Homeschooling kids can be difficult but with the help of some really great homeschooling tips, you can feel confident in how and what you teach.
Is the responsibility of homeschooling slowly creeping up on you?
Millions of American children learn at home. Reasons behind homeschooling vary wildly, but many parents believe that homeschooling is the way to go. If you’re one of them, you might be wondering what you’re in for.
Don’t worry, we’ve put together these top 5 homeschooling tips to start you off right.
Create the Right Environment
If there’s a big drawback to homeschooling, it’s the comforting environment.
While learning at home may seem cozy, studies show that our environment has a big impact on our mindset. If we’re at home, we’ll feel like it – even if we’re supposed to be learning.
Particularly for children, it can be hard to impress on them that they’re “at” school. And even you might subconsciously struggle to enter school mode.
Setting aside a special area for learning can really help move past this barrier, and it’s one of our best homeschooling tips. Make sure it’s a comfortable area away from the living areas of the house. Stock it with the equipment you’ll need to learn.
Don’t worry about emulating a traditional classroom. The point is just to help everyone get into the right mindset.
You can do this in fun and creative ways, too. Fill your “classroom” area with learning activities and games. Set up a computer where they can access educational apps. And leave space for them to get creative.
The key is to foster the learning mindset. The more you can do that, the easier homeschooling will be.
And a Schedule Too
Again, we usually associate home with leisure. It’s a difficult mindset to break.
Anyone who works from home will know the importance of keeping a professional schedule. Wandering off to do your chores is tempting, but you’ll lose out on productivity. Before you know it, it’ll mean months of lost work.
But you don’t need a full regimented schedule. Just make sure you know your “school hours” and stick to them as much as possible. You’re still free to mix up the day within those confines.
You can relax this schedule as your kids get older. They’ll have learned to study for themselves by then, so giving them control over their own schedule can help them develop as people.
To keep things engaging, give your kids input on the schedule. Find out how they learn best – and what makes them groan with boredom. That way, you can work out the best plan for helping them retain what they learn.
Get Outdoors
One of the great benefits of homeschooling is the ability to decide what your day will look like. If the kids have a high-energy day, don’t be afraid to take things outside.
Even learning basic stuff outdoors helps stimulate the senses. But you can also go for a nature walk, so they can learn more about the natural world. Or have them draw a landscape. Can they tell you about the water cycle?
The natural world is one great learning tool, so make sure you use it. Besides, fresh air and exercise will be great for their concentration, too.
There are plenty of homeschool networks around. These will help point you to businesses which offer homeschooling events or discounts for homeschooled kids.
Museums, science exhibitions, and live entertainment are all great ways to create engagement beyond the confines of the home classroom. And when your kids learn things out and about, they’re more likely to retain it, too.
Meeting up with other homeschoolers is a great way to have a fun, educational day out. And it puts the lie to the cliche that homeschool kids aren’t properly socialized.
Expect Frustration
Homeschooling can be an uphill struggle, even with our homeschooling tips. Despite your small class size, you’ll wonder how teachers do it.
Not just that, but there’ll be times when your kids refuse to see you as their teacher. You’re still their parent, after all, so they’ll treat you like it. Handling these moods means you’ll need to find the right balance between professional and parental.
You’ll need to have firm control over your emotions. You’ll need to take their criticism and turn it into something productive. And you’ll need to persevere when things seem tough.
Preparing yourself for these challenges in advance will increase the chances your homeschooling will pay off.
Make sure you have ways to cool off when you need it. Set aside time when you can drop out of both teacher and parent mode.
A stressed learning environment won’t lead to positive learning. And with homeschooling, you’ll all struggle to let it go when the school day ends. Prepare for it in advance and you’ll have the tools you need to deal with it.
Promote Passions
We all have a passion for something, and it’s often the same as our knack.
Try to find what your kids do best, and what they love. Traditional schooling struggles to promote what makes us unique, but you have no such barrier when homeschooling.
Developing the passions of your kids gives them confidence and helps them engage with their learning. It’ll also give you the joy of seeing their skills grow.
Your kids’ interests may surprise you. Whether it’s working with animals or designing apps like they work for Global App Testing, you may find yourself having to learn an unexpected subject.
But you don’t have to be an expert in all fields. Once you know what they’re into, you can guide them to resources that will help them learn more. You can even put them in touch with people you know to develop their skills.
Homeschooling Tips for a Perfect Learning Environment
By keeping these homeschooling tips in mind, you can create the perfect learning environment for your kids. But every day’s a school day, so don’t stop learning what you can do better. After all, it’s your kids who’ll benefit.
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