Friday, May 23, 2008

Tips for Successful home schooling

Are you interested in creating a great home schooling program? Home schooling has many benefits and is no longer a matter of debate. Here are some tips to make learning at home an even more beneficial for you and your child.

Inspire your Child to learn how to write.

Writing assignments elicit more sighs and yawns more than other types of leaning assignments for a child, but it’s possible to allow children to like writing assignments by giving them practical assignments. For instance, you can get a child to write what he likes most about his/her toy; or to write a letter to a favorite relative as a way of keeping touch. You can also introduce the child to blogging online. If your child sees posts by other children, it is likely he will want to try writing his own topic. Pen pal letters also stimulate the child to learn how to write.

Inculcate a reading culture

It’s always god to teach your child how to read (appropriate materials please). But, you also need to take steps to ensure that the child does not have conditions that might hinder reading like visual problems or dyslexia. When you are home schooling, you will need to set a good example by reading for pleasure, and make sure that your child notices. Don’t pick reading materials that are too complicated for the child to comprehend, as this will lead to frustration. Computer games that have text in them are good for reading as they are for child development.

Learn to compromise

As to how much further you can go in insisting that your child performs a particular task for home schooling, there are no easy answers. Suppose your child wants to learn science and you had scheduled algebra, what do you do? You can change the schedule a bit and accommodate your child’s educational cravings; just ensure this is not often repeated and putting your foot down sometimes is necessary skill when teaching children. Home schooling does not necessary mean you follow your own schedule; you will need to be flexible.

You will want to ensure that your child’s education is at par with his peers’ learning at public/private schools. One way of doing this is getting your hands on a used or free curriculum which can help you have significant costs savings and will allow you to duplicate the curriculum that your child would receive in a traditional classroom setting. You can also pick inexpensive learning materials that are up for sale from a local library, or from numerous online stores.

If your child has refused a task, then a time off may be a good idea. Home schooling doesn’t have to be a battleground.

Sometimes a change is good than a rest.

There are times that your child may not want to touch a book or is plainly bored. You may not have much success teaching such a child at that moment. But you may improve results significantly by simply changing the home school environment. You may proceed to a park or a restaurant or the park or to a close relative’s house. You can also simply change the schedule and go the extra curricular way; it works wonders.