By Mimi Rothschild
In the life of every homeschooling parent there comes that special time, when the moment comes that you realize your baby has grown up. For parents who homeschool, this is often a bittersweet realization. You have been there for nearly every moment of your child’s life, and now it’s almost time for your baby to spread his or her wings and fly alone. It is a proud moment for a homeschooling parent, but it is also a somewhat frightening one. Where will you be when you realize your baby is no longer a baby, and your homeschooler is on the brink of adulthood?
One of the best ways to record and relive the special moments of a homeschooler’s childhood is to write letters to your children. You don’t have to give the letters to them. In fact, it is probably a better idea to keep them yourself, until you can give them to your children when they can look back and remember the things you’ve written about. Writing letters is an excellent way for a homeschooling parent to communicate feelings they are unable to express in words. Often, a homeschooling parent can work out problems they are wrestling with in their minds by writing to their children as though they were discussing it with them.
One homeschooling mom was debating going back to work, at a time when money was particularly tight. In the letter, she asked her daughter what she would think if Mommy had to leave. This homeschooler wondered whether their family really needed the money, or if she was just considering going back to work for her own self-esteem. She wrote questions to her daughter asking whether she would remember their special relationship, or if she would grow more attached to her babysitter than her mother. Once she neared the end of the letter, she had practically talked herself out of going back to work. Soon after, her husband received two raises at work, allowing her to continue homeschooling the children.
Children grow and become adults. Parents who chose to homeschool have made the decision to be present for every moment of childhood. They make the most of the time they have together with their children, and they ensure their children are raised with the solid morals and values they might not receive in a public school. Homeschooling parents are committed to their children. Sometimes, the act of homeschooling can even better prepare parents for that “my baby is all grown up” moment, because they know their homeschoolers have received the best possible education in a loving, caring and nurturing environment. Many homeschooled children become successful, responsible and compassionate adults. This is just what the world needs.
By Mimi Rothschild
The decision by an increasing number of parents to home school their children has begun to have an affect on the attendance at public schools. In some areas, the number of children now attending home school has more than doubled in recent years. Public schools receive federal funds for each enrolled student. Since the amount lost per capita is more than five thousand dollars, many districts are losing several hundred thousand dollars per year due to home school.
Some school districts are using innovative methods to lure home school families back to the public school fold. Setting up learning centers for home school students is one means traditional schools are using to restore ties with students who have left the public school system. Home school students who attend these learning centers are counted as part-time public school participants. However, learning centers do not allow religious education to be part of a student’s studies while on campus nor can center money be spent on religious resources. For these reasons, many parents who choose to home school their children on religious grounds object to the learning center approach.
The choice to home school does not always center on religion. Some families decide to home school because of inordinate peer pressure in the public school atmosphere. Parents may also feel that while one of their children does well in public school, another child will thrive in a home school environment. Other parents select home school education because they feel that the values of their families are not represented in the public school system. Many traditional schools no longer provide the discipline that many parents believe children need. Additionally, families may feel cut off from the decision making process within their local schools. Parents who opt to home school are generally independent thinkers who like to have a hand in both disciplinary policies and curriculum choices.
The decision to home school is not an easy one, and families do not come to it lightly. It is not the intent of home school families to financially undermine their public school districts. Parents who have chosen to educate their children in home school are quite often willing to scrutinize programs designed to reinitiate their families into traditional schooling. In the final analysis, though, parents will continue to choose home school over public school if they believe that the decision is in the best interest of their children.
By Mimi Rothschild
Do you think you’re moving too fast to homeschool? Think again! Homeschooling presents wonderful opportunities to learn from life. This means your homeschool children can expand their knowledge bases, without regard to the planned events for the day.
Without question, homeschooling is uniquely intertwined with everyday life. As such, things come up that may make settling down with textbooks difficult to do. For example, in the middle of your homeschool day bad weather may hit, causing a power outage. Though such an event is unpleasant, it also provides an excellent opportunity to teach your homeschool students how to react in such emergencies and even about electricity. Furthermore, you can add some talk about weather and nature for a well-rounded lesson.
Moving cross-country? Use that as an opportunity to teach your homeschool students about everything from geography and climate to calculating car mileage and gas costs. Cover math, science, and geography as you plan your move. Don’t forget about history! Use your move to help your children learn a little about the history of your new home and even the places you pass on your way there.
Too many people think of homeschooling as only sitting down with books, paper, and pencils. Ask any homeschool parent, however, and he or she will probably agree that homeschool students learn amazing things from real life. Often, it seems they learn more from life than books.
Often times real life situations will stimulate the homeschool student to learn. For example, a homeschool student may spot a snake outside. That may stimulate him or her to pick up a book about snakes and really absorb the information. By the same token, a strange cloud formation could lead to a study of clouds and even the weather. Keep in mind that many children are far more likely to put effort into learning something when they have genuine interest in the subject.
Some homeschool parents choose to homeschool on the move. Many take books and other resources along as they run errands, visit relatives, or drive to activities. This allows the homeschool family to accomplish important tasks, while making sure schoolwork is done at the same time.
The ability to homeschool on the move is one of the beauties of homeschooling. You can make your homeschool program whatever you want it to be, homeschooling wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. Best of all, you can create a homeschool program that fits your family perfectly.
By Mimi Rothschild
A side effect of the public school system is that it often leaves large sections of children behind. This often includes the asynchronous or exceptionally gifted children. Homeschool helps fill this gap. Even the child that has every toy, book, and movie in the universe can benefit from homeschool. Below is some information on how homeschool can help your child.
The strongest aspect of homeschool is community. There are clubs, conferences, and local activities assigned to assist parents and children in making homeschool a successful venture. Homeschool centers often hold conferences to not only bring together homeschool children, but also showcase the numerous abilities these children often display.
When it comes to exceptionally gifted children – that is, those with an IQ over 130 – homeschool is a wonderful way to tie in solid, customized learning with subjects the child truly enjoys. Unlike public schools that use a one-size-fits-all model, homeschool leaves creative control completely up to the parents and their child.
Children thrive in subjects such as reading, math, and the creative arts because of homeschool. When compared to students in the public school system, many homeschooled children find that these subjects are both easier and more interesting. Homeschool allows these children to read at their own pace, or practice their math with any aid that they choose.
Homeschool does not limit a child’s ability to form social networks and gain leadership. Instead, it extends those abilities far beyond expectations. Without the social expectations found in traditional learning settings, children are free to socialize as they wish, without fear of being mislabeled or ignored. In short, children are free to explore and expand their maturity without obstacles.
When it comes to homeschool, the combination of social networks and parental guidance simply cannot be matched by any other system. Children are free to explore their intellectual interests without reproach from others around them, which creates a better learning environment.
Homeschool also helps busy parents spend more time with their children. Even though gifted children form their own groups and find ways to occupy their time, all children benefit from the love a parent brings. Working with children to expand their learning is the goal of every parent. All things said, homeschool is truly a gift for the child that has everything.
By Mimi Rothschild
So you think your child is pretty special, or perhaps even gifted? How can you tell if your child is exhibiting gifted behaviors, and what are they? Homeschooling gives parents the chance to interact with their children more closely in their learning environment. Parents can follow the pointers listed below to determine if their child is gifted.
Humor is an indicator of giftedness. Does your child have a keen sense of the comical? Do they tend to integrate this sense into everything, including homeschool lessons?
Motivation is another indicator. Gifted children may start homeschool before you do. They tend to have an intense drive to understand the world around them. This involves learning about the world, and creating new things in it. Gifted children may also have many passionate interests. At times these may seem unusual, and sometimes fleeting. Gifted children tend to be very interested in the world around them.
Is your homeschool child a communication whiz? Does he or she love to convey meaning and emotion through any means that comes naturally to him or her? This can be a sign of a gifted child. Gifted children also tend to be very inquisitive. This inquisitiveness tends to pervade every aspect of the child’s life. This can make homeschool an adventure in itself.
Gifted children also often demonstrate above-average problem solving skills, and a sensitivity to those around them and situations they find themselves. They may be highly intuitive, appearing to know or understand things with no prior experience. Others may have highly developed reasoning skills, and the ability to understand the implications of things far beyond what would normally be expected. Such children may love homeschool lessons involving chess or other strategy games. Imagination and creativity can also be signs of a gifted child. Gifted children come up with new and interesting ways to think about and influence their environment.
Probably the most obvious signs of gifted children are memory, knowledge and learning. They will pick things up in the blink of an eye, and perhaps have a memory that is photographic in nature. If you do a single homeschool lesson on the United States and your child has all the states memorized by the end of the lesson, you have witnessed a strong indication of his or her giftedness.
The final clue is that gifted children learn, learn, and learn. They learn fast and they learn easily. You may be run off your feet looking for appropriate and new homeschool materials, only to find that they are mentally digesting encyclopedias as light bedtime reading. Homeschool is a method that is perfectly suited to their needs. Just remember, brilliant children can be a joy to homeschool, but they will keep you on your toes.