The Home Schooling Curriculum Teaching Your Child At Home

Home schooling is preferred by some parents. Some parents want to make sure that their child is getting all the schooling needed even though he is staying and learning at home instead of learning inside the classroom. They believe that they are able to control the curriculum better. Moreover, they want to impart their own values that are necessary in molding a child. They are also focused on teaching deeper subjects that they believe are significant to his learning. There is also a belief that they can slow down when the child is having difficulty and spend more time on these subjects. In this way, the child has a better chance of learning the harder lessons.

You can be there to guide your child in some topics and issues that could be easily misinterpreted when explained in school by teachers or other classmates. In terms of social interactions, home schooling has developed good benefits. Thoughtful parents nowadays have considered home schooling as a solution to their child’s learning needs. The number of children learning at home is continually increasing. But apart from the benefits, there are also drawbacks.

Let us first discuss the benefits that one can get from home schooling. First and foremost is control, the control on what to learn, what to teach and what to encourage in your child’s mind. Some parents say that some schools, private or public, have a lack of input and control that a parent has over his or her child’s educational needs. Some parents think that they can provide a better standard and quality of education through home schooling. They can teach their children on the subjects and areas which they feel are appropriate for their children to learn. These parents feel there is a lack of quality education in school and that there are many factors that could be the cause of this. These factors could be the curriculum, the teaching staff, as well as the teaching methods.

Moreover, they are afraid that their child is exposed to a wide range of children his own age but with different backgrounds and upbringings. They are afraid that classmates might influence their children have parents who do not hold the same values. In addition, home schooling is less expensive than enrolling your children in private schools which require high tuition fees. Every year tuition fees get higher and these expenses will only increase. For these reasons, some families prefer home schooling rather than enrolling in private schools. They believe that home schooling creates more bonding interactions between the parents and their children. With this, the child may never feel neglected and abandoned in any way.

Some drawbacks to home schooling is that some children can find it quite isolating, so it is important to include some form of socializing for your child. Be it after school clubs or sports. Also, as a parent you will have to be disciplined to ensure your child receives the education they deserve and do not fall behind in any of the curriculum subjects. There will be exams to sit and papers to mark, which have to be submitted for review.
If conducted in a thorough and organized fashion, home schooling can be beneficial for both parent and child.

Homeschooling Curriculum - Are You Making The “Right” Choice?

Copyright 2006 Matt Weight

After deciding to homeschool your child, you now to work out what you are going to teach them. There are many curriculum choices you can make. You can purchase pre-packaged curriculum, make your own curriculum, or you could even teach a combination of both. Some parents prefer to focus their teachings on their religious beliefs. However, it is important to keep an open mind and remember that your children are their own people and they should be taught about the world from many different perspectives. Remember that there is no “right” way to teach your children because the “right” way for one child may not be “right” for another. It is important to be flexible and change your curriculum to tailor to your children as you discover their individual requirements as they grow.

So what is Pre-Packaged Curriculum anyway? Well Pre-Packaged, "school in a box", or "all-in-one" Curriculum are comprehensive education packages that cover many subjects (usually an entire year worth). They contain all required books and materials. Some even include pencils and writing paper. The intent of the “school in a box” is to try to recreate the school environment in the home. They are typically based on the same subject-area expectations as public schools, which allows an easy transition into school after being home schooled, if desired. They are among the most expensive options for the homeschooled, but are easy to use and require minimal preparation.

The majority of today's home-educated students use an eclectic mix of materials for their Homeschooling needs. For example, they might use a pre-designed program for language, arts or mathematics, and fill in history with reading and field trips, art with classes at a community center, science through homeschool science clubs, physical education with memberships in local sports teams, etc. This has been proved to be one of the most successful ways of educating the Homeschooled child.

Home educators are also able to take advantage of educational programs at museums, community centers, athletic clubs, after-school programs, churches, science preserves, parks, and other community resources. Secondary school level students often take classes at community colleges, which typically have open admission policies.

One of the major benefits of Homeschooling is the ability to blend lessons using a central theme, for example, a study unit about Native Americans could combine lessons in: social studies - like how different tribes live now and lived prior to colonization; art - such as making Native American clothing; history of Native Americans in the US; reading from a specialized reading list; and the science of plants used by Native Americans. You could use this same technique on another study unit where you chose another broad topic to study.

Homeschooling also offers student paced learning. This is similar to “all-in-one” curriculum and is often referred to as “Paces”. These workbooks allow the student to progress at an appropriate speed that suits their individual needs. They allow the student to master concepts, before moving on to the next subject, instead relying on the speed of the teacher and other students where they may move on to the next subject too quickly or not move on quickly enough.

Another form of Homeschooling is “Unschooling”, that is, an area in which students are not directly instructed but encouraged to learn through exploring their interests. Known also as “interest-led” or “child-led” learning, Unschooling attempts to provide opportunities with games and real life problems where a child will learn without coercion.

Unschooling advocates claim that children learn best by doing. A child may learn reading and math skills by playing card games, better spelling and other writing skills because he's inspired to write a science fiction story for publication, or local history by following a zoning or historical-status dispute.

No matter which technique you decide to use when you start Homeschooling your children, you should remember to be flexible and revise your teaching choices, as you will need to adapt your curriculum to better tailor to your child’s needs as they become apparent.