Archive for August, 2007

by James Kronefield
Home schooling is not as crazy as some teachers and other education professionals would have you believe. Our society has trained the general public to think that only crazy people and right wing militant radical religious zealots would teach their student at home. By building their argument on this foundation, they go on to lay other arguments based on the assumption that home schooling is a way for parents to isolate their young student from the rest of society.

With this argument in firmly in place the detractors of home schooling can then go on to argue why a parent would make for a poor teacher. These so called experts can then argue among other things that home schooling is a poor choice because the child will miss out on socialization. Now that is the silliest argument I’ve ever heard. I went to public school from kindergarten all the way to twelfth grade and I can guarantee you that I got in trouble more often for “socializing” than anything else.

But this single argument is the one my wife and I encounter the most when people find out that we home school our daughter and that we are considering home schooling our first grade son as well. In order to deconstruct this argument, we must first question the premise upon which it is founded. That is the question of whether or not home schooling is an act of isolation.

In our case, home schooling is a vehicle to open up a larger world for our children. I’ll give you an example of opening up the world where home schooling versus public school.

When our daughter was in third grade in a public school, we had an opportunity to go to Mexico for two weeks for an incredibly low price. The problem was that although one of the weeks coincided with Spring break, the other week was the week before Spring break. We asked the teacher how much material our student would miss and would it hurt her in any course if we went out of the country that week. The teacher informed us that they would not be covering any new material that week and if our daughter wanted to turn in her homework assignments before leaving, she would miss out on nothing that week except a perfect attendance score.

For two weeks in Mexico our little student put to use the contents of her Spanish language course and learned more about the history and culture of Mexico than she ever would have in a public school in the USA.

Since we started home schooling them, our children have been on more field trips than they ever could have gone on in public school. My daughter’s standardized test scores have sky rocketed and unlike public school, my children have not had to under go a single bomb threat evacuation (they had three the year before we pulled them from public school).

In our experience children that are home schooled participate in more social activities than they did when the were in public school. Soccer, chess clubs, Kung Fu, meeting friends and other home schooling students at the park, public pool and museums are just some of the activities that we have been able to add since shucking the harness of the public school schedule.

For more home schooling articles and home schooling resources visit http://www.HomeEducationExperience.com

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by Rebecca Walker
When it comes to how your child is educated, that is something which should ultimately be decided be you, the parent, who knows the interests of your child better than anyone else. Many children perform much better when being put into a formal education, while other children perform much better when they are being home schooled. Regardless of the technique that you decide to employ in order to teach your child, just remember, to always put their interests ahead of your own in order to ensure that they are given the best start in life.

What many parents feel to realise is that home schooling or putting your child through the education system is not something which has to be such a clear cut choice. In fact, being able to decide on which is the best is not a choice that always has to be made — many parents decide to allow their children to get the best of both worlds. For example, it would be possible to have your child attend school as normal, yet for you to teach them at home as something which is extra-curricular and done as a means of enhancing their education to ensure they ultimately are taught more than they otherwise would. Despite that, many parents decide to go for one or the other. This is understandable, and also something which is ultimately up to the parents of the child to decide.

For those that have decided to home school their child, they can fit into one of three categories. Those that are educating their child before they go off to school; those that are education their child to supplement their school education; and those that are exclusively home schooling their child. Regardless of what category you fit into, the same rules can be applied in order to ensure you get the most out of the time you invest into teaching your child.

Firm, But Fair

When it comes to teaching your child, it is important that they are subjected to the same controls that are put on them in the classroom. Although it may be tempting to allow your child to benefit from the flexibility home schooling offers, it is important they are able to make markable progress on a daily basis. This means, that although you can be flexible in terms of the hours that your child works and also how quickly you move along with the curriculum and the areas you concentrate on, you do not want to leave your child disadvantaged compared to others their age by failing to take account of the progress that they would have otherwise made in a formal education.

Reading Distinctions

When you are reading with your child as part of home schooling, it is important they are able to distinguish this from what happens when you are reading with your child as a parent. This means that you can use reading as a way of ensuring that your child is able to appreciate your role as both a parent and as a teacher. When you are working on your child’s reading in a formal teaching environment you can put more emphasis on improving their ability, however when reading with them for fun be far less forceful and only help them when they ask.

The author Rebecca Walker writes articles for childfont.com. He also gives valuable information about child development, home schooling & reading, child development & learning to read, active white board are accessible on the internet.

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by
It is the most common question that I get from my fellow homeschool moms, “How do you keep your younger children occupied while teaching your older ones?” I am always happy to share my experiences with other moms in the same situation that I am in.

Nothing can hinder teaching like an impatient toddler who wants to do school too. So I have put together a list of ideas proven to occupy your little one so that you can focus on teaching your older ones.

1. Lacing cards- This is my favorite activity for younger kids! This activity promotes creativity, helps with dexterity and gives your child a great sense of accomplishment.

2. Puzzles- These are not only a great learning tool, but they are fun too. Puzzles are great for memory, concentration and dexterity. I recommend a puzzle with letters and numbers to encourage a little bit of learning while they are having fun!

3. Play-Dough- This is a tried and true classic. Break out the play-dough along with some cutting tools and a rolling pin and watch your toddler’s imagination take over.

4. Scissors and Paper- Let them build their confidence and prepare for kindergarten by giving them old magazines or scrap paper to cut into pieces. Please do keep an eye on them or they are likely to try to cut something that you don’t want them too, like their hair (speaking from experience here!)

5. Blocks- Once again this is a fantastic tool to encourage your child’s creativity. They will enjoy building towns, buildings or just building towers and knocking them down!

6. Crayons- Never underestimate the power of crayons and a coloring page. There are so many websites offering free coloring pages that your child will never color the same page twice!

7. Make a box of toys and books that only come out when it is school time, this keeps your toddler from getting bored with the toys and gives them something special to look forward to.

8. Last but not least invest in a pair of headphones and some read along books on tape. Toddlers love to listen to stories and flip through the books on their own. The headphones make them feel especially grown-up.

These tips are tried and true by me and many of my friends. Homeschooling with little ones can seem like a quite a challenge but if you remember that they just want to be included and provide them with stimulating activities then everybody’s school experience will be rewarding.

Written by Jordyn Coffin — Homeschool mom of 4 For great educational toys, games and puzzles, visit Giggles & Grins educational toy store

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by Wade Robins
Home-schooling is a great success. That’s why many public-school authorities hate home-schooling parents.

Home-schoolers are a direct challenge to the public-school monopoly. This monopoly makes it almost impossible to fire tenured public-school teachers or principals. As a result, tenure gives most teachers life-time guaranteed jobs. They get this incredible benefit only because public schools have a lock on our children’s education.

If public-school employees had to work for private schools and compete for their jobs in the real world, they would lose their security-blanket tenure. That’s why school authorities view home-schooling parents who challenge their monopoly as a serious threat.

Many school officials also can’t stand the fact that average parents who never went to college give their kids a better education than so-called public-school experts. Successful home-schooling parents therefore humiliate the failed public schools by comparison.

Home-schooling parents also humiliate school authorities who claim that only certified or licensed teachers are qualified to teach children. Most home-schooling parents thankfully never stepped foot inside a so-called teacher college or university department of education. Yet these parents give their children a superior education compared to public-school educated kids.

Also, many public-school officials resent home-schoolers because the typical public school loses about $7500 a year in tax money for each child that leaves the system. Tax money is the life blood of the public-school system. Tax money pays for public-school employees’ generous salaries, benefits, and pensions. Is it any wonder why school authorities don’t want to lose their gravy train?

For these reasons, until fairly recently, most state legislatures either outlawed homeschooling or tried to strangle it to death with regulations. In 1980, only Utah, Ohio, and Nevada officially recognized parents’ rights to homeschool their children. In most other states, legislators continually harassed or prosecuted home-schoolers under criminal truancy laws and educational neglect charges.

By 2004, however, pressure from parents, Christian home-schooling organizations, and recent court rulings pushed all fifty states to enact statutes that allow home-schooling, as long as certain requirements are met. These requirements vary for each state.

In spite of these statutes, many states and school authorities still harass home-schooling parents. That is because the Supreme Court slapped parents in the face when they gave local governments the right to regulate home-schooling. As a result, many home-schooling parents are still harassed by local school officials.

If you are a homeschooling parent, you must know how to protect your legal rights. To do this, you should seriously consider joining the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Founded in 1983, HSDLA provides its members with legal representation against local school officials who might harass you, demand to supervise your home-schooling, or demand to periodically test your home-schooled children. You can join at their web site, http://www.hslda.org.

You can also find more info on Christian Home Schooling and Florida Home Schooling. homeschoolresults.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Home School Results.

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by Paul Korber
When your child stays at home all day, and you take on the dual role of teacher and parent, issues of discipline will arise. It is easy for the child to take on a negative attitude towards homeschooling- that it is just like being on holidays all the time. Correct discipline needs to be adhered to from the start of your homeschooling program, to avoid potential difficulties later on in your child’s development and learning.

Homeschooling provides both yourself and your child with immense levels of freedom, and there will be temptation to stretch this freedom. Certain rules and practices need to be implemented at the beginning stages. If your child is too young to take an active part in the decision, set aside a few hours of the day for the various activities, and stick to it. Without a distinct plan, it will become easy to neglect your overall goals. If your child is old enough ask his/her opinion on how they would like you to approach this- obviously discretion is advised!

Ironically homework is a significant part of homeschooling. What this means essentially is periods of unguided learning, where you ask your child to complete pre-set tasks. You need to ensure your child is capable of working and maintaining concentration without supervision.

Manners, punctuality and courtesy are some of the key aspects of discipline which your child should ideally show in the early years. The school that your child attends have a massive impact on creating and moulding these fundamental behavioural aspects. At homeschooling your child needs to be taught and these behavioural qualities, and any deviation and lack of discipline needs to be thwarted out.

It is recommended to dedicate a certain room in your house to homeschooling. This is extremely important, as your child needs to associate your home with learning. If you frequently change the room you teach your child in, it will make the learning process disruptive. Once you have chosen on the hours you wish to keep for homeschooling, ensure your child is punctual and respects this as he would normal school hours. You do not want homeschooling to become an extension of play. You are playing a unique role- you are taking on all roles of a school, and you need to do this with professionalism and in the best interests of your child.

Patience is a vital ingredient in a successful homeschooling education. In spite of all the precautions and steps one takes, it will be easy for a child to get familiar at home school. Some times it will be very difficult to keep your patience and maintain discipline, at this point take a 10 minute break, and try again later.

Homeschooling is not easy- and if it were, there would be fewer schools. It requires a lot of concentration, persistence and hard work. The flexibility and informality of homeschooling can sometime work against it, and make it fee like an ‘uphill battle’ at times. If you take the steps at the beginning of your child’s homeschooling by setting out guidelines and goals you want to achieve and stick to them, your chances of maintaining discipline will be far higher.

Want some more tips on Homeschooling? Please Visit:http://www.homeschoolingonlinetips.comInterested in Homeschooling Products and Resources? Please Visit:http://www.homeschoolingonlinetips.com/Products.html

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by DrivingUS
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The Medium: Online/e-learning Features:
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by Wade Robins
Several different research studies have established that home schooling has benefits which simply are not available to children in the US public school system, and those parents in a position to do so may want to home school beginning as quickly as they can. For those who do want to home school, finding the best way to begin is essential.

Doing research into your state’s home schooling requirements is the best way to get started if you want to home school. There are eight states which have not requirements whatsoever, and if you live in one of them you do not even have to notify your school district of your intention to home school. But other states have quite strict requirements about home schooling curriculum, testing, attendance reports, and lesson plans.

Use The Internet
You should be able to find a state or local group with all the information on home schooling requirements on the Internet, and you can also join some home schooling parent support groups and post your questions on their online forums.

By reaching out to other home schooling parents when you have decided that you want to home school, you will gain from their experience and learn from their mistakes. You will learn what paperwork, if any, is required by your school district, and how to avoid truancy charges if you choose to remove your children from the public school system.

When you have finished getting your questions answered, and if you still want to home school, you will have to set up a curriculum and lesson plans for your children. Some states require that your curriculum include math, science, language arts, and history or civic studies; as long as you cover those subjects for the necessary length of time each day, you and your kids are free to define your own educational experiences.

The Freedom Of Home Schooling
You can schedule you school days any way you like; you can space your classes an hour or two apart; and you can set up field trips related to your current studies any time it is convenient. You can find you children’s optimal learning speed, and let them advance at their own paces. You can let you children pick an extra topic for study that is of particular interest, whether it’s something they saw in a movie or on TV, or it’s something they found in the back yard.

You will learn that it’s not unusual for your children to sail through some subjects and struggle with others, and the beauty of home schooling is that they do not have to force themselves to “keep up” with an artificial standard of progress. You’ll be able to spend as much time as you need on one subject, until they have mastered it.

If you have considered all your options for educating your children, and decided that you want to home school, get ready for the adventure of a lifetime, and expect to learn even more than your kids!

There are many things to do before you decide to home school your child, but once you do, you will be offering them the best education they can get.

You can also find more info on Home Schooling Resource and Home School. homeschoolresults.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Home School Results.

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by Wade Robins
There are many valid reasons why parent may decide to remove their children from public schools and begin home schooling them. Hundreds of thousands of parents across America have come to the conclusion that public schools simply cannot guarantee their children’s safety; that public school overcrowding is depriving their children of the individual attention they need from their teachers; and that the presence from bullies and uncontrollable children in public schools is to distracting for their children.

While there are many negatives in the public school experience which justify the decision to begin home schooling a child, there is also one very big positive. Research studies have shown that home schooled children learn better than those who remain in public schools, and even better than children in expensive private schools. The truth about home schooling is that the research indicates that for most children, being removed from public school for home schooling was the best decision their parents could have made.

Home Schooling Success Stories
There are, of course, the individual stories which reflect glory on the truth about home schooling: the 2007 winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee was thirteen-year-old Evan O’Dorney. Because of is flexible home schooling schedule, his mother was able to spend two hours coaching him with his spelling each day for several weeks before the competition.

The truth about home schooling is that, unlike public schooling, it does not have artificial standards to which each child must conform before being allowed to advance to the next grade. Home schooling allows children to progress at different rates in each subject, so second-grader Mary may be reading at a sixth-grade level while she is still trying to master second-grade math. The home schooled child is in no danger of being “left back” or of being called the class dummy.

The USDE Agrees
The US Department of Education itself has supported the findings of studies which indicate that by the end of eighth grade, home schooled children are performing an average of four grades ahead of their public school counterparts. Whether the home schools are that much better, or the public schools are that much worse, may not be clear, but the results are.

Home schooling will be a learning experience for parents as well as children and in the early going can be stressful for parents who have not attempted formal teaching before. So the support of other home schooling parents can be very helpful, and another truth about home schooling is that the parents engaged in it are some of the most supportive people one is likely to meet.

The evidence seems clear that home schooling is almost never a mistake, as long as both parents and children are willing to put their full efforts into making it work!.

You can also find more info on Florida Home Schooling and Home Schooling Programs. homeschoolresults.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Home School Results.

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by Wade Robins
The rising number of parents choosing home schooling for their children over the past two decades is a reflection of a rising number of reasons causing their dissatisfaction with public schools. Many parents fear for their children’s safety, are concerned that overcrowded classrooms may mean that their children are not getting the individual instruction they need from overworked teachers, and would prefer to instill their own moral or religious convictions in their children as a part of an educational curriculum. So they have turned to home schooling.

The basics of home schooling, however, are something that any parent should understand before deciding to take on the job. While home schooling allows a certain freedom of curriculum, and there are some states, including Missouri, Texas, and Illinois which keep a strictly hands-off policy toward home schooling, many other states require that parents submit a curriculum of the subjects they intend to teach to their school districts.

They may test parents to determine if they qualify as home teachers; and they may send state inspectors to determine if the proper setting for home schooling. Many states also require that parents periodically submit their children’s attendance records, examination scores, and progress reports. They may also stipulate the minimum amount of time you are expected to spend studying each subject.

The basics of home schooling regarding testing and graduation also vary from state to state. There are states which demand that home schooled children either undergo standardized testing or get tested by accredited teachers. The State of California is now encouraging all home schooled children to take the same term-end standard tests that public school children must take.

Homed Schooling Graduation
Some states regard home schools as the equivalent of private schools, and that they have similar graduation requirements. But other states have established no graduation requirements and have left the determination of which students should graduate up to the individual school districts. This policy carries over to home schooled children as well.

There are even states which do not recognize home schooled children who have completed the equivalent of a high school education in any way, but those children can still continue on to college if they perform well in their college entrance exams and have sufficient extra-curricular interests.

The basics of home schooling vary so widely from state to state, in fact, that the first thing you should do if you are considering it for your children is find some home schooling parents in your area and talk to them about their experiences in educating their children within your state’s guidelines.

Home schooling can be the most rewarding activity you and your children ever share, but you should not enter into it without having a very clear idea of the basic home schooling requirements in your state. Once you have accounted for them in your curriculum and lesson plans, you and your kids can tailor your home schooling experience any way you like!

You can also find more info on Home School and Christian Home Schooling. homeschoolresults.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Home School Results.

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by Rich Fatooh
Most home schooling programs are fully comprehensive and provide everything you would need for your child’s complete k-12 education. However, you should keep in mind that many experienced home schoolers do not stick to just one program. They pick and choose from what they believe are best of each of the various programs. I cover in greater detail how people mix and match in my home schooling newsletter.

There are many popular and respected home schooling programs. The ones I’ll cover briefly here are Saxon, Center for Learning and Curriculum Associates.

Perhaps one of the more well-known home schooling programs comes from Saxon. Saxon is a part of Harcourt Achieve, a publisher that provides a variety of educational materials across various subjects. Saxon focuses on math, phonics and early learning. Many home schoolers like Saxon’s math texts. Math is an area that children will need expert instruction in. If the parents don’t have a math background, Saxon may be the right math program for your child.

The Center for Learning is another of the great home schooling programs. They provide curriculum materials to public, private and parochial schools. They are also a favorite choice of home schoolers. Just as Saxon provides good math texts, the Center for Learning provides materials on English, Language Arts, Drama and Social Studies. They provide religious materials.

Finally, another favorite among the various home schooling programs is Curriculum Associates. Their materials focus on Reading, Language Arts and Math. They also have materials on test preparation, study skills and assessment.

As I mentioned, most parents will not stick to any one of the home schooling programs. They will choose Reading from this publisher and Math from that one. They often find what they like best through experimentation or from what their friends recommend.

So, which of the home schooling programs do you choose? If it were me, I would contact your State’s Department of Education Home School contact person. This individual will know what programs with which students are having the most success.

Rich has a home schooling tips newsletter. Join now by sending an email to homeschool-help@aweber.com. Visit Effective Home Schooling to learn how to avoid the major home schooling mistakes.

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