Homeschooling! Where do I begin?
This is a common question among parents that want to teach their children at home, but have no clue where to begin.
With the importance of our children obtaining knowledge, we as parents focus on helping them to learn efficiently, to enjoy the art of learning and remembering the fun memories they had going through school until graduation.
Every child is different, and each learn at different levels. Hopefully, the information below will help you on deciding whether homeschooling is right for you and your family.
Deciding to Homeschool
Most parents decide that homeschooling their child is what they want to do when their child has medical conditions or problems arise at school. When we find our child struggling to get through school, we automatically want to find a solution to the problem they are having. The child has a hard time focusing, the environment they are in isn’t acceptable, medical issues, being bored in learning and needing to move on to something new to learn, etc.
The problems parents face can and do have a crucial impact on their children. Deciding whether you can do this is not something to be taken lightly. There is a lot of time and planning you have to put in to have a successful homeschooling experience.
You will definitely see a happier child when you decide that homeschooling is a good fit for your family.
Registration for Homeschooling
Homeschooling your child at home is a big step that you can get easily overwhelmed by getting it set up. The registration is the most important element that has to be done first.
Each state is different in the legality of getting your child registered for homeschooling. I suggest you do your research on what your state requires for you to do homeschooling at home. When choosing a school to register under, check their credentials. Make sure they are accredited with what you need through the state you are living in. Always do your research on everything! It will help things to go better later. Always keep copies of everything during your registration. I use file folders to keep it in order.
.After you get your child registered, you are ready to get everything else you need to make homeschooling a big success!
Support Groups
There are support groups that you can research in your area to see which one you would like the best. Most of them offer a co-op where they actually have classes, which you can count as a day of school .
The support group I belong to offers Sports, Pictures, Yearbook, Kindergarten Graduation, Talent Show, Spelling and Geo Bees. Another support group does the Senior Graduation, if you want to participate.
I would highly recommend joining a support group to help with your homeschooling. They will be a great asset to add to your planner to be included in homeschooling.
Choosing Curriculum for Homeschooling
When choosing curriculum (which is referred to what you will be using to teach your child) check out everything you can find for the grade you will be teaching. Look at the information they have supplied for you to decide if you want to use that or not. The curriculum comes in different based teachings. You can choose which one works for your child.
There is curriculum for every level of learning, from Advanced to Special Ed, and for every grade, even Pre-School. Everything you need is at your fingertips for your homeschooling at home.
Engage with other homeschooling families for a recommendation of curriculum that they have used before to help you get an insight on the different curriculum that is offered. Word of mouth is sometimes a good thing when choosing what to use when deciding on curriculum.
Again, I can’t express the importance of doing your own research on everything that you do and use for your homeschooling. It’s extremely important for you to understand what you need to help your child learn.
Using the Resources for Homeschooling
The resources are unlimited to what is offered for homeschooling. There are countless bookstores online that you can order curriculum from to use. I have a couple of book stores local that offer discount prices on used curriculum and can order books that they don’t have that I may need. People have discount items online, as well.
Free printables are a good thing to check out to include in your teaching with your homeschool. Also, available is free homeschooling curriculum that is already planned out for you. If you are not a planner, this would be ideal for you to use.
Several resources offer learning by interacting with games and watching videos. I have found that most of the gamed and videos are free but there is some that you pay for. These are awesome tools that you can use homeschooling at home.
Extra Curricular Activities for Homeschooling
One might have the question of “What activities can I do with my child if I decide that homeschooling is the right fit for my family?” The sky is the limit when you plan activities for your homeschooling.
Field Trips is a great activity for them to learn about different things using their senses. There are so many places like aquariums, local farms and zoos, just to name a few, that are awesome learning experiences. After you return home, you can ask them to draw or write about what they learned that day.
Other great ideas for you to do with your child would be hiking, nature walks, bowling, miniature golfing, going to the theater to see a movie, boating, fishing, going to the park, planting vegetables and flowers, etc. Let’s not forget crafts. There is free resources with ideas for endless crafting.
Everything you decide upon will definitely be a learning experience your child will remember for years to come.
Conclusion
I have given you important information, from my own personal experience, of what consists of getting your homeschool ready for the school year. You can do the research as I have done and still doing, to make your homeschooling experience a positive environment for you and your family.
Different resources and tools are being offered every day, take advantage of everything you can. Ask questions, offer advice on what to use to help each other. We are all in the same situation doing what’s best for our children.
I welcome comments below pertaining to this topic. You may have something you have experienced with homeschooling that you would like to share that might help someone else who may be going through the same thing.
Thank you for coming by and visiting. Hope you enjoyed reading my page.
Blessings,