In light of the recent tragedy at the school in Connecticut many parents are trying to figure out what to do with their students in January. 

Some parents will decide to send their students back to schools, with the hope that security will improve, and that further safety measures are put into place.  Other parents will decide to pull their children from public schools, and place them into private schools.  And some parents will pull their children from the institutional setting all together, and decide to homeschool them with the intent of protecting them from the horrors of the world. 

I am not here to argue for homeschooling or against it.  However, there are a couple of things you would need to do to begin homeschooling successfully, should you choose homeschooling as a lifestyle choice.

There are many reasons to homeschool, and the reality is, there are as many reasons as there are homeschool families.  Each family will find its own reasons, or combination of reasons to homeschool.

There are some things that all successful homeschooling families have in common.  The first of those things is a commitment to homeschool.  It is easy to think that homeschooling will just be school at home.  But the reality is that homeschooling will require a full commitment from each member of the family.  All aspects of life will homeschooling change when you homeschool, everything from laundry and meals, to field trips, and social interactions.  Because of this it is very important that adults and children alike are committed to.

The second thing that successful homeschooling families have in common is knowledge of the homeschooling laws within their state.  Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, but no two states have the same laws.   In the easiest states to homeschool in, parents do not even have to notify the state or department of education that they will homeschool their children. 

In some states, parents must notify, but are given a lot of leeway as to how they homeschool.  In the more difficult states, parents are required to keep extremely detailed records, and the state has a tremendous amount of control over the homeschool.  As the parents of a homeschooled student, and administrators of a homeschool, it is vitally important to know the law, and operate within it.

The third thing that is very important to successful homeschooling is organization.  And the more students you have in your home, the more important organization will be.  Being organized is not just about knowing where in your home schooling will take place, and where the supplies will be kept.  Because homeschooling is a lifestyle, being organized about field trips and other activities outside of the home which are generally considered “school” activities must be planned and orchestrated.  They don’t “just happen” because the school planned them.  You are the school now.

A final thing that all successful homeschooling families have in common is flexibility.  It is important for homeschool families to be flexible, not just in the time and place that homeschooling will occur, but also the speed and the curriculum.  Because a homeschooling parent is dealing with individuals as opposed to a classroom full of students, those parents can make the education fit each child perfectly.

Article Posted By : veeramani17  On January 14, 2013lView All Articles

veeramani

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Successful Homeschoolers