Still on the Fence?
Sometimes taking that first step is the hardest. What roadblocks have kept you from making the decision to educate your children at home? Trust that these roadblocks will be removed. Finally, prayerfully, read on. Hopefully, by addressing some of the common homeschooling issues your roadblocks will become pebbles under your feet!
Do you love your children with all of your heart? Are you willing to put the needs of your children before your own, including their educational needs? Then you're qualified!
Actually, most of us start out homeschooling our children. We help them develop - to walk, talk, and use a spoon. We teach them right from wrong. We are homeschooling our children each time we sit down to read a book, listen to music, color or paint, visit a botanical garden, bird-watch, count small donut-shaped cereal pieces, build a block tower, take a walk outdoors or simply enjoy the wonder of God's creation together. Think about how much your child has learned from the time he was born through the time he was five. Did you hire a professional? Who knows your children better than you? Who knows better than you how to solicit the best response in a given situation? Who loves them enough to encourage and motivate them? Who has their best interests at heart?
Practically speaking, there are many materials available to make our job easier. Many curriculums include teacher guides (some of those are even scripted), others offer video or online instruction, telephone help or full-blown advisory. To what extent you feel qualified to educate your children at home may depend in large part on how you view education. If we assume learning isn't something that happens TO us but is something that we can only do for ourselves, then all that is required is a warm and loving mentor and tutor - and there is no one more qualified for that position than a parent. And let's never forget that learning is vastly more far-reaching than the ABC's.
Further Reading
- An Unlikely Candidate for the Job
Article by Vicki Farris, homeschooling mother of ten and wife of Mike Farris of Home School Legal Defense, relates how she is uniquely qualified to educate her children at home. - Are Parents Qualified to Teach Their Children?
Dr. Brian Ray states, "The tutorial method of teaching has always been the superior method. Home education epitomizes this method, providing essentials for success -- a close student/teacher relationship, family-consistent values, motivation, flexibility, and individualization." - You Can Home school!
"Parents are finding that their own willingness to learn and be resourceful is the key to their children's success."