As a parent, you want what is best for your child. Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed by the number of things you need to get done. When it comes to the success of your child, it is common to be unsure whether you are doing enough. Parents often doubt themselves, which is the worst thing you can do. Having confidence in yourself and your abilities is essential to the success of your child. Our team put together a guide with tips to ensure the success of your homeschooled child, so keep reading to learn more.
Have A Schedule
Many families enjoy homeschooling because of the flexibility. Although flexibility is important, having a schedule is good for your child’s education. Creating a schedule is one of the best tips to ensure the success of your homeschooled child. The nice thing is that the schedule does not have to be the exact same every day. Choosing to spend certain days on certain subjects can help space things out and allow your child to process what they learned without getting overwhelmed. Having a routine that is daily or weekly can help your child feel prepared by eliminating any uncertainty about the days ahead. Having a schedule also ensures you are spending time wisely and covering all the material.
Having a schedule is especially important if you work from home. Juggling your work and your child’s education can be overwhelming. Making a schedule that allows you to confidently tackle your day will make it easier to give your little one attention. It is hard to focus on homeschooling when your head is somewhere else, so scheduling time specifically for homeschooling helps ensure you can focus on teaching. An example of this is scheduling a few hours in the morning for work and then a few hours for teaching in the afternoon. This allows you to spend hours at a time doing something, rather than switching back and forth. This allows your day to flow more seamlessly, with fewer interruptions.
Choose A Designated Area
Choosing a designated area for homeschooling makes it easier to get started with the day. Just like having a schedule helps eliminate any uncertainty, choosing an area for schooling gets children in the mindset to learn. Rather than learning all over the house, having a designated area allows your child to focus. Choosing somewhere that is free of distractions is important. You should also have a flat surface to write on, such as a table or desk. Although having a designated room is nice, this is not possible for many families. You can homeschool anywhere in the house, but what is important is staying consistent. Staying consistent helps your child succeed academically because they get used to a routine. Having a routine allows your child to focus on learning.
Having a designated area for homeschooling also helps with organization. If you do not have a desk or table specifically for homeschooling, you can still be organized. Use a cart on wheels or something like that to organize your supplies. Having your supplies in a cart makes it easy to move from storage to within arm’s reach. You can use this cart to hold items such as scissors, pencils, and paper. This cuts down on the time you usually spend going back and forth, which allows more time to homeschool your child.
Make It Fun
Another tip for homeschooling your child is to make it fun. It is easy to get caught up in lesson plans and the everyday routine, but don’t forget to have some fun with learning. Homeschooling allows you to do so many things that aren’t possible in a traditional classroom. Going on field trips is one of the most fun things to do in school. Field trips are great because they are an opportunity to have fun and learn at the same time. One tip to help your child succeed it allow them to have some fun while learning. Taking your child on field trips gets them interested in the real-life applications of learning. If a field trip is not an option, consider watching an online video or doing an activity to make the lesson more fun.
Another way to ensure the success of your child is getting them involved in their learning. Asking them what they like about that subject can give you an idea of their interests. For example, if your child loves sports maybe you could read a biography of a famous athlete. If your child loves dinosaurs, maybe you could do a history lesson and science experiment about fossils. Making learning fun is the best thing you can do for your child. A child that enjoys learning is more likely to be successful academically, so try to incorporate fun activities into your curriculum.
Be Flexible
Homeschooling can be challenging for many reasons. As a homeschooling parent, it is important to accept that everyone learns differently. One subject might be more difficult than another subject. One child may be more advanced than your other child. It is important to be flexible when homeschooling because no one has all the answers. There is going to be trial and error. Being flexible and open to change is essential when homeschooling because you don’t want to be too hard on yourself. You are doing the best you can.
Test Regularly
Testing regularly is another way to ensure the success of your homeschooled child. Testing yearly is a good way to see your child’s academic growth. The MAP Growth test is a great option for any child because it is untimed and online. MAP Growth is also a great option for an online gifted test, since is it cross-grade and adaptive. Testing more than once a year is another option to consider because can see how your child is improving throughout the year.
Homeschool Boss aims to make homeschool testing easy by offering an at-home and online assessment. We are proud to offer MAP Growth by NWEA because it is an accurate and adaptive test that tells you what your child is ready to learn. The best way to ensure the success of your homeschooled child is to accommodate their needs, and we are here to help.
