Information on Homeschooling: Can I Really Do This?

By Lee A. Hulse

Before even considering homeschooling as an option for your child, you need to be well-informed and seek out the most information on homeschooling as you can. Homeschooling can be the most feasible option for parents who want more control over their child's education but cannot afford the expenses of a private school or private tutors.

Homeschooling Is Not For Everyone The first thing about homeschooling that every parent should understand is that it is not for everybody. Your child may actually do better academically in the public schools. Or you may not have the time needed to properly educate your child. Try to keep all peer pressure, both yours and your child's, out of the picture and determine what is truly best for your family.

Take A Good Look At Your Child How does your child learn best? Is it through reading, visual instruction, verbal instruction? Does your child need to feel with his hands to understand a concept? Some children do best with one or two methods. Others need more methods.

Each child learns differently, and this is where public schools could fail for your child. With homeschooling, you decide how to teach your child. Once you figure out the best way your child learns, you will find they enjoy school much more.

How Do You Know What To Teach? There is a lot of information on homeschooling curriculum out there - especially on the internet. You can get complete curriculum packages, or individual subjects.

If your decision to homeschool is based on your religious convictions, you should work with your church. They should be able to recommend suitable curriculum, or may even have their own.

What About College? What happens after homeschooling? Can your child still get into a college or university? Yes, they can, but a lot of that hinges on how and what you teach and your record keeping. If your child knows they want to go to college, then you need to investigate what the college requires for entrance. For example, some require 2 years of a second language. If you ensure that you are teaching what the colleges are requiring, and have good record keeping, your child should not have too much trouble getting into college - provided they do well on their SAT/ACT and/or other entrance exams.

Homeschooling Laws Differ By State Homeschooling must abide by certain laws set up in each state. Search on the web for your state's education laws before you begin homeschooling to figure out things like: what subjects are required; how many days must your child be in school; how long is a school day; what kind of record keeping, academic and attendance, is required, and when does it need to be submitted. Another item that might need to be completed is submitting a declaration of intent to home study each year. Getting a handle on your state laws from the beginning will mean less headaches down the road.

Summary Gathering more information on homeschooling should be your starting point. Find out what type of curriculum you want to teach and what your state laws are for homeschooling. Look for different teaching methodologies so you can try them on your child for optimum learning. The more you know about your homeschooling possibilities, the better you can customize your child's education.

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