Over the past several months, parents around the world have found themselves taking on the additional role of teacher as schools closed. Now that schools are reopening in some countries and children are returning to the classroom, you might be wondering whether sending your child back to the traditional classroom was the right choice. You might have discovered that your child thrives learning from home, but continues to struggle in a traditional school environment.
If you are a parent considering making homeschooling a permanent part of your child’s education, you’re in the right place! In this blog, we’ll explain how you can help your child’s transition from traditional schooling to a homeschool environment to be as smooth as possible.
1. SOCIALIZE WITH OTHER FAMILIES
For some children, homeschooling has many benefits. However, missing out on daily socialisation with classmates is a significant downside. Social interaction with peers of a similar age is crucial for development.
Regularly socialising with peers helps children improve their social skills and vocabulary. It also teaches them how to communicate effectively with others.
Even if you have more than one child at home, spending time with children from other families is something you should try to include in your family’s homeschooling schedule.
Not only will this benefit your child’s development, but it will also make the transition from the daily classroom full of friends to a homeschool setting with just their family a whole lot easier. We recommend joining local homeschool groups to meet up with other families during school hours. You could also consider enrolling your child in clubs or extracurricular activities. Everything from dance classes and sports teams to language classes will help your child to improve their social skills, make new friends, and learn new things all at once!
2. HAVE A PLAN
Some jurisdictions require evidence of long-term learning plans for homeschooled students. So, there’s a good chance you’ll need to create a year-long plan to adhere to homeschooling regulations. It can also be helpful to plan with more detail, setting tasks and activities for each day.
Creating plans will help your child adjust from the rigid nature of traditional school to a more flexible homeschooling environment. Having a plan is especially important if your child has a difficult time adjusting to change.
Of course, plans change, and so do your child’s needs – and that’s okay! Creating a plan, even if you adapt it as you go, will ensure you cover all required content, while leaving plenty of time for other activities like play, exercise, and extracurriculars.
3. CREATE A SUPPORT SYSTEM
Truth be told, the transition to homeschooling can be a challenge for both you and your child. When times get tough, it’s important to have a supportive community of people to turn to. If you’re ever in need of advice or a helping hand, a community of people who understand what you’re going through will be invaluable.
Your support network might be made up of friends and family. Or, perhaps you’d prefer to turn to members of homeschool groups or online communities. There are online and in-person support groups out there for just about every homeschooling philosophy, as well as groups for parents of children with learning difficulties. Children and teenagers will find groups just for them, too!
What matters most is that neither you nor your child ever feel alone or unsupported.
4. LET YOUR CHILD CHOOSE
In many jurisdictions, it’s either compulsory or strongly encouraged for your children to follow a government-mandated curriculum, even when learning at home. How you teach this curriculum, and the subjects you add to it, are what make homeschooling such a great option for some children.
To make sure your child remains interested while learning, ask them about subjects they would like to study. You’ll be able to search for online or print resources that will help your child learn (and you teach!) about their passions.
When teaching both required and additional subjects, teaching your child from home allows you to use educational resources that cater specifically to your child’s learning style. If your child learns best by reading rather than listening or doing, they might prefer written resources to videos or practical tasks.
Homeschooling also allows for more flexibility when it comes to start, finish, and break times each day. Giving your child the option to sleep in for a little longer in the morning or take more frequent breaks will also help them to stay engaged in their learning.
We hope this blog has made you feel more confident and prepared to begin your exciting new homeschooling journey! If you’d like to learn more about designing curriculum to suit individual student needs, learning through play, or delivering distance education, we think you’ll love this week’s Featured Courses.
Keep reading to know more about our online Educational Psychology, Delivering Distance Education, and Play Leadership courses. Studying online with Careerline allows you to learn about subjects that interest you in your own time from the comfort of home. Reach out to our friendly team and start your online learning journey today!
FEATURED COURSES
1. Educational Psychology: Are you fascinated by the psychology of learning? Then Careerline’s online Educational Psychology course is for you! You will study learning theory, as well as how to cater learning plans to the individual needs of students. You will also learn about psychological and physiological factors that impact how a person learns, including memory and information processing. This course is designed for parents, schoolteachers, early childhood educators, and anyone who works in an education or community-based role.
2. Delivering Distance Education: Careerline’s Delivering Distance Education course is ideal for teachers, tertiary educators, parents, and community educators. While studying this course, you will learn strategies to support students from the beginning of their learning journey until the completion of their studies and beyond. You will also learn about effective communication techniques, managing learning resources, and selecting, designing and grading assessment.
3. Play Leadership: If you’re a parent or a practicing or aspiring early childhood educator, you’ll benefit from the knowledge you gain from Careerline’s Play Leadership course. During your studies, you will learn about different types of play and how they benefit the development of children at various life stages. You will learn effective communication strategies to lead play groups, as well as how to plan a play program that is both enjoyable and beneficial.