Home School Me!

Low Jeremy asked:


Home Schooling has been garnering more and more interest and support from many parents who are looking for educational alternatives that they can give to their kids. Home schooling is an educational method that makes use of the home as the primary educational base for children. The system involves children being taught or educated at home rather than at an institution such as public or private schools.

In the past, most children are taught their ABC’s at home in the absence of adequate schools in some areas. But with the advent of compulsory school attendance in the 19th century, education worldwide is earned through the traditional school approach. In today’s terms, home schooling or home education refer to the instruction done in the home with the supervision of government-regulated correspondence schools.

Is home schooling effective? Most people tend to believe so. Many experts think that home schooling can be an effective learning tool because it practices a more personalized form of education. In home schooling, it is usually the parent’s responsibility to teach the kids their lesson. And this type of learning environment has helped many children absorb more of what they are being taught.

And the great results have substantiated proof. Some home school statistics show that a number of home school students scored as many as thirty percentile points higher than national public school averages. Some experts don’t even see statistical differences in terms of academic achievement between home school students taught by parents with less formal education and those students being taught by parents that have acquired higher formal education.

There are other positive home schooling statistics available that will help prove that such a method of educating children is just as effective. In 2003, the NHERI or National Home Education Research Institute conducted an extensive survey of over 7,300 home-schooled adults in the US with over 5000 of them being part of the survey for over seven years. The findings of the said survey indicated that more home-schooled adults are more active and involved in their respective communities.

Most of them are also more likely to get involved in civic affairs and have higher voting population percentages than their counterparts. In terms of outlook, almost three fourths of home schooled adults feel more positive and find life exciting as compared to less than half for the general population. Half of the home schooled adults report that they are very happy with their lives.

These statistics have shown that home schooling can have a great effect on how a child will learn. Home education can be just as effective and efficient as having your children taught in traditional institutions. Home schooling just carries a big advantage over these educational institutions in the sense that this method can make parents and their kids find time together. If you are looking forward to getting closer with your own kids and more active when it comes to their schooling, then home education for your kids should be considered.



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Low Jeremy asked:


Home schooling programs vary from state to state in the U.S. As a personal option of parents for their children, the need to comply does not end in enrolling. Parents play a big role in its success.

In California, it is a compulsory for all children to acquire public or private schooling and be given the right education. Under the educational codes of California, methods of exemptions to the mandatory school attendance have alternative learning options as follows:

1. The child has private tutors who have valid credentials for specific subject matter. The number of hours of instruction must be three hours a day, 175 hours a year. All parents who opt for this choice at their discretion do not need to send the child to formal schooling.

2. Home Study Program (HSP) and Charter Schools of California – Parents have the option to enroll their child to the nearest public school for a home-based study program, where the school will assign a teacher who will facilitate and check the student’s home-schooling on a monthly basis. The tutorial program sessions are under the parent’s responsibility at home.

3. Private Independent Study Program – almost similar to public chartered school enrollment with differences in curriculum and rigidity in training. Private schools in California are not required with heavy restrictions on credentials.

4. Complying R4 Form (Private School Affidavit) – Home education system can be established by individuals in their respective homes by just complying the requirements set by educational codes of California Department of Education. With least restriction from among the alternative methods of home-schooling schemes, this is purely a program for very few students of not more than five attending schooling at home in a very private environment.

Certainly, change in a child’s schooling scheme affects parental goals and orientation. The advantage of institutionalized schooling is the amount of time parents get liberated to spend on their career while their children get the substantial education they pay for. Home schooling on the other hand, requires the entire time of parent participation, which is a great career sacrifice in exchange of personally educating a child. The price is spending quality time and close bonding with the child.

Assuming how the child will have substantial positive socialization is the main consideration of home schooling. To families of reputation or those who have “special child,” the need for home schooling is not questionable. The correct formula to child education cannot be determined because the whole process will not be projected by imagination. It happens in a span of decades.



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Ricky Lim asked:


Homeschooling can be an expensive choice for parents. There are many expenditures that need to be taken into account and the financial burden can be heavy particularly if only one parent is working.

However, many families have chosen homeschooling and found the homeschooling experience to be rewarding and fruitful.

Though homeschooling is expensive, there are some tips that will help you to reduce the cost of homeschooling and help ease your financial problems.

1. Learning materials

You can obtain your child’s textbooks and other learning materials easily without necessarily buying them. You can always borrow them from the library. Your local schools may be able to lend them or sell them to you at a cheap price and you can go online and download the educational materials and print it out yourself.

Visit the homeschooling forums online and just ask where you can ask free or cheap learning materials. You’ll be sure to find some tips.

2. Educational Field Trips

Educational trips can mean visits to the local zoo or science center. You can teach your child about animals and plants in your local garden or the local garden community.

You could teach history by visiting historical sites. You could teach culture by visiting other cultural sites or watching plays etc. All these are usually free or for a cheap price.

3. Be part of a community

There should be many local homeschooling communities in your local neighbourhood. By joining these homeschooling communities, you can pool their resources and shared it among the members.

For example, a homeschooling community can approach the local school and ask for donations for used textbooks, writing materials and other items such as whiteboards, desks and chairs etc.

Or the homeschooling community can pool their financial resources together and negotiate with a publisher for cheaper prices. Since you have more bargaining power as a community rather than an individual, you stand a greater chance of successfully negotiating a deal with the publisher.

If you do not have a homeschooling community in your local area, try online homeschooling communities and forums. They offer support and guidance and often free homeschooling resources are available

I hope I have given you some ideas on how to save money when homeschooling. As long as you are creative, you can find more ways to reduce the cost of homeschooling.



Master Design