Bringing it Home: Education Tailored to Your Child

While homeschooling is the first educational choice for some parents, others choose it because they’ve run out of options. In either case, there is a myriad of factors to be considered before making this important decision.

Today, homeschooling sometimes gets a bad rap. It could be fear of the unknown that drives many people to write it off. Kids Enabled would like to shed light on homeschooling children with learning differences. The decision to homeschool should not be taken lightly, but it also shouldn’t be disregarded as an option. Many children with learning differences benefit greatly from the individual attention, personalized lesson plans and flexibility of schedule. If parents do their homework, homeschooling could make the difference between failure and success.

Homeschooling is not new. Homeschooling is not a fad. It is not trendy to homeschool. Homeschooling, home schooling, home-schooling, home education, unschooling, deschooling, home-based education, alternative education… whatever you want to call it, it has been around since Alexander the Great and Aristotle. For a time, it was simply the way to educate youth.

There is no right or wrong answer as to whether homeschooling is best for a student with learning differences. Parents need to consider several very important variables that are unique to their own child, family and home environment. Below are some questions for parents to explore and discuss if they think homeschooling may be the best option for their child who struggles with learning.

Am I the best teacher for the job?
After experiencing a public or private school, some parents feel they can do a better job of tailoring lessons and activities to their student’s unique learning needs. While homeschooling does offer opportunities for individualized planning, there are several other questions parents should ask about their situation:

• Do I have the self-discipline to create a consistent structure to my student’s homeschool day? And can I teach those skills to my student?
• Am I flexible and creative enough to adjust and adapt to my student’s unique needs?
• Do I have the patience and tolerance to encourage and support my student through the mistakes that inevitably come with learning?
• Am I willing to do the extra research, training and planning necessary to provide the interventions and accommodations that my student needs?
• Am I willing to make the extra effort to ensure my student’s social skills are nurtured and strengthened?
• Will I be homeschooling more than one child, and can I manage the coordination of their differing academic and social needs?

What special training might I need?
As with any new job, you will need to prepare and train. Many skills come with on-the-job training but it is wise to read and research before jumping in with both feet. While no book can replace the gained knowledge of talking to other parents who have success at homeschooling, there are many that can help in your training. Some books that may be helpful are:

• The Relaxed Home School by Mary Hood, Ph.D.
• The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore
• The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell
• A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola
• Teaching Children by Diane Lopez
• When Children Love to Learn by Elaine Cooper
• A Survivor’s Guide to Home Schooling by Luanne Shackelford and Susan White
• Homeschooling High School by Jeanne Gowen Dennis
• The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child: Your Complete Guide to Getting Off to the Right Start by Linda Dobson
• The Ultimate Book of Homeschooling Ideas: 500+ Fun and Creative Learning Activities for Kids Ages 3 – 12 by Linda Dobson
• Home Learning Year by Year – How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool through High School by Rebecca Rupp
• Homeschooling the ADD Child (Or Other Special Needs): Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the Child with Learning Differences by Lenore C. Hayes

Those who are homeschooled can count themselves among very famous and well-educated people in history. To discuss them all would take another article but to give you some idea the list consists of greats like:

George Washington	James Madison	John Quincy Adams
Woodrow Wilson	Abraham Lincoln	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Winston Churchill	Patrick Henry	Benjamin Franklin
Robert E. Lee	George S. Patton	Douglas MacArthur
Andrew Wyeth	Alexander Graham Bell	Hans Christian Andersen
Pearl S. Buck	Charles Dickens	Agatha Christie
George Bernard Shaw	Laura Ingalls Wilder	Claude Monet
Leonardo daVinci	Thomas Edison	Andrew Carnegie
Orville Wright	Wilber Wright	Albert Einstein
Charlie Chaplin	Florence Nightingale	Eleanor Roosevelt
Johnann Sebastian Bach	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	George Washington Carver

What about social skills?
Most people who have a negative opinion of homeschooling cite the lack of social opportunities as a main reason. As more and more people are choosing to homeschool, the resources and support groups are growing in number to meet the need. The homeschool community enjoys a plethora of activities from afternoon play to field trips and weekend trips. Clubs and sports open to children in traditional schools are also available to homeschooled students. Parents need to be proactive and locate scouting troops, sports teams, art or dance classes, and church groups. Parents are able to be more in control of social situations and this may help with stress and anxiety related to social situations.

What about the rest of the family?
When considering the homeschool option, parents need to be aware of how it will affect the whole family. Here are some questions to consider:

• Do we have the space in our house for homeschooling?
• How will homeschooling affect our budget? Homeschooling usually requires one parent to stay at home. How will the family adjust with just one salary?
• Will there be other children in the family attending traditional school? How will their experience differ from the homeschooled child?
• How will the homeschool routine be balanced with the rest of the family’s routines? Everyone’s respective schedules (activities, work, vacations, homework, etc.) will need to be considered.
• How will you manage a child with behavior problems? If homeschooling is the best option for this student, then the parent may need extra training in behavior management in the home.

What about curriculum?
It is not necessary for parents to follow the same curriculum that the public or private schools follow. Often, homeschooling parents will begin with a complete curriculum package that they choose themselves and then make adaptations as they learn what best suits their student. Some families experiment with different teaching methods in an effort to discover the one the best accommodates their student’s learning style.

Complete curriculum packages usually include everything a parent needs to begin schooling (teaching guides, textbooks, study worksheets, tests, activities, report cards, etc.). The advantages of complete curriculum packages are that they are great for parents just beginning the homeschool journey; they can be chosen based on teaching styles, religious values and/or area of concentration; and they provide structure to the homeschool day. The disadvantages are that they can be expensive, and new homeschooling parents may be overwhelmed by the amount of work involved. The best way to begin a curriculum search is to talk to like-minded homeschooling parents and learn from their experience.

What are the legalities of homeschooling?
The legalities of homeschooling are an important piece of the puzzle. Parents need to know their rights as well as their obligations. The following Web sites give the basics that homeschooling parents need.

• Georgia Home Education Association
• Georgia Department of Education

Homeschooling can be the answer for kids who are struggling in school. Your home can provide an environment that is free of distractions, competition and stress and full of interest-driven curriculum, flexible schedules and one-to-one instruction. Teaching methods that are not successful can be replaced more readily with new methods. The joys of learning are available at home for those who take this alternative.

Kids Enabled would like to thank DeEtta Myers for her contributing her expertise in homeschooling to this article.  Look for her personal story, among others, in the next article: Parent Perspectives in Homeschooling.

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