Home Schooling

Is homeschooling right for your children?

If you value quality education, family time, flexibility, and learning in the real world, then homeschooling might be for you. One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that parents learn as much as their children in the process. Homeschooling is life changing, but allows parents to never lose control of the education process. But how do you know if homeschooling is right for your child?

In the broadest sense, homeschooling is educating your children at home. Nationally, homeschooling is a rapidly growing, if controversial, movement. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, but each state has it's own set of laws that must be followed. As with many things in life, homeschooling is not a black and white issue. Some parents assume that homeschooling is not an option for them, but like many other assumptions, this can be self-fulfilling.

The largest problem with homeschooling is the socialization of children. One of the strongest arguments against homeschooling is the lack of exposure to social situations involving their peers. I've had some members of my family and some friends ask questions about whether homeschooling is best and about the socialization issue. The solution for this problem is making sure your children get plenty of social exposure with their peers.

I recommend you get a few books about homeschooling to examine the issues in detail. There are dozens of books on home education today. Some of them cover the legalities involved. There are so many excellent books on homeschooling that it's hard to narrow it down to a few, but two of the first books I purchased were How to Create Your Own Unit Study and The Unit Study Idea Book.

There are numerous books and curriculums for homeschoolers that make your life easier since you don't have to design the curriculums yourself. You will have to buy home schooling books for each pre-written curriculum, so expect there to be some expensive involved.

Some parents are concerned that they might have problems finding resources to use for homeschooling. However, on the web you will find newsletter articles, reviews, resources, web sites, books and lots of other information to help your homeschooling efforts. In fact, many state departments of education also have resources online to assist in interpreting or meeting legal requirements for homeschooling. There are countless resources available for the homeschooling parents of special needs children as well.

Homeschooling is a lifestyle, and is an option for some families. Because of problems with public education homeschooling is a rapidly growing movement. It is no longer just an occasional word you see in an encyclopedia. One of the strongest arguments against homeschooling is the lack of exposure to social situations, so be sure that if you decide to homeschool your children that they receive plenty of social interaction with their peers. Homeschooling is a lot of hard work, but when done right is both rewarding and enjoyable.

Is socialization a problem for homeschooled children?

Home schooling is a different way of education for many parents, and is gradually but steadily spreading across the world. People disagree on whether home schooling is advantageous academically, it's true, but far more often the question of social isolation comes up among parents who are thinking of homeschooling their children. The bottom line is that homeschooling is good for some kids and that the factors of social isolation can be overcome.

A common concern voiced about home schooled children is they lack the social interaction with peers that a public school environment provides. Public school educators often worry that the children of such people will not learn necessary social skills. Children are born social beings, and as such need social interaction with their peers, so it's understandable that developing proper social skills is an area of deep concern when it comes to home schooling.

However, reputable studies do not indicate social maladjustment due to home schooling. These studies indicate that there are as many anti-social children in public schools as there are in home schooling. In fact, it appears that very few home-schooling children are socially deprived.

True or real socialization means that children are taught to get along with people of all ages and differences, and that is a value that can be taught at home. Yet it may be the children that benefit even more from the increased socialization that home schooling can provide, since home schoolers actually test higher than any other group of students in terms of socialization.

It is a fact that home schooled students have an equal success factor for doing well in college as their public schooled peers. Parents are responsible to make sure that their children interact with their peers in a variety of ways. But, on the other hand, homeschooled children are protected from the detrimental influences of their peers since they have more parental supervision.

If the parents teach social skills and make sure their child is involved in plenty of activities with their peers, then home schooling can be an advantage. The scores do clearly indicate that home schooled students do very well on tests when compared to their conventionally schooled peers.

Home schooling is perhaps the fastest growing trend in education in this country. It is legal in every state, though some regulate it more than others. Home schooling is good if the factors of social isolation can be overcome through proper peer socialization. It is a great option if you want to have a larger role in your kids' learning.