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‘Home Schooling’

The answers to the question posed by the title are as diverse as those who choose to homeschool. Parents opt for homeschooling for reasons ranging from a desire to instill certain values to the wish to remove students from an unsafe public school environment to the desire to provide a superior education. But the most basic, general reason for most is the well-founded belief that homeschooling is ultimately better for their child. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the first questions parents ask about homeschooling is: Does it work? They know the public schools have problems, but they wonder if they can do any better. Read the rest of this entry »

In considering homeschooling, a kind of do-it-yourself education, one of the first questions to ask is: Who is the ‘you’ in ‘yourself’? Read the rest of this entry »

There are a dozen popular approaches to how to design a homeschool program for a child. They range from highly structured courses, to no structure at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Pinpointing the beginning date of homeschooling is actually impossible. Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great ‘at home’ over 2,500 years ago. In fact, until the late 19th century, nearly everyone was ‘homeschooled’. Read the rest of this entry »

Parents who homeschool their children choose to for a variety of reasons. Some have religious goals, others object to specific topics taught or methods of public or private schools. Still others simply believe they can provide a superior education themselves. Read the rest of this entry »

Some parents just aren’t particularly suited to providing education. Yet they want the best education possible for their child and know that public school can’t provide that. Read the rest of this entry »

Unschooling is an approach to homeschool education that represents the most unstructured approach to learning. It means, as the name suggests, not designing a curriculum at all. Instead, the child is allowed to explore any and all interests, at any pace and in any order they choose. Read the rest of this entry »

While homeschool programs vary in approach, almost none attempt to incorporate or extend the type and level of education available in traditional colleges. Read the rest of this entry »

Homeschooling is completely legal.

One common concern of parents contemplating homeschooling is the prospect of legal restrictions. They fear that homeschooling is either illegal, or that individuals have to jump through many hoops to avoid the government cracking down. The fear is somewhat justified, depending on where the family lives, but is usually larger than appropriate. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most daunting challenges is faced by those who wish to homeschool a child, but have no partner. For most in that situation, the need to earn enough income to support both parent and child is paramount. That can leave little time to devote to education. Read the rest of this entry »

Homeschooling can quickly become an overwhelming enterprise. There’s so much for parents to learn before they can begin to provide education for their child! But like any large and complex goal, breaking it down into easy-to-digest parts makes it possible to swallow each one without stomach upset. Read the rest of this entry »