You can homeschool your own children. Your child does not need to be in a brick-and-mortar building with a stranger in order to learn. Children are learning all the time. They learn wherever they go. They started to learn first from watching you. The saying “they are little sponges” could not be truer.
It can be frightening and overwhelming. However, you have been homeschooling since you brought that little baby home from the hospital. You do not need a special degree or be certified to teach your own child. Remember, you are your child’s first and foremost teacher. That child was watching everything you did and everything you modeled. From learning to brush his or her teeth to potty training, you were the one there and the one teaching. Your child even learned how to form sentences by watching and listening. You did not know it at the time but you were teaching.
Homeschooling is no different. Your child will take cues from you. It is a very fun and enjoyable journey. I know I have many memories of our homeschool journey and you will too.
You Know Best and Homeschool Accordingly
You are the one who knows your child best and knows his or her strengths and weaknesses. This will help you when homeschooling. Use your child’s strengths to help him or her with weaknesses. You do not need to spend as much time working on concepts where your child is the strongest, except to help build confidence and self-esteem. Then focus on the weaknesses. Spend more time on them and help your child overcome and learn the new concepts. This can only be done because you know what works for your child.
One-on-One Homeschool Instruction
You can provide individual one-on-one instruction. This is something your child will not get at a public or private school because there is a high student-to-teacher ratio. However, it is just you and your children. This allows you to be able to work with each child one-on-one throughout the day. When the baby is sleeping or a sibling is working on handwriting, you can focus on another child learning a difficult skill, such as how to read.
Learn Through Play
With young children and especially through elementary, children learn through play. You can take advantage of this. Plus, you will have a lot of fun as a family and the learning will happen without anyone knowing it. You can now purchase games that cover everything from sight words, to learning how to count, add, subtract, and even handle money. So make sure you add all of those fun learning opportunities to your day.
Create Your Own Games
You can even create some of your own games. One of our favorites was taking sight words and playing memory. In order to keep the match, one must be able to read and say the word. This also works great for vocabulary with the match being the word on one index card with a simple definition on the other. Learning and retention are high when the learning is through fun. Plus, you will instill a love for learning which will create lifelong learning. Before you know it, you are having fun, your children are learning and you are making memories that will last a lifetime.
If you would like more information consider reading the following blog posts:
- Educational Play is Essential Part of Learning
- Schedules and Homeschooling Unique to Your Family
- How to Choose Homeschool Curriculum that Fits
