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Susan
Evans:
 Do you enjoy your children most of the time?
Some of the time?- Are you curious about all those interesting nooks and
crannies in the world that you didn't get to explore when you were in school?
- Do you find manufactured stresses and crises (school
projects, tests, teacher conferences) annoying?
- Would you rather not have a parade of strangers telling you
who your children are and what you should be making them do?
- Do you plan to have a good, solid, close relationship with
your children when they are grown?
Do you want to lay the solid groundwork for that now?
- Are your children some of your closest friends? Would you
like them to be?
If you answered, "Yes!" to any of those
questions, you have what it takes.
Rebecca
Kochenderfer
Families homeschool in a variety of ways.
Some families set up a school-at-home. They sudy the same subjects as the public
school, take tests and issue grades. Other homeschoolers unschool their children. With
this approach, children ar free to set their own goals and evaluate their own progress.
Parents choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons.
Some homeschooler for religious reasons. These parents want to combine heir
children's academic education with their religious education. They want to pass along
their family's morals and values. Some parents homeschool their children for educational
reasons. These parents believe that their children will be able to receive a better, more
thoughtful education at home rather than at school. Some parents homeschool because they
do not want their children to spend their formative years in age-segregated institutions,
learning what someone else thinks is important. Still others homeschool because they live
overseas or because they live too far from school.
What are your reasons for homeschooling?
The question of whether or not you are cut out for homeschooling depends a lot on
your reasons for choosing homeschooling in the first place. If it's a good fit for you and
your family, homeschooling will probably work out well for you. If you are forcing
yourself to homeschool against your better instincts, it may not turn out as well for you.
I would advise you to explore all of the educational alternatives available. Just because
homeschooling is right for me and mine doesn't mean that it is right for everyone. Find
out what's available, think about what you want, and go with what feels right.
Cafi Cohen
Such a wide range of people homeschool today.
Our ranks include the poor, the middl class, and the wealthy; Republicans, Democrats, an
Independents; Chistians, Muslims, Jews, Pagans, agnosics and atheists; city dwellers,
suburbanites, and country folks; traditional and single-parent families. Occupation fo
homeschooling parents? Count all of the following: college professors, small business
owners, physicians, farm laborers, military officers, artists, bank presidents, and
government workers. Even government school teachers find home education attractive,
although some teachers - having to overcome years of conditioning about The One Right Way
to educate - have a difficulty understanding the possibilities afforded by homeschooling.
Whatever their backgrounds, there are three attributes that sucessful
homeschooling parents share:
- Desire to homeschool
- Ability to read
- Time to spend with their children
That's it. Desire, reading ability, and time. If you have
these, a wide range of homeschooling families have proven that you can and will
succeed....
What is not on the essentials list
Finally, notice what is not on the essentials list for homeschooling parent. You
do not need a teaching credential or a college degree. You do not need lots of cash. You
do not ned confidence to teach or expertise in biology or algebra or Amercan government.
You do not need special equipment or facilities. You can network for all of these if you
have the desire, reading ability, and time.
 "Homeschooling: The
Early Years"
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Homeschooling 101
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Susan
Evans
and her family, including four children (Luke,
born in 1977; Jesse, in 1979; Margaret in 1982; andKathryn in 1986), live in sotheastern
Michigan. She has volunteered over the years for several family centered organizations:
counseling breastfeeding mothers in La Leche League, planning homeschooling conferences
for Clonlara school, coodinating the office for the National Homeschooling Association,
leading workshops at the Family Empowerment Institute's retreats, and representing Holt
Associates at the midwestern homeschooling conferences.
Rebecca
Kochenderfer
is editor and publisher of the
"Education Source" an Internet newsletter with 150,000 readers. Rebecca is
currently witing a book on alternative education. She has a master of arts degree in
education, and over tn years teaching experience in the US, Japan, Gemany and the
Carribean.
Cafi
Cohen
 homeschooled her two children for eight years, from about ages ten
to eighteen. She writes the "Older Kids" column for Home Education
Magazine,cohosts the web-based kaleidoscopes Homeschooling Bulletin Boards, and presents
workshops at homeschooling conferences across the nation. She wrote And What About
College? How Homeschooling Leads to Admissions to the Best Colleges and Universities.
- click here to find out more about her book
Homeschooling: The Middle Years:
Your Complete Guide to Successfully Homeschooling the
8- To 12-Year Old Child
by Shari Henry
Interview & FREE Excerpt
Parents and educators often view a child's middle years as the 'magical'
years--when innate talents and abilities really begin to flourish. They have reached the
stage where they understand the fundamentals of most subjects and are still excited to
learn more. Homeschooling: The Middle Years helps parents make the most of their
children's crucial middle years by providing exciting ideas and activities that cultivate
each child's individual interests. |
