As a homeschool mom, you will learn so much more than you did when you yourself were in school. History that may have bored you will come alive; math skills that eluded you will come together (especially if you start with a young student and are teaching the basics first); grammar will finally make sense; and science will intrigue you.
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:
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.
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?
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.
