Homeschooling is a system that has been around for ages for people who consider this alternative a better choice. It doesn’t matter if you only have one kid or many children with different ages, homeschooling could be the best decision you’ve ever made for your kids’ future if you organize your time and resources correctly. Keep reading to find out what can be the benefits of home education and how to apply it correctly on your own.
Pros and Cons of School Education
School education, also known as traditional education, is probably the oldest teaching method in history. Even though in recent years (and thanks to technological advances) it has been losing some popularity, there’s still many pros and cons to take into account.
Pros:
- Organized planning months in advance.
- Proper and special facilities designed for the development of the students.
- Traditional classes start and end at the same time, creating a sense of punctuality for kids.
- Children are treated equally to provide a sense of justice and true education.
- It helps children interact in a traditional method to develop their social skills.
- Works with a grading system to prove the effectiveness of the student in learning new things.
Cons:
- It’s considered a very general education that doesn’t focus on each individual’s interests.
- Kids play a very passive role in learning, only sitting and listening or copying texts.
- Social circles might be limited to those that form at school.
- Outdated information that ends up being boring.
- Crowded groups make for a lack of personalized attention, which leaves some students behind.
Related: 5 Keys to Apply in Financial Planning for Your Child’s Education
Pros and Cons of Home Education
Home education is a very innovative program that could change both children’s’ and parents’ lives. Here are some of the most common pros and cons regarding homeschooling.
Pros:
- Parents play a more active role in their kids’ learning style and content.
- Home education can strengthen your emotional bonds with your children.
- Less social pressure and exposure to bullying, which helps improve children’s self-esteem.
- Your kids can move easily through their subjects, spending more time on the ones that give them more trouble and breezing through the ones they master.
- No need to leave homework since all work is done at the moment.
- Less distractions and a better chance to pursue your kids’ real interests.
Cons:
- You’ll have to juggle your tasks as a parent with your tasks as a teacher and administrator.
- More expenses to get school supplies and equipment.
- Less daily interaction from your kids with other children their age.
- Less structure than school education, which sometimes doesn’t work for certain kids.
- More responsibility for the parent who’s in charge of home education.
Tips to Succeed at Home Education
If you decide you’d like to make the switch and start taking care of your children’s education for yourself in order to raise their performance and give them personalized attention, there are many ways in which you can start, and many tips you can follow in order to succeed in your mission. Keep in mind these recommendations as they are the secret for raising kids who’re great students and also great at socializing and making it on their own.
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Research your state’s homeschool requirements
Before you even start doing home education, you must know that this type of teaching is also regulated by the National Education Association. While it is completely legal to homeschool, regulations may vary widely from state to state. As a parent or legal guardian, it’s important that you’re aware of your state’s requirements so you can submit them on time and have your kids’ education validated by the proper institutions. You’ll most likely need to submit a learning plan, attendance charts and submit standardized tests at the end of the regular school year.
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Create a studying space in your house
At the beginning you might think an advantage of giving your children home education is that you can do it in any space in your house, but this idea is actually discouraged. Since homeschooling is still education, and an important part of your kid’s life, they need to feel like it is a different activity than the ones they do in their free time. With this in mind, you should set aside a studying space in your house for your children, where you can place a table or desk, a blackboard and maybe even have a computer nearby. All these tools will be useful for their daily tasks and they can learn to separate school from leisure activities.
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Define a homeschooling schedule
The most important skill a parent must have in order to be successful at home education is organization. You need to keep a tight schedule to make your kids feel a real sense of structure they’ll likely follow later on in life like college or their workplace. Keep a calendar or an activity log where you divide the subjects and lessons so you can cover material in an appropriate amount of time each day. Make sure your kids get a copy of this schedule so they’ll be prepared and feel and be more responsible.
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Make time for breaks
Just because your children are doing all their studying and papers at home doesn’t mean it’s not hard work. After a while all kids (even adults) are prone to lose concentration and get physically and mentally tired, hence the importance of breaks and recess. When you’re creating a schedule for your kids make some very needed time for breaks, so they can get lunch, play in the backyard or, simply get some fresh air and rest their eyes and mind.
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Get them involved in extracurricular activities
People have the wrong idea about homeschooled kids and their social skills, thinking that since they receive home education they must not get along with people other than their family. While homeschooled kids can have the same social skills as anyone else, it is important that you make sure to get your children involved in extracurricular activities where they can engage with people their age and broaden their social circles and even develop some new skills that you can’t teach them, and that could lead them to a potential career path.
Home education is quite a journey for both parents and their children; it involves a major lifestyle change but it can ultimately be the best choice for certain types of families. So if you want to raise your kids with a homeschool approach, follow these tips and succeed at teaching your kids at home.
