New to Homeschooling
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How Do You Know What to Teach?
One challenge parents struggle with is determining what to teach. In the case where you’re homeschooling through K-12 or an online school, that information is often provided for you, but if you want to veer from what’s prescribed, how do you figure out what to teach, and what constitutes covering a given subject? Providing A Solid Foundation for Learning I’m a big fan of general education and of teaching children how to learn. A child who knows how to learn, and has the skills to do so, will be able to learn anything that catches his or her interest. Thus, language arts needs to be a big part of your…
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Tips for Temporarily Homeschooling
Wow. None of us expected to be where we are right now. It’s overwhelming, it’s a little bit scary, and we have our kids to keep calm and occupy. Last summer, we’d made a decision that we’d send our kids to public school, but that I would “afterschool” and do summer enrichment wtih them. Our little Miss 6 wanted the school experience, and went in for Kindergarten, since she didn’t meet the state’s age requirements to start 1st Grade. She was enjoying it. We all liked her teacher, who worked hard with Miss 6 to help her anxiety the best way possible. Then, we all know what happened, because it’s…
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How to Start Homeschooling
I’ve had a number of friends ask, “If I wanted to homeschool my child, how do I get started?” I’ve also had a number of friends say, “There’s so much information, where do I start? What do I need to know? What do I need to teach in my homeschool?” I’ve answered these questions so many times, in fact, that I thought I’d put together a quick and dirty guide on how to start homeschooling your children. 1. Learn your state’s homeschooling laws Some states are really lax in what they require for homeschooling. Other states require things like testing, portfolios, and careful record-keeping. The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is…