Homeschooling is…
Homeschooling can be compared to building a house. Every house will not stand without a sound foundation. Your foundation begins with the fact that you love your child and are concerned about what is best for them. It also encompasses your views about what makes a person well educated. Then the building begins. In your journey to building this house you will encounter many ways to go about meeting the educational needs for your child. The following information will help you “Get Started” and guide you in using EHRC as a resource for your Homeschooling.
As you begin here are some simple concepts that will help you in “Getting Started”. We call them the 3 r’s. But they are not the one’s you may have guessed!
Read
When a child withdraws from a traditional school setting, there is a period of transition that must take place. We suggest families avoid obligating themselves to a rigorous schedule of EHRC classes and homeschooling bookwork. Instead, spend time talking with your child talking about their interests, facilitate choosing some good books to read from the library on educational topics (eg. autobiographies,nature books, classic literature, etc.), and go on fieldtrips, beach-walks and hikes where they will see things in nature that they can later research. Have your child begin some journals on the different subject areas, and as they explore, create pictures and write about what they read or saw. During this time you can be researching Homeschooling and gaining an understanding of what that looks like for yourself and your child.
Relax
Often times parents who homeschool refer to their own experience in school when creating their home environment for schooling. They feel they must create a classroom in their home that mimics what a traditional school looks like. They get desks, a whiteboard and mom sits in front of the children and says, "Open to page three", etc. In doing this, they’ve made home look just like the school they left.
When you homeschool, be thinking that home is home and we are just doing our schoolwork there. Your children will relax and work in a way that will optimize their enjoyment and therefore enhance their learning.
Recognize
When thinking about how to homeschool your child, one of things you want to establish is what is the best way for my child to learn. In doing this you want to find out some of the following.
What kind of activities does your child enjoy most? Does he count with blocks, love finger-paint and modeling clay, enjoy taking apart and putting together Lego’s or other building toys? Does he enjoy being read to or listening recordings of storybooks; or, is he happiest curled up with a good book and silence all around?
Most people learn in different ways. Some are kinesthetic-they learn by touching and handling things. Some are auditory and learn by listening. And others are more visual and learn by what they see. Many children learn through all of their senses. However, since everyone tends to lean to one specific learning style, you can increase your child’s learning enjoyment by adapting the curriculum to fit their style.
Materials that work well for visual learners are workbooks, flash cards, matching games, instruction books, and charts. Materials that work well for auditory learners are verbal explanations, recorded books, educational songs and rhymes, and rhythm instruments. For kinesthetic learners, try nature walks, model kits, gardening, puzzles, and typing instead of writing.
Using your child’s learning style is especially helpful when you have to work through some of those sticky math problems. For a visual learner, try working out the problem using objects and drawings to create a visual picture. An auditory learner may need only to have the problem read aloud. And a kinesthetic learner may need concrete objects (toothpicks, buttons) to stand in for the factors and learns by physical creation and processing.
Recognizing these learning styles within each of your children will help you make better choices in the methods and materials you use.
We realize that the above information is only a small introduction into homeschooling, and are excited for you and your children as you embark on this wonderful journey. |
