5 Ways to Help Your Child Enjoy Home-Schooling.

This  article was originally posted in Parentinggist.com

5 ways to help your child enjoy home-schooling. Home schooling is when a parent of a learner of obligatory school age may choose to educate his or her own child or children at home as an alternative to sending them to public or private school.

Key Points

• Find out ways to help your child enjoy home-schooling.
• You can devise some methods, like not having permanent learning positions; working in short time frames; not mimicking the school environment; finding your child’s unique style; and building a good relationship with your child.
• The proper implementation of home-schooling can make learning simple.

Adjusting to this new situation of children schooling at home is very important for both parents and their children’s well-being.

Reasons for home-schooling. Children that are homeschooled do better.

Studies indicate that students learning at home outperform those enrolled in institutions.

The explanation is simple: homeschooling provides the best possible learning environment with a teacher-to-student ratio of just one to six. Children who are homeschooled receive far more attention than those who attend school since even the most compassionate instructor is unable to give each student the same amount of attention due to the sheer volume of students.

To assist kids with special needs

Children with special needs, such as those with extraordinarily high IQs, brilliant kids, or kids with particular learning requirements, are an excellent fit for homeschooling. The greatest method for a parent to accommodate their child’s unique requirements and skills is to plan their homeschooling.

It is not necessary to teach every subject at the same level when homeschooling. There is no justification for delaying a child’s advancement to the following grade if they demonstrate talent in a particular area.

Personal motives

For philosophical or religious grounds, homeschooling is a popular choice among parents. They might want to devote more time to teaching their kids about their religion and be dissatisfied with the values that are taught in the formal school environment. This is accommodated by homeschooling.

Strong family ties are important to some parents, which may be why they decide to homeschool. Siblings can spend more time together and with their parents when their children are homeschooled. Siblings who are homeschooled sometimes become the greatest of friends despite the fact that they may still quarrel and fight like other kids.

5 ways to help your child enjoy home-schooling.

Here are 5 ways to help your child enjoy home-schooling.

Do not  have a Permanent Learning Position.

When anything becomes monotonous, it becomes boring. Having a permanent learning position gives the child a signal that he’s in school, while another part of him reminds him that this is home. To help children enjoy schooling at home, change learning locations from time to time. Variety is the spice of life.

Adopting the digital age of information for teaching and learning will be enjoyable as well, but improperly monitored internet use can be distracting. However, it can also provide some valuable and affordable online learning resources.

Schedule work in short time frames.

Often times, we want our children to learn everything at once. We want them to be geniuses, so we tend to overload them with schoolwork and knowledge. A little every day is great for your children.  When I see the schooling at home timetable for some kids, I laugh. 

How easy is it for you as an adult to sit down for two hours? Children have a short span of learning, this increases as they grow older. Don’t expect your 4-year-old to sit and listen attentively for an hour.
Help your child enjoy home-schooling by making reading fun. Allow your child to select books during story time, read aloud from the favourite story, and ask them questions about the stories you read.

Try not to Mimic the School Environment.

Most parents now schooling their children at home want to have more time to do other things. They tend to mimic the school environment.  Home is home. Home-schooling should be fun, especially for younger children. Monitor and find out what works for your child because you are still his parent. 

He sees you as his parent, not really his teacher like the one at school. Try to create a unique learning environment for your home. If your child likes learning once he’s awake before taking his bath, why not adopt that? What works in school might not work at home. Find out what works.

Uncover your Child’s Unique Style.

Every child is unique and different, so what works for child A might not work for child B. A child might like learning in his pajamas, while the other likes dressing up like a college professor. In the course of schooling at home during this pandemic, I realized my little kid likes learning by teaching her doll exactly what she has been taught. So she practices teaching the doll and mimicking everything “the teacher” told her.

Now that’s her style. Another child loves singing what he is learning and making short videos of it. When you adopt the child’s unique style of learning, you have a more positive impact on the child. No school might have the patience to do so.

Focus on your  Relationship with your Child.

The whole idea is to impact knowledge in your child in a fun-loving way. Children have and need physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. Allow your children to explore those areas that interest them.

I have never been a fan of the solar system, but in this new normal, I realized my kids are so in love with the solar system that most of the YouTube videos they want to watch are on “the solar system.” Everyone in the house can now sing the solar system song.

Do not meet only one need and neglect others because they are all important. It is only a happy child who will listen and understand what he is being taught. Promotes self-exploration; your children will become proficient at what they love to do when they spend time doing it. These passions assist children in deciding what they want to do with their lives.

Additionally, a variety of sources might provide you with pertinent information. You can create your own blended teaching style by assessing several educational approaches and focusing on what works for you.

Further Tips

Parents should consider:

Work along with other home educators.

• You could be able to get together with other homeschoolers in the area to talk about your issues and exchange lessons learned. Together, you may plan group outings and your child can spend time socializing with their kids.
• Join a homeschooling online community. These can be an excellent tool for homeschoolers to get knowledge from other people’s experiences.
• Never hesitate to seek for assistance. Any issues you are having adjusting to life at home with your child are most likely shared by other homeschoolers. Talk openly about your personal encounters.
• Attend a homeschool conference to network with other homeschoolers and gain knowledge from specialists in the field.

Establish a rewards program.

• While setting goals is important, children are more thrilled about the reward—after all, who doesn’t enjoy a reward? Organizing a chart featuring graduated rewards according to the complexity of various assignments will aid in keeping your children on track and simplify the management of their homeschool education throughout the day.
• It’s a wonderful idea to start by organizing everything into school subjects, chores, extracurricular activities, and then daily, weekly, and monthly obligations. Based on the task’s difficulty, you may now determine with your kids what will be their reward.

Promote social engagement

• It’s possible that some kids find homeschooling to be a frightening and lonely idea. Just keep in mind that your child will not be receiving the regular socialization that children receive in a classroom if you decide to homeschool them. Take extra time to investigate sports, art lessons, dancing, martial arts, or other activities they can enjoy.
• Kids who are home-schooled have a plethora of activities to choose from that will provide them with the necessary social interaction. Your neighbors will be thrilled if you encourage your youngster to form a band, if you’re feeling very daring.

Recall why you decided to home-school

It might be simple to lose sight of the original reasons you choose to homeschool when things get hectic. Put these justifications in writing and preserve them. You can store in a place for easy access or show them in a frame for constant visibility.

How telemedicine can help

Telemedicine utilizes technology to close the gap and enable patients to consult with medical specialists without having to travel great distances. This is especially important in remote places. Telemedicine is all about convenience for you and your loved ones to have access to the best medical service from wherever you are. Having a video or phone conversation with your doctor during the appointment takes away any form of anxiety.

Telemedicine is offered on the Kompletecare platform; just click on the link and you can access any healthcare professionals you need. The security of the telemedicine visit ensures confidentiality. It’s not shared with anyone or recorded.

For more insightful parenting tips, check out Parentinggist.com. This Parenting blog covers the beauty, joy and challenges of parenthood with an aim to offer support to parents.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1. What are some of the benefits of home-schooling?

The following are a few advantages of home-schooling:

• Academic flexibility: Home-schooling can be beneficial whether a child is autonomous, reserved, brilliant, energetic, imaginative, or diligent, or if they are behind or ahead of schedule.
• Comfortable home environment for learning: The family is the most important institution for moral, spiritual, and social development.
• Effective learning: no need for additional labour, simple scheduling, or time wastage.

2. How do home-schooled children make friends? 

Children who are home-schooled have many opportunities to form friendships. Among them are, to name a few:

• Online forums, video games, lectures, and clubs are accessible.
• Sport teams and sports organizations.
• Having conversations with other kids at beaches, parks, and swimming areas.
• Playing with local children, family, and friends.
• Participating in clubs for passions such as theatre or painting.
• Go on excursions or vacation.

3. Is home-schooling better than traditional?

Before making a decision, it is essential to thoroughly research both home education and formal schooling, as each has advantages and disadvantages. Every child is unique; they all have distinct learning styles, interests, aptitudes, and difficulties. They also respond differently to different teaching methods.

When your child attends homeschooling, they gain decision-making skills that students in regular schools are not even required to have. Furthermore, children who are homeschooled have autonomy over their education and experience the thrill of exploring subjects they are passionate about.

It is up to individual preference how this is done. Nonetheless, encouraging and developing a genuine passion for learning in children that they will continue throughout their lives is one of the most important components of education.

4. Are online schools accredited? 

Yes, online programs are usually accredited by the same organizations that evaluate on-campus programs, such as institutional and programmatic ones. Visit the school’s website. The majority of accredited universities will have a connection to it.

5. How did home-schooling start? 

The concept of home-schooling was created for kids with special needs who required extra support from their families.

6. Is there a significant difference between home schooling and unschooling? 

There are a number of myths about home-schooling. Among them are, to name a few:

• Home-schooling is boring and repetitive.
• Learning is constrained by home schooling.
• Only parents with teaching certifications are permitted to carry it out.

• Home-schooled kids do worse academically.
• Home-schooling is an isolated pursuit.
• Children who are home-schooled have social discomfort.
• The real world could be challenging.

The greatest benefit of home-schooling is definitely the ability to choose the child’s curriculum. What, when, and how long a child studies are all up to them. The best people to understand their child are their parents.

The child’s development is more important to the parents. Even though they are in a slightly less rigid and organized setting than children in public education systems, home-schooled students usually pick things up just as quickly, if not faster.

7. What are 2 ways to encourage children to learn?

Easy things you can do at home to support your child’s learning:

Remind your child often that you have faith in them. From an early age, let your child know that you have faith in their ability to succeed. Together, read aloud, sing, and converse as much as you can.

8. What are the disadvantages of homeschooling?

Here are some of the disadvantages to homeschooling:

• Fewer resources, like technology, than what might be offered at a public school.
• Parents have a lot of subjects to teach. More time and effort from the parent are needed to allow for greater independence and flexibility.
• Possibly less structure in contrast to public education.

Reference

Angeline, I. (2021). Homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic: 5 effective tips to implement.

Cirbus, A. (2020). How to manage homeschooling during COVID-19.

Colorado, C. (2024). Simple ways to encourage learning.

Kalu, E. (2023). Caring for a special child: Essential tips.

Reading Eggs. (2024). Top 12 homeschooling tips that every parents need to know.

RCS. (2023). Five ways to help your child excel while home-schooling.

21K School. (2022). Top 10 frequently asked questions about homeschooling.

SA homeschoolers. (2024). Homeschool beginners guide.