Home Schooling
Many parents have explored the options available for home schooling their children. Their interest may be based on a child's special medical or physical needs, a problem of distance from their home to the nearest school, or a desire to focus their child's education in a specific direction. The decision to home school children shouldn't be taken lightly since it involves a lot of work and requires a serious ongoing commitment on the part of the parent who will be responsible for handling all the lesson preparation, teaching, and grading duties.
Home schooling in most states requires a written curriculum that conforms to the state's own requirements for public school children, although these requirements can be exceeded if the child's progress permits. A regular, daily lesson plan is required, as are scheduled achievement tests that monitor the child's progress. Successful home schooling involves specific blocks of time dedicated to instruction, study, and project completion; during these periods, home schooling parents should attempt to keep outside distractions and schedule conflicts to a minimum.
Instruction in at least history, language arts, math, and other standard subjects is required, as are regular tests. Parents must maintain written records, like professional teachers, to prove completion of required items in the curriculum. In some cases states require that periodic achievement tests be administered by public school personnel or other licensed instructors; again, any parent interested in home schooling should closely review their state's laws to determine the exact requirements for compliance.
The Internet offers a wealth of information for parents who decide to home school their children. Sample lesson plans, handout material, planning and scheduling guides, budgets, and discussion groups may be found through a simple search. Some home schooling groups re-sell used materials such as textbooks and study guides, allowing parents to save money while obtaining texts that may have already been approved for use in their state.
One major problem inherent in home schooling is the diminished opportunity for socialization caused by the isolated nature of the instruction. One of the advantages of a public, or even private school setting involves the social skills learned by children as they interact with others of their own age. To mitigate this isolation, certain states allow home schooled children to participate extracurricular activities at a nearby school. Usually such access must be arranged in advance. This practice is encouraged if available, since social skills are an important aspect of the educational process.
