Home Schooling Archives - How to Plant Trees

Homeschooling hours

How many, how often and when? These are some oft-repeated
questions when it comes to homeschooling hours. Flexibility is of
course one of the fundamental underlying principles behind homeschooling.
This flexibility applies not only to the curriculum but also to
the number of hours. It is only natural that parents, especially
if they have just started out on homeschooling should feel that
their children should be at their books all the time when regular
school-goers are at school. This is not only fallacious but can
also be damaging and counter-productive.

One of the most ignored but glaring drawbacks of the public
schooling system is the sheer waste of time and energy that it
causes. Many periods are merely wasted away, and the child
effectively derives only 1-3 hours of study every day. Then, there
are days when the studies become too intensive and other days when
it’s just games and no work at all. There is a lot of ‘invisible
wastage’ involved here.

Daily Routines

Early on in your homeschooling practice, work out a schedule. It
is advisable to stick to the same hours every day. A routine makes
it easier to learn and gives structure to the learning experience.
It also tells the students that parents are strict about their
learning. A routine also allows your child to free his mind from
other activities and concentrate on studies. He knows that the particular time is strictly set aside for learning.

Engaging curriculum

The actual number of hours that you need depends on the curriculum
you have chosen and the learning style that suits your child. If
you are dealing with a subject that seems to be more involved, you
may need to sit with the child for a more extended period. Using various
techniques, it may be necessary to demonstrate what you are trying
to teach. For instance, a lesson in Algebra may take more time
than experience in English.

Homeschooling does not refer to the practice of sitting in front
of the books and learning the printed matter. Field trips,
watching documentaries, visiting factories and libraries also make
up an essential slice of the homeschooling process. It makes sense
to intersperse these activities so that learning becomes fun.
You may want to finish off the few hours of textbook learning
in the morning and dedicate the afternoons to these kinds
of activities.

Given the fact that too many public school hours are wasted in
meaningless activities ranging from talking to extra-curricular
activities, do not allow public school hours to dictate the time
you should spend teaching your child at home. Remember that at
home, he is getting a high-quality one-to-one time that is highly
productive. About 1-3 hours of study is enough in the primary
level. It is, of course, true that the number of hours you put
in, the more learning takes place. This is also the reason why
homeschooling children are much smarter and more balanced than
regular school going children.

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Grading in homeschooling

Grading in homeschooling is done by the teacher-in-charge. In most
of cases, this means mom! In this situation, grading can get a
bit tricky because it can be a little difficult to grade your own
child. There is no benchmark against which you can evaluate your
child’s performance. In most cases, you also have no awareness of
how well other children are doing. So, obviously, the traditional
method of grading is perhaps not the best method to follow.

When grading a child undergoing homeschooling, it is more
important to assess whether the child has understood the subject
that is being taught. Inherent in this is the fact that if the
child has not understood something, you will go over it again.
This will work in your child’s favor in 2 ways. Firstly, the child
knows that if he or she fails to catch on, the topic will be
repeated until it is mastered. Secondly, the child also knows that
once the subject has been learned, he or she will get full credit
for the hard work. Getting the full reward for the hard work put in is
a significant motivational factor, especially for kids.

When assessing your child’s abilities, do not allow emotions to
overcrowd your rationale. Do not yield to the cries and tears of
your child if he or she resists specific topics or subjects. If
mastering these skills is necessary, then you as the teacher (and
not as the parent alone) have to go over the question over and over
till it sinks in. When dealing with more robust concepts, the child
may get restless and may even show frustration or belligerence.
When the child is still young and unable to understand the
importance of his lessons, it is your responsibility to see to it
that the child develops the skill set necessary for future growth.

In case you belong to a state that requires yearly tests, this
will help you to judge your child’s ability vis-à-vis his peers.
even if it is not mandatory, you may want to test your child every
year. These tests will reveal the variations in the child’s
learning pattern. It may show up unexpected areas of strength and
hitherto unknown areas of weakness. This enables you to structure
your teaching to cover the areas that are weak and build upon the
areas that are strong.

In case your state requires a homeschool report card, keep a
record of the early development and scores of your child. Include
pertinent areas like punctuality, discipline, etc in the report.
You may also need to keep a record of the number of working days
and attendance schedules.

While grading your child, make sure that you use as many external
tests as possible. Several websites deal with the
various age groups and allow free downloading of question papers.
This is an excellent and cost-effective method to assess your
child. Homeschooling, if done properly, will boost the
child’s confidence because he will be studying to satisfy the
natural curiosity. The scores, therefore, will reflect the childs real
emotional intelligence to learn life skills.

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