Elementary Homeschooling

People unfamiliar to homeschooling often ask, “How do you do that? Isn’t it really hard? Doesn’t it take a lot of time? How do you know what to do?” I had just such a conversation yesterday picking up my online ordered library books for the beginning of this year’s school year.

I homeschooled my two boys until they went to 8th grade and 9th grade respectively — they were one grade apart. They spent one weird year in a local private Christian school during 5th/6th grades. The headmaster abruptly left the school and the new headmaster did not share his or my educational philosophies, not to mention my view of children. The defining moment for me was when the school asked me to have my youngest son hold himself back as he was too far advanced for his grade and was skewing the entire classroom statistics.

Every family homeschools for different reasons. I am homeschooling my daughter for very different reasons than when I homeschooled my sons. My daughter has been to school for preschool, 1st grade and some of 2nd grade, and 3rd and half of 4th grade. She has attended a charter school, our local elementary school and a private school. She has never had a consistently positive experience in a school.

And the bottom line for me is that it is my responsibility to see that my children are learning what it is they need to learn to grow up and be a functioning adult in our society. Functioning adults are educated to a certain standard and they are also emotionally well-adapted; they have good character, moral values, display appropriate behavior, and have a passion for making a contribution using their talents and abilities.

So, how does someone like me homeschool? Basically, it is not very difficult. If you can read, you can homeschool your children. You can purchase curriculum that will tell you exactly what to do and when and how and even what to say. This curriculum can even come on computer software that teaches your children for you and even grades their work.

But since one of the reasons I homeschool is to tailor the curriculum to my child in terms of my child’s personality, learning preferences and skill level in each subject, I pick and choose and put my own curriculum together. I do this with the help of the many books out there such as “What Every Sixth Grader Needs to Know”. These books tell you what your child should study.

I  buy textbooks and workbooks that meet our educational goals for the year and I buy the teacher’s guide whenever I think I will need it. We also use our library extensively. We order online for delivery to our local branch, books to read about the subjects we are studying. Yesterday, I picked up books about Galileo, Michelangelo, da Vinci and the Renaissance and Reformation period, and books about Plants and the classic book Little Women. Some of these we will read together and some my daughter will read on her own and report on.

We do homeschool from 9am to 12noon that requires my interaction with her. After lunch, she will continue her “homework” for another 1.5 to 2 hours. In the evenings, she will attend dance classes, art classes, and some form of physical education. She will have chores to complete during the day, as will her parents, and she will help cook dinner. Eleven is a good age to really learn how to cook. Every child should be taught to cook, do laundry, basic sewing, and other tasks we need to do to live on our own.

During her evening activities, I will write.  During the afternoon self-directed period, I will work in our home office. She has a desk in the office also, and I am available for assistance to her.

Socialization is provided through play dates, classes and clubs. Socialization with a wide range of children and adults can be provided this way and is a major benefit of homeschooling.

Homeschooling does not take as much time as schooling in an institution. The schooling period at home is concentrated, with little interruption and even with more than one child, the lesson can be covered far faster than trying to teach 25 children. And since homeschooling is usually tailored to the child, the child is fairly engaged. If your child is a quick learner you can also skip ahead in material. When my children complain the work is too easy, in math for example, I challenge them to pass the test at the end of the section with 100% accuracy and they can then completely skip the lessons leading to the test. Whatever section of the test they cannot do, we must return to that portion of the lessons until they can do it right.

What books children read can be tailored to the child’s reading skill.

But yes, sometimes homeschooling can feel very hard. Children are children. They will not want to do school that day. They will find the subject boring. The parent must be able to devote the time to the child and this can be very difficult at times. Parents get tired and they are busy and we all still need to earn a living.

Having had children homeschooled and schooled, I still cannot decide which is more work. Working all day when my child is in school and then spending all evening doing homework after evening activities I found hard work. Homeschooling all day and still getting my office work done and finding time for writing (and the energy) I find to be hard work.

The benefits of one must outweigh the other for your family.  But if you can read, you can homeschool your children.  We always assess every year for each child and make the decision based on their needs and well-being and the needs of our family. The local public high school worked out for my sons. They are both college students with many friends; they hold down jobs and one of them lives entirely on his own and has been since age 20.

Right now, it is the right option for our sixth grade daughter. Summer sure went fast though! Homeschool starts September 8th.