allthingsgodlypretty posted: " This topic got me really anxious before because people are not used to the word homeschooling. The conversation on homeschooling did not always go well for my husband and i in the past year you know before covid hit. You know in the middle of a conversat"
This topic got me really anxious before because people are not used to the word homeschooling. The conversation on homeschooling did not always go well for my husband and i in the past year you know before covid hit. You know in the middle of a conversation someone asks how the children are doing, then they ask which school they go to.
The answer would be we homeschool our children. Then people would lash out on us without asking what exactly is homeschooling and why you decided to homeschool your children.
Then later whenever people would asked where my son schools i would just say Abeka Academy and they would not know where that is so to maintain peaceful relationships with people.
Why homeschooling?
My husband and i chose homeschooling because we wanted to control much of what is poured into our children. We want them to grow up daily being fed the word of God as part of their daily lifestyle. So we found Abeka Academy in Pensacola, Florida in the USA through a family friend we admire so much who homeschooled her children throughout until they finished high school.
Its really simple she said! Simply go on their website and register for a grade and they will help you with the registration process. Indeed they were so reliable. We got our son registered and later His books and DVDs were shipped to us. We communicate with the school anytime we need assistance.
What is homeschooling?
Homeschooling is teaching your children using DVDs or through online learning in your home or any space you desire to use without going to a school physically.
How does Homeschooling work?
Depending on which homeschool you are using. Our children's school comes with an option where you can choose DVD programme or online learning.
DVD programme
This programme is so flexible which i can encourage new homeschooling moms to start with this option because it gives you the option to create your own timetable that works for you as a family. The DVD's are shipped together with your child's books and workbooks.
In the DVDs are pre recorded lessons taught by a teacher so all you would do is tutor and monitor if your children are listening and help them with their daily school work.
Create a time table that works for your family!
Are you a working parent or a stay at home parent? Both ways can work well but the stay at home mom is at an advantage. A working mom can use after work hours, weekends and holidays which can be stressful if you have a demanding job like mine. I tried it for some months and i realised i was not coping because i work with clients all day and do much talking by the time i get home, all i want is to relax and do less talking compared to work.
For stay at home moms its much simpler! Well it can be just as hectic but plan around it and be creative because children have a lot of energy and they always want fun ways of learning. I could not keep up here guys
Depending on your morning routine and what time you wake up you can use that to create a time table that works for you and your children. However be mindful that if its a new routine for your children it may take time to get used to it. They may also not take you seriously as you teach at first because you are the parent and they are not used to you teaching them.
Online learning!
Online learning is more on going learning and has a time table that the school offers which you have to work around it. As a mom that works fulltime and blogs fulltime i prefer the DVDs because it allows me to work around my schedule. However you can mismanage your time if you are too relaxed so you need to practise self discipline.
I found it much easier to get a fulltime tutor who is a qualified teacher who comes to my house daily to assist our children because we could not meet the deadlines especially because i was always tired from work and this came at a time when my job demanded so much effort from me. I could not perform well at work and i would drag my feet after work to teach the children and still cook. It was a nightmare and the children were frustrated too!
If i happen to be a fulltime blogger one day and be a stay at home mom too i would most definitely use the help of a tutor now that i can afford one. It just makes things so much easier. When you need time to yourself to run some errands you hardly think of class time and you are less obsessed about it.
Set up class and teaching
My husband and i actually invested in setting up the children's classroom. Nothing fancy but colourful enough for all our three children to be excited about. We have space behind our living room so they use it as their classroom. We also have colourful charts, letters on the walls, numbers and bible verse cards.
As i mentioned earlier i started by tutoring my children myself because they already have their school teacher from their school either through pre recorded DVDs or through online learning. However we hired a teacher to tutor them and assist them through their classes.
Progress Reports and Grades
A teacher's guide as referred by the school as the on site teacher guide manual is used to grade a child enrolled on a homeschool programme. The child's books comes with the DVDs, books, Teacher's guide and Progress Report books submitted at year end for DVD programme. While online is updated every now and then through the child's dashboard profile which you access through the school's website.
Is homeschool a real school?
Yes! It is a real school like any other school where you apply and register your child, wait for approval then they process your child's enrollment. When it is approved you pay school fees and your child's books are shipped to you.
Social issues
Whenever people heard that my husband and I homeschool our children. They would attack us and say we are depriving our children from learning social skills. Quite the contrary our children are the most sociable children ever and i am not exaggerating.
Our children with their on site teacher (tutor)
Their personalities shine through, they talk to anyone regardless of their age or social status. They are very inquisitive and can have a conversation like adults.
Any language barriers?
My husband and i intentionally purposed to speak english with our children from the moment they are conceived. Why?
English is an internationally understood language. So wherever we would go with our children they would understand especially in school they would not be left out whichever school we enrolled them in. The language and accent would never be an issue.
School trips and sight seeing!
Organise your own school trips as a family and sometimes with their on site teacher ( their tutor). We normally plan their outings for most weekends so we do camping, road trips, hiking and much more.
We do home projects together like home decor, gardening household chores which you cannot find in most schools. They love visiting their grand parents place which is quite the farm and they just love nature and the big endless yard. Sometimes we listen to activities they want to do like visiting the park and we take them there.
What has homeschooling taught you!
Homeschooling my children has taught me so much about my children and myself. I know how much pressure i can handle and i got to know my children very closely i could see through them.
It has taught me you can do absolutely anything you put your mind on and purpose in your heart to accomplish.
It has taught me so much about my children, their capabilities, imaginations, fears, joys, gifts, talents and a glimpse of their purpose.
It has validated that indeed all children are unique and non like exactly similar things but there are those differences that distinguish each child.
We often forget as our children grow that each child desires to be praised and given attention as much as the younger child in the house.
Children receive the word of God much easier than older people in the hearts and they pursue it.
When your children tell you their purpose, dreams, hobbies and more pay attention and write them down.
I learnt i am not the best teacher in the world but i am quite the good mommy and i have learnt through that to be a great teacher.
If your job frustrates you or anything that targets at your heart you will bring turmoil to your home until you start paying attention. Teaching my children exposed how tired and frustrated i was see post Not so love drenched after all.
Homeschooling is not fancy at all. It takes hard work and dedication as a parent to homeschool your children fulltime. It is possible to homeschool them and still enjoy your life as a family just as much as you grow closer to your children.
You find you do not work much at uprooting negative talk picked from anyone your child is exposed to but you are the one that speaks mostly in their life.
If you love homeschooling, look for options that could work for you. At times its not that you like homeschooling but the on going closure of schools in Eswatini and other reasons too in other countries may compel you to homeschooling for a certain period of time. Unless ofcourse you fall in love with it then pursue it until your children are done with high school.
The choice is yours as a parent and none is much better than the other. We just fell in love with homeschooling and pursued it. Now i share what i have learnt.
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