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Monday, September 14, 2009

Home Schooling or Not?

Much of what I thought about home schooling was wrong. The conventional wisdom about this rapidly growing dimension of American education is too simple, too stereotyped and too stale.


For instance, the Home School Legal Defense Association, despite its energetic lawyers and many admirers, is not the leader of home schooling in this country. There is no leader, and no reigning ideology. There are instead at least a million American children - the real figure is probably twice that number - whose families want them to learn at home for many reasons, often having little to do with religion or politics.


The common image of home-schoolers as lockstep religious conservatives falls apart when you discover that some of these parents have been shunned by their fundamentalist churches for teaching their kids at home rather than sending them to the church's school. Some home-schoolers love the new for-profit online teaching programs like K12. Some think they are a corporate plot. Some parents are home-schooling because their kids were learning more quickly than their teachers could keep up with. Some are home-schooling because their kids were learning more slowly than their public school teachers had patience for. Some home-school because their children were unhappy at school. Some home-school because they could not meet their needs any other way.


Public school educators often worry that the children of such people will not learn necessary social skills. But home-schooling parents said their children learned how to deal with other people just fine, particularly with the many adults they encountered when they visited the library or went to church or did chores around the neighborhood. With their parents so often at their side, they were able to see what good manners and self-confidence looked like, rather than be forced to adopt the jungle code of the average high school corridor. In many families one parent stays at home to supervise the home schooling, although they often do some work there to pay the bills, or trade off with other home-schooling parents when they have to be away.


Home schooling involves a tremendous commitment from the parents. At least one parent must be willing to work closely with the child, plan lessons, keep abreast of requirements, and perhaps negotiate issues with the school district. The most common home school arrangement is for the mother to teach while the father works out of the home. There are a variety of educational materials geared for the home school, published by dozens of suppliers. Some are correspondence courses, which grade students' work, some are full curricula, and some are single topic workbooks or drill materials in areas such as math or phonics.


Many of the curriculum providers are indentifiably Christian, including several major home school publishers such as Bob Jones University Press, Alpha Omega Publications, and Home Study International. A major non-religious provider of home school materials is the Calvert School in Baltimore. Figures vary as to how many home schools use published curricula or correspondence courses, but the Department of Education estimates that it is from 25 to 50%; the rest use a curriculum the parents and/or child have devised. Education writer John Holt, a champion of home schooling, suggested that no particular area of study was essential. He advised parents to use real life activities such as work in a family business, writing letters, bookkeeping, observing nature, and talking with old people as meaningful academic lessons. Home schools might fall anywhere on this spectrum, between the tightly planned study of a formal curriculum to Holt's free-form, experiential learning.


But first, all the parents interested in teaching their children at home need to find out what laws apply to their state and school district.

Home Schooling Online - Is It Right For Your Family?

Home schooling online requires a lot of dedication and strict scheduling to ensure that the required work gets done.  Internet classes, which are often scheduled at specific times during the day, must be attended regularly.  In addition, tests are generally taken online and grades posted or delivered via e-mail. 


Some of the most popular reasons to enroll in home schooling online is scheduling, childhood development or simply the desire to learn at home.  For adults who enroll in home schooling online, they often do so in order to be able to earn their degree while working full time.  In this scenario, it would be very difficult to attend regular classes.  For children, the decision to enroll in home schooling online is much different.  If you feel that your child needs to learn at his/her own pace and you want to make sure that he/she receives personal attention to their education, home schooling online may be the answer.  If your child has a difficult time socializing with other children and a physician feels that home schooling online would be better for your child's well-being, then you may want to consider online enrollment. 


It's important to realize that home schooling online will not permit your child with the same socializing skills that are acquired while attending regular classes.  Therefore, your child must find other ways to meet new people and adopt good social skills.  This may include being a part of theatrical productions, field trips, library readings and other gatherings.  One of the many benefits to home schooling, on the other hand, is being active in who your child socializes with and ensuring that the influences are acceptable.


Before making the final decision to enroll your child in home schooling online, make sure that he/she is in agreement.  Many parents forget to include the child in such an important decision, but his/her opinion cannot be overlooked.  In order for a child to learn well, the environment must be one that is desired.  Many children want to attend regular school because, with home schooling online, they may feel that they are missing an important aspect of their childhood.  This is why developing social activities is so important and is critical to your child's growth and development. 


As a final thought, home schooling online is not expensive in and of itself.  However, if your child enrolls in home schooling online, one parent will have to stay at home while the other works.  If your home can handle one income, home schooling online may work perfectly.  If not, you will have to work out a strict schedule so that someone is always at home to ensure the child's learning is not compromised while adjusting your work schedule around his/her education.

Home Schooling Is Loaded With Fun Activities

There are many reasons why parents choose homeschooling for their children. A lot of times this choice is made by parents who are dissatisfied with the way formal education is being run. Also by those who are concerned about safety issues.


In addition, there are those parents who wish to freely instill some religious values in their children, while some feel that having their kids taught at home helps tighten their family bond.


Nowadays, there has been an uprise in the numbers of students who are getting their education at home. In the United States, approximately around 3 million children participate in homeschooling programs.


There are various ways homeschooling can be achieved. One of the most popular methods is to avail of prepackaged curriculums. A lot of book publishers specifically produce materials designed for children who participate in homeschooling.


These prepackaged curriculums basically introduce subjects that follow the curriculum of formal education.


Home schooling includes a lot of activities that make learning fun and exciting, especially for young children, while teaching a range of subjects such as: Mathematics, Language, Social Studies, Science, History, Electives and many more.


Children who are undergoing homeschooling are furnished with school supplies and other materials that they need for their education.


Software, educational audio cassettes and videos, and the internet are also part of the tools that are included in the education of the child.


Home schooling teachers may also teach children how to play various instruments as a part of the activities covered in music, and other various skills depending on the child's interest.


Arts and crafts, indoor games, and story telling are some of the other activities homeschooled children can participate in. The best thing about this is family members will be able to support and be involved in the various activities of the child.


Students who are undergoing homeschooling may also choose to go on organized fieldtrips along with other children who are also being homeschooled.


Outside of homeschooling, children can also participate in a number of activities such as: community service, working part time, sports programs, church activities and field trips that are organized by support groups that endorse home schooling.


These are basically facilitated by families who also have children who participate in homeschooling.


This method of learning is gaining more and more popularity these days, and is becoming a more feasible option for a number of families that now it is fast becoming a new trend in the way children get their education. This gives parents more freedom to choose what they think would be the best option when it comes to their children's education.

Home Schooling Information for the Parent

Home schooling can be a difficult decision.  Many believe that home schooling can not prepare a child to deal with real life situations.  By attending a public school, the child is more likely to be involved in school team sports, drama clubs, band activities, after school clubs, and be more socially interactive with others.  Many of these activities are fundamental for the growth and emotional well being of a child.


Alternatively, an argument can be made that there is just as much social stimulation at home as there is in public school.  For a large number of home schooled children, many have friends that live within their neighborhood that they can play and interact with.  After school sports programs are available for in many areas, typically at community centers.  These programs can prove to be a great source for social interaction.


A good way to obtain additional home schooling information is to ask parents of other home school children.  More than likely they can share what activities they do, as well as inform you what type of approach they use; a facilitated self study approach or lecture oriented approach.


This information will help lead you to a better idea of whether or not you are able to handle a teaching job.  Contrary to some beliefs, teaching is not an easy task.  It takes great dedication and determination to ensure that the children are always excited about learning, moving at a steady pace, and keeping them interested in what is next.  If you are interested in home schooling, teaching classes are available through some schools.


There are many resources available online regarding home schooling.  Blogs and websites can provide you with relevant home school information.  Many of these sites are maintained by parents who home school and provide information on what problems may be encountered in home schooling and the solutions they have.


Although teaching can be difficult, many find the end result rewarding.  Home schooling can provide parents and children a nice balance and learning environment to exceed in.


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Home Schooling In California

Home schooling programs vary from state to state in the U.S. As a personal option of parents for their children, the need to comply does not end in enrolling. Parents play a big role in its success.


In California, it is a compulsory for all children to acquire public or private schooling and be given the right education. Under the educational codes of California, methods of exemptions to the mandatory school attendance have alternative learning options as follows:


1. The child has private tutors who have valid credentials for specific subject matter. The number of hours of instruction must be three hours a day, 175 hours a year. All parents who opt for this choice at their discretion do not need to send the child to formal schooling.


2. Home Study Program (HSP) and Charter Schools of California - Parents have the option to enroll their child to the nearest public school for a home-based study program, where the school will assign a teacher who will facilitate and check the student's home-schooling on a monthly basis. The tutorial program sessions are under the parent's responsibility at home.


3. Private Independent Study Program - almost similar to public chartered school enrollment with differences in curriculum and rigidity in training. Private schools in California are not required with heavy restrictions on credentials.


4. Complying R4 Form (Private School Affidavit) - Home education system can be established by individuals in their respective homes by just complying the requirements set by educational codes of California Department of Education. With least restriction from among the alternative methods of home-schooling schemes, this is purely a program for very few students of not more than five attending schooling at home in a very private environment.


Certainly, change in a child's schooling scheme affects parental goals and orientation. The advantage of institutionalized schooling is the amount of time parents get liberated to spend on their career while their children get the substantial education they pay for. Home schooling on the other hand, requires the entire time of parent participation, which is a great career sacrifice in exchange of personally educating a child. The price is spending quality time and close bonding with the child.


Assuming how the child will have substantial positive socialization is the main consideration of home schooling. To families of reputation or those who have "special child," the need for home schooling is not questionable. The correct formula to child education cannot be determined because the whole process will not be projected by imagination. It happens in a span of decades.

Home Schooling Can Lead To Outstanding Careers

Homeschooling is one the latest trends in education nowadays, although the concept of homeschooling originated in the 20th century. This was during the time before public education came into being. It is not until now that it has become a more viable option for many families who have children who are still going to school.


Some of the famous persons that are considered to have acquired a homeschooled education, given the fact that they were self-educated or had availed of the guidance of a tutor include: Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Jane Austen to name a few.


Which only goes to show that individuals who have not acquired a formal education can also become successful in life.


In fact some surveys that were conducted with homeschooled individuals show that more of these individuals are involved in their communities, and have a higher percentage rate when it comes to voting. 58.9% of them also claim that they are very happy with their lives, compared with 27.6% of the rest of the population who also make this claim.


There are many career options that await homeschooled individuals. Surveys show that the preferred occupations that these persons are more likely to choose are: business, computer programming, career in the armed forces, internships, home worker, etc.


But before they embark on a career most of these homeschooled students choose to go to college first. There are a number of colleges that accept students fresh out of homeschooling.


Many highschool students who are undergoing homeschooling simultaneously take college courses to earn credits. These credits count towards the credit their going to accumulate once they go to college. Homeschooled students have been known to score high in college entrance exams.


There are some stereotypical views that have been attached to individuals that have acquired their education through homeschooling. Such as that these individuals tend to be reclusive, antisocial, or extreme in their views when it comes to religion.


But slowly these views are dissipating since homeschooling is now becoming more mainstream.


A lot of parents have become extremely dissatisfied with the way public school systems are run. Not only do they fear for their children's safety, but the quality of education that their children receive some parents also find lacking.


That's why a lot of these concerned parents have made the decision to have their children homeschooled. A decision that now seems to be paying off.
 
Since the past decade the number of homeschooled students has multiplied, now resulting in responsible adults who have stable jobs and thriving careers in their chosen fields of endeavor, proving that homeschooling provides an excellent quality of education.

Home Schooling Requirements: Differences In States


Article Body:
Homeschooling has increased more in the past few years than it has for the past decades. Initially, homeschooling or any type of private education wasn’t allowed in the United States, but when a public court ruled for the Society of Sisters for the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary and allowed them to set up a private school in 1925, public schools weren’t the only institutions providing education to children. This sparked the homeschooling idea and not long after, parents have decided to educate their children in their own homes.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states; however, each state has different requirements and guidelines reagrding the homeschooling program. Some states simply require parents who opt for homeschooling, to simply file an intent notice to the local school superintendent or any school official, and some require lesson plans to be made and approved by the school board before the program starts. All of these requirements aim to fully educate children whether they are educated at home or in public schools.

In California, homeschoolers have three choices, thay can use a credited tutor, enroll in a qualified private school or be part of an independent public homeschooling program. Parents may form private schools for their own children; however, all those who wish to form private schools need to file an annual report with the Department of Education.

Certain courses, similar to that of public schools, that can fit into a few pages, (contrary to the hundreds of pages required of public schoosl) need to be present, as well as attendance records. But teachers need not have credentials, they must simply be “capable of teaching”.

Differences in state requirements can also be observed in testing and assessment. Some states require homeschoolers to take standardized tests or have evaluations done by qualified teachers. Other states however, do not require such evaluation methods. In California again, students are encouraged to take the standardized tests that Public Schools are implementing at the end of every term.

Graduating procedures also differ with states, some require that home schools be operated as private schools, have graduation procedures that doen’t differ from private school gradaution. However, some have no graduation requirements at all; basically, the schools determine who graduates or not, this applies to homeschoolers in the state as well. In other states, homeschoolers receive no recognition, but are still granted access to colleges and universities.

Requirements and laws differ from state to state, and there is no absolute list of requirements for the whole United States. The best a parent who intends to homeschool her child is to find web sites or go to local school officials for information.


Home Schooling Can Lead To Outstanding Careers

Homeschooling is one the latest trends in education nowadays, although the concept of homeschooling originated in the 20th century. This was during the time before public education came into being. It is not until now that it has become a more viable option for many families who have children who are still going to school.


Some of the famous persons that are considered to have acquired a homeschooled education, given the fact that they were self-educated or had availed of the guidance of a tutor include: Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Jane Austen to name a few.


Which only goes to show that individuals who have not acquired a formal education can also become successful in life.


In fact some surveys that were conducted with homeschooled individuals show that more of these individuals are involved in their communities, and have a higher percentage rate when it comes to voting. 58.9% of them also claim that they are very happy with their lives, compared with 27.6% of the rest of the population who also make this claim.


There are many career options that await homeschooled individuals. Surveys show that the preferred occupations that these persons are more likely to choose are: business, computer programming, career in the armed forces, internships, home worker, etc.


But before they embark on a career most of these homeschooled students choose to go to college first. There are a number of colleges that accept students fresh out of homeschooling.


Many highschool students who are undergoing homeschooling simultaneously take college courses to earn credits. These credits count towards the credit their going to accumulate once they go to college. Homeschooled students have been known to score high in college entrance exams.


There are some stereotypical views that have been attached to individuals that have acquired their education through homeschooling. Such as that these individuals tend to be reclusive, antisocial, or extreme in their views when it comes to religion.


But slowly these views are dissipating since homeschooling is now becoming more mainstream.


A lot of parents have become extremely dissatisfied with the way public school systems are run. Not only do they fear for their children's safety, but the quality of education that their children receive some parents also find lacking.


That's why a lot of these concerned parents have made the decision to have their children homeschooled. A decision that now seems to be paying off.
 
Since the past decade the number of homeschooled students has multiplied, now resulting in responsible adults who have stable jobs and thriving careers in their chosen fields of endeavor, proving that homeschooling provides an excellent quality of education.

Home Schooling: The Advantages And Disadvantages

People new to the idea and concept of homeschooling often have a thousand of questions to raise. Here is some helpful information to guide you in weighing things out:


Some homeschooling advantages:


1. Allow quality time, providing individualized attention and instruction. Homeschooling parents can better understand their children; observe how kids progress, what areas they find difficult and help them out.


2. Children learn in their own pace. At homeschool, children can advance at any time, not waiting on others or if the kid is a slow learner or having difficulties in a certain subject area, she/he can remain to focus on that area without pressure that others are already moving on.


3. Parents pattern their teaching style and curriculum in accordance with the child’s learning style, allowing him/her to successfully understand the subject matter, thus better results are achieved.


4. No peer pressure. At a homeschool, age classification is not a factor, therefore children not only associate with children their same age level, but with children of different ages and adults as well, so they can decide on their own without the influence of peers.


5. “Hands on learning”. Activities which are outside the context of books are very much essential to the child’s learning process. Trips to the park, the museum, the zoo, going fishing with mom and dad can be a great time to spend an afternoon educating your child.


Some homeschooling disadvantages:


1. For the homeschool parent, much time and effort is required for preparation of teaching materials, lessons and managing the child’s opportunities in order to cultivate friendships and expand on the child’s interests.


2. Parents who homeschool do not have enough time to spend for themselves when kids are constantly at home. This frequent time of being together can be at times suffocating and, therefore, can not work in certain families.


3. Homeschooled children do not have a lot of opportunities to bond and develop friendships with peers. For many families, this really is not a problem and is supplemented by taking the kids out to play in the park, attend lessons in ballet, jazz, etc. However it takes a lot of effort on the part of parents to insure that their kids have these opportunities.


Whether to homeschool or not, it all depends on you, as a parent, on how much are you willing to give your child. On top of all the learning materials, the field trips, home schooling entails a lot of love, patience and encouragement.

Home Schooling?

Every parent wants their children to get the very best education they can, but with the public school system having the problems it is currently experiencing and private schools not being financially available to all, many parents are turning back to homeschooling.


Homeschooling is not a new idea; in fact our public school system is newer than parents teaching their children at home. Our founding fathers did discuss whether or not to require children to attend school (compulsory schooling), but they decided to leave the decision up to the individual families and state and local governments. In 1850, Massachusetts was the first state to require children to attend school. There were many reasons for this law, but the main reasons were to keep children out of the workforce and teach them to be “good citizens.”


Even with laws being enacted across the United States, many parents continued to homeschool their children. Homeschooling became an underground movement, but has picked up speed. With American children falling behind in math and science and violence continuing to escalate in schools, parents feel the public system is failing. Statistics show that the top 3 reasons parents decide to homeschool are: safety for their children, being able to teach from a religious perspective and having a program tailored to their child’s learning needs.


There are many different approaches to homeschooling. Here is a small list:


* Classical Homeschooling. The people who use this approach believe that the brain develops in three stages - grammar, logic and rhetoric.
* Structured Homeschooling. This approach most resembles institutionalized schools.
* Unschooling. This approach was started in the 1960s by John Holt, a Boston educator who did not agree with how children were taught in schools. He felt children should be free to learn at their own pace, not to be dictated to by teachers.


Again, this is a small list of different approaches. Each one has its own idea of how children learn best.


There are many advatages to homeschooling, but the one disadvantage I see is the child not being able to socialize with other children. I am sure that there are programs for homeschooled children to be sociable and as this educational choice continues to grow, more opportunities will be made available.


We parents know better than anyone what is best for our children. Homeschooling may be the future for education. And maybe we should look to our past to find the future.

Home School Approval: Doing Home Schooling The Right Way

There is more or less a general consensus on the inherent value of education. However, people may often disagree about the right method toward achieving that education. The majority of the population would rather opt for institutionalized formal education, referring to education offered in public or private education institutions like primary and secondary schools. However, as has been the recent trend, many parents in particular have begun considering or even going on ahead with home schooling their children. Home schooling, prevalent prior the inception of formalized school systems, is making a return to the mainstream because some parents either do not approve of the curriculum of school systems or are even against the idea of formalized school systems, or find themselves holding greater capacity to educate their children in the best possible manner.


Perhaps you are interested in home schooling your child, and conceded, you have your own reasons for doing it. But just like picking a school for your child, the decision to home school is a very big one. This would most obviously translate to you taking your child out of a previous social learning environment and into the home to educate him or her; moreover this also means that from then on, you are going to be fully responsible for the intellectual rearing of your child.


It is perhaps for this reason that certain guidelines are set by the state or local education offices before you can actually home school your child. It is best to consider these guidelines first because your state can help you through the process, and moreover, may enlighten you on relevant issues on home schooling. I’ll expound further.


Majority of states in the United States would require a legal minimum of state notification of your intention to home school your child. In a rare few (including Texas, Alaska, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, among others), you may go on ahead with home schooling your child without informing the state.


Other states however, would require you first to notify the state and afterwards acquire your child’s grade records should he or she have attended a public school. After this, some states may require you to create a curriculum you intend to follow for your home schooling program, be accredited as a parent-teacher, and to host a home visit by your local education officials. Later on, during the period when your child is already being home schooled, some states may require for you to submit to them evaluation scores, attendance records (states may require a minimum number of ‘school’ days for home school too) and even test scores.


It is very important for you to find out the different requirements for home schooling in your state. For one, it will help you make sure that once you home school your child, your child’s education is actually being recognized by the state. Without state approval, your home schooling may not be regarded, which may increase the difficulty for your child to move on to a university or college. Second, the state may provide you with various forms and guidebooks as you home school your child. This assistance may prove valuable to you, especially if you are home schooling for the first time. Third, by finding out these requirements, you will be able to submit to the state all the required documents that you must submit periodically. In this way, you are also assured that your child is at par level with any other child enrolled in a regular school setting. In the same manner, by approaching your local education authority you may actually inquire about the college application process of home schoolers.


Home schooled children may be required a marginal number of steps that regular applicants are not required to take in order to qualify for their chosen university. Some universities may require your child to take the G.E.D., an exam that will help test the sufficiency of their knowledge from home school to be considered as qualified college applicants, while others may require state accreditation. Moreover, by visiting your local education authority you will also find out the various state and local government scholarships for which your child may or may not qualify.


While home schooling may pose some added burden once you are ready to return your child to a regular school system, it has proven beneficial to many in the past. Visit your state or local government education office in order to make an educated decision, and in order to get the approval you’d need to push through with home schooling your child.

Home School - When Is It O.K.?

Nowadays, many parents are enticed to home school their children. There are just too many benefits to ignore it. In fact, recent reports show that more than 1.2 million students in the United States are already obtaining their education through some type of home school study. This shift can be seen as a reaction to the current state of affairs in our public and private schools.


Either way, more parents have decided that homeschooling is the best option for their children and we should continue to see more and more people realizing the benefits of homeschooling their children.


However, there are many details that need to be worked out before you begin a homeschooling program:


1. Which parent is best suited to perform as a teacher?
2.How do you develop an approved curriculum?
3.Is the child in question ready to be homeschooled?
4.Where do you turn for help?
5.And finally, when is the best time to begin homeschooling?


Many parents are wonder if there is a specific age or time to home school their children. They want to be sure that by the time they have decided to home school their children, they have made the right decision and that it will definitely be for their children’s own good.


However, most experts will agree, deciding when to home school comes down to two key points; do you as the parent think the child in question will benefit more from a home school program or one of the more traditional in class setting?


And secondly, are you the parent and now the teacher, better suited to teach your child that someone that has been professionally trained?


So, in reality there is no appropriate time to start home schooling. The key point here is that as long as you think there is a benefit to home schooling your children and as long as you feel that your family is prepared for the task, and then you should consider a home school program. Because let’s face it, no one is going to look after your children better than you are.


Now, the next most important step after you’ve decided to home school is to make sure that you’re fully prepared and equipped to complete the task.  You need to spend a fair amount of time, becoming aware of all the things you’re going to need to provide your child’s education.  And if you have a shadow of a doubt, you should continue to maintain their current learning process until you are fully prepared to take the next step.


Therefore, the question as to when to begin to home school your children isn’t really the question at all, it’s a matter of when you’re ready to start classes.  This decision is usually the result of some type of situation that happened in the existing school the children are enrolled in. But you should be sure not to make a snap decision to move to homeschooling until again, everyone is prepared and equipped for the lifestyle change


Homeschooling can be one of the most rewarding and satisfying roles a parent can take the development of their children, this can also be one of the worst decisions made if not executed correctly.  So while homeschooling may appeal to you, make sure you speak to other parents who’ve decided to home school, speak with other students that have been homeschooled, and take a good hard look at the student or students that will be homeschooled.   You won’t be able to make up for time lost.  So choose wisely.

Come Up With Projects When Homeschooling

Due to its many benefits, many parents are choosing homeschooling for their children. Homeschooling allows for a more flexible educational experience, and curriculum can be easily tailored to your child's individual needs. As the costs of private schools continue to rise, homeschooling becomes a viable economic decision as well.

When you decide to homeschool your children, you need to become knowledgeable on a broad range of subjects so you can prepare an adequate educational plan. Once you have established a plan, which should include targets for different subject areas, you should consider the idea of unit projects.

You're probably familiar with projects, as you likely did one or two if you came through the public school system. Projects are a great way to implement and test knowledge acquired through an educational unit. A good plan is to have a multi-week unit set up for a given subject, and at the end of the unit assign a week-long project that will make use of what your child has learned.

For example, if you and your child study a biology unit, a great week long project is to create an ecosystem. This can be done with an old aquarium, and your child's goal will be to create an environment that can be self-sufficient in the sealed aquarium. In learning about the water table and the different cycles of nature, encourage your child to think of the best way to make his or her ecosystem. After your child has come up with a plan, take him to a store to by the requisite materials with which to begin his project. Once it is started have him track the ecosystem's progress every day.

The reasons that projects like this can be very effective is that they serve multiple educational purposes: your child will not only be learning as he goes, but he will be learning in an engaging way, and most likely with a higher level of retention. A project can also engage other members of the family. The ecosystem, for example, could be placed in a prominent location, and other family members will no doubt take interest. It's a great educational experience when your child can not only excitedly report on a project's progress to his parents, but actually show the work at hand. Every parent has witnessed a child from the publics system describing a project they're doing at the dinner table, but as a homeschooling parent you have the benefit of having "home" and "school" being one: you child can not only tell, but show.

When you homeschool, you're not limited by the practicalities necessary in a public or private school system. Project ides are only limited by you and your child's imagination. For each and every unit, encourage your child to come up with long term project ideas and use their learning in a practical way. Not only will the project allow your child to learn more about the subject, it will carry over into the home as a whole: other family members will take interest, and the whole process of buying the materials and planning the project will become part of your child's educational experience