teaching at home Archives - Becca Katz Printables

Is Homeschooling Expensive?

beccak — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 17:02:06 +0000

The Story

Home schooling can be very expensive or cost very little. It depends on your choices in terms of materials, time, and effort. Here are some things to keep in mind as you explore the question of homeschooling expense.

Don't Compete:

Don’t compete with other homeschoolers. When choosing a curriculum for your child, competition with other home schoolers can be counterproductive. Just because your neighbor spent hundreds of dollars on her curriculum this semester (some curricula do cost that much or more) doesn't mean you have to spend that much or more.

Think Quality:

Large quantities of books and materials can be expensive, but a large quantity is not necessarily better. Examine each book to be sure it complements your child’s learning style and that it contains valuable information that is different from books you already own.

Many worksheets and other materials are available at low cost as digital downloads you can print yourself. The library can be a wonderful resource.

You may be able to construct your own manipulatives.

Consider field trips and other hands-on activities as a substitute for books and other printed matter.

Save your dollars for the unavoidable expenses, such as some art or science project supplies.

Family Income:

Home schooling becomes expensive when the parent doing the educating is spending those hours planning and teaching rather than earning money. Consider splitting home schooling and income earning so that both parents share in each and schedule learning time to allow for work time, making home schooling a less costly.

Internet and Library:

The internet and your local library are invaluable for saving you money for your home school. It seems there is a lesson for everything on YouTube. Ask your librarian to help you gather a collection of books for a unit study or other theme-based lesson.

Local Resources:

Your place of worship or local homeschooling society may hold free book giveaways where you can donate and/or collect all sorts of books and materials. August and January are common times for these events. Get involved in your local homeschool community to find out more about these types of sales and giveaways.

Co-ops:

Join other homeschoolers in a co-op or other group. This can be a great way to save money. You can get group rates for field trip transportation and admission fees. Many homeschool group members lend or give away their materials or curricula.

Based on these examples, it’s clear that Homeschooling doesn’t need to be an expensive proposition. A thoughtful and creative approach will help you reduce the costs.

The post Is Homeschooling Expensive? appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.

Tips for Homeschoolers Who Work Outside the Home

beccak — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 17:49:43 +0000

The Story

When we picture a homeschooling family, we often imagine a stay-at-home mom, a working dad, and one or two kids. While this scene may be what we picture with regard to homeschooling, it is not necessarily typical.

Mothers are often discouraged from home schooling their children because they work outside the home. They have been told that it's simply not possible to home school their kids and work, too. But it is actually possible. If you are trying to juggle homeschooling and working outside the home, or are just considering the possibility, here are some tips that may help.

Get rid of assumptions:

Get rid of assumptions about how long a school day needs to be. If you grew up in the public school system you’ll tend to think of school as taking all day, from early morning to mid- or late afternoon. However, the homeschooling day is usually shorter than the public school day.

Homeschooling is more focused, has fewer students, and does not have to allow for transportation time and other activities. Compare this to the public school teacher who must spend some individual time with 25 or 30 kids. Depending on your curriculum and the number and age of your students, you could actually spend as little as 30 minutes each day homeschooling, and still be doing a thorough job.

Curriculum:

Choose a curriculum that is not too complicated or involved. Look for curricula that are based on short, daily lessons that cover one or two subject a day. It’s a myth that you have to have lessons in every subject every day.

Combine Tasks:

Combine errands in with your commute to and from work. For example, pick up reserved books at the library during lunchtime. Stop by the art store and market on the way home.

Enlist your daytime caregiver's help:

Let your kids' daily caretaker do some lessons with them, too. You may find that the caretaker appreciates having planned activities during the day.

Teach in the evening:

It's okay to homeschool in the evenings. You can do science projects or math problems after dinner. You can read at bedtime.

Plan ahead:

Make a schedule of lessons for each week so you maintain an organized teaching plan and you don’t waste time in the evening.

Include Dad:

Include Dad in the planning and teaching. Many Dads value this time with the kids and can provide a new perspective on the material being taught.

The post Tips for Homeschoolers Who Work Outside the Home appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.

Friends For Your Kids: Socialization and Homeschooling

beccak — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 23:01:44 +0000

One of the things that homeschooling parents often hear is that their homeschooled child or children will not be "socialized." Public schools are one of the conventional ways that kids make friends and engage in social behavior, but it is by no means the only way.

Socializing the Homeschooled Child

Let's look at some of the ways you can help your homeschooled child interact with others and develop healthy friendships.

Community Activities:

Find out what's going on around you and take part! Search online, the newspaper or the community newsletter for local kids sports teams, theater groups, choirs, clubs, group art and dance lessons and other activities. A good place to start is your local library – the librarian is often a fund of information about community events. Many events are held at the library itself.

Religious Communities:

Joining a church, synagogue, mosque, or other religious community can help your child connect with others. Many religious centers have group activities like choirs, game night, camps, and other events.

Homeschool Co-ops:

Another good way to help your child foster friendships is to join a homeschooling co-op. These are groups of homeschoolers who pitch in to teach, plan events, or otherwise participate. Sometimes co-ops have classes. Parents may offer to teach a science or reading class or plan a field trip.

Members of the community can also participate. Local firefighters, police officers, and others can contribute information and fun activities. Co-ops allow for a great variety of experience and interaction.

Field Trips:

You don't have to be a member of a co-op to plan field trips. During the day, when public school kids are at their desks, you and your home school child can be at the local museum, talking and interacting with curators and museum visitors. Take along other parents and kids from your homeschool group. These field trips can be an opportunity for kids to learn new vocabulary, learn to handle money at the museum store and practice conversational skills.

Scavenger hunts can be arranged with other kids in the community or neighborhood.

Organize Neighborhood Events:

Nothing going on in your community? Organize something! Maybe the neighborhood kids would like to hold a pet show or participate in a clean-up day or reading club. There might be many neighbor kids you haven’t met. Invite some neighborhood kids over for a day of arts and crafts or baking.

With all these suggestions – and some ideas of your own – your homeschooled child should not have any problem finding ways to socialize and form friendships with other children.

The post Friends For Your Kids: Socialization and Homeschooling appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.

6 Homeschooling Philosophies

beccak — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 16:17:38 +0000

Homeschooling Philosophies Explained

If you home school, you will want to consider what home school philosophy to follow. You might be trying to find a philosophy that fits your lifestyle. Following is a partial list of some of the more prominent home school philosophies and/or curricula.

Charlotte Mason:

Charlotte Mason is sometimes credited with being the founder of the home schooling "movement." She emphasizes good habits and character development in her approach. A home school teacher who follows the Charlotte Mason (CM) model would seize learning opportunities as they come, and work with the individual child's learning style and interests. All of the core subjects are covered in CM, and an emphasis is placed on classic literature and poetry.

Classical:

This approach is based on a "trivium" - grammar (birth to age 12), logic (ages 13-18) and rhetoric (high school) - that are said to be compatible with the natural way the child's brain learns and develops. Classical education involves learning Latin, math, world history, the arts, and science.

Structured (Traditional):

This type of home schooling is the closest in style and approach to "regular" schools. The subject matter and lessons are divided into grades, and planning is essential so as to avoid gaps. Every subject is covered each day, and students are tested as in an educational institution. Textbooks and teacher's manuals on each subject are standard with this philosophy.

Unit Study:

Learning via unit studies is a way for home educators and their students to delve into a subject in-depth and hands-on. A unit study-based curriculum takes one broad subject and integrates the core subjects into the main one. You can create your own unit study curriculum; choose a broad subject - art or science, for instance - and design all other lessons with an art or science theme.

Biblical Principle:

This type of home schooling philosophy bases the core subjects on the Bible. A Christian worldview and Biblical reasoning are taught. The development of Christian character and Biblical principles are emphasized. In a way, it's something like the unit study approach with Biblical themes.

Design Your Own:

Some home schoolers do not subscribe to one particular philosophy. Instead, they choose to design their own curriculum and philosophy, which may or may not be based on one of the main approaches. You may want to combine approaches. The important thing is to have some sort of consistency in your home schooling philosophy.

Read the above descriptions and consider whether one of these fits your family. That is the one that will work best in your home.

The post 6 Homeschooling Philosophies appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.

Pros and Cons of Homeschooling

beccak — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:02:10 +0000

The Homeschool Decision

Still undecided? Maybe it would help to look at the pros and cons.

Pros

You make the decision about WHAT your children learn. Some parents have reservations about what is being taught in public schools, and want to protect their children from certain information they deem inappropriate. You also may see deficiencies in what is being taught in public schools, and want to enrich your children’s learning experience.
You make the decisions about HOW your children learn. A public school classroom can't tailor its teaching style for each child. As a home schooling parent, you can teach your child in the style that best fits him or her, and you can tweak your teaching style as needed.
You get to choose the curriculum. This ties in with the "what your children learn" note listed above. You can decide how many books, worksheets, crafts, and so forth that your student does. You can reject or accept aspects of various curricula and/or design your own.
Your child gets one-on-one instruction. Time and again, studies have shown that children learn well with individual instruction.

Cons

Home schooling takes time. Not only do you have to commit to the actual teaching time, you may also have to research and prepare lessons, copy or print out worksheets, maps, exercises, etc., and keep careful track of your child's progress. This all means less time to work at your job, run errands, clean the house, cook meals and so forth.
Depending on the laws and regulations in your area, you will have to present a portfolio or submit your child to standardized testing. This means you have to keep careful records.
Home schooling can cost money. It is not just the curriculum - while some curricula are very expensive (over $1000 a year just for the study materials), others are based on free resources like library books. So the expense is not necessarily the materials. The expense also extends into loss of income - the parent who is teaching usually ends up spending less time at work.
Unfortunately, criticism and even contempt from others comes with the territory of home schooling. You alone can decide if you will find this aspect of home schooling stressful.

Conclusion

After you evaluate these pros and cons you will be better able to make an informed decision about what is best for your family.

The post Pros and Cons of Homeschooling appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.

Homeschooling – Where To Start?

beccak — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 00:55:06 +0000

At the beginning of your homeschool journey, it may seem like home schooling is just too difficult or complicated, or takes too much time. It can also seem overwhelming - where do you start? If you want to home school but are not sure where to begin, here are some tips that may help.

Talk to other home schooling families. Try to talk to a variety of home schoolers, so that you can see how home schooling works for different lifestyles and family groups. Search with Google for home schooling groups in your area. There are many home schooling groups on Facebook where you can connect with other parents.

Look online for tutorials and literature. There are e-books and YouTube videos that discuss the topic of getting started with home schooling.

Familiarize yourself with your local laws and requirements. Your local board of education should be able to help you in this regard. Most communities require a "letter of intent" or some sort of official statement declaring that your child will be home schooled in the upcoming year.

You will usually need this at the age that kindergarten starts in your area. Often, the rules and regulations are county based, so investigate on a local level what you need to do.

Join home schooling organizations like co-ops and online communities. There may be a "main" group to which most home schoolers in your community will belong, and you can find out online or when you talk to them. Ask your local board of education for recommendations.

Choose a curriculum that is right for your child. This is where many would-be home schoolers get stressed out! But it does not have to be stressful. Think about what makes your child "tick" - if your child enjoys stories and reading, there are curricula that are based on children's classic literature. There are also more "traditional" types of curricula that are fairly structured. Some curricula are based on social studies and geography, others are based on reading.

Don't worry if you don't pick the "perfect" curriculum right off the bat. You can always change. It's a good idea to start small and maybe avoid purchasing a big, expensive curriculum right away.

Keep good records of your child's schooling. Get some kind of system set up - it does not have to be elaborate. Planners and worksheets are useful for keeping these records. It is important to have an organized system and to record all the necessary info. Talk to other parents and to your Board of Education. At the high end, you can get an entire system of computer software to track your child's progress.

How you keep your records will be affected by your local laws, because different regions have different requirements for tracking a child's progress. Some areas require a portfolio, which is a collection of your child's work in various subjects, and others require standardized testing. Some regions give you a choice.

Last but not least, set up an area where your schooling will take place. This can be the kitchen table, a special chair, or an entire room. You need good lighting and freedom from distractions. It's a good idea to have a set time and area in the house where you do your home schooling. It helps set the mood and enhance concentration when the time and place are somewhat scheduled.

With just a little effort, you can address all these points and be off on a successful homeschooling adventure!

The post Homeschooling – Where To Start? appeared first on Becca Katz Printables.