Tips for Effective Education through Homeschooling

Most parents regard homeschooling as something that is definitely beyond their scope. However, with some detail-oriented planning and a lots of reading, this may be one of the best decisions you make for your child. A lot of parents confuse homeschooling with school at home. The moment one thinks of school, the image of dusty blackboards or a grumpy teacher conducting a lecture jumps to mind. This is definitely not what you want to recreate through homeschooling. The first step to take is – throw out all pre-conceived notions of school out of the window and begin creating a vision of a classroom from scratch – as would suit your child and you.

The education of our child is one of the most basic requirements we chalk out as caregivers to our children. And, sending our little ones to school is the traditionally accepted pattern for this. However, while homeschooling and gurukuls (boarding schools) were considered the norm centuries back, somewhere day schools became the order of the day and have continued to be, ever since.

In such times, what does a parent, who is unhappy with the current options in our educational system, do? Homeschooling – an intensely involved method of education is enjoying favoured status among several couples. Be it metros or smaller towns, parents and caregivers are willing to go the extra mile to ensure satisfactory education for their wards.

Tips for Homeschooling your Children

Here are some tips that will assist you in realizing the full potential of the homeschooling method and helping your little one receive effective education.

1. Join Homeschooling Support Groups

Given the popularity of the concept, you are bound to find homeschoolers in your own community. If not, the worldwide web today throws several members in the virtual world who are following this. While you are getting started or if you are stuck at some point, there is ample assistance available to set you sail from there.

2. Rebuild the Relationship Between Parent and Child

Be sure to establish a relationship of tutor and student when you are in the ‘school’ at home. For this, you may need to review your relationship with your child. Set rules about discipline, sincerity and commitment to the format to be followed by both parties. Taking the other party for granted will deal a blow to all your efforts, as it will not produce the desired results.

3. The Curriculum is Not Set in Stone

Remember the reasons you opted for homeschooling. Flexibility of choosing your own study formats, setting your own pace, picking your subjects of choice on a particular day and so on, may be some of them. Hence, set a curriculum and insist that you follow it. Leave ample scope so that you broadly follow the outlined scope of the study. The extent covered each day, the tools used, the length of each class should all be flexible.

4.Beginning Study

Be it the start of the homeschool or a return after a break – be sure to set a routine gently. Unlike school, where set hours would begin from Day 1, you have the option to begin with just one class of one hour on day 1; making that to two sessions of one hour each or one session of two hours, or any combination you feel like on day two and so on.

The true beauty of homeschooling lies in the flexibility it places in the hands of both the student and the tutor, and its ability to accommodate preferences of all the parties involved. The openness to accept these, will eventually guide the success of homeschooling.