What if I don’t feel qualified?
In college, school teachers spend more time learning how kids grow and develop than they do on teaching
methods. Any motivated parent can guide his own child. Typically, homeschool kids perform better on
standardized testing than kids in traditional school. They have had the advantage of a personal tutor.
How can I make sure my child won’t fall behind?
In schools most kids are taught certain subjects at times that seem right for the age of the child. However, kids
don’t develop at the same rate. Enrolling your child in school does not mean that he is ready for fractions when
other children are. When you child learns at home you can tailor his work to meet his developmental needs. Also,
books exist that give typical material for each grade. In addition, you can assure that your child is close to
average by doing standardized testing each year.
Following a good curriculum from year to year is the best way to make sure your child has a well rounded
education. Many homeschoolers tend to change curriculum often. In that case, comparing your plan of
study to books that lay out recommended curriculum for each grade is a good idea.
What do you do when your child struggles with a particular area?
There are several reasons for this. Sometimes a child is not quite ready for the subject matter you are
trying to teach. I have found that I can stop and wait a few months, and then they are able to
understand. Also, consider your child’s learning style. Some kids learn by sight. If they see it, then they
understand. Other kids are auditory learners. You can explain to these kids, but pictures will confuse
them. Still other kids need to interact with the material. When Caleb was young I made letters look like
roads and he could drive his match box cars on them while he learned their names. Just telling him the
names would not have worked.
What about socialization?
This is always the last objection since most homeschool kids excel at academics. In most cases kids learn
poor socialization in the school system. They learn to talk, walk and dress like someone else who may
not have any concern for godliness. If a parent teaches her children at home, she can also teach them
the commands of scripture about relationships. I call that positive socialization. In addition, kids can learn
to love and appreciate others who are older or even younger than themselves. Often times in traditional
school children get the idea that they can't have friends unless their ages match exactly.
Lots of parents are especially fearful of the challenges presented by a special needs child. However,
other parents are doing the job and doing it well. The Internet has information about special education
and provides support groups for those who decide to tackle the challenge. You must put in extra work
to understand your child’s issues and alternate teaching methods. However, if you are willing to put in
the needed time, you can be successful.
Film makers had to innovate before the days of digital
photography. In order to make a dog or cat appear to talk, the
animal must move its mouth. These film makers fed the animal
peanut butter. While the animal chewed the photographer filmed
the animal "talking". After reading this information, my kids and I
talked about film making. Then, we gave our cat, Mr.Knightly, some
peanut butter and filmed him "talking". The kids never forget that
science experiment.