Archive for December, 2010
Home Schooling: Who Does It And Why
Every parent knows that education is a valuable tool because it can help prepare their children for future careers and financial independence. Unfortunately the school environment where most children receive an education can be full of danger as well.
More and more schools are experiencing trouble with drug abuse violence and immoral behavior. Shootings bomb threats gangs teenage pregnancies and scanty dress standards are all on the rise. One way to protect children from these influences is to try home schooling.
In a home school environment parents rather than peers are the ones who shape a child’s standards and values. Along with required subjects like mathematics history English science foreign languages music and art parents can teach their children religion and ethics in a home school environment. Perhaps this is why Christian home schooling is so popular.
As valuable as a safe environment is though many parents are a little daunted by the prospect of teaching their own children. For one thing it takes a lot of time. For another it requires a lot of self discipline from both parents and children. And finally parents are overwhelmed by the task of coming up with a whole year’s worth of coursework.
Well there is no getting around the time costs and selfdiscipline factors but the yearlong curriculum can be an easy challenge to meet. It may cost a little money to get started but there are several premade home school curriculums that come with their own workbooks schedules and activities to make home schooling as easy as possible. Parents can use those curriculums alone or supplement them with field trips library books and extra lessons.
Making the decision to home school your children can seem like a scary decision at first but there are several rewards that come from the time and effort you invest in the process. For example the relationship between parents and their children is often strengthened from the extra time spent learning material together. Your children might also learn the material better because of the oneonone attention you give them. And as their parents you can also cater your teaching style to their personality and needs.
Another benefit that many parents enjoy while homeschooling their children is incredible flexibility. When you are the teacher principle and school board all rolled into one you have the power to schedule family vacations doctor’s appointments and other activities that would normally interfere with school at the most convenient times. As long as you meet state requirements you can school how where and when you please.
About the writer: For more information on Christian home schooling parent resources and the home schooling requirements that differ from state to state visit Heritage Home School http://heritagehomeschool.com/. They can provide all the tools you need to get started. The author Art Gib is a freelance writer.
Home Schooling Vs Public Education
For many families home schooling children is a viable alternative to public education for several important reasons: Strengthening the family providing adequate education and to promote moral and religious values.
With a perceived declining in the educational quality of the public school system in America many parents are coming to the belief that homeschooling can offer their children a better education and result in better opportunities later on in life.
Educational Effects of Homeschooling
Research on homeschooling thus far strongly supports the thoughts of homeschooling parents. An extensive nationwide study showed that home schooled students outperformed their public and private school counterparts in every category. In fact many homeschool students are enrolled in a grade level that is higher than their counterparts of the same age.
Home schooled children have a higher rate of high school graduation a higher rate of college attendance and a higher rate of college graduation.
Homeschooling is About More Than the Education
But for some families a better education isn’t the only reason to homeschool. Protection from the harsh world that encourages deviation from a successful path is another as is the opportunity to strengthen the family.
The teen years are an extremely important time in the family building process. Spending six to eight hours away from the home can be very detrimental to a teen’s ability to cement family relationships. Over time subtle changes can erode family relationships especially during the more tumultuous adolescent and teen years. By providing a homeschool education parents can prevent this erosion and help strengthen the family bond.
Additionally many people believe that public education is not up to the standards that a home school education can provide. No one is more invested in a child’s education than his parents and a home school curriculum can help a child’s ability to learn. For instance a school teacher may grade your child’s paper and tell him which answers are correct and which are incorrect and leave it at that. But parents who are homeschooling their children can spend time to explain to them why the answers are right and wrong in order to help them learn more thoroughly.
Also many parents believe that a child’s educational curriculum should include not only academic learning but also the teaching of morals ethics and values. According to recent polls about 77 percent of Americans identify themselves as Christians. Christian values are an important part of our functioning society and providing children with home schooling is a great way to ensure that they are social and moral values in addition to academic learning.
About the writer: Heritage Home School Academy is an excellent home school resource for parents who want the best possible education for their children. They provide quarterly home school curriculum. Heritage Home School helps parents provide their children with a learning environment that emphasizes strong family values superlative academic standards as well as the moral standards that are important for children to attain.
Homeschooling Tips For The Single Parent
Single parents are already faced with many challenges but when they wish to homeschool their child those challenges increase dramatically. Without a partner the parent may feel that they are barely able to support their child alone much less be home and educate their child and devote that necessary time to education. Private school is also often out of the question because it is simply not economically feasible for the single parent.
However every year thousands of single parents find ways to homeschool their children. Regardless of gender these single parents are successfully educating their children in the way that they feel is best and they are highly successful in doing it. Statistics show that homeschooled children generally surpass their peers on standardized tests and rank high on college admissions lists.
The first step in successful homeschooling is time management. A parent who is organized will discover that they have more time to devote to homeschooling than they initially thought. This is particularly true when you break down the actual instruction time in a public school setting. A six hour day in public school consist of lunch breaks breaks between classes time spent doing “busy work” and even time spent simply sitting and not doing anything constructive. A concerted effort to make every hour count can easily make up for time that the parent feels they may lack for homeschooling.
When you include weekends holidays and summer vacation the time available for homeschooling expands even further. While it is true that children need time to relax and pursue their own personal interests when they enjoy learning then life and learning come together. When you add up holiday time weekends summer and the evenings it is possible to come up with more than ample time for homeschooling.
The majority of homeschooling approaches are generally unstructured or are child driven. What this means is that the parent is not always monitoring the child’s activities as in the case of public school. In this type of educational structure the child may be left entirely free to pursue any subject that is of interest to them working at their own pace much like the unschooling approach or they may utilize resources and go the route of independent study. The child’s work can be checked at some point during the day in the evenings or even on weekends. At that time instruction can be given and corrections can be made if necessary.
Tutoring is another viable option for single parents who want their children to be homeschooled. Tutors may be home teachers periodic tutors who come once or twice a week or they may be fully automated online resources. Costs vary considerably but in the long run a tutor usually is far less expensive than day care or private school. In some cases though day care and tutoring services may be combined.
As the internet expands bringing the world literally to your doorstep many single parents are opting to start their own home based business. When you consider day care costs fuel and the time required for a commute to and from work as well as the uncertainty of advancement and even job stability then a home based business begins to appear a more sensible option and certainly a better move financially.
A home based business can yield many attractive tax write offs. By avoiding a business that requires a large investment for start up can help you reach your financial goals. A home business though can give you maximum time and freedom. A low start up cost home business is not difficult to find there are many opportunities out there.
There are many opportunities that are directly online such as affiliate marketers. Affiliate marketers can make 50000 or even more per year. They build websites write newsletters and keep blogs to promote their affiliate partners. This requires very little technical skill but the rewards can be substantial if you are consistent.
A little research and creative thinking can get single parents a long way in achieving their goals for homeschooling their children. Both parent and child can reap great rewards from the homeschooling experience. It does require a little courage to take that first step but single parents already have plenty of that so it should be a breeze.
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