Here, we look at a few issues related to homeschooling. But first, a word to parents who approach the role of “teacher” with some trepidation.
You are your child’s first and can be their best teacher. Think of what you have already accomplished together. For one, you helped them learn to talk — an incredibly complex accomplishment.
Using the strategies described on the previous page, you will easily do that again with literacy skills and other skills and concepts. Or knowing the child as you do, you can guide a grandparent or caregiver who does it for you.
So to help with that, we look here first look at maximizing the benefits of home schooling in general. Then we’ll look at what students need to be doing.
Learning At Home Is Not “Public School At Home”
I strongly support public schools. They can provide valuable benefits for the child and for society in general. But at the same time, there are important advantages to a well-designed approach at home. And it’s likely you’ll lose those advantages if you try to replicate what’s done in school.
For at home, you can provide real-life, hands-on activities that match your child’s skill level and focus on what they’re truly interested in. You can also design activities that have a purpose beyond learning.
That is, instead of having them fill out practice sheets and memorize information, you have them make something that causes them practice those skills. Publishing their own stories in their writing books, as described on the previous page, is just one example. Once your child moves into projects, you’ll see more opportunities for doing that.
So bottom line, the first thing to realize is that you don’t need to make learning at home mirror what happens in school. Nor should you try to do that. For the two are very different settings, and a well-designed approach at home has some very valuable advantages.
With the powerful combination of creating things they’re interested in that also serve a purpose, the child is highly motivated to work. So you’re using the child’s energy, instead of fighting against it. And what they’re learning through this kind of experience stays with them.
I addition, you can develop skills and concepts in less time at home than the several hours a day spent at school. See why that’s the case here.
Following is an outline of how you might organize learning.
Reading/Writing Sessions
Children learning to read and write – and — those carrying out projects will need the following sessions:
- Writing Work Time (Steps 1 – 5) — or – Project Time (Step 6). (20 – 90 minutes or longer) At every level, the child must return to you briefly at the end of this session. Steps 1 – 5 will show you what they’ve done that day. With projects, they may just tell you what they’ve done and what they plan to do next.
- Phonics Activities — Or — Reading Conferences. (20 – 40 minutes). With a young child, you’ll be following the activities outlined in the first page of Phonics. A child around Step 3 or 4, can be working on “word families,” as described at the bottom of the second page in Phonics. A child reading independently will be reading on their own, or holding reading conferences with you.
- Reading/Story Time. Continue the same story time you’ve probably already been having for years. Also, continue reading to a child who can already read. From a list of children’s literature, select something a little more complex than what they’re able to read on their own. Beyond that, a child reading fluently should be in the habit of having a book going they can enjoy reading on their own, day after day.
- Math. Work with concrete objects around 3 times a week, for 45 minutes or so. The Bead Trading table game (or something like it) can be at the heart of a math program during the first several years.
The Balance Between Skills and Content Shifts Over Time
The young child needs to focus on skill development. The content — what they’re focused on — is just a vehicle for skill development.
I think of it as the car they’re using to learn how to drive. It’s the driving skills that are important — not the make, color or model of the car. But the more they love the car — think it’s cool/great and are excited to be in it — the more they want to learn to drive it. So content should be something with strong meaning that they’re very interested in.
Time spent learning about things remote from their daily life is usually wasted. For if they can’t comprehend it, the best they’ll do is gain new vocabulary that sounds impressive, but is devoid of meaning. Or if it does have some meaning, it’s something they’ll soon forget.
So in the early years new content should just be to expand on something they already know and understand. But content can gradually become more remote from their experience, as the child grows.
Once they’re working on projects, they gradually expand their awareness of the world around them. There, the internet is a great help. But first hand experience is also valuable.
Bottom Line
Again, there’s no need for you to try to replicate what a teacher does in class, or the time spent doing it. Until a child can read, write and compute with ease, they should have some regular times each day devoted to literacy skills and basic math concepts.
Beyond those sessions, you can also be alert things you can show them as you go about your daily routine. At times you might also add special trips to places where you can expose them to new ideas. Perhaps you’ll take them to some special gardens or a farm, museum, or other local attraction.
But most of the time, you’re simply helping a young child better understand their immediate surroundings. On the following page, you’ll find a few examples to clarify how you might go about doing that.