Schooling at home is called homeschooling. This is where children are educated at home, either by their parents, or by private tutors. Homeschooling has become popular these days especially with kids whose parents have a shifting job. This is more convenient, as shifting schools is not only a problem for the parents, but also it may disturb the child's study cycle.
Why go for home schooling?
Many parents also believe that home schooling can provide their children a custom and complete education, which many believe is inaccessible in private or public schools. Home schooling is known to be the traditional method of teaching. Some parents also feel that along with education on various subjects, religious education is equally necessary. Most times it is not available in public schools. It may be available in private schools, but they may be too expensive for the family to afford, or faith taught in schools may be different from their family religion.
Know your child's learning style:
The parents should see to it that their children are not debarred from any of the education available in schools. Try to study your child and observe his or her interests. Some children show signs from a very early age. They may be into outdoor games, like to play with colors or music. Some may like mechanical stuff like counting and building blocks, modeling clay, putting lego together, or they may like to read, or listen to recordings of storybooks. This way you will know how to deal with them, teach them, and mould their interests. Children learn in different ways; by touching and handling things, by listening, and by visual methods like reading. They tend to be very inquisitive and love to learn new things.
You can get DVD's and instructional videos about life, science, geography etc. This way they will be exposed to a wide concept about everything around them. National Geographic has come up with lovely series which are very informative. You can get these DVD's from stores, and they are easily available these days. Interesting and stimulating videos will help the children develop their mental faculties and will entertain them at the same time.
Teaching at home is much less expensive, as for a private school you will end up paying up to amounts of $3500 or more. But never try to skimp on this expense. Try and set aside a specified amount for home school supplies so that you would not have to compromise on their quality of education. This way you can buy those encyclopedia Britannica DVD's or painting brushes you need, without affecting your family budget.
Homeschooling has its own benefits. Your children would always be under your watch. Also you would know about their progress, so if they are lagging behind in some subjects, you would be able to help them. Sometimes you may have to face volumes of questions from other parents which may not be very encouraging, but that should not discourage you from what you are doing, because you would know what's best for your children. Never forget that it is the outcome that is important so always focus your educational goals. |
