Home Schooling
Imagine sitting in school wearing your pajamas. Is this a bad dream or a great idea? More families are embracing the flexibility and convenience of home schooling. The US Department of Education reports the percentage of home-schooling Americans during the last census rose to 3.4%, up from just 1.7% previously.
Exploring the Benefits
When asked about the benefits of teaching in the home, parents often point beyond flexibility and convenience. Instead, they talk about relationships, about being closer to their children. They note how siblings are cooperative, interactive and affectionate with one another.They discuss the benefits to their child’s sense of identity. Greater confidence and better decisions lead to social stability. Children often choose friends intentionally instead of reacting to pressure or insecurity.
Taking advantage of these benefits, however, means getting started. So, what does it look like to home school?
Home School Scenarios
Homeschool learning schedules involve a variety of options, including different kinds of home school kits and environments inside and outside the home. Umbrella programs, like HomeLife Academy, offer official transcripts and standards assessments for families in any of these scenarios.
Interest-Driven Learning
Interest-driven learning capitalizes on the interests of the child to provide a lens through which academic disciplines are explored. If a learner has an interest in World War I, the teacher structures field trips, reading assignments and science lessons around this topic.
Home School Curriculum
Homeschool kids curriculum offers a comprehensive collection of lessons and activities. Providers like Abeka and Sonlight organize an entire year of material across disciplines with teacher guides and learner workbooks.Expect to pay between $300 and $1,000 for these resources. However, parents can find used home school kits through websites like Second Harvest Curriculum, on Facebook user groups and through local curriculum sales. Alternatively, K12 is a tuition-free, online public school that leverages the idea of home school kits via digital tools.
Teaching Outside the Home
In addition to home school curriculum, monthly home schooling memberships like co-ops offer a way for students to learn alongside others. In this model, parents are required to work in return for their child’s participation. Similarly, a tutorial offers this same environment but with tuition and teachers who are typically professionals. Other monthly home schooling memberships include homeschool support groups and special interest groups.
Home Schooling Resources
The Old Schoolhouse and Homeschooling Parent are magazines that offer reviews and articles specific to homeschool kids curriculum and other topics. Blogs like 1 Plus 1 Plus 1 Equals 1 focus on issues such as caring for toddlers while homeschooling older children, and resources like Khan Academy provide free individual classes for any age.Other home schooling resources include conferences where parents hear from experts and preview curriculum. Teach Them Diligently and The Great Homeschool Convention are conferences that visit major cities each year.
Check out these resources and discover the benefits of home schooling for yourself.
