Studies show that the training or degree of parents is not an essential factor in the success of homeschooled children. More critical than a degree or a college diploma is your concern, commitment, and eagerness to give your child the best kind of education that he/she deserves.
The fact that almost all homeschool parents are not professional teachers, they should select a curriculum that best suits the child’s learning style, capacity, and needs and finds ways to support that plan.
The qualities of an efficient and effective teacher vary; however, they should possess good character, display enthusiasm in teaching and have the dedication to work with their students.
Here are some guidelines to help you become the best teacher for your child:
1. Choose the curriculum for your child well. Make sure that you recognize the goals defined by a particular curriculum.
Examine it to determine if the goals match those defined by your State as a standard for each level, as well as if it matches your child’s learning style and capabilities.
2. Be prepared.
Study the curriculum well so that you are well educated when you teach your child.
3. Determine your child’s learning style.
It is only through proper determination of your child’s learning style that you can effectively teach him/her.
Note that there are children who learn well visually, so in this case, reading and videos can be a better teaching tool. Some are listeners, in such cases, music, reading to them out loud and humming, for instance, their mathematics tables can be a better method of teaching.
4. Be creative.
Homeschool instruction doesn’t have to be a one way kind of teaching. Encourage your child to ask questions so you both can discuss the subject matter in a way that the child does not only listen and get information from you but that your child is actively explaining and expressing his/her own opinion or views.
5. Be understanding.
When you feel that your child is having difficulties on a particular subject, then give him/her time and provide careful guidance, by asking her what she finds difficult so you both can work up a plan as well as enough time to solve the problem. Understand that children are not robots who readily absorb information. Allow them to have their ‘shortcomings.’
6. Recognize that above all; you are a parent.
Parents do what’s best for their children. Following your instinct as a mom will make you the best teacher for your child. And it comes naturally!
What To Teach Your Children
The first dilemma that may enter a parent’s mind when he or she decides to homeschool his child is what to teach. Fortunately, some states require certain subjects to be taught to students. Colorado, for example, needs children to be taught in communication skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history, science, literature, the Constitution of the United States and civics.
Different states require different subjects and different numbers of teaching hours for homeschooling; however, this should not limit the potential of homeschooling. Homeschooling is the most lenient of the schooling systems, and as long as the minimum requirements are attained, a parent shouldn’t have any problem.
One of the good points of homeschooling is the freedom to teach almost anything to your child. Parents should focus, aside from the general subjects, on things that their children are most interested in, on skills that they enjoy using, as these will be very useful to the child when he goes to face the real world.
Consequently, homeschooling need not be confined in the four walls of the house, as schooling in itself isn’t confined to the four walls of the classroom. Some parents of homeschooling children organize get-togethers and field trips with neighbors. Homeschooling doesn’t have to be an anti-social experience; rather, it should be a way to promote socialization using the parameters of the real world. There are no school rules, but the ethics of the real world apply.
There are many types of homeschooling approaches. Those most popular are structured, interest-initiated, and eclectic. Structured is more like the formal education you get at school and is probably the most formal of all approaches. The interest initiated approach, on the contrary, focuses on real-life experiences, and the children learn it based on their interests. The eclectic approach makes use of a random, or chosen combination of all other criteria, depending on the family’s needs.
Indeed sometimes homeschooled children excel in socialization and communication more than formally schooled children. However, not all homeschooling is good schooling, and not all homeschooling programs apply to your child. This is why you, with or without professional programs, should monitor what to teach and when to teach it.
