The Educational Advantages of Home schooling Students

By Anne Harvester

The advantages of a home schooled child over one who attends public school is quite noticeable. The home schooled student sees much more benefits and advantages than the student going to public school in so many ways. From scoring higher on standardized testing, to more one-on-one learning time, a curriculum tailored to their specific needs and abilities, in learning metric conversion or a metric calculator for example, is quite beneficial to a student craving learning.

It's easy to see why so many parents are choosing to home school their children. Once the decision is made to home school your child, what do you next and where do you start? Here are a few pieces of advice on how to get started in the right direction towards home school success:

Check Your State Requirements – The very first thing you should do is check the legal requirements of your particular state. While home schooling is legal in every state, the laws and requirements differ from one state to another. Some states require a letter of intent, quarterly reports and annual testing.

Choose a Curriculum – Get some research done as to the types of curriculum which work best for both you and your child. Math, History, Science, and English are common subjects taught throughout the United States. When choosing a one consider if you would prefer a more independent study or more instructional study? Are you comfortable teaching certain subjects more than others? For example, do you think you can better explain the metric conversion calculator or the metric table better than you can Civil War history?

Find the Proper Resources and Support – Do you know other parents who home school their own children? They can be a wonderful resource for advice and suggestions with any questions you may have. Look for a local home school support groups in your area or online for guidance. These support groups hold regular educational trips and activities such as to the zoo, museums and libraries that you can join in on.

Prepare The Home/School Environment – More than likely, your home will need to be rearranged to properly create a home schooling environment. True, most children don’t need a traditional desk and black board environment but they do require a designated area of the home to study all those metric table and metric conversion calculator notes you give them. The area must be organized and distraction-free to do assignments.

Set up Year End Goals – Your final step in the home school decision is to set up and plan specific goals for your child. At the end of the year, what would you have liked to achieve? It may not go the way you planned but it is a smart move to have a plan of action to navigate your way throughout the school year.