I love homeschooling, I have been doing it for five years. I remember the fear and insecurity because I wanted to do the very best for my child. I remember all the doubts: How I can do it?, It is easy?, What about books, curriculum?, What if I do wrong?, what.. How… but I don’t know… I can tell if you are thinking these questions, you are a good mom. You want the very best for your child.
1) The very first step is to check your state laws and regulations. You can do it online visiting http://www.hslda.org/hs/default.asp
2) Identify your child learning style. To do so you can think the way your child learns something.
- a) Your child can be kinesthetic if she/he move all the time, can do two things at the same time. The kinesthetic learner is hands on and very active. You can complement or modify your curriculum to use dance, hands on labs and activities, drama. These students struggle to learn sited but thrive on therapy balls that allow movement. They can learn time tables by jumping. Mom would need to be flexible to allow out of the box ideas and learning environment. These students may need to stand up to write and concentrate. Some would memorize better if they walk and read at the same time.
- b) If your child like to play video games all day long, love to draw, and he has a photographic memory it can be a visual learner. These students need to write notes, draw concepts, they must make a diagram to visualize a concept.
- c) Do your kid love music and sounds? These students learn using sounds. They listen and learn. They also will work better with music. Mom would need to be flexible because this student needs to read out aloud in order to process and understand.
- d) Do your child love Legos, blocks, puzzles and other manipulatives games? These are the tactile students. They learn better when they touch and use all the senses. They need to be able to explore their lessons with their hands.
Your child can have one style or a mixed style. My son is a visual and kinesthetic learner. It’s a fun and demanding combination.
After you identify your child’s learning style, it will be easy to select a curriculum or design your own one focusing on your child’s strengths. Please remember homeschool can be fun and flexible. My recommendation would be for elementary school use games, songs, nature, fun. This will help your child to enjoy learning. Middle school can be more rigorous fomenting independence, but don’t forget to have fun. High school would be the most rigorous and independent, focus on skills for college and adulthood. Yes, it can be fun too.
3) Get support. I love this one, I enjoy my time on homeschool support groups. You can find them on yahoo groups, Facebook even on Instagram. I like that we share experiences, information about curriculums, get a virtual hug on difficult days and even organize field trips. There is also co-ops on different cities, towns, and states. Don’t do it alone!
4) Write down all your reasons to do homeschool.
5) Ignore all the critique, even when homeschool is legal in all USA, there is a lot of misinformation and confusion. Shake up all that and focus, go vent on your support group then read your reasons to homeschool and enjoy the ride.
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