Worried about sending your kids back to school? You’re not alone. Parents around the world are facing the challenge of what to do with their kids when it comes to education. You know you don’t want them going to school, but what about socialization? And their education?
In this article, we’ll look at what your options are for teaching your kids at home.
Traditional Homeschooling
The more traditional method of homeschooling is where the parents teach their own children, as teacher and student. In this situation, you will likely use a specific curriculum. However, traditional homeschooling ranges in style from family to family. Some families run a strict schedule, with each subject set in order. Others are more flexible, ensuring their children do the work, but not stressing about when it’s done.
Homeschooling can be as complicated as planning each lesson out and using workbooks, texts, online videos, blackboards, and all the trappings of school. Or, it can be as simple as working through a workbook on each subject and doing a little each day. The choice is up to you.
Since homeschooling is so flexible, it means every family can select the method that works best for them. I recommend doing more research before diving into this, because you can choose the method you prefer.
Unschooling
Another, more extreme option is unschooling. This method of teaching actually lets kids teach themselves. Whatever they’re interested in is what they focus on. Kids naturally tend to focus on things they’re interested in. For example, a child who loves dinosaurs can tell you the eating habits and habitat of all their favorites, pronounce long, complicated names and describe and identify each dinosaur with surprising accuracy. How did they learn this? It wasn’t because they sat at a desk while a teacher lectured.
The idea behind unschooling is to encourage the child’s natural curiosity. Kids will automatically add regular skills like reading, math, and science as they learn more about the things that fascinate them. It’s easy for them to learn new things when they’re actually interested. Think about it . . . when you’re interested in something, you research and learn more, too, right? You just need to show children how to learn and find the information they want to pick up and they’ll learn far more than you expect.
Unschooling groups on Facebook can give you more information on the concept of unschooling.
Distance Learning
Options like k12.com and similar sites allow your children to learn from teachers online. Classes may be at a specific time, just like the distance learning provided recently by schools, or they can be recorded and students may study on their own. Each child learns differently, so you’ll need to determine which option works best.
Keep in mind that many schools will also be offering online learning, but this isn’t necessarily the simplest way to study. After all, students need to be in front of the computer for a full school day, which can be exhausting and impractical. They get the teaching from school without the other benefits of being at home.
Tutors
If you have the financial possibilities, hiring individual tutors for your children is an excellent way to go. You can either hire one who will be able to teach all subjects, or you can hire individual tutors for each subject. The second option is often preferable for high school students, where the subjects are more intense.
Remember, private tutors were good enough for generations of royal families, so why not your family?
One-Room Schoolhouse
Another option that more and more people are looking at is hiring a professional teacher and having them teach a small group of children. It’s essentially reverting back to the one-room schoolhouse idea, where one teacher is responsible for 5-10 students.
In this scenario, the families coming together to hire the teacher will undergo less risk, because they are forming their own bubble. As long as they maintain safety protocols outside of the schoolroom, everyone should remain safe. The quality of education is also greatly increased when you have just a few students with one teacher.
Which option will work best for your family? That’s something only you can decide. What is certain is that home education doesn’t have to be permanent. You can do this for a year and then send your kids back to school, if you like. They won’t suffer from studying at home for a while and you’ll feel calmer, knowing they’re safe and sound.
