You Are Capable of Homeschooling Your Children
By Mimi Rothschild
If the thought of teaching your children in homeschool appeals to you, but you are afraid that you may not have what it takes, think again. It is easy to feel intimidated when you see another homeschooler doing everything right, teaching his or her children so well that they are thriving and excelling in every subject. What you may not realize, however, is that all homeschool parents usually start out feeling a little apprehensive about what they will be attempting to do. Most people grew up going to public school, and were taught to believe that a good education can only be had by adhering to the rules and curriculum of the public school system. It is hard to dispel these notions and learn that as a parent you can be your child’s best teacher, and your home can be his or her most effective school.
It does take organization and planning to be a homeschooler – there is no argument there. However, if you stop and take stock of how successful you are in other areas of your life, you will realize that homeschool is simply another challenge that you are perfectly capable of meeting. If you run a household, manage bills, help run church activities, etc, then you know how to organize and plan already. Planning your children’s homeschool curriculum and organizing your children’s homeschool days are tasks that you have the skills to accomplish.
You may worry that you simply don’t know enough to be effective as a homeschool teacher. Although it’s true that public school teachers have to obtain a college degree in order to be able to teach, this doesn’t mean that they are the only ones who are capable of doing so. One of the biggest problems these days with the public school system is the “categorizing” of children into groups, bypassing the individual attention that every child needs to get the most from his or her education. Your advantage is that you know your child better than anyone else, and in homeschool you can focus on your child’s personality and develop a curriculum that takes advantage of his or her particular learning style. Your homeschool child will learn at his or her own pace, and will be exposed to aspects of learning that public schools simply cannot provide.
You can be a homeschooler. All it takes is a little planning, a little organization, and the desire to give your children the best education possible.