Homeschooling Your Child

Today's school children seem to face the possibility of exposure to drugs, bullying, and teacher pressure. Changes to education following the No Child Left Behind Act means that even first graders are taking hour long, governmental assessment tests. Teachers are spending time teaching children how to take these tiring tests and spending less time on the classroom basics. For a child to get an excellent education, many parents are focusing on homeschooling as alternatives.

If you are considering homeschooling, start by doing a lot of reading. Contact your state's education department and ask for flyers and informational pamphlets regarding homeschooling. They will give you contacts for your state's homeschooling support groups and review boards. Also, read books on homeschooling to get an idea of what is involved. Make sure the author has homeschooled his or her own children.

Do not rely on your own school system for information. Your school system will not want you to pull your children from school, they get a set amount of money for every child enrolled in their school system.

Beyond the obvious benefits of keeping your child away from drugs and bullying, homeschooled children are able to form a closer bond with their parents. Recent studies have also shown that homeschooled children perform much better on tests. Current estimates state the number of homeschooled children now tops one and a half million students. This is astonishing and also proves that the public school system is in serious trouble.

Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, though the actual laws will vary from state to state. It is critical to read up on the homeschooling laws in your area. You do not need to have a degree in teaching to home school your child.

While you can spend hundreds of dollars on school supplies, it truly isn't necessary. The basic components of an education are:

Grammar

Math

Spelling

Writing

History

Science

Gym

Music

ArtMany communities allow homeschooled children to participate in schoolroom activities for gym, art, and music. Additionally, you can have your child take a karate class, dance class, or other community groups for art, music, and gym requirements.

For the remainder of the courses, you can purchase school books from any teacher supply website or store. Some office supply stores provide the basics, and book stores often have a slew of resources. Your public library will be able to offer you loans of reading books and some instructional manuals.

With a home school setting, you can create a classroom schedule that works for you. You can spend one week only on one subject and then switch things around, or structure the home school classroom to be like a normal school with different classes at different times of day. Be sure to break up the monotony by getting outside and learning about science or history within your community.

Remember that homeschooled children are more likely to have problems forming friends if you do not make sure they are taken to places where they can socialize and establish friendships. A school room setting is excellent for establishing peer friendships, but homeschooling doesn't have to be different. Take your homeschooled child to play groups, library readings, community programs, and the likes and he or she will do just fine!