How invovled do parents get in the teaching part of home schooling?

Question

This generation is more advanced in the academics department than my generation. I wasn't taught things the same way they teach students now. Would that become a problem if I was to have my children home schooled? I was also wondering where is the best place to look for information on home schooling?

Answer 1

Most teachers teach how the textbooks tell them to teach or how they just naturally teach. If a 12yo knows how to do large multiplication after being taught way A and another 12yo knows it by way B, does it really make a difference? No.

For homeschooling, once you get into advanced material, there are plenty of resources for the student to learn from on their own if there isn't an adult present who can fully explain the material. Keep in mind that knowing how to learn is more important than learning itself. If you do your job and help your children figure out stuff on their own, then the more advanced stuff won't be much of a problem.

For information on homeschooling, I started with my local library. Then I sought out a homeschooling group (I looked in Yahoo Groups plus just in general online) for my area and learned more about homeschooling, and the specifics of homeschooling in my province, through them. That then led me to reading more online, discussing more with others, etc.

Answer 2

I have the theory, that no matter how advanced the academics are, if kids can't read, write and do basic math, then they do not have a real education. That is my experience with the kids who are coming out of the public school system. They do well enough on a subject to pass a test, but they do not have an education.
I am very involved in teaching my son, even though I work outside the home. I have a schedule that gives me 2 hours in the morning and several hours in the afternoon. He is not self motivated and we, my husband and I, do what ever we can to encourage him to make progress.
We work in the school system and have a little knowlege of the jargon. By that, I mean that if you look at the list of standards in the curriculum for each grade level, it appears that the teachers are teaching complicated concepts. If you put it down into common everyday language, it isn't that complicated.
Another issue I have with the standards is that just because a teacher teaches it, doesn't mean that the majority of students learn it. Our area bragged recently when 51% of students passed the 8th grade writing test. That's sad.
The best place to look for information on home schooling is here on the internet. If your budget allows, there are some wonderful curriculum that would mean very little work on your part. We are not fortunate enough to have that type budget, so we put the work into it and create our own from library resources and used book stores.

Answer 3

Ultimately, the answer to the question of how involved parents get in teaching depends on the child/student the parent/teacher and the subject. The beauty of homeschool is that it offers a wide array of options. If Johnny can pick up a subject by reading about it and doing a few execises on his own, then the paren't need only gently nudge. If Johnny is struggling, then the parent can become quite involved, or the parent can call in outside resources if necessary.

There are many educational philosophies, with none being "right" or "wrong" (Although some will tell you differently). Within each philosophy there are differences in method. The "right" method is the one that works for your child.

I've listed some excellent resources on homeschooling in the sources section.

Answer 4

I would hope that the PARENT(s) would be very involved in the teaching.
For the record, we use the 'hands-on' method here at our house since that is how my daughter learns best. We also use McGuffey's Readers and Speller, Ray's Arithmetic, Spencerian Writing, flashcards, workbooks, chores, cooking, sewing, Flute lessons, Horseback Riding lessons and whatever else fits into our lives and helps her to learn.

The Public School system is intent on teaching the children things that will NOT help them in life but is what the GOVERMENT wants them to know--which is knowing but not REALLY knowing anything at all.

I could go on a rampage about what the system does to our children, but I simply won't get on that soapbox at this time.

For books on homeschooling try your LOCAL library or a bookstore like Borders (children's section for both).

Answer 5

No it would'nt be a problem , I homeschooled my son until freshman year of highschool and he did just as well as most of the students in his school. All you have to do is have a good curriculum , a computer, a good science experiment kit and a few good books. check here for help http://donnayoung.org/forms/help/planning.htm
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/curriculum/Homeschool_Curriculum.htm there are so many other sites that can help you just put homeschooling help or just homeschooling in your web browser. Don't fall for all those wonderful deals of a complete curriculum in a box, they are alot of wasted money just go on- line and see what the average child in your childerens grades are learning and go from there. there are hundreds of sites that have free printables for everything imaginable. It takes alittle time but is well worth it if homeschooling is for you. there are sites that have everything from history to english to spelling all free on the web use them and you will save lots of money. Good Luck

P.S. at first I bought alot of books and things but later learned that I could do it all from books from the library and information and worksheets on the web. One more thing is that I only taught my son for about 3 hours a day on average and was able to teach him enough to get into one of the best high schools in New York City, so it doesn't have to take over your life to homeschool.

Answer 6

We can get very involved. And you don't have to teach the way they do in school. I find it easy to teach children subjects I know nothing about because the materials are all laid out and I learn with them. ( I couldn't conjugate Latin verbs before I started homeschooling my children.) When they become too advanced for me I think I may send them to the local college for maths and sciences if I don't want to keep up. I have NEVER heard of a parent faltering because they were not academically prepared to help their children learn. That's the key. We don't TEACH them- we help them to LEARN.

Answer 7

Check your library, I reccommend John Holt highly.

there is a wide spectrum of home schooling approaches, from re-creating school at home to the very rigorous and regimented to child-led and unstructured.
here are some suggestions to google to give you an idea of the range of options:
Waldorf
Montessori
Classical Education
homeschool curricula
Unschooling
Charlotte Mason
K12.com (often this last option is free through the state, providing all materials and even a loaner computer)

once you have an idea of what direction you'd like to go, check yahoogroups for likeminded homeschoolers, and befriend your local librarian, who may be able to put you in touch with other local home schooling families.

If you'd like to put together your own curriculum check out the Core Knowledge: what your (x) grader needs to know
series, and Rebecca Rupps book on year by year curriculum guidelines.

Answer 8

I would begin with hslda website for your local laws. Then it depends on how your children learn and what is most important to you. Do you want them to be able to fill in a correct circle on a standardized test? Or would you rather see them develop a love of learning so they will want to participate? Personally, I would get a math text for their grade level and books at their reading level. Then let them decide what to learn. Unit studies are wonderful. If you use an Ancient Egypt Unit, for example, every lesson pertains to that subject. Spelling, writing, reading, etc. Our first one was dinos, but that was at a 1st grade level.
Don't worry that they aren't learning the right things. How much do you really remember from Elementary school? There is a ton of cheap used curriculum on ebay . Or new on homeschoolsupercenter.com Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Good information! You can upgrade in all the ones places fairly independently, despite the fact that you continue to ought to speak about your long run schooling plans along with your mother and father. Spelling calls for train. As you learn, make a record of phrases you do not appreciate or might no longer spell without difficulty, and you probably have 20, begin running. Look them up within the dictionary and study the meanings; train spelling them till you may have them memorized. Look up a few well phonics is helping online (without cost), and use the ones gear to de-code new phrases. Handwriting is a further field that simply includes train. Look online; there are a few loose writing websites that may support you. You might additionally appear within the library for a publication on fundamental calligraphy; italic patterns of writing are lovely and legible, and when you system handwriting as "artwork", it turns into plenty extra a laugh to paintings on. :) Be conscious whilst writing by means of hand, and take a while. It will upgrade with train and decision. Do you love to learn? Do you learn a kind of books weekly? You can expand your capabilities by means of hitting the neighborhood library and speakme to the librarian for a few suggestions, then diving in and studying, each fiction and non-fiction. More studying may also support you with spelling and vocabulary, fairly evidently. Examine your math potential... to what degree are you relaxed? Can you manage purchaser math (every day lifestyles forms of matters like dealing with a financial institution account, figuring taxes, and so on)? Do you comprehend forged geometry? Basic algebra? There's a loose assessment scan at Saxon Math that might be very useful for you (and likewise inform you which Saxon application you might begin with--they are well books for self-instructing and support standards as you pass.) Don't fear approximately your mother and father going in main issue (except you are relatively indignant.) Look at what YOU ought to be triumphant, after which pass out and grasp it!

Answer 10

The great thing about homeschooling is, you don't have to teach like "they" do - you can teach in a way that makes sense to you and your kids.

Classroom teachers teach in various ways, but their methods are generally aimed at trying to teach 25-30 kids at once. Obviously, you wouldn't use those same methods to teach just your own kids - neither would they. They would probably use parts of those methods, but they wouldn't do it the same way.

Every homeschool parent teaches differently, because every child has different needs. I use a lot of unit studies, great lit from the library, videos, audiobooks, and projects (usually art, model building, or cooking). I have friends that go very strictly by a scripted curriculum, because that is the structure that their kids excel in. I also have friends that use a little bit of everything to meet their kids needs. There are so many ways that you can go about teaching your children; it does take a little trial-and-error sometimes - which is fine - but you'll find what fits your family.

I suggest you check out some books on homeschooling at the library; my favorite, the one that really helped me when I got started, is The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell. She is a former classroom teacher who decided to bring her kids home, and teaches both at home and in a co op. She answers pretty much everything, and gives great ideas for resources, teaching and learning styles, curriculums to check out, and weblinks for everything.

http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Guide-Homeschooling-3rd/dp/1400305667/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-0906027-1037534?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184642397&sr=8-1

This is out of print right now, but available used at Amazon and stocked in many libraries. She is currently updating it and it will be re-released in 2008.

Hope that helps!