Homeschooling is becoming more and more popular these days. As parents you know your kids deserve better than the low academic standards the schools are offering, the complete disregard for morality, and the lack of overall safety of your child while there. If you’re not sure how to start homeschooling, this post is for you. You’ll realize homeschooling isn’t near as demanding or difficult as you might think.
Why you would want to start homeschooling your kids
It’s no secret that schools these days are becoming less a place of education, and more a place of indoctrination. Young kids are very impressionable and absorb whatever is being taught to them. If your kids are with another person, practically a stranger, for the majority of their week, you only have a few hours to instill in them the values you hold dear.
More and more students are graduating high school without proficient reading and math skills. Even if your child has the capacity to learn these skills early in life, the public school system cannot specialize their teachings to accommodate your child. Homeschooled kids do better academically by 15-25%
There’s also the concern of safety in the schools. There’s bullying (which is becoming increasingly violent), sexual abuse, and the risk of an unhinged lunatic taking advantage of a “gun-free zone”. A note on the sexual abuse, as somber and horrifying as it is, about 10% of students in public schools are victims of sexual misconduct. To add a little anecdotal evidence to this; two out of the three schools I attended had teachers who behaved inappropriately with students. From sexual comments, all the way to intercourse. There’s also the sad concern of student on student victimization.
On those days where you might be tempted to quit, remember, by keeping your kids out of public school you are protecting them from predators.
How to start homeschooling your kids
An amazing part about homeschooling is being able to instill in your kids a love for learning. Kids are naturally curious and excited to learn. However, the rigorous schedules in schools do not allow much time for individual creativity, interests, or play. Plus, you’re child will be taught exactly the same as all the other students who came before and after him. His individuality is pushed aside until he conforms to his peers.
When you are responsible for your child’s education, you know exactly how he learns. You can choose exactly what curriculum to use, how long you’ll spend on it each day, and if you need to, you can change curriculums in a heart beat.
Kids do not need to wait until they are five years old to learn the alphabet and their numbers. Your kids can start homeschooling well before preschool age. A two year old would love to practice singing the ABC’s with his parents. And there’s also never ending opportunities to practice counting in the home.
Before you start homeschooling read up on the local laws in your state or country.
Once your child does reach school age you will need to learn the local laws in your area. Most states require a letter of intent to your local school district. This will include your child’s name, address, and the date you plan to start the home education program. Many states also require an annual assessment by a certified teacher. There’s so many homeschool co-ops out there now a days, you will likely be able to find other homeschoolers in your area who could give you local advice regarding the laws.
Hang on to the curriculums your children have already finished, especially the work books. These will prove you are in fact teaching your children. You may need to show a certified teacher their work in order to have them sign off on your child’s yearly assessment. Older children can take any kind of standardized tests used in the public schools to pass off the year, instead of doing the annual assessment. Keep records of your child’s work for at least two years.
Choose your curriculum
There are a lot of wonderful curriculums out there. It’s so fun looking through the different options and catering them to your children. We love the Good and the Beautiful curriculum, especially for the young children, as well as All About Learning. Both of these programs are open and go, meaning you don’t have to spend hours a week planning out your lessons, which is almost essential when you have multiple small children, a house to manage, and a garden and animals to take care of.
Create your routine
Kids benefit so much from having a set routine. It gives them a feeling of peace and security. When your kids know what to expect they will have an easier time sitting down for a few minutes to do a lesson with you. They’ll also start to hold you accountable on those days you might want to skip.
For a lot of homeschoolers this includes a morning routine, some reading and Bible time and then lessons. When you start homeschooling you might find your children are way to energetic in the morning and need to run around for a while before sitting down to work on a lesson. If you have a baby, working on lessons while the baby is napping might be the best time.
You don’t need to follow the schedule of the public schools.
If you are trying to live a more productive lifestyle by growing and raising some of your own food, you will be well aware of the different seasons through the year. Part of the year you’ll be working hard outside to sow all your seeds and take care of livestock. You’ll also have that time of year where you’ll spend almost all your days harvesting and processing the food you’ve worked so hard to raise.
Here in Florida, we spend a lot more time outside from November to April. By the time May rolls around we retreat to the a/c. This means that we will do a little less dedicated school work during the cooler months, and will really crack down during the summer when all the public school students are on their breaks.
You may need to try a lot of different schedules when you start homeschooling to find what works best for your family. Keep at it and your kids will thrive.
How much time does it take to homeschool?
One of the most common concerns I hear about homeschooling is how much time it would take. However, in reality it frees up so much time in your day and week. For young children 2-3 you may only spend ten to fifteen minutes per day on a lesson. For kids around 4-5 you can expect 20-30 minutes per day. 6-7 year old’s can do 35-45 minutes a day, and on from there.
Note that as your children get older and can handle more responsibility, they will start to take charge of their learning. You will not have to spend every minute of a lesson instructing your children. A teenager will be able to do their entire day of school on their own.
We do dedicated lessons Monday-Thursday in our home, two days of reading and two days of math per week. We usually start around 10:30 a.m. and are almost always done by lunchtime. However, during the cooler months the kids play outside until lunch and we do lessons after, when the baby is sleeping.
On those days where nothing goes right
It happens, someone wakes up sick, or the kids didn’t sleep well, or you’re not feeling well. Not every day, every week is going to be perfect. You might have planned to do x,y, and z lessons but a guest pops in unexpectedly and your time block for school is gone for the day.
It happens.
If all you can do one day is read to your children for 15-20 minutes, that’s okay!
In fact, it’s those unexpected days where nothing goes right, that we have our best reading sessions. The kids are more engaged in the stories we read, they are more quiet and peaceful. Embrace those days, it’s the extraordinary days we remember the most.
If you’re looking to get started homeschooling, let me know if you have any other questions you’d like me to address. And if you’re a homeschooling pro I’d love to know what your best homeschooling advice is down in the comments!
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