My daughter just started to HOME-SCHOOL her 10yr old son...can you give me some tips that may help?

Answer 1

I homeschool my 10yr old daughter! We love it. Homeschooling has been such a blessing to our family. Tell your daughter not to listen to critics. They are ignorant and determined to stay that way. Tell her to take joy in each day. Tell her not to push too hard. If she can teach him to love learning, everything else is cake. There is a great site called guilt-free gomeschooling. I recommend it. It is an inspiration on a less than perfect days.
Good luck to your whole family and congratulations!

Answer 2

Best tip for anyone who starts homeschooling a child who has gone to school-- don't rush things.

It's a big transition, best eased into.

I know a lot of people are very concerned right off about falling "behind" and other arbitrary school concepts, but really the best thing to do in the beginning for a few months is to just kind of relax and take a breath and get your bearings. The more pressure parents put on themselves or their kids, or the more pressure family/friends/educators put on new homeschooling families, the more stress, frustration and burn-out can result.

Best thing I think your daughter and her son can do right now is just get used to spending their days together, read up on homeschooling, get involved in some intersting activities together maybe and spend a lot of time at the library.

Answer 3

I homeschool my 6 yeard old son and my 10 year old son. We are fairly new at homeschooling but myself and my kids came to it with ease. So far. There are many different ways to homeschool. It all depends on the parent and the child. You can start one way of teaching and end up somewhere else. A great book that I started out with is "The Homeschooling Handbook" by Mary Griffith. It answer so many questions for me. Some of the things I love about homeschooling my kids is the time I spend with them and I get to teach them what I want. When I want. They don't have a set schedule everyday. Everyday is a school day because everyday is a chance to learn. And it doesn't all have to be book work. You can bake cookies, or go shopping and that can be their math lesson for the day. You can visit a museum or a zoo. You can come up with creatinve games for learning. We play muliplication war. Instead of the highest number wins its who ever knows the correct answer. (If theres a 6 and a 5. Its 6X5) We have also adjusted it to addition and subtraction war for my youngest. We have picnics at the park. A healthy body is just as important as a healthy mind. (My boys were only getting 20 min. PE in school) And my boys play sports too. They play for the school or the city. Socialization is very important. Also if my boys are interested in a specific topic, person, or thing they can learn as much about it has possible. And I don't have to stay at grade level learning either. If my son has mastered a skill (like in math) Im not going to keep making him do it over and over I adjust the learning material to his abilities. One of the biggest things to rememember when homeschooling...have patience and have fun!

Answer 4

Others have mentioned tips to pass along to your daughter and how you can to be supportive and not over-react to the academic side of the transition stage. I also want to mention that if your daughter has been working up until now there will also be a financial transition that the family will undergo. Be patient with that as well.

You may have no trouble in this area, but just in case I will tell you a bit about our situation in hopes that it may make a difference in yours. My mom adjusted to the academic side of our transition easily, but never really adjusted to the financial side of it. We are in the 15th year of homeschooling with one graduated with full scholarship and holding high honors at college, another graduates this spring, a 13 year old, and a 7 year old. I have felt endless pressure from her to try to juggle work and homeschool four children. Though we certainly had our lean years, we have been financially comfortable without debt (except for a reasonable mortgage)on one income for some time now and still we cannot seem to have a conversation without her asking when I will get back to working. Homeschooling is my vocation and when the kids are grown, I can easily return to my career.

I understand the source. My parents live a very expensive lifestyle (they made over $160K/yr income before retiring) and I think somehow they feel like we are failures for not having the luxuries and splendor in our lives that they feel are essential. But we don't really have a desire for those things; a modest home, needs, and a few deep wants are enough and we are happy. She has a hard time understanding it. I think the children have actually had a healthier unpbringing because they have learned the value as well as the emptiness of things and they have had a very present mom who is very involved with them. I wanted that for them so much more than I wanted to shower them with stuff all their lives but always be gone working. Once the kids are grown and I return to my career, I will be grateful to have a conversation without a career hint in it. sigh. To me, the way we are doing it, I will get what I wish to have from both worlds, each in their own time.

Answer 5

Moral support! A "You're doing a great job!" really goes a long way for a new homeschooling mom.

Sorry this isn't going to help you any, but DHC really got to me... I don't understand what your problem is with homeschool. If you are against it, why do you continue to answer in this category? As far as certified teachers go.. I believe that certified teachers are very necessary for teaching a class of 30 students,each with their own style of learning. I believe that is the crux of what a teacher learns while in college... different methods of teaching. But I don't see how it is necessary for me to be a certified teacher. I already know my children's style of learning better than ANY certified teacher in the whole d*** world!!!

Answer 6

Do some field trips when practical to museums, galleries, etc.

See if the local parks department has any free program for group activities such as art, photoraphy, karate, soccer.

If you have cable TV use resources like Disovery, History, Science and PBS. Also occasionally was a classic movie on TBS.

If you can affor it buy some educational things that can be used for both homeschool and as unschooling like a microscope or telescope or electronics construction kit.

Answer 7

Probably depends on the distance, the danger and the ability of your son. Some places you ought to go get him even if it is just across the street. I walked or rode a bicycle 2 1/2 miles from the time I was in junior high through high school. We lived rurally.

Answer 8

I homeschool my 10yo son as well, and I've got to say it's been one of the best experiences for both of us. We're in our fourth year of homeschooling, so I'll list some of the things that I wish I had known, going in:

1) Allow time for both mom and child to get used to the transition of homeschooling. Homeschooling is not necessarily school-at-home...and at first, it can be quite the transition. Many kids that come out of a classroom structure, especially if they had problems there, need a few weeks (or even 2-3 months) to "de-school". This is what it's called when you let a child "come down" from whatever stress they felt at school. During this time, allow a low-key schedule that includes things like read-alouds, movies that teach to a high-interest area (space, lizards, sports, whatever), enjoyable projects, and the like. Once he is ready to get back into a school mode, go ahead and introduce whatever type of curriculum has been decided on - whether it's a structured workbook/textbook type of thing, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, whatever.

This time of transition is very important for most kids - it is very necessary for them to mentally and academically make the switch. It won't set him back at all - your daughter will probably notice that he learns much faster and retains info better after allowing this time.

2) Be willing to make a mistake when it comes to curriculum. It can be a trial-and-error type of situation, as every child is different and has different needs. I'm sure your daughter has done her homework and chosen a curriculum that meets their needs. However, please let her know that it's ok to ditch that curriculum and make a switch halfway through if it's just really not reaching her son. She will probably find that he can learn whatever it is, he just needs another approach.

3) For you - please be supportive of her and provide a listening ear. This will bless her more than you know. For the first two years of homeschooling, I had to listen to well-meant but endless diatribes from my mom about how I was going to permanently damage my son - I was taking him away from society, removing him from a skilled teacher, giving him lower standards than a school would, etc. (Once she found out that he was actively involved in the community, I am fully capable of either teaching my son or finding him an instructor that can, and that I expect more of him than just about anyone else, she stopped...but it was a very difficult couple of years.)

I understand that it may come as sort of a shock - just please know that you can do so much more to help her by being supportive and stepping back to watch the progress in your grandson. She will make mistakes, as will he; it's normal. She may need your help to get back up and keep going. You can be a very substantial blessing to her.

I so appreciate that you came here looking for help to support her. I hope that everything goes well!

Answer 9

Yes. Allow your Daughter to make her own mistakes and make her own decisions when it comes to teaching HER own child. I can't begin to tell you how many families have tried to get too involved in their children's lives when they are grown and need to learn these things on their own.

Encourage her in words in this endeaver, offer advice only when she asks you, talk positive when it comes to homeschooling, only offer advice that is true and sound. Be there for her when she needs it. She will need plenty of encouragement. Homeschooling can be scary, but also exciting at the same time.

Answer 10

1) Be prepared for a transition period. For a 10yo who has just come out of school, this transition period could be the rest of the school year! I've known parents who have pulled their kids out of school at that age who have said it takes a full year or two to really find your groove.

2) Be sure to follow his interests as much as possible and provide lots of stuff so he can figure out his interests. Some schooled students moving to homeschooling have a hard time figuring out what they enjoy learning because they've spent so much time simply learning what they've been told to learn.

3) Work *with* him as much as possible to plan the day, pick resources, etc. This will give him a sense of ownership of the homeschooling and his learning.

4) Make sure to connect with others! No longer being surrounded by 30-some kids can be tough on some kids and they come to hate homeschooling. This can be avoided by staying active with others, going out on as many field trips as possible, etc.

5) Make sure the relationship between mother and son comes before the academics. I've seen families give up on homeschooling because the relationship between parent and child was too frustrating--the focus was on the academics. The academics are important, but not nearly as important as that relationship.

6) For your part, be supportive! Not meddling or overbearing, just supportive. You can offer your assistance, but don't go around looking for resources or anything like that without her express permission.