Curious about what you need to know so you can learn how to homeschool your child?
While the COVID-19 pandemic had the majority of American students finishing their 2019-2020 school year at home, only 3.4 percent of children are typically homeschooled. If you’re choosing to homeschool your kids in the future, there are a few things you should know.
Unlike the children being temporarily homeschooled due to containment procedures, your child won’t have a host of teachers still calling the shots, assigning work, and orchestrating individuals classes. Learning how to homeschool your child means doing some homework yourself.
How to Homeschool your Child
This includes researching the required curriculum, online programs, books, and timelines. However, a successful homeschooling environment requires more than just a black and white curriculum. Keep reading for five top tips from parents who have been in your shoes.
1. Create a Routine
First, understand that while it’s okay to change things up here and there, learning environments thrive on consistency. You need to get your child acclimated to a homeschool timetable or routine.
This includes waking up and preparing for the day as well as structured time frames for each class. The more they fall into a routine, the more efficient their studies will be. Just remember to create a timetable with adequate breaks to allow their mind to refocus.
2. Use the Right Learning Tools
Next, while learning how to homeschool your child, accept that you won’t have all the answers. There are tools out there that can make your life easier and enrich your child’s learning experience.
For example, Touch Point Math is a program designed to help struggling students or those with special needs in math. However, there are hundreds of homeschooling aids out there for students of all different learning levels.
3. Limit Distractions
You’ll quickly learn that homeschooling is just as much about keeping your child on task as it is about teaching. You need to create an environment that has limited distractions. Other people in the house need to respect that their learning time is sacred, and they shouldn’t be disturbed or interrupted.
It helps to create a designated work area in the house. This can be the dining room table, the kitchen, or the living room. Keep them in a common room where you’ll likely be throughout the day to answer questions and help them stay focused.
4. Set High, but Realistic Expectations
One of the hardest things about learning how to homeschool your child is figuring out where to draw the line between high expectations and unrealistic demands. While it’s essential to challenge your child intellectually, make sure you know what they can realistically accomplish with their homework each day and week.
For example, you could demand they answer 20 problems in each subject without knowing that each problem is intricate and can take up to half an hour each.
5. Be Prepared to Help
This leads us to our last tip – stay involved in your child’s learning. You’ll quickly discover that even the best homeschooling materials are sometimes inadequate at explaining complex theories, algorithms, etc. Be prepared to lend a hand to your child to help them understand difficult concepts.
At times, this may mean teaching yourself a concept first so you can explain it to your child.
Looking for More Tips on How to Homeschool Your Child?
It’s important to note that you’re not going to get everything right your first try. Look at homeschooling as a learning process for yourself as well.
If you’re trying to learn how to homeschool your child for the upcoming school year, be sure to check out some of our other articles before you go. We have informative articles about raising children with special needs as well as becoming a better parent. Good luck!
