Creative Homeschooling

People decide to home school for various reasons, some because they are concerned about the value systems that influence their children, still others because of family circumstances. Perhaps a great deal of traveling is involved and they don’t want their children being switched from one school to another. Many claim that children who are home schooled are academically ahead of those who grow up under the normal school system. Whatever the reason, homeschooling can be wonderful when carefully thought through and when the wide variety of educational resources is taken advantage of.

Think about the area in which you live, what is there in that area that can enhance your child’s education? Are there special historical sites within driving distance that could be worked into a history lesson for example, or are there other people that have had experiences that would help history come alive for your child?

What about town or city government? Perhaps you could arrange for your child to learn a little bit about how the local government works on a state or a national level. Some up and coming politician who you support might be happy to have you and your child visit their office for a brief overview or to help with some mailings.

What about businesses? Maybe you could arrange for your child to take educational tours of various businesses and learn a bit about how they operate. You might also want to encourage your child to operate some sort of a business of their own. A lemonade or fruit/vegetable stand can be a great tool. If books are kept to show what is actually spent out and what comes in, you would a great math lesson. Amazing how quickly arithmetic can become fun when it involves the actual accumulation of money.

Think about your child’s special interests and use them to your advantage to build upon. Teach your child about families and what goes into making up a family. Help them to make a family tree chart for example and to see that all of these people go into making him or her the person that they are. Help them to make up a list of questions and then use them to interview mom and dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Include things in the list of questions that will show what kinds of things the person being interviewed liked to do when he/she was a child. Then you might want to have your child write a family history book based upon these findings. Such a book could become a real family treasure.

Another great source of homeschooling resources is the internet. Used properly, this can be a great educational tool. There are free games and coloring pages that you as the educator can download to help in teaching. You can also teach your child about how to research various subjects. Learning doesn’t have to be boring; it can be fun, challenging and interesting for your child and for you as well.

There are sites where you as the educator can contact other home schooling parents and exchange ideas. You may be able to arrange for your child to become pen pals or email pals with other children from various areas have large maps that you can mark to show where their various internet friends are located.

Don’t forget that socialization is an important part of your child’s education. Since your child will not necessarily be interacting with other children in a classroom setting, it is important that he/she be given opportunities to socialize on a regular basis with others of his/her own age group. This can be provided through a church, scouting programs, dance classes and various other opportunities.

Be creative, dare to think out of the box and to provide what you consider to be the best possible education for your child. By homeschooling, you are able to spend extra time on those areas in which your child needs a bit of extra help. This can help prevent them from falling behind as often happens even in the best of classrooms where there are a large number of children being taught at the same time. Make learning interesting for your child you will give them a gift which will last them a life time.