Homeschooling Help

One of the greatest freedoms in homeschooling is the freedom to explore your child’s interests.

• If your curriculum provides an introduction to medieval history and your child is enthralled, take the time to pursue it further.
• If you know your child has a passion for the study of electricity, give him the tools to dig deeper.
• If you have a budding writer who can’t wait to publish her own book, provide the time to develop her writing skills.
• If your child loves photography, let him pick up a camera, enroll him in a class, or just provide ample time for him to get out and start shooting.

We learn best when we are interested in knowing more. Consider yourself-when you decided to consider homeschooling, you suddenly developed a deep interest in learning more about it. You have likely spent considerable time surfing the web, reading as many resources as you can find, questioning those you know are involved in homeschooling, and seeking answers for your many questions.

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One of the best moves we made as a homeschool family was to establish a homeschool support group. At the onset, we were simply a group of families who planned field trips, met for “physical education” classes, shared ideas and supported one another through the rewards and the struggles. As the years passed, we began to work together to provide specialty courses for our kids:

• Science labs
• A study of Shakespeare (my passion; therefore my course)
• Writing and Research
• Public Speaking
• Art
• Book Clubs
• Sports teams

The list could go on and on. We worked together using our various specialties to provide ample opportunities for our kids.

But it benefited more than just the kids.

By scheduling regular times to meet-sometimes formal, sometimes not-we parents were able to network with one another. We shared ideas, discussed our frustrations, held each other accountable and became close friends.

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Does your child love to get dirty and explore the world around him?
Is she a child who loves to sit down and listen as you read a story?
Is he an analytical thinker, who tends to question what is happening around him?
Is she one who can connect events and experiences to lessons in life?
Does he seem to thrive when able to create with his hands?
Does she naturally “get it” the first time she hears it?

These kinds of questions can help to define the best kind of learning approach for your child. A hands-on learner will not be content to sit and fill out worksheets or listen to you explain concepts. A student who has strong auditory skills will thrive with a curriculum that uses interesting stories to teach about history, science or literature.

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Before you embark on the incredibly rewarding homeschool journey, you need to examine yourself.

What kind of teaching role in the home do you want to take?

Do you enjoy pulling out all the stops and making a mess while you dig into learning with projects and experiments?
OR
Do you prefer an orderly home with a set schedule where you can plan out any such experiments and ensure that you have just the right materials before you begin?Are you a creative individual who loves to find new ways to explore?
OR
Are you an individual who can take someone else’s creative ideas and tailor them to your kids?

Are you an individual who needs structure?
OR
Are you one who prefers to “wing it” and see where the day takes you?

These questions are important to explore before beginning your search for just the right curriculum.

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When individuals begin to consider homeschooling, they are often filled with uncertainty and a little bit of fear. How do I do it? What should I know? What if I don’t do a good job? . . .

However, a great place to start is to get to know your state homeschool law.

In some states, there are more detailed guidelines and concrete standards such as Pennslyvania Homeschool Laws and California homeschooling laws, in others, parents don’t need to do much to comply. However, knowing where your state stands up front, before you begin to explore your options, will help to define what and where you begin to research homeschool options.

Once you have those under your belt, the possibilities are endless!

For a quick link to the laws in your state, click State Laws in the United States then select your state.

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Commit to Consistency

1. Be sure to commit to a full year-one year at a time. For many first time homeschoolers, the thought of years of running a homeschool can be daunting-in some cases, so much so that they have trouble making the decision. And although we believe that you will continue for years to come, your level of commitment should be one year at a time–one full year.
2. Be sure to commit to a schedule. Many homeschool Moms love to be spontaneous and to enjoy the freedom they have in homeschooling. However, this can sometimes go too far. If you are tired of hearing, “Can we do . . .today?” or “What are we doing today?,” you need structure. Kids like to know-to be informed. In fact, I guarantee that your kids will thrive on organization and a specific schedule. Better yet, you will hear far fewer questions on what to expect each day.

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Another Homeschooler not just “cleaning toilets”

A few years ago, Brad graduated from Bridgeway Academy having completed a college prep program.  Although unsure of his future, he planned to attend a nearby university as an undeclared major.  He had truly enjoyed his course in Economics and thought he might enjoy going into the business field.  However, after growing up in New Brunswick and enjoying the wonders of the Bay of Fundy, he also considered a career in Marine Biology. 

Why am I bringing up Brad?

Brad is just another example of homeschool success. 

Brad did pursue a business degree specializing in Economics.  Now this recently married former homeschooler looks forward to starting a family with his lovely wife, who will stay at home to raise and educate their children.  And in the meantime he is enjoying his career as an economist in his home province of New Brunswick.

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Homeschoolers from all across the country are watching and waiting to see how the homeschool battle in California unfolds.  In the meantime, many California homeschoolers are on the front lines, working together to ensure that they retain their freedom to educate their own children.

Tammy Takahashi, a California homeschooler reviewed the recent rehearing of the case by the California Supreme Court on her blog, Just Enough and Nothing More. 

If you are following the case, click here to read her first hand account of the session.   And keep praying–this is and will be landmark case no matter which direction the court decides to take. 

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The following excerpt was taken from The American Vision page, where an atheist responded to one of their articles with the following words:

It’s good that Christians homeschool. We need citizens to clean our toilets and mow our lawns. Perhaps some homeschooled Christians will be able to fill these types of jobs. The rest will be unemployable retards like their parents.

It is incredible how uninformed people can immediately jump to stereotypes and ridiculous claims.  Who is the uneducated one here?
 
Bridgeway Homeschool Academy has graduated several top notch homeschoolers this year alone.  One, an Olympic hopeful will go on to University of Georgia on a full scholarship; another will study political science on a $27,000 per year scholarship; another received a full 6 year scholarship for Physical Therapy. 

Let’s see, who else? 

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I read an article this weekend about the incredible shortage of individuals seeking jobs in web related fields. The article speculated that perhaps there is a perception in America that most IT jobs are farmed out to countries like India where labor is less expensive. However, it went on to explain that most of the jobs sent overseas are not highly skilled jobs.

The shortage of labor begins in college where the trend for majoring in computer technology has significantly decreased. As a result, we do not have the highly skilled workforce needed to fill the huge demand for computer related positions. In fact, in the Harrisburg, PA area alone, there are 500-1000 positions open at a given time for web-development and computer technology.

Why am I alerting you to this? Whether you are homeschooled student or not, here is a field that is still wide open. Homeschoolers have the distinct advantage of freedom– freedom to begin preparing for such a field while still in school.

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