3 Fantastic Freedoms Of Home Education
While traditional schooling is certainly reliable, helpful, and stocked with teachers who (despite the challenges they face), only want to do what’s best for your child, more and more parents are finding the home education route appealing. Be it virtual or homeschooling, parents and students appreciate the flexibility and find it more engaging.
That said, it’s important to recognize home education for what it is – a very important means of developing your child that should meet the highest standards possible. Unfortunately, some parents believe that home education means they can teach their children whatever they want however they want.
This begs the question – if parents who long for freedom and flexibility still want to meet rigorous academic standards, what are their options? Here are three great ones:
Amazing Trips Out
One of the disadvantages of the regular school system is that every trip out has to be meticulously planned, risk-assessed, approved, and funded. Of course, it’s necessary these processes take place, as without them children could be put in harm’s way and the outing itself would lack direction. As a home educator, however, you rarely have to put so many plans in place. You can book tickets to a theatre show, head to a museum, visit an aquarium or a scientific think-tank space, and do so without filling out long forms. Keeping a record of your visit, your learning outcomes, (and keeping your child safe, of course) is all-important, as is making sure you don’t use outings as a replacement for good study, but by and large, you can enjoy many more outings as a home educator.
Lesson Plans
Like any teacher, a home educator has the choice regarding how they’ll structure lesson plans and how incrementally they’re to be delivered. If not affiliated with a virtual curriculum, using tools like Learn Bright can help you with this process, because teachers often have years of training to help them with skills like this, and as a home educator this might be your first foray into that discipline. There’s no shame in asking for help or even joining online communities to get insight – just make sure you pay attention to the good wisdom there and try not to reinvent the wheel.
Flexible Schedules
Your child will need a routine, and they need to work appropriately each day. However, your schedule can be flexible as a home educator. If you need to head to a doctor’s appointment, or schedule music lessons with a private teacher in the morning, or if you need to start later than usual, it’s not a problem. By and large, a flexible schedule can help learning seem less regimented and more organic – and I’ve heard organic is all the rage these days.
As with any big decision, weighing pros and cons will help you make the choice that’s right for your family.