One of the greatest responsibilities that you could ever accept as a parent is the responsibility of educating your children at home. That means you will be fully in-charge of all areas of learning, taking on the roles of the teacher, principal, and curriculum director. Since that’s such an awesome responsibility, you need the very best educational resources to help teach your children the curriculum that they need to learn. Here are some helpful, free resources to assist you in homeschooling your kids.
When it comes to homeschooling your children, one of the most challenging aspects is creating all of the curriculum with respect to their grade level. That’s where the Khan Academy can be a great resource! Parents can find free online lessons, as well as interactive exercises on numerous subjects for students in kindergarten, all the way through high school:Reading
Subjects:
Math
Science
Language Arts
Social Sciences
Programming and Other Electives
You can use the Khan Academy to teach entire subjects to your children or just as supplemental resources to help them learn.
Are you confused about the many educational choices for your children? In 2020, everyone had a chance to try being at home for school. But school-at-home is not the same as homeschool. Here are eight ways they differ.
School-at-home is duplicating the classroom in your house. Schooling and education are two totally different things. Schooling is the teacher giving information and the book presenting its material. Education is the student reaching out and taking in what is being offered. Yes, a child can take an education in a school setting, even if it is in their house, but for many reasons, it’s easier in the homeschool setting.
2. Supplying vs stimulating
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” W.B. Yeats explained it well. A student is better served if their education tries not so much to supply them with facts, but to ignite a passion in them to seek the facts for themselves.
In a homeschool setting, the student, with the parent’s help, can choose courses that might not be offered in traditional school. The learner can follow their own interests, diving deep into the areas they are passionate about and only skimming the courses that are less attractive but needed for graduation.
3. Habituation vs lifestyle
School-at-home is like a classroom–a place to sit and listen–but home education can get you out into the community. Instead of sitting in front of a teacher, a screen, or a textbook, the learner can go out into the world and interact with people in the community.
Adults need to buy groceries, run errands, and fix things around the house. Bringing the kids along builds relationships and skillsets. All sorts of much-needed life skills are learned in grocery stores, home improvement stores, museums, and parks.
Home education is a way of life. School teaches a person how to endure sitting and listening to others for long periods of time. At home, there are chores, projects, decisions, meals, finances, and other real-life scenarios to take part in. Boys and girls who are allowed to participate in running the home become men and women who know how to do life well.
4. Sitting at a desk vs sitting (or laying) anywhere
Many homeschoolers work in pajamas on the couch. Some use their bed as their workspace. Most do school at the kitchen table. The ability to work anywhere, in any position, without a dress code is enticing for many kids. If your little princess is into tutus this year, get one for every day of the week and enjoy the show.
Homeschool can happen anywhere. If mom needs to go to the DMV to renew her driver’s license, the kids do schoolwork while they wait. If the family wants to go on vacation, school goes with them. Or better yet, the current curriculum can get put on hold while the world becomes the classroom.
5. Set curriculum vs freedom of choice
Of course, homeschoolers study the three Rs like everyone else, but their curriculum goes beyond academics. They have more exposure to everyday skills like critical thinking, communication skills, time management, self-discipline, money management, and more.
Not only do homeschool kids have natural exposure to different things, but they can also choose different courses of study. If your third-grader is obsessed with cars and wants to learn auto mechanics, they can–not many elementary schools offer auto mechanics classes as an option.
School is held in class or online, homeschool is anywhere you can find it. If you know an auto mechanic and can arrange it, that car-obsessed third-grader can study with a real mechanic using real tools in a real garage.
6. School district’s timing vs personal timing
In home education, if an educational opportunity is available on a Saturday, then that becomes a school day and the child has a weekday off. If life interrupts and school needs to be put on hold, the books will be waiting when things calm down again.
There is flexibility in the timing of the school year as well. Some families choose to educate during the summer so they can have winters off for family vacations and holidays.
In a traditional setting, the school district decides when a student learns a certain subject. If the district decides that your pupil should learn medieval history next year, but the Renaissance Festival is being held in your hometown this year, they will miss a great opportunity. But a homeschool family can decide to switch and learn medieval history this year.
School districts also decide the amount of time in which students must learn. If your homeschooled child is a fast learner, they can finish two math curricula in one year, and if they need more time, they can take two years to learn that language arts curriculum. If you ask a homeschooled student what grade they are in, they are likely to ask, “In what subject?”
7. Others vs you
New moms who have to return to work and need to put their baby in daycare are often sad when they realize they might miss their child’s first word or step. Your children are going to have a lot of firsts and “a-ha” moments. Why give those away? When you are with your children all day, you don’t miss a word, a step, or a moment of wonder.
There will be times of frustration, and you will need to find ways for everyone to separate and have some me-time, but the joys far outweigh the difficulties. Knowing what your children are learning and who they are in contact with all day is very comforting for many families.
Whatever your worldview, it is likely that you want your children to follow in your footsteps. Even if your local private or charter school holds values close to your own, there is no substitute for educating your children according to your worldview in your own home.
8. Imperfect vs imperfectly perfect
If you are looking for the perfect school, you will never find it. “Perfect” is a myth–it doesn’t exist. But there is perfect-for-us. Give your children and yourself some time and space, and cut them and yourself some slack. Teach them to think for themselves and show them what is worth standing up for.
You may not always know if homeschooling is working and you definitely won’t always know what you’re doing, but always know that it’s worth it!
If you want to know how to begin homeschooling your child, contact your local school district. Or contact the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA); they have state-specific information, can answer questions, help with legal issues, and can help you get started.
Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.
