People choose to homeschool for any number of reasons.  Some of those reasons include homeschooling for religious reasons, not subjecting their children to many new schools if they move a lot, or having a child with health issues that could be made worse by attending public school.  For whatever the reason, homeschooling is a great option.  Homeschooling does not have to begin when a child first starts school, you can start a child on their homeschool journey at any point in their school career.

Many people think that homeschooling must start at kindergarten.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, you can begin to homeschool your child at any age or in any grade.  When you begin homeschooling depends on when you’ve decided to take your child out of the public school system and bring them home to teach them.

While it may be easier to begin homeschooling right from the start, it isn’t unheard of for parents to pull their children out of school in any grade.  Depending on the student, parents may decide to teach when they’re starting high school.  It’s not unheard of in homeschooling communities to choose to homeschool as their child’s educational career is nearing a close.

One reason parents may choose to bring home a student starting high school is that the parents don’t feel their local school is safe.  With the possibility of being introduced to drugs and alcohol, parents may choose to keep their children from those influences.  They may also bring their child home because of the threat of violence on campus.  These and other issues may cause a parent to pull their high school student out of school to homeschool.

If unhealthy influences aren’t an issue, some parents decide that high school is the right time to homeschool because of opportunities that arise.  Some high school students are already in advanced classes, however if they homeschool, they may be able to attend some beginning college courses while still in high school. 

Another possible reason for bringing a child home while they’re in high school is so they can participate in a work-study program.  Whether they are interested in a work-study program, or an apprenticeship, public high school students may not be able to work these programs into their schedule.  As a homeschool student, however, they have the ability to work ahead and therefore may be finished with high school courses which will free them to pursue an apprenticeship position.

Homeschooling is an awesome opportunity for students, no matter what grade they begin.  Things may be easier on both the parent and the student if they begin homeschooling when the student is younger.  However, that doesn’t mean you can’t bring your child home as they near graduation.  Listen to your child, understand what they want to accomplish, and then let them spread their wings and fly.

If you’re new to the idea of homeschooling, you’ve gotta have questions.  Are you overwhelmed at the different choices you have to make?  How do you prepare for the school year?  Do you have to buy a specific curriculum, or do you even need one? Before you allow yourself to get too stressed, the following guidelines might help to make the process easier.

1. Learn your state’s homeschooling laws. Each state has their own laws concerning educating your child.  Make sure you understand and obey the laws in your state.

2. Write down your educational goals for your child.  This will help you decide which curriculum will best meet those goals.  It will also give you a guide to see if you’re on track throughout the year.

3. Develop an educational philosophy by determining what you believe to be important.  Are you concerned just about academics, or do you consider character development to be equally important?  Do you want your child to be able to learn for a test, or do you want them to learn to think for themselves?

4. Decide what type of personality your family has – do you normally schedule everything down to the minute, or are you more spontaneous.  Knowing this one piece of information can make a big difference in choosing the style or method of homeschooling you choose.

5. Know your child’s learning style?  Are they a hearing, seeing, or doing learner?  Knowing their learning style will help you determine what items you will need to best meet their ability to learn.
If your children are very young, you don’t have to purchase the latest curriculum. Spend time with them helping them learn to write their alphabet, learn simple math, and prepare them to learn to read.  Small workbooks available at most discount stores.  Use candy or beans to teach math concepts.  Teach them to form their letters properly, use shaving cream or rice on a cookie sheet.  As you can see, you don’t need to spend a great deal of money to teach the basics.

After teaching the basics, make sure your child has an opportunity for fun.  Get involved in a support group with other homeschoolers.  Plan some play days or field trips; let the children run and work off some of their pent-up energy.  Having a support group helps moms, as well, especially when you have questions or need guidance.

Subscribe to some homeschooling magazines or newsletters.  This will also help when you have questions because you’ll be able to see how other people homeschool and learn how they handle the different aspects of daily life while homeschooling.  It will help you to know that you’re not alone.

Plan on going back to school yourself; continue reading and learning as you teach your child.  There will always be new things to learn, so plan on becoming a life learner.  As your child grows you may need to try a different approach.  By reading and learning along the way, you’ll be better able to make the necessary changes.

Choosing to homeschool is not always an easy decision to make.  However, when you realize that you can do it and follow these basic guidelines, you’ll soon realize that you made the right choice.  Homeschooling is an awesome opportunity for you, your family, and your children to learn and grow together.

Direct Answers from Wayne and Tamara

I Smell A ?

I was in love for the first time with a man for five years while he was a student at an elite university. We were secretly engaged to be married quietly. During the last year he was away for other training. Two months before the wedding, he called it off.

A year later, on the same day we were to be married, he married another woman. Four years later I married, and today I am divorced from the man I settled for.

Forty-three years later the first man contacted me. We met and he told me this story. He claims he is happily married. The reasons he did not marry me were he thought I was smarter than him, he did not want to take me from my family, and he did not think I would like the travel involved in his career.

None of these things were told to me at the time. He said he thought about me for years and would not come to our home city for fear of seeing me. He said he checked to be sure I was divorced before contacting me.

I am so angry with him for reentering my life. I still cannot believe him. Plus, how dare he say he is happily married and was still thinking of me, even while making love to his wife! After talking awhile following our brief reunion, we stopped all communication. Have you ever heard a crazier story?

Ursula

Ursula, plane geometry involves proving propositions from axioms. When Wayne was in school, he had a geometry teacher who often grew impatient with the illogical reasons students offered as proof. When students threw out any old thing they could think of, the teacher would interrupt and say, ?You?re just throwing manure at the barn wall in hopes that some of it will stick.?

That seems to describe this man?s reasons for breaking your engagement. What woman wants a secret engagement? She wants to shout it from the rooftops and show the ring. So I would surmise secrecy was his idea, and if the promise of marriage changed the nature of your relationship to his benefit, that?s the proof.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, ?The character of every act depends upon the circumstances in which it is done.? Forty-three years ago this man engaged you in secret, and when he was out of town, he broke the engagement. Then he rubbed your nose in it by marrying another woman on the same date the following year.

Forty-three years later, in another act of disloyalty, he comes to you without his wife?s knowledge, and shares a vulgarity about their lovemaking which you didn?t want to know. It appears he stirred the pot and is waiting to see if it starts simmering. If you go forward, then it?s all on you.

It?s too bad more things in life are not like a hot stove: touch it once and you learn the lesson of getting burned forever. This man said I love you, I love you, I love you, and then in a way which would satisfy even Wayne?s old geometry teacher, he proved the opposite. But women often cling to memories of their first love, especially when the relationship involves physical intimacy.

You are no longer the innocent girl you once were. You are a mature woman who can see that actions are the proof of character. You cannot project that a life with him would have ended well simply because your need for the right partner was never fulfilled.

When we think of things in our own head, we don?t have to phrase them charitably or in shades of grey or in psychologically correct terms. We are free to think in terms which express both the situation?s reality and our legitimate anger. You are free, for example, to think the moral of this story is: once a rat, always a rat.

Tamara

Authors and columnists Wayne and Tamara Mitchell can be reached at www.WayneAndTamara.com.

Send letters to: Direct Answers, PO Box 964, Springfield, MO 65801 or email: DirectAnswers@WayneAndTamara.com .

Homeschooling and the Internet - many consider the two to be a match made in heaven.  In fact, those who homeschool would be hard pressed to do so without the Internet.  The following seven ways explain how to use the Internet with homeschooling, but there are many more.

1.  Find state laws concerning homeschooling.  One of the first ways the Internet can help with homeschooling is by giving parents access to homeschool laws for their state.  Knowing the laws will prepare homeschool families to meet their state’s requirements so they can comply with them. 

2.  If you’re new to homeschooling, you’ll most likely need to have support during the year.  The Internet is a great place to find support.  Not only can you find online homeschooling groups, but your local group will probably use the Internet to communicate, especially if the members are spread out over a large area.

3.  Purchasing curriculum is a major undertaking every year.  Use the Internet first to research curriculum and compare prices before buying.  Besides going to the curriculum manufacturer’s websites, look for used curriculum on places such as eBay and vegesource.  If you purchase materials online it will be delivered right to your door instead of having to drive around trying to find it.

4.  Once you have your curriculum, you may want to supplement it with handouts, worksheets, and puzzles.  These are easily accessible on the Internet.  And, most of the materials you find on the Internet are either free, or very inexpensive.  Use common search engines like Google, Yahooligans, or Ask Jeeves Kids to find the items you need.

5.  Some children are interested in music and would like to learn more about it.  Resources found online would be great for this child.  Not only can you find free sheet music online for nearly any instrument, you can also learn about the composers who wrote that music.  There are even websites that can teach your child how to create music.

6.  If your child is looking for specific information about their favorite subject?  You can run to the library, or if you have Internet access, your child should be able to find anything they could ever hope to learn online.  A couple of good research sites would include Discovery.com, HistoryChannel.com, and PBS.com. 

7.  Does your child need to learn something that you don’t feel comfortable teaching?  You could either find out if there are private tutors for that subject in your area, or you may be able to find an online tutorial. 

As you can see, the Internet can be extremely useful if you homeschool.  These seven ideas for using the Internet are not exhaustive.  All it takes is a little bit of imagination and you’ll be able to find other ways that you can use it, as well.  Take some time, do some searching, and you’ll see that homeschooling and the Internet are indeed a match made in heaven.

Children often say they don’t like school, but you might not ever hear your children make that statement if you homeschool.  Homeschooling has many benefits over sending your child to public school.  Besides being able to attend school in your pajamas, your child will have much more freedom to learn than their public school counterparts will have.

One of the things that can make homeschooling fun for children is the ability to take multiple field trips throughout the year. Whereas most public school students are lucky to take one field trip a year, if they even get to take that, homeschool students have the freedom to go on as many as their parent or support group can plan. 

Field trip possibilities are endless, limited only to by the imagination of the planner, and funds you’re willing to see leave your wallet.  Some common field trips are museums, zoos, and botanical gardens.  Did you know you can also make a field trip out of a trip to a Krispy Kreme Donut store?  Yep, you sure can.  You can also visit police departments, fire departments, and local newspapers.  In fact, if you can find someone willing to allow it, you can make a field trip out of almost any business you can think of.

Besides taking several field trips a year, another thing that makes homeschooling fun for kids is the ability to learn what interests them and in a way that suits their learning style.  While they will still have to learn the basics of reading, writing, and mathematics, they may choose to concentrate on robots, dinosaurs, or some composer or artist.  And one of the benefits of homeschooling is that you can combine coursework into Unit Studies that enable the student to cover the basics all whilHow To Make Homeschooling Fun for Kidse concentrating on that one subject.

It seems that art and music are all but missing from public schools as educational budgets are slashed each year.  If you homeschool, and your child likes either art or music, you can spend as much time on those subjects as you’d like.  In fact, you can combine art and music appreciation with many other subjects.  Allow your child to try something they’ve never done before.  You have that option if you homeschool, and you don’t have to get permission from the principal to do so.

Many children learn best by handling items, whether math manipulatives, building blocks, or cooking utensils.  If you homeschool, you can allow your child to use those manipulatives if doing so will help them to learn.  In public schools, children’s learning styles often aren’t taken into consideration since teachers have to teach to a whole group and can’t address students individually.  By allowing your child to learn in the way that is easiest for them, homeschooling will be much more fun for them.

While it’s unlikely that your homeschooled children will say they “love” school, there are things that you can do to help them enjoy it more.  By allowing them to learn to their strengths, concentrating on subjects that interest them, and taking them on field trips, your child will enjoy going to “school” much better.