids. You will develop the skills you need as you need them. It’s like juggling. When you first learn to juggle, you juggle just one thing. Then you ad another. Then you add another.
You’ll be happy to hear this. Homeschooling may actually be easier than not homeschooling. Soccer moms are constantly driving, getting their kids to lots of different same-age activities. If you were homeschooling, you’d be able to find and do activities that work for all of you together.
In addition, kids in school often have plenty of homework and need help from you in the evening. If you homeschool, you get all that out of the way in the morning, and your evenings are free.
If you have a large family, you’ll probably want to rely on unit studies. These are studies of large topics, such as ancient Egypt, which can be treated differently for kids of different ages. You can read all of them a novel about ancient Egypt, for instance Mara, Daughter of the Nile. A younger child would write a sentence about it, and an older one a three-page paper with bibliography. The kids can do art projects and learn about measuring the height of pyramids using similar triangles. The unit might last a month or so. There are many available for purchase on the homeschool curriculum market.
You will probably want to use workbooks and curriculum to make sure your child is learning what he should be learning for his grade. Homeschool curriculums typically include an answer key, so you don’t need to be an expert. Actually, homeschooled kids usually learn directly from the book or workbook, not from a lecture. This reading skill is great for preparing for college.
There are also correspondence schools that do all the teaching for you, if your child needs that.
How do you structure your day? Many families do the tougher studying in the morning, leaving the afternoon for projects or play. There are plenty of organizations these days with daytime classes for homeschoolers, if you want to sign up for something outside the home. You could even send your kids to organized sports with schooled kids in the late afternoon, if you are willing to do some driving! Watch out how much of that you sign up for though! You have to be careful to avoid burnout.
People who don’t homeschool always ask about socializing. Are the kids getting enough socializing? One of the best things about homeschooling is that you get to choose whom your children socialize with. You can make sure the socializing is well supervised. Bullies are not a problem. In fact, you can even choose adults. I have observed that most homeschooled kids are very comfortable talking to adults, much more so than schooled kids.
A homeschool co-op is one of the best solutions to the need for socialization. If you meet once a week with other homeschoolers for class or field trips, your child gets well-supervised social interaction, and can learn and grow socially in a way that a schooled child cannot. Bullying is simply not a problem for homeschoolers! So how do you find a co-op? You have to ask other homeschoolers. If your area has a homeschooling convention, by all means go to it, and go to workshops if they have any. You need to network with other homeschoolers until you find or can create a co-op.
Lastly, how will you find support? Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart, and it’s not for the unsupported parent, either. You will need to find someone to share your challenges with. Many homeschooling parents support each other online. There are plenty of discussion forums attached to homeschooling Web sites, such as at www.welltrainedmind.com . There are plenty of e-mail groups for homeschoolers also.
Here’s the answer to the homeschooling question: You can do it!