Types of homeschools

Each family is different in why, where, what, and how they homeschool. Homeschoolers are everywhere and homeschool styles are diverse. The child's learning style, needs, personality, and interests as well as the parent's teaching style will often determine the type of homeschooling for a particular family. Some families choose structured learning that follows a schedule similar to that of a traditional school. Some families prefer unschooling which has little structure and instead follows the child's interest and involves learning from experiences and activities. 

 

Most homeschool families use eclectic homeschooling, also referred to as relaxed homeschooling. It is a hodge-podge of several different styles of learning. A parent uses a variety of sources in the way of ideas, curriculum, and methods. This approach is partly based on basic subjects and partly based on the child's interests. This method helps a parent choose topics and materials that meet a child's needs and interests, but also covers some of the topics that would be taught in a traditional school. A student can work on lessons at his or her own pace. A flexible and varied homeschool method helps to promote knowledge, thinking skills, and interest in learning. 

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Child's learning style

The three main learning styles for a child are visual, auditory, and tactile kinesthetic. Visual learning uses pictures, graphics,diagrams, art, colors, and visual presentations. Auditory learning uses music, audio recordings, people reading aloud or talking, and discussions. Tactile-kinesthetic learning uses movement, touching, activites, and hands-on learning. Some students may prefer one style of learning over another and you can use that style more often to help keep the child motivated and learning. Children benefit by variety and learning different ways to process information so try to make an environment that uses all three learning styles. When a child learn about a subject in different ways, he or she learns it better and retains the information longer.

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Parent-teacher

A parent should homeschool in a way that works for the parent and child. The role of a parent as a homeschool teacher is to guide a child, help a child learn, encourage a child to seek answers to questions, help a child explore things, and find materials and information to help the child learn. A parent can create a comfortable learning environment and be a positive and patient teacher who wants the best for their child.

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Time required for homeschooling

Often homeschool students spend less time on school work than the typical 6 hour school day. This frees up time to pursue hobbies or explore areas of interest. They can create a family project, develop experiments, go on field trips, learn something new together, or cook.

Here is a suggested average time for a homeschool student to focus on the core skills of reading, math, lanuage arts, social studies, and science:

Kindergarten: 30 minutes to 1 hour a day

Elementary school: 1 to 1 1/2 hours a day

Middle school: 1 1/2 to 3 hours a day

High school: 2 to 4 hours a day

The rest of the day can be spent on reading, music, art, hobbies, games, videos, researching, exploring, and playing.

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Legal requirements for homeschool

Homeschooling is legal in all U.S. states. Check with your state's requirements by going to the website www.hslda.org and click on your state. You will find information on your state's laws, regulations, and options. Some states have attendance requirements, record keeping, or testing requirements.

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Homeschool groups

There are many homeschool groups in communities across the U.S. and online that provide support, information, contact, and a gathering place for homeschool families. Some groups arrange outings and educational activities, share curriculum ideas, and have online newsletters.

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Homeschool objectives

Your homeschool educational plans and curriculum change and expand as your child grows. With having school at home, there is more opportunity to combine education with practical skills. Here are some basic homeschool objectives for your child that are educational and prepare them for life.

• develop self-confidence

• learn how to find and apply information

• develop writing, speaking, and communication skills

• read every day

• apply math skills to shopping, money management, and other practical uses

• explore, question, and find answers using science

• develop creativity

• reflect on and expand on what is learned

• learn time management and organization skills

• learn about and practice healthy habits like good nutrition and exercise

• learn proper manners, social skills, and respect for others

• develop critical thinking skills like problem solving, cause and effect, and logic

• learn and practice good decision-making skills

• learn about people and places from other parts of the world and understand culture

• develop the ability to learn new skills and subjects

• learn to work together with others

• learn gratitude

• develop a sense of humor and learn to laugh and have fun

• learn home skills like cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry

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Curriculum

A curriculum focuses on the knowledge, skills, and abilities a student should achieve. A curriculum is based on what you think your child should learn. The three options are to use a packaged curriculum, put together a curriculum from various resources, or create your own curriculum. Some parents use a packaged or planned curriculum prepared by educators to save time or because time is limited time due to job or family responsiblities. The packaged curriculum is also helpful if parents are not sure about putting together or creating lessons or if they have concern about covering the typical studies in a traditional school or keeping a child on track. A packaged curriculum often follows a schedule and have textbooks, worksheets, or online assignments. Many homeschool parents prefer to use a range of resources that they put together as a curriculum. The essential subjects are the 3R's: reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are the foundations of a good homeschool education. Many homeschool parents choose the subjects math, language arts, science, social studies, art, health, physical education, and life skills in their homeschool curriculum. Then for each subject, they decide on lessons to focus on. A lesson has studies or activities to complement and carry out the goals of the curriculum. They often use premade lessons from books or online resources. Some parents prefer the third option which is to create their own curriculum. They make their own worksheets, lessons, and activities and they often use the internet and books to inspire their ideas for lessons.