Step One for Homeschooling Newbies

You are considering homeschooling – congratulations! Kudos to you for your willingness to consider every option for providing your children with the best possible education.

Whether you have just decided to homeschool or just decided to consider homeschooling, you may wonder where to start. Here is our recommendation for your first step: define your reasons for homeschooling.

It’s not uncommon for families to put a toe in the waters of homeschooling because they are unhappy with public school, unable to afford private school, or un-something else. While any of these legitimate concerns can certainly provide well-founded motivation to consider other educational alternatives, more is needed to set a family on track for establishing a successful home school, one built on a foundation of positive hopes, aims, goals, objectives, and desires.

At the root of your homeschool will likely be your family’s worldview and faith. You may find this to be the driving force in determining the character and vision of your home school. Of course, you’ll also want to clearly define your academic standards and goals. And finally, The Savvy Educator recommends defining relationship goals. Homeschooling offers such a unique and valuable opportunity to build family relationships; it’s worth the time and effort to consider how you would take advantage of these opportunities and how you would like your home school to cultivate and enhance family relationships.

Clarifying your worldview-related, academic, and relationship vision will allow you to compose a well-defined statement of purpose and direction for your home school. You will see your educational philosophy begin to take shape, which is of vital importance! If you take the time and make the effort to illuminate your unique reasons for homeschooling, the objectives of your home school, and your family’s educational philosophy, your next steps can be much more focused and efficient. You are poised to move forward without becoming overwhelmed or bogged down by the wide array of options homeschoolers face today.

Keep an eye out for our next post for more information on educational philosophies. In the meantime, get excited and enjoy the process as you take the reins of your children’s learning!

What's Your Homeschool Vibe?

Determining your individual homeschool philosophy can get you on a focused and effective track.

The wide array of curricula and other resources available to homeschooling families today presents some clear advantages. We homeschoolers are so blessed to have options that will enrich the quality of education we can provide and make our jobs as homeschoolers easier. However, this plethora of choices can also overwhelm a hopeful homeschool parent right at the start. An excellent way to avoid becoming immobilized by the mind-boggling multitude of curriculum choices is to, first, clearly define your educational philosophy. The Savvy Educator recommends making this your second step in becoming a homeschool family. (For more information on the first step – defining your reasons for homeschooling – click here .)

There are quite a few educational philosophies prevalent today! Once you have determined yours, it’s easier to narrow your curriculum choices so you don’t feel compelled to research all of the many options available. You can focus on thoroughly considering those that are likely to fit well with your family’s educational values and desired approach. This makes for a much more efficient use of your time and energy. It also greatly increases your chances of beginning your homeschool journey feeling equipped and in-control, not overwhelmed and inadequate to the task.

You’ll find all kinds of information online about educational philosophies and homeschooling methods. To make your job easier, the Savvy Educator has created a concise summary with suggested resources for more information. Just click to take a look at our free Guide to Educational Philosophies and Methods. As you investigate, you’ll likely sense your own philosophy revealing itself and taking shape.

Fellow homeschooler, you are doing great and worthwhile work with tremendous long term value. Keep up the good work! We wish you a rich and rewarding journey along the way!

Testing in Homeschooling?

We think there is a place for it! Read on to see why.

Today we are opening Pandora’s box by answering the question, “Should homeschooled students take tests?” Though I’m sure many people will be happy to disagree with us, The Savvy Educator believes they should.

But wait! Didn’t we choose to homeschool so that our children would enjoy more creative, experiential learning that develops in them much more than the ability to consume facts and spit them back out? Yes! In defending the value of tests, we are not advocating that you give up any of your creative, hands-on, critical-thinking, literature-centered, nature-immersed, discussion-oriented homeschool methods. We simply recommend that tests be included in the mix.

As a homeschool mom, I have found that, preparing for tests often exposes hidden learning weaknesses and concepts that didn’t quite sink in as well as I’d thought. My children and I might have (what I believed to be) a wonderful lesson, with the children engaged, inquisitive, and apparently connected to the material in a positive way that indicated understanding. Then, a day or a week later, in reviewing for a quiz or test, it becomes clear that I had greatly overestimated the depth of learning that had taken place in that lesson. Without the test (and the review that precedes it), I would have gone on, blissfully unaware that my children had taken away far less than I’d planned and expected.

There are other important reasons to include testing in your homeschooling.

1. It allows your child to develop study skills, including the skill of sifting through a large

amount of information and finding what’s most important.

2. It allows you to measure how much your child has learned. (Though you may feel you

know how much learning has taken place without a test, we believe you’ll know even

more with one.)

3. It gives your child practice expressing himself in writing on topics he’s studied.

4. It teaches the importance of discipline in learning.

While we homeschoolers love for our children’s typical learning experiences to be

captivating, warm, creative, and fun, there will be times when a particular concept will

only be mastered through intense effort. The struggle involved can even serve to

increase a love of learning! It can be empowering and thrilling for a student to wrestle

with a concept, conquer it, and demonstrate his mastery of it on a test.

5. It aids in retention.

My children remember better the things on which they are tested. In addition to

initially learning them, they also review those concepts several times and interact with

the information again on the test itself. Outside of a last-minute cram scenario (which

we don’t recommend), test preparation and test-taking leads to better long-term

retention.

6. It builds confidence.

A child who has taken tests in his homeschool program for years will be far less

intimidated by them when he faces them outside homeschooling.

7. It prepares him for the learning he will do after he completes your homeschool

program.

Whether your child heads to college or the workplace after homeschooling, he will

almost certainly be called upon to demonstrate his knowledge in the form of a test. If

he’s had frequent experience with tests, he’ll know how to prepare effectively and

efficiently.

As homeschool parents, we have the opportunity to go far beyond merely teaching our children information. We have the privilege of teaching them how to LEARN. What a wonderful gift! Homeschooled students tend to develop exemplary self-discipline and the ability to learn independently. These things will serve them tremendously in college and in the workplace. As homeschooling parents, let’s make sure we also teach them how to review what they’ve learned, prepare for an assessment, and demonstrate verbally and in writing their mastery of concepts they’ve studied. Then, they’ll truly be thoroughly equipped for any avenue of further study.