What 'Stuff' Do I Need to Start Home Schooling?

in Country Child

You can start home-schooling with just the items you have around the house. Of course, bearing their age in mind. My daughter started reading by me labeling everything in the house.

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouths."
Billy- age 4

This only lasts about 6 months, stick a small piece of paper on the wall "wall", one on the chair "chair", one on the "door". Use all lower case or all upper case letters (we used lower) to start. After that we used scrapbooks to keep our 'learnings' in. The first sheet was a color sheet - color names written in their color - blue, red, green, yellow, etc. Once a child begins to read the entire world opens up to them.

As children grow they will learn with gusto about the things that interest them. Discover their interests and you're off and running. They are natural learners, we don't need to impose on them. We do, however, have the responsibility to ensure they don't grow up lazy. Too much television, video games, etc. ruin a child's creativity and desire to learn. Life becomes complacent, the children become apathetic.

Educational Games for Home Schools

Games are fine, as long as they have some educational value. My daughter inherited my old work computer and I bought up some outdated and cheap learning games (edutainment), for the old beast.

That was 3 years ago, she's still learning and playing on that old computer! Soon I'll have to upgrade my own machine and pass it on to her.

Social Interaction and Life Skill Building

Take your children everywhere with you - banking, shopping, helping others, whatever you do make them a part of your world.

A friend of mine said his kids learned more on a 6 month road trip to Mexico than 4 years of being in high school. Culture, art, language, business, monetary exchange rates, survival, and so on. Both of his children have grown to be highly successful adults, well rounded and sought after for their good nature.

Learning Through Play 

Some people say that children learn heaps in play, and I happen to agree with them.

Let them play at home. Learning to amuse themselves at home, instead of being told what to do all the time at school, will serve them well later in life. As a rule, children don't like to be bored and they'll come up with something creative - if you can just give them time to do so.

Reading for the Home Schooled Child

I cannot stress enough to parents the importance of reading the printed word. If a person can read they can learn any thing, any time. Instilling the love of reading is the greatest gift you could ever give a child. However, some children seem to have trouble with reading. Find some teaching elementary level reading at a home school tips.

Finally, if I may add, that life is a journey, let your child lead (even just for a while) and see where it takes you. Children adapt remarkably to responsibility and they will take their educational responsibility mindset into the future.

Laura Childs,
Home School Mom