Part of making the decision to homeschooling should include weighing the pros and cons involved. It is a good idea to talk to anyone you know who homeschools. Ask them what they like and dislike about the process; what they find difficult; what they have found to be precious. You can also find places on the internet where people who homeschool meet on message boards to discuss their school and their lives. If you find one you like, join. Most homeschooling communities are very open and are happy to share their experiences with you.
In my talking to many others who homeschool, I will present to you advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling.
Disadvantages
There is no point in painting a rainbow picture of homeschooling. Idealism is a quick path to burnout. So, let us examine some homeschooling disadvantages together:
Lack of Time - Homeschooling can be a full-time job unto itself. It takes research, preparation (how depends on your homeschooling style and curriculum), time to set up, clean up, organization, and of course, teaching itself. This is a lot to do on top of other work, be that a job outside the home, or all that goes with running a family.
Personal Space - Homeschooling parents give a lot of themselves. One thing that often takes a back seat is making time for yourself. It takes a lot of energy to homeschool, and that energy has to come from somewhere. Make sure you make time for yourself, every week, be that going out with a friend or a solo dinner in your room with a good book.
All that housework! - It is hard to keep up with routine chores when much of the week is devoted to school. Think of homeschooling as a full-time job, and organize the rest of your life accordingly. A weekly plan goes a long way to keeping chaos at bay!
Pressure - We all do it. We look at what others are doing, compare ourselves, and usually find ourselves short. Whether it is the public school, private school, your homeschooling friends - do not compare. Everyone has their own unique styles and way of schooling their children. Find what works, and proceed confidently.
Advantages
Yes, there are disadvantages to homeschooling. However, there are many advantages, too.
A schedule that works - Are your children early birds? Do you find your peak time of day starting at noon? It can all work in homeschooling. Homeschooling works with your family. Personally, my children love knowing that they are eating breakfast while most of their friends are already in class.
Wide range of learning - You are not stuck to a pre-set curriculum in most cases. There are so many cool things to study - Latin, Spanish, how to garden, quilting, sewing, art, music, microscopes...well, the list is endless. Every year you will find new things to learn, see, and do.
Flexibility - We can take a family vacation in November, a month off in December, a week off when we all have the flu. Homeschooling is flexible. We had no plans to study parade floats, but after watching a parade one day, one of my children starting planning their own float design. While there is no way I am ordering 20,000 roses to decoate a full-size float, we can build a mini-model. We learn art, building design, physics (how to make it move), and math (figuring out measurements to make it all fit. Flexibility!
Knowing your kids - I list this last because I consider it the biggest prize of homeschooling. While there are times every day I would gladly hide in my room, overall I so enjoy my time with my kids. In teaching them, I really get to know them in ways I did not before. I not only love my kids, I being around them.
These are just a few, but maybe it will help get you started. In the end, what is required is taking the plunge. It is a leap of faith both frightening and exhilarating.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Online homeschooling - when education can also be an online activity
Though cyber schooling hasn’t come close to replacing traditional schools, some business leaders like Bill Gates to Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, have gone on record with their assertion that online has a promising future. (In his 2010 annual letter, Gates said his foundation would be funding projects that further the development of online learning.)
In the past decade, e-learning has spread into new terrain and thereby transformed its fly-by-night reputation. The vast majority of homeschoolers now use online curriculum like Global Student Network’s online curriculum. Again, A number of charter schools have also adopted online programs, and some traditional schools are offering e-learning options as well. “In the last five years, online learning has become much more proven and mainstream,” says Don Posson, VP of Operations and Technology for Global Student Network, and Superintendent of International Virtual Learning Academy. “It’s differentiated, engaging, and it really provides the ideal situation for many students.”
Research firm Ambient Insight predicts that some 10.5 million students in preschool through high school will take at least some online classes by 2014.
The most obvious appeal for online courses is the electronic medium itself. Textbooks can get boring, and e-learning can provide a variety of multi-media presentations to address each students learning needs. Students are able to stay connected to their learning more easily.
For other students, online learning promises an escape from the petri dish phenomenon: emotional and physical settings that are anything but healthy. With the current economic conditions nationwide, schools are cutting back to basics, class sizes are increasing, and teachers are more challenged then ever just to maintain order in the brick-and-mortar classroom.
In online environments, students don’t have to worry about teasing and bullying, the distractions of noisy classrooms, and the multitude of personality issues that create environments where learning is difficult. For many students, e-learning provides a healthy environment. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. Students have less chance of getting sick because of someone ill coming to school and spreading flu’s and colds.
Online education has also proved to be a boon for those who need more time — or less. Fast learners are able to accelerate their learning without being slowed down by the rest of the class. Slower learners are able to take the time they need to master concepts, without embarassment or pressure from the rest of the class. Every student is able to go deeper into materials they are struggling with so they can master essential concepts before moving on.
Time on task. It’s the goal of every teacher juggling administrative announcements, classroom disruptions, and countless other interruptions. Some kids claim this is the great boon of online learning: more time spent learning every day. There is a lot of wasted time in regular school — changing classes, administrative stuff.
Doug, an ninth-grader from the International Virtual Learning Academy, claims that he gets “twice the work done that I was doing in eight hours in three or four hours, with a quarter of the stress!” For him, it’s as much a matter of avoiding the time suck of social drama: “There are less distractions in online school; I’m not caught up in other peoples issues.”
Some kids with special needs or learning disabilities may find online curriculum more personalized than a teacher attempting to meet the needs of 35 students at once. According to Laurie Bloom, Director of International Virtual Learning Academy. many mildly autistic students find that they can focus and learn better with a computer.
Though the previous reasons may be the most commonly cited for choosing online schools, the list is far from complete. Here are several more reasons why parents might consider e-learning for their kids, either as a supplement to their studies or an alternative:
Is it a long, inconvenient commute to the nearest school?
Are you concerned about dangers at school — such as drugs, sexting, and gang violence?
Do you want to shield your child from ideas you disagree with?
Does your child adore computers?
Do you want to travel abroad for a year and keep your kid on track with e-learning?
Does your curious teenager wish to take extra classes your small school doesn’t offer, such as french, sociology or forensic science?
Does your high schooler want to work during school hours? (He or she can study online at night.)
Is your child an athlete who needs to train in the daytime?
Does your child have emotional issues that make classroom dynamics difficult?
While online education is not yet a serious rival to traditional schooling, its appeal may expand as public schools lose funding and online curriculum becomes more sophisticated. Sure, it’s still a developing area, but as Posson notes, “Fifteen years ago everyone would have thought it impossible to do all our shopping and banking online, but now it is commonplace. Education can also be an online activity.”
In the past decade, e-learning has spread into new terrain and thereby transformed its fly-by-night reputation. The vast majority of homeschoolers now use online curriculum like Global Student Network’s online curriculum. Again, A number of charter schools have also adopted online programs, and some traditional schools are offering e-learning options as well. “In the last five years, online learning has become much more proven and mainstream,” says Don Posson, VP of Operations and Technology for Global Student Network, and Superintendent of International Virtual Learning Academy. “It’s differentiated, engaging, and it really provides the ideal situation for many students.”
Research firm Ambient Insight predicts that some 10.5 million students in preschool through high school will take at least some online classes by 2014.
The most obvious appeal for online courses is the electronic medium itself. Textbooks can get boring, and e-learning can provide a variety of multi-media presentations to address each students learning needs. Students are able to stay connected to their learning more easily.
For other students, online learning promises an escape from the petri dish phenomenon: emotional and physical settings that are anything but healthy. With the current economic conditions nationwide, schools are cutting back to basics, class sizes are increasing, and teachers are more challenged then ever just to maintain order in the brick-and-mortar classroom.
In online environments, students don’t have to worry about teasing and bullying, the distractions of noisy classrooms, and the multitude of personality issues that create environments where learning is difficult. For many students, e-learning provides a healthy environment. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. Students have less chance of getting sick because of someone ill coming to school and spreading flu’s and colds.
Online education has also proved to be a boon for those who need more time — or less. Fast learners are able to accelerate their learning without being slowed down by the rest of the class. Slower learners are able to take the time they need to master concepts, without embarassment or pressure from the rest of the class. Every student is able to go deeper into materials they are struggling with so they can master essential concepts before moving on.
Time on task. It’s the goal of every teacher juggling administrative announcements, classroom disruptions, and countless other interruptions. Some kids claim this is the great boon of online learning: more time spent learning every day. There is a lot of wasted time in regular school — changing classes, administrative stuff.
Doug, an ninth-grader from the International Virtual Learning Academy, claims that he gets “twice the work done that I was doing in eight hours in three or four hours, with a quarter of the stress!” For him, it’s as much a matter of avoiding the time suck of social drama: “There are less distractions in online school; I’m not caught up in other peoples issues.”
Some kids with special needs or learning disabilities may find online curriculum more personalized than a teacher attempting to meet the needs of 35 students at once. According to Laurie Bloom, Director of International Virtual Learning Academy. many mildly autistic students find that they can focus and learn better with a computer.
Though the previous reasons may be the most commonly cited for choosing online schools, the list is far from complete. Here are several more reasons why parents might consider e-learning for their kids, either as a supplement to their studies or an alternative:
Is it a long, inconvenient commute to the nearest school?
Are you concerned about dangers at school — such as drugs, sexting, and gang violence?
Do you want to shield your child from ideas you disagree with?
Does your child adore computers?
Do you want to travel abroad for a year and keep your kid on track with e-learning?
Does your curious teenager wish to take extra classes your small school doesn’t offer, such as french, sociology or forensic science?
Does your high schooler want to work during school hours? (He or she can study online at night.)
Is your child an athlete who needs to train in the daytime?
Does your child have emotional issues that make classroom dynamics difficult?
While online education is not yet a serious rival to traditional schooling, its appeal may expand as public schools lose funding and online curriculum becomes more sophisticated. Sure, it’s still a developing area, but as Posson notes, “Fifteen years ago everyone would have thought it impossible to do all our shopping and banking online, but now it is commonplace. Education can also be an online activity.”
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Homeschooling Materials That You Need to Put The Enjoyment Into The Learning
In contrast to the traditional conventional school setting, students in the homeschooling program are allowed to work on their very own pace also to learn the things they can learn at a particular time period.
They are not compelled to complete a coursework without completely mastering the class. As they do not have to find out alongside other children, they're given freedom to fully understand the teachings. In point of fact, some mothers and fathers even let their kids to go back and overview previous lessons they have not mastered.
Some are likewise given the chance to concentrate on subjects they've not yet mastered while putting off the lessons of subjects they find easy. For instance, if a kid is great in English but not in Math, they can in reality forgo with the class in English for a day and concentrate on the Math lessons. With homeschooling things are tailor fitted to match the requirements of the youngster.
They are not compelled to complete a coursework without completely mastering the class. As they do not have to find out alongside other children, they're given freedom to fully understand the teachings. In point of fact, some mothers and fathers even let their kids to go back and overview previous lessons they have not mastered.
Some are likewise given the chance to concentrate on subjects they've not yet mastered while putting off the lessons of subjects they find easy. For instance, if a kid is great in English but not in Math, they can in reality forgo with the class in English for a day and concentrate on the Math lessons. With homeschooling things are tailor fitted to match the requirements of the youngster.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Homeschool Away from Home
Since we now realize that homeschool is not "school at home," this leaves us free to look for educational adventures anywhere in the real world that we can find them.
With summer just around the corner, now is the time to plan some out-of-the-ordinary family excursions and some independent learning adventures for your older children. Let us help you put some pizzazz into your summer!
Vacations and adventures to be a wonderful way to energize and inspire your kids. None of this is "school," and none of it will be happening at home, but it still is homeschool. The world is our home. And class is in session.
With summer just around the corner, now is the time to plan some out-of-the-ordinary family excursions and some independent learning adventures for your older children. Let us help you put some pizzazz into your summer!
Vacations and adventures to be a wonderful way to energize and inspire your kids. None of this is "school," and none of it will be happening at home, but it still is homeschool. The world is our home. And class is in session.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Homeschooling Definition to Keep in Mind
Today more than three million children are being taught at home - by parents just like you.
What is homeschooling? Homeschooling is the education of children in their own home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school.
Many parents, frustrated by corrupt school boards, lack of religious instruction, underpaid teachers or unsafe conditions, have opted to teach their kids at home. Most parents cite family togetherness, more control over curriculum, and having a say over what their children learn as reasons to homeschool.
According to a 2001 U.S. Census survey, 33% of homeschooling households cited religion as a factor in their choice. The same study found that 30% felt school had a poor learning environment, 14% objected to what the school teaches, 11% felt their children were not being challenged at school, and 9% cited morality.
Other reasons include more flexibility in educational practices for children with learning disabilities or illnesses, or for children of missionaries, military families, or otherwise traveling parents.
What is homeschooling? Homeschooling is the education of children in their own home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school.
Many parents, frustrated by corrupt school boards, lack of religious instruction, underpaid teachers or unsafe conditions, have opted to teach their kids at home. Most parents cite family togetherness, more control over curriculum, and having a say over what their children learn as reasons to homeschool.
According to a 2001 U.S. Census survey, 33% of homeschooling households cited religion as a factor in their choice. The same study found that 30% felt school had a poor learning environment, 14% objected to what the school teaches, 11% felt their children were not being challenged at school, and 9% cited morality.
Other reasons include more flexibility in educational practices for children with learning disabilities or illnesses, or for children of missionaries, military families, or otherwise traveling parents.
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