What Is Trendy Homeschooling In 2021?
What is homeschooling?
A variety of technological solutions and applications became available to facilitate the transition from traditional school and enable effective learning. Such a surge in the demand for homeschooling and its modernization raises many questions that we want to address in this article. Homeschooling is a worldwide movement and form of education in which learning is taken away from school and brought home under the supervision of the children’s parents. The parents determine the educational path of their children depending on the personality and strengths of the child in compliance with state regulations. Families choose homeschooling for a variety of reasons: dissatisfaction with the educational options available and the traditional school structure, different religious and educational philosophies, and simply when they want to actively participate in the children’s development.
4 benefits of homeschooling
1. Flexibility and freedom
Parents can set the pace of learning (i.e. the time spent studying different subjects and materials) depending on the child’s abilities. The timing and order of lessons can be changed so that the material is taught when the parent and child are ready.
2. Personalized learning
A homeschool setting allows you to focus on each child and adapt your teaching methods to individual learning styles.
3. Focus on learning
Freedom from external problems such as bullying, peer pressure and boredom helps you concentrate fully on the learning process.
4. Strong relationships
Homeschooling offers more room for bonds and family relationships compared to limited time on weekends or holidays.
3 disadvantages of homeschooling
1. Too much work and inability to find a job
Organizing the learning process and setting a curriculum, keeping children occupied, adapting lessons to their needs, and grading their academic performance can be time consuming. Additionally, it can be especially challenging if you’re not a teacher. It can take up all of your time and put you in a position where you cannot do any job.
2. Missed opportunities
Organizing socialization with children of the same age can prove challenging for parents of home-schooled children. Your child may miss an opportunity to participate in team sports, competitions, and other extracurricular activities offered by traditional schools.
3. Less time for yourself
Once the parents take on the new teacher role, it can result in limited time for themselves, which is a major adjustment.
Best Practices for Modern Homeschooling
Adjust your schedule
Take into account when your child is best studying. While traditional schools don’t take into account the children’s best performance time, as a homeschooler you can enjoy the freedom and flexibility to adjust the schedule to the times when your child is performing best.
Review your goals
Setting realistic goals can help motivate your child and give them a sense of achievement. Therefore, it makes sense to review and adjust your goals as the academic year progresses. You can set a number of them in different areas: personal, physical, educational, and character goals. Print them out and check them out every two weeks. Keep in mind that adjustments can be made in the process.
Try volunteering
Volunteering is a great teaching tool as it exposes children to different parts of the community (e.g. homeless shelters, nursing homes, or chalkboards). You can give your children a choice and find out what interests them most.
Add life skills to your curriculum
By teaching children how to clean, do laundry, or cook, you can involve your children in the cleaning process of the house. Younger students can be taught how to help clean up or how to button or tie shoelaces. These types of skills can be just as useful as those learned in the classroom.
Top apps for homeschooling
As we live in a technological age, a variety of organizers, planners, time and portfolio trackers, course resources, and study aids are being developed to simplify and support homeschooling. We did the research and shared the best of them with you:
Khan Academy
Khan Academy is one of the most popular and successful homeschooling apps. It includes instructional videos, practice exercises, and a bespoke learning dashboard that encourages learners to learn at their own pace. This tool can be used by children independently or with the involvement of their parents.
Habitica
It is a game-oriented app that develops the ability to stick to schedules and develop healthy habits. It takes a video game-like approach where users create characters and step into another world. Children progress in the game by completing tasks, daily chores, and habits to earn points.
Evernote
This is a tool that you can use to take notes, take photos, create lesson plans and to-do lists, and make them searchable. In addition, it includes features like a handwriting scanner and portfolio templates, and allows users to upload PDF, audio, and visual files. Finally, the files can simply be shared via email, which makes tasks like year-end reviews very easy.
Conclude
Homeschooling is a viable alternative to the traditional education system because, according to ThinkImpact, homeschooling students achieve between 80 and 90% regardless of their parents’ level of education. However, it is worth remembering that it is a demanding process that requires adjustments from both sides, which takes time and effort. There are also many applications and websites worth using to help advance the learning process. While homeschooling is time consuming, it offers freedom and flexibility that, when used appropriately, can produce great results.
