There are many reasons people choose to homeschool their children. Typical reasons include to give their children a better education, to use a different curriculum than the public schools, for safety, or to be able to spend more time on the child’s talents (such as art, dance, music, or sports).
Thanks to the hard work of some brave parents in the early 1980s homeschooling are legal in the whole United States.
Sadly, there are some countries around the world that do not allow homeschooling or who make it very difficult.
There have even been cases of parents being jailed until they promised to stop tutoring their children at home.
But if you live in the United States there is no reason you cannot teach your children at home.
So, the first step is to ask other homeschooling families in your area what the requirements are to keep your children at home for school and to follow those procedures.
Second, decide how your children learn the best.
Are they auditory learners, visual learners, or kinesthetic learners? Auditory learners do best with hearing their lessons. They love to listen to stories read aloud.
Visual learners do best with workbooks and reading their assignments. Kinesthetic learners do best when allowed to use their hands. Unit studies with lots of crafts and so on are great for kinesthetic learners.
Third, research curriculum that is made especially for visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners.
As mentioned, unit studies that have lots of hands-on activities are great for kinesthetic learners.
Some families find that some of their children enjoy using workbooks, while other children prefer making notebooks or reciting their assignments. There are so many different techniques you can use.
Fourth, remember that you do not have to copy the traditional schoolhouse. There is no need for desks, textbooks, or focusing on studies for eight hours a day.
One of the great things about teaching your children at home is that without the constant interruptions that teachers have in the classroom, homeschooling children are able to finish their studies in a few hours.
The rest of the time they can focus on what interests them, such as nature, art, music, building, or whatever.
Fifth, be sure to enjoy this time with your children. There is no need to let stress take away the fun of learning.
In fact, the most important thing you can teach your children is to love learning. A person who loves to learn will continue learning new things long after they have finished high school or college. They will be lifelong learners, and that is the true goal of education.
