Mimi Rothschild - Home School Support & Home Education News

By Mimi Rothschild

In the life of every homeschooling parent there comes that special time, when the moment comes that you realize your baby has grown up. For parents who homeschool, this is often a bittersweet realization. You have been there for nearly every moment of your child’s life, and now it’s almost time for your baby to spread his or her wings and fly alone. It is a proud moment for a homeschooling parent, but it is also a somewhat frightening one. Where will you be when you realize your baby is no longer a baby, and your homeschooler is on the brink of adulthood?

One of the best ways to record and relive the special moments of a homeschooler’s childhood is to write letters to your children. You don’t have to give the letters to them. In fact, it is probably a better idea to keep them yourself, until you can give them to your children when they can look back and remember the things you’ve written about. Writing letters is an excellent way for a homeschooling parent to communicate feelings they are unable to express in words. Often, a homeschooling parent can work out problems they are wrestling with in their minds by writing to their children as though they were discussing it with them.

One homeschooling mom was debating going back to work, at a time when money was particularly tight. In the letter, she asked her daughter what she would think if Mommy had to leave. This homeschooler wondered whether their family really needed the money, or if she was just considering going back to work for her own self-esteem. She wrote questions to her daughter asking whether she would remember their special relationship, or if she would grow more attached to her babysitter than her mother. Once she neared the end of the letter, she had practically talked herself out of going back to work. Soon after, her husband received two raises at work, allowing her to continue homeschooling the children.

Children grow and become adults. Parents who chose to homeschool have made the decision to be present for every moment of childhood. They make the most of the time they have together with their children, and they ensure their children are raised with the solid morals and values they might not receive in a public school. Homeschooling parents are committed to their children. Sometimes, the act of homeschooling can even better prepare parents for that “my baby is all grown up” moment, because they know their homeschoolers have received the best possible education in a loving, caring and nurturing environment. Many homeschooled children become successful, responsible and compassionate adults. This is just what the world needs.

By Mimi Rothschild

The decision by an increasing number of parents to home school their children has begun to have an affect on the attendance at public schools. In some areas, the number of children now attending home school has more than doubled in recent years. Public schools receive federal funds for each enrolled student. Since the amount lost per capita is more than five thousand dollars, many districts are losing several hundred thousand dollars per year due to home school.

Some school districts are using innovative methods to lure home school families back to the public school fold. Setting up learning centers for home school students is one means traditional schools are using to restore ties with students who have left the public school system. Home school students who attend these learning centers are counted as part-time public school participants. However, learning centers do not allow religious education to be part of a student’s studies while on campus nor can center money be spent on religious resources. For these reasons, many parents who choose to home school their children on religious grounds object to the learning center approach.

The choice to home school does not always center on religion. Some families decide to home school because of inordinate peer pressure in the public school atmosphere. Parents may also feel that while one of their children does well in public school, another child will thrive in a home school environment. Other parents select home school education because they feel that the values of their families are not represented in the public school system. Many traditional schools no longer provide the discipline that many parents believe children need. Additionally, families may feel cut off from the decision making process within their local schools. Parents who opt to home school are generally independent thinkers who like to have a hand in both disciplinary policies and curriculum choices.

The decision to home school is not an easy one, and families do not come to it lightly. It is not the intent of home school families to financially undermine their public school districts. Parents who have chosen to educate their children in home school are quite often willing to scrutinize programs designed to reinitiate their families into traditional schooling. In the final analysis, though, parents will continue to choose home school over public school if they believe that the decision is in the best interest of their children.

By Mimi Rothschild

Do you think you’re moving too fast to homeschool? Think again! Homeschooling presents wonderful opportunities to learn from life. This means your homeschool children can expand their knowledge bases, without regard to the planned events for the day.

Without question, homeschooling is uniquely intertwined with everyday life. As such, things come up that may make settling down with textbooks difficult to do. For example, in the middle of your homeschool day bad weather may hit, causing a power outage. Though such an event is unpleasant, it also provides an excellent opportunity to teach your homeschool students how to react in such emergencies and even about electricity. Furthermore, you can add some talk about weather and nature for a well-rounded lesson.

Moving cross-country? Use that as an opportunity to teach your homeschool students about everything from geography and climate to calculating car mileage and gas costs. Cover math, science, and geography as you plan your move. Don’t forget about history! Use your move to help your children learn a little about the history of your new home and even the places you pass on your way there.

Too many people think of homeschooling as only sitting down with books, paper, and pencils. Ask any homeschool parent, however, and he or she will probably agree that homeschool students learn amazing things from real life. Often, it seems they learn more from life than books.

Often times real life situations will stimulate the homeschool student to learn. For example, a homeschool student may spot a snake outside. That may stimulate him or her to pick up a book about snakes and really absorb the information. By the same token, a strange cloud formation could lead to a study of clouds and even the weather. Keep in mind that many children are far more likely to put effort into learning something when they have genuine interest in the subject.

Some homeschool parents choose to homeschool on the move. Many take books and other resources along as they run errands, visit relatives, or drive to activities. This allows the homeschool family to accomplish important tasks, while making sure schoolwork is done at the same time.

The ability to homeschool on the move is one of the beauties of homeschooling. You can make your homeschool program whatever you want it to be, homeschooling wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself. Best of all, you can create a homeschool program that fits your family perfectly.

By Mimi Rothschild

A side effect of the public school system is that it often leaves large sections of children behind. This often includes the asynchronous or exceptionally gifted children. Homeschool helps fill this gap. Even the child that has every toy, book, and movie in the universe can benefit from homeschool. Below is some information on how homeschool can help your child.

The strongest aspect of homeschool is community. There are clubs, conferences, and local activities assigned to assist parents and children in making homeschool a successful venture. Homeschool centers often hold conferences to not only bring together homeschool children, but also showcase the numerous abilities these children often display.

When it comes to exceptionally gifted children – that is, those with an IQ over 130 – homeschool is a wonderful way to tie in solid, customized learning with subjects the child truly enjoys. Unlike public schools that use a one-size-fits-all model, homeschool leaves creative control completely up to the parents and their child.

Children thrive in subjects such as reading, math, and the creative arts because of homeschool. When compared to students in the public school system, many homeschooled children find that these subjects are both easier and more interesting. Homeschool allows these children to read at their own pace, or practice their math with any aid that they choose.

Homeschool does not limit a child’s ability to form social networks and gain leadership. Instead, it extends those abilities far beyond expectations. Without the social expectations found in traditional learning settings, children are free to socialize as they wish, without fear of being mislabeled or ignored. In short, children are free to explore and expand their maturity without obstacles.

When it comes to homeschool, the combination of social networks and parental guidance simply cannot be matched by any other system. Children are free to explore their intellectual interests without reproach from others around them, which creates a better learning environment.

Homeschool also helps busy parents spend more time with their children. Even though gifted children form their own groups and find ways to occupy their time, all children benefit from the love a parent brings. Working with children to expand their learning is the goal of every parent. All things said, homeschool is truly a gift for the child that has everything.

By Mimi Rothschild

So you think your child is pretty special, or perhaps even gifted? How can you tell if your child is exhibiting gifted behaviors, and what are they? Homeschooling gives parents the chance to interact with their children more closely in their learning environment. Parents can follow the pointers listed below to determine if their child is gifted.

Humor is an indicator of giftedness. Does your child have a keen sense of the comical? Do they tend to integrate this sense into everything, including homeschool lessons?

Motivation is another indicator. Gifted children may start homeschool before you do. They tend to have an intense drive to understand the world around them. This involves learning about the world, and creating new things in it. Gifted children may also have many passionate interests. At times these may seem unusual, and sometimes fleeting. Gifted children tend to be very interested in the world around them.

Is your homeschool child a communication whiz? Does he or she love to convey meaning and emotion through any means that comes naturally to him or her? This can be a sign of a gifted child. Gifted children also tend to be very inquisitive. This inquisitiveness tends to pervade every aspect of the child’s life. This can make homeschool an adventure in itself.

Gifted children also often demonstrate above-average problem solving skills, and a sensitivity to those around them and situations they find themselves. They may be highly intuitive, appearing to know or understand things with no prior experience. Others may have highly developed reasoning skills, and the ability to understand the implications of things far beyond what would normally be expected. Such children may love homeschool lessons involving chess or other strategy games. Imagination and creativity can also be signs of a gifted child. Gifted children come up with new and interesting ways to think about and influence their environment.

Probably the most obvious signs of gifted children are memory, knowledge and learning. They will pick things up in the blink of an eye, and perhaps have a memory that is photographic in nature. If you do a single homeschool lesson on the United States and your child has all the states memorized by the end of the lesson, you have witnessed a strong indication of his or her giftedness.

The final clue is that gifted children learn, learn, and learn. They learn fast and they learn easily. You may be run off your feet looking for appropriate and new homeschool materials, only to find that they are mentally digesting encyclopedias as light bedtime reading. Homeschool is a method that is perfectly suited to their needs. Just remember, brilliant children can be a joy to homeschool, but they will keep you on your toes.

By Mimi Rothschild

Homeschooling allows parents to afford a personalized education for their highly gifted child. Often, gifted children are stuck in classroom situations that do not provide adequate educational challenges. Frequently children in such situations become bored and lose motivation, even developing behavioral problems due to the lack of cognitive stimulation. This is even true in schools that offer mentally gifted programs.

Homeschool parents are able to offer their children the benefit of an education that is tailored to their needs, personalities, and interests. If a parent discovers one of their children is a math wiz, she can create a curriculum that allows him or her to explore math on a higher, in-depth level. Likewise, if a parent discovers their homeschool son or daughter has the makings of a great scientist, they can encourage his or her interest by providing resources, materials, and lessons geared to both her intellectual level and interests.

As an adult, you know just how frustrating it can be to work at something you find utterly boring all day long. If you’ve performed the task numerous times, only to have to repeat it again and again, you may grow to hate it. With the right resources and a dedicated homeschool parent, the highly gifted homeschool student never has to know such frustration. Instead, he or she can breeze past topics that are too easy, diving headfirst into subjects of interest.

Often, those unfamiliar with homeschooling question how parents can provide education in higher-level subjects without any real expertise. What they don’t know is that dedicated homeschool parents don’t just sit around waiting for resources to fall into their laps. Instead, homeschool parents take an active approach to finding help with more difficult subjects. Help with homeschool lessons and materials can be found on the Internet, at public libraries, and in the community. In fact, many homeschool parents seek out the help of others in teaching certain higher-level subjects. After all, why teach aeronautics by yourself, when you can hire someone in that field to provide help?

Homeschool parents act as facilitators. While they do teach many of the subjects necessary for homeschooling, they also enroll their homeschool children in classes, buy special books and tapes, and enlist the help of college students and experts in tackling more difficult subjects. With a little planning and creativity, these parents are able to give their homeschool students a superior education at home.

If you believe you’re raising a budding Einstein, you should consider homeschooling. When you homeschool, the world can be your classroom and there are virtually no limits to what your children can learn. Homeschooling highly gifted children may not be easy, but most parents will agree that it’s well worth the effort.

By Mimi Rothschild

Homeschooling your child is one of the best gifts you can provide for them and for your family. The benefits of homeschooling are many, and allowing your child to become a well-rounded individual is just one of them. Individualizing their education will help them to love learning new things, and this can last a lifetime.

To Begin:

Make sure you understand how much time is involved with homeschool. This is a big responsibility and should be thought out thoroughly before making the decision to devote every day to homeschooling your child.

Develop your method of teaching. Look into the types of methods on homeschooling, such as classical, un-schooling, unit studies, Montessori, and online. These are just a few; however, you can combine methods to create an environment that will work for you and your child.

Organize the curriculum you want to teach your child. There are many resources you can use to gather your material from, including libraries, bookstores, and the Internet. Spend your time researching and planning what you are going to teach and how you are going to teach it.

Join a local support group for homeschooling. If there is not one available, you may be able to find one online. This will allow you to exchange ideas and resources with other parents who homeschool their children. It will also give you reassurance and support when needed.

Make sure you follow the homeschool laws in your state. Rules vary from state-to-state so you may have to do some research to get the correct information. Support groups can also help you in this area.

Fully prepare your child for homeschool by letting them know exactly what steps you are taking and get your child involved by asking them what subject they are interested in studying. Make sure they understand they are not giving up friends, just physically going to public school.

Gather your school supplies together, including textbooks and boxed curriculum. You can order many needed materials online, but don’t forget the discount stores or used book stores.

Organize your day according to what your child will be studying in homeschool. Plan and organize field trips accordingly. You can even set up a special room in your home for studying.

These are just a few of the ways to prepare yourself to homeschool your child. The most important thing is to get your child involved in their education. Let them help decide certain aspects of the methods of teaching you will be using. The more they are involved, the more active they will be in their homeschooling.

By Mimi Rothschild

Do you believe that your children are gifted? If so, and you plan to homeschool, don’t make the false assumption that the experience will be easy. Just because your homeschooler is gifted, it doesn’t mean that the tasks of homeschooling them won’t be a challenging endeavor. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth: homeschooling the gifted can be even more challenging than homeschooling the child of average intelligence. Why? The reason for challenges varies and will depend on the homeschooler and their unique gifts.

If your homeschooler is gifted, they may possess a unique learning style. You, as the homeschooling parent, will be required to identify that learning technique and then to harness it in a way that is appropriate. Once you have determined how your gifted child learns, you will better be able to teach them in a homeschool setting, but it may take quite a bit of time to identify how the homeschooler learns best.

You will also need to create a curriculum that will keep your gifted homeschoolers interested in learning. This task can be difficult. The homeschooler may grow bored quickly and you will need to monitor their accomplishments closely so that you can remain ahead of the game. If the homeschooler masters material quickly, be ready to move on to the next lesson. You will probably have to work twice as hard to keep gifted homeschoolers engaged in any lessons you are teaching them.

When you are teaching your gifted homeschooler, you will also need to bear in mind that just because the child is gifted in certain areas, it does not mean they will not encounter difficulties in others. In other words, you will need to learn not to expect too much from your gifted homeschooler, no matter how gifted they are. Be patient with the homeschooler if you find they are struggling with certain material while they have no trouble mastering other material. In truth, the word gifted does not mean that the child is gifted in everything they do, it simply means that they may have a number of gifts that, when utilized correctly, will increase and improve their intellectual abilities. In the end, as long as you don’t mistake a singular gift to be an indication of 100 percent giftedness, you will be on the right track when it comes to homeschooling your gifted children.

By Mimi Rothschild

Not all children develop at the same pace or in the same manner. Gifted children and children with behavioral disorders have needs above and beyond. Often children who do not adapt favorably to the classroom environment are pegged as troublemakers. Once a child is labeled in this manner, teachers tend to neglect the child instead of addressing what are actually a set of unique skills, perceptions, and needs. Home school, while not a silver bullet, is often an immense benefit for such children. In the home school, a gifted and/or special needs child can receive the extra attention and unique or accelerated approach to learning that a traditional classroom cannot provide. Home school provides an environment that lets parents and children use whatever is needed for successful learning.

Home school can be a big challenge to any parent. Children with behavioral disorders can exacerbate the challenges many parents face in presenting a home school curriculum. However, while not all days are good days, many parents of gifted children and children with behavioral disorders testify that home school helps reduce the frequency of negative behaviors and makes positive development, growth, and learning possible. Of course, home school for many of these children, especially those whose accelerated development has led to such things as acute or chronic ADHD, requires a flexible approach.

Flexibility is, fortunately, a pillar of the home school approach. Education is an interactive process, and the more involved a student is in the learning process the more they will retain. While lesson plans and basic outlines are still imperative, home school, because it is one-on-one or two-on-one, allows for freedom of intellectual movement. Since exceptional children will have good days, bad days, and everything in-between, it is much easier with a home school program to adapt lesson plans around these unpredictable shifts in attention and mood. If the child’s attention is just not present enough that day for lengthy sit-down sessions with course materials and books, an educational field trip or a change in subject is readily at hand. The course material in question can be tackled in home school the following day.

Classrooms of 20-plus students obviously must rely on rigid planning, and students who cannot stick to the plan are generally treated as discipline problems instead of exceptional children who may simply be bored with the subject or the teacher’s approach. The home school success rate with such children definitely makes home school an option many parents find worthwhile to explore.

By Mimi Rothschild

While many children that have been labeled as gifted are often in programs especially designed for bright children, many children that are educated in a homeschooling environment often miss out on this. Some homeschooling parents often wonder what is meant by “gifted”. Some parents believe that since their child is learning in a homeschool setting, it doesn’t matter if their child is gifted or not. The fact is that your gifted child should be able to align himself in a gifted homeschool curriculum.

While it has been proven that an IQ test does not measure all aspects of being gifted, it has been shown that anything above an IQ score of 130 places the child in the “gifted” range. Approximately 2.5% of children meet the standard or even exceed it. However, these tests do not measure things such as leadership skills or creative ability. Yet, if you use the IQ test to measure your child’s intelligence, you may consider him or her gifted if he or she falls into the top 2.5%. This will allow you to base a homeschool curriculum upon your child’s learning pace.

If your child is educated in homeschool, remember that you are not restricted by public school guidelines. You can let your homeschooled child explore individual subjects as deeply as he wishes. Encourage your child. For example, in the normal classroom, the subject of the Civil War may be what is studied. Here, the children will read about the subject, study it, and perhaps be tested on the learned subject matter. While your homeschooled child may also study the Civil War, you can let him explore further. Take a trip with your homeschooled child to the museum to look at Civil War artifacts, or have him draw or paint a picture of a battle. The ideas are endless and this will allow your gifted homeschooled student to excel and take his learning deeper.

You, like others, may ask why it matters if your children are gifted or not, especially if they are in a homeschooling setting. The fact is that every child is a different type of learner. By educating your child in homeschool, you have the opportunity to assure the “fit” of the method in which they learn. Some gifted children simply do not thrive in the traditional classroom, as it is conformed learning. The gifted child needs room to expand upon and explore subjects deeper to fulfill his needs.