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Homeschooling: Is it for you?


More and more parents are becoming dissatisfied with the level of education their children are receiving in public schools. However, not every parent can afford to send their kids to private school. So many parents’ thoughts are turning to homeschooling.

The number of homeschooled children in the U.S. is in the thousands. Many parents have taken their children’s educations upon themselves. Some even turn to online homeschooling programs.

Is homeschooling right for your family?
The decision to homeschool your children is certainly a tough one to make. Before pulling your children out of school, there are several things you need to take into consideration:

  • Can you support your family on one income? Homeschooling is a full-time job – especially if you have several children in different grades. You will be your children’s teacher. That will require you to do more than just hand them a text book, sit back and watch them learn.
  • Do you have the knowledge and/or resources to teach your children? In order to teach a subject, you need to know it. And for many people, there are a few subjects we’re not particularly good at. If you’re not a math whiz, but your son needs to learn algebra, you need to be sure that you have a resource to help your child. It may be your spouse, a friend or a tutor.
  • Will your child flourish in this environment? While your child’s education is very important, you need to decide if homeschooling your child is right for them. That is more important than whether or not it is right for you. Some children need the socialization and rigidity of school in order to flourish. Other children are very adaptable and can make and keep friends and study well while homeschooled. No matter your own feelings, you need to consider your child’s feelings first.

How do you get started?
Once you’ve made the decision to homeschool your children, you need to get organized and order books. There are many resources available for homeschool curriculum. These include private school textbooks, religious textbooks and even curricula designed specifically for homeschooling.

Here are some great homeschool curriculum resources:

  • Robinson Curriculum Self-Teaching Method
  • Saxon Publisher

Here are some Christian homeschool curriculum websites:

  • Alpha Omega Publications
  • A Beka Book
  • Sonlight Curriculum
  • Bob Jones University Press

And here are some online homeschool programs:

  • Time 4 Learning
  • Keystone National High School
  • Global Student Network
  • The Jubilee Academy (Christian)
  • The Morning Star Academy (Christian)
  • K12

Once you have found a homeschooling curriculum that works for you and your children, you can get started! The key to successful homeschooling is to find a system that works best. This may mean you create a “classroom�? and have defined “class times�? for each subject. Or it may mean that your children work through their subjects as they desire – whatever you do, make sure you find a system that gets the work done!

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