How To Prepare to Homeschool Your Children

It can be rewarding for the parents to home school their children.It can be difficult to know where to start.Before you embark on your home-schooling adventure, you should be aware of the rules for home schooling in your state.You can begin to plan out your daily home school routine after you explore your options for curriculum.With careful planning, you can make sure that your child or children receive the best possible home education.

Step 1: Understand the educational requirements in your state.

There are different requirements and laws for home education in different states.It is important to know the rules and regulations that you will have to follow to educate your child at home.You can ask about these rules and regulations at your local public school or visit your state's education department website.Filing a notice of intent is one of the things that you might be required to do.Some states require you to file this document every year.There is a description of your curriculum and information about your qualifications to home school.The qualifications may include a high school degree.You have to register with an umbrella school.You have to register to home school your child in some states.If you plan to include religious materials in the curriculum, this may be a local public school or a private religious school.Every year, they submit grades and progress reports.You have to submit your child's grades and a report of their academic progress in some states.If you need to do this, check your state's guidelines.

Step 2: Discuss with other parents.

It is possible to find out how to get started by talking with other parents who are doing it.You can learn from what other parents have said.You can join an online forum if you don't know anyone who does.If you run into a problem while home-schooling your child, these forums can be helpful."What do I need to do to register my child for home education?" are some questions you might ask other parents.Is there any good resources for lesson plans?How do you keep your kids on task during school hours?

Step 3: The approach you want to use should be identified.

Take your time to read about each method and find out what method or combination of methods will work best for you and your child.The Classical Method is one of the methods that you might consider.The approach includes an emphasis on rhetoric, logic, and Greek and/or Latin language.There is a person named Charlotte Mason.Literature is emphasized over academic readers in this approach to home education.Academics were delayed.The child can hold off on formal educational studies until the age of 10.The child can choose what to study and the parent can develop a curriculum based on the child's interests.The unit study method is used.You need to design units that will teach your child a concept or skill.The units are taught in a sequence.Unschooling.The method allows the child to study what interests him or her with little to no intervention from the parent.The method trusts that the child will look for knowledge that he or she is interested in.

Step 4: There are resources and information for homeschoolers.

Before you start home-schooling your child, you should learn as much as possible.You can design the best program for your child if you have more knowledge and confidence.Before you start planning how to educate your child, try to read as many books and articles as you can.You can check out a library.You can find a lot of resources at your local library.

Step 5: Who will teach your child at home?

Some parents provide the instruction while others don't.Other instructional options include online schools that meet through video conference, private tutors who will visit your home, or online tutors that will meet and correspond with your child on a regular basis.If you want to teach your child, you have to consider your lifestyle and willingness to do so.If you work from home or take care of small children during the day, it might be difficult for you to provide instruction to one of your children as well.If you are going to do most of the teaching, you might consider having some special guests come and talk with your kids.If you invite a local farmer, religious leader, or member of local politics to come to your home, your kids will learn about their profession.

Step 6: There are pre-packaged curriculum materials.

Unless you have a background in education, it can be difficult to plan a curriculum.There are many free online pre-packaged curriculum materials.Check out different types of pre-packaged curriculum to see if they work for your child.If your child has a strong interest in geology and you want to encourage that interest, you could look for a pre-packaged curriculum that includes several lessons on that subject.Pre-packaged curriculum costs vary.A full year of lessons may be included in some packages.You can find free materials on sites like Edmentsite, Khan Academy, and the Free Federal Teaching Resources website.

Step 7: You can design your own curriculum.

You may consider designing your child's curriculum yourself if you have a background in education or know how to do it.You can use online resources to help you figure out what to include in a lesson plan or use textbooks to guide what you teach your child.If you want to get the hang of designing curriculum, base your lessons on pre-packaged lesson plans.You can use a pre-packaged math lesson on subtracting to help you design a multiplication lesson.You can combine pre-packaged lesson plans with your own lessons.You could use 50% pre-packaged plans and 50% plans that you designed on your own.

Step 8: You can use trial and error to find out what works best for your child.

You may already know what works best for your child.He or she may be a visual learner who needs to see pictures and videos.If your child has a kinesthetic learning style, he or she needs to have hands on experience with a concept to grasp it.It is important to remember that what works for someone else's child may not work for your child.If something isn't working for your child, be willing to change the program.Your child might not respond in the same way if your friend's child really loves a specific type of lesson plan or activity.Keep notes on what works and what doesn't.

Step 9: Keeping your family's routine in mind is important.

It is important that your child's school routine meshes with your daily routine.Think about what your normal daily routine would look like if you set up a daily school routine.Take a look at your normal daily routine to figure out how much time you can devote to your children.Work within this time.If you find that you have four hours of free time each day, then this is the amount of time you will have to teach your children.It is a good idea to keep your daily tasks in your schedule to help structure your days, such as getting dressed in the morning, running an errand on a specific day, or preparing meals at a certain time.

Step 10: Determine when school will end.

Setting a time boundary will prevent you from working too long or starting too late.The days of the week that will be school days can be identified by setting a daily start time.You could decide to start school at 9am and end it at 3pm.You should make your kids aware of these start and end times by posting them somewhere visible.

Step 11: The tasks should be scheduled in 15-minute blocks.

It can be hard for kids to focus on one task for too long, so you might want to schedule tasks in 15-minute blocks.If your child needs less time to complete a task, that's fine.Try not to schedule tasks that will take more than 15 minutes to complete.You can schedule a 15-minute block of reading or writing.For 15 minutes, scheduling an entire book chapter would be too much.

Step 12: Break times and meal times should be included on the schedule.

Meal and break times on the schedule are important for structure in your child's environment.You should include snack times, meal times and other important breaks on the schedule.You can schedule in a snack from 10 to 10:15am and then lunch from 12:30 to 1:30pm.

Step 13: The schedule should be visible.

To make it easier for your kids to find out what tasks they should be working on at a given time, post the schedule somewhere that is easy for them to access, such as on the kitchen table or the refrigerator.It's a good idea to take a few minutes each day to review the schedule with your kids and make sure they know what tasks they will be working on and when.