– Homeschooling is one of the oldest methods of education, having been practiced in various forms since ancient times. Today, it remains a popular choice in many countries, allowing families to have full control over their children’s education.
Luckily, homeschooling has evolved and is now much easier than in the past. With the right resources and guidance, any family can homeschool their children, create a strong educational foundation, and unlock a lifetime of opportunity. If you’re looking to provide the best learning environment, read to discover practical tips on how to homeschool like a pro.
1. Research the Requirements for Homeschooling
Before beginning the homeschooling process, it’s important to understand and comply with the relevant regulations. This varies from country to country and sometimes state to state, so do your research early on and ensure that you’re following all the legal requirements.
This usually involves registering for homeschooling and submitting some form of paperwork or curriculum. If you don’t understand something or the process feels too daunting, don’t be afraid to reach out or ask for help from those more experienced with homeschooling and the relevant processes.
2. Create a Structured Learning Environment
Just like any school, homeschooling needs to have a structured learning environment. This involves setting a schedule and sticking to it as much as possible.
Routines help children to better understand the learning process and perform more efficiently, but also gives them days off and time to enjoy other activities, including seeing friends. Breaking up the day and week into different corresponding activities also helps with organization and planning, providing better focus and concentration. Don’t forget to have a system in place that allows for making up missed classes or late submission of assignments.
3. Choose an Appropriate Curriculum
The next step involves designing a curriculum that best fits your children and is appropriate for their age. For example, you should choose courses for each subject and estimate the workload (books, assignments, exams) for each area and milestone. Different types of content work for different students, so make sure you’re taking your children’s needs and progress into account.
Depending on the experience of the home educator, families can design their own courses or purchase a ready-made curriculum from an education provider.
4. Decide on the Teaching Methodology and Tools
Home educators have to grapple with different teaching styles, tools and methods. It’s important to decide upfront what approach works best and makes learning more enjoyable.
Should you use textbooks, videos, apps, or the internet? Will you focus on lectures, hands-on activities, games, or projects? What tools can assist with communication and assessment-tracking?
How should you deal with difficult topics and sticky situations? To really excel at homeschooling, find an approach that best fits your budget and educational philosophies.
5. Capture All the Necessary Resources
Based on the type of curriculum and teaching methodology you’ve chosen, start gathering all the necessary resources. Educational books and resources can be sourced from the local library or online, and you can use sites like YouTube, iTunes, or Netflix for digital content.
If you’re teaching a single subject like mathematics, many subject-specific sites now exist which offer online content, exam-related questions, and tutorials. Depending on the course and the content’s origin, associated fees for such resources may be required.
6. Create a Learning Space
While technically any space at home can serve as a learning area, your home educator should delegate a specific spot where you can sit and focus on studies without too many distractions. Depending on the available space and furniture, a comfortable table and two chairs should do the trick, but it’s important to prepare the area accordingly, in terms of ventilation, lighting and acoustics.
Even with limited ceilings and vents, it’s still possible to make the space comfortable by incorporating some plants, decent curtains, and a vibrant wall mural.
7. Manage Schedules and Assignments
With the curriculum and learning space in place, the home educator must now take full responsibility for putting it into practice. Tracking the schedule, assignments, and attendance throughout the year is essential, so look into various options that can help with this. As an example, a good calendar app can help to keep track of the calendar and schedule activities weeks/months ahead.
Likewise, different tools can help to track assignments, provide reminders, and organize lessons more efficiently.
8. Use Tech to Your Advantage
Technology is a great way to make homeschooling more efficient and ensure that learning is continue, even away from the classroom. Whether via Skype, Facetime, or Zoom, video communication can help to create learning opportunities and connect with peers outside of the home.
Online whiteboards and apps can help with tests, simulations and multi-dimensional learning, while online libraries and books can provide additional learning materials and insights.
9. Be Flexible and Adaptive with Learning
As an educator, you need to be prepared to switch things up and allow your students to learn in different ways. While textbooks, quizzes and assignments are great, they’re not the only way to learn.
Encourage children to explore new topics, use the internet to broaden their research, and involve them in more hands-on projects. There are actually a lot of alternatives to traditional education and providing enough variety helps to keep children motivated and engaged.
10. Manage Disciplinary and Difficult Situations
It’s important to take control of the classroom/home environment, in order to provide as much consistency and stability throughout the year. With that in mind, establish ground rules early on and be prepared with suitable punishments or rewards for those who follow or break. Communication is key in such scenarios, as it will help you get to the root of the issue and find the best solution.
Likewise, when a school day is not going according to plan, don’t be afraid to change things up to get back on track and adapt as needed.
11. Monitor Your Students’ Progress and Performance
Finally, it’s important to keep track of your students’ progress and performance in order to better understand their strengths and weaknesses, set realistic goals, and adjust the curriculum accordingly. To do this, use software with built-in assessments, performance analytics and progress tracking. This way, you can get a better idea of the work completed, identify any areas for improvement for the student, and adjust accordingly.
12. Get Social: Attending Homeschooling Groups and Events
It’s just as important for homeschoolers to socialize and make friends with peers as it is for students from traditional schools. To make this happen, home educators should get connected to the homeschooling community, either online or by attending events or meetings. Social media is also a great way to maintain the connection and provide further opportunities to engage with friends, family, and the educational community.
13. Have Fun and Enjoy the Journey
Homeschooling offers a unique experience and the opportunity to really tailor the education to individual children’s needs and goals. As such, it’s important to take time to enjoy the journey and make the most of it.
Keep a positive attitude, encourage creativity and exploration, and embrace any unique situations as a way to boost confidence and build on learning experiences.
Conclusion
Homeschooling is an incredible experience and can provide remarkable opportunities for students and their families. With the right approach, resources, and attitude, any family can do it. It’s all about taking the initiative, researching the process and regulations, and finding the most suitable teaching methodology and materials.
When in doubt, reach out and access additional resources or support. With the right knowledge and planning, homeschooling can provide amazing long-term benefits for any student!