Guide for Parents

February 9, 2023 Rachelle 0 Comments 3:08 pm

Homeschooling 101: Things You’re Doing Wrong While Aiding Your Child in Learning From Home

If homeschooling is challenging for your child, sure enough, you are experiencing the same thing too. To be your child’s teacher all of a sudden isn’t easy.

Where will you start? How will you teach your child? How will you know if your child is learning or not? What will you teach?

There are only some of the questions that you are going to ask once you switch into homeschooling. You might have found answers into these questions and have practised them already.

But little did you know, some of the solutions you have found online are wrong. They are just making this harder for you and your child.

In this article, we will show you the most common mistakes that parents make with their homeschooling child.

Table of Contents

What is homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a progressive movement around the world wherein instead of sending their children to school, parents opt to educate them at home.

Choosing to jump into homeschooling is due to varied reasons. Some parents choose it because they are not satisfied with the quality of education that they get from school.

Others prefer homeschooling because of their religious or educational philosophies. There are even parents who choose to homeschool their children because they think they can do better or their child has special needs.

Regardless of their reasons, homeschooling has become one of the hottest trends nowadays. It has been around for quite a long time too.

In fact, the movement began around 50 years ago. And up to this time, approximately 2 million children are homeschooled in the U.S.

Practices You’ve Been Doing it Wrong with Homeschooling

how-to-handle-homeschooling — Homeschooling is challenging and mistakes are unavoidable.

Giving all their activities at once.

Sure, it’s tempting to just give what they have to do in bulk, but can they cope up with it? No, it will just stress them.

Giving your child everything he has to accomplish within the day or week isn’t advised at all. Simply seeing them would make him dizzy.

We, adults, find it even hard when you are piled up with a lot of tasks. What more with children, right?

The best thing to do is to give your child one activity at a time. It might be time-consuming, but this is one of the best ways for him to learn effectively.

In addition, this might also pressure him that he will end up not doing anything at all. In some cases, your child might even lose the motivation or drive to learn.

Being strict with study time.

One of the benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility that it offers not just to you but also to your child. Being strict with his study time, in most cases, isn’t helpful at all.

Instead, let your child learn at his own pace. Do not pressure him to be studying all the time and be able to ace at everything.

Give him the flexibility to grow in all aspects. Let him make friends and expand his social circle. Allow him to play or do his hobbies.

Remember, education shouldn’t just be about the development of the brain. It should be a holistic development to be called effective education.

There’s no such thing as rushing when it comes to homeschooling. You don’t have to take them up early, and all, so give them the time to prepare before they study.

Keep in mind that with homeschooling, the luxury of time is in your hands. You don’t have a schedule to follow, and all so give your child some leeway.

Allowing your child to study just anywhere.

The flexibility of homeschooling doesn’t include allowing them to learn just anywhere. Giving them a place conducive to learning is very important.

Allowing them to study just anywhere in the house could make them distracted. The learning process could be hindered because of this.

Instead, give your child his space where he can study. Make sure that the area is warm and cozy for him to be more motivated. If possible, set up an area where he can study without any distractions.

Also, it takes a whole family to homeschool a child. This means that you should ask the support of everyone in your family. Their cooperation is very much needed in order to be successful.

For example, if your child is studying, ask everyone to keep their voices low and if not needed, do not use any device, primarily TV and radio.

Setting unrealistic expectations.

Falling into the trap of unrealistic expectations is so easy. At times, you might be frustrated because your child can’t get everything he has learned within the day.

No, homeschooling doesn’t work this way. You can’t ask your child to digest a whole book within a month. This will just make you and your child feel burned out.

Instead of setting the bar too high, adjust it for the welfare of everyone. If your child can’t get it as soon as you introduce it to him, so be it.

Allow him to grow at his own pace, not at your own pace. You are different from him. Also, do not compare him to other children. This might just frustrate him in the end. Give him the benefit to prove himself that he can do it.

When you set unrealistic expectations for your child, and he fails, he will start questioning himself that might lead to a bigger problem. He might even question himself for not doing enough.

So, the best thing to do is just let him be. No expectations, just lots of support.

Becoming a slave to your homeschool curriculum.

One of the most common mistakes committed by parents with homeschooled children is that they allow themselves to be directed by the curriculum. Parents like this push their children too hard even when their children can’t do it anymore.

At times like this, more or less, your child might just want to pull his hair off.

Instead of allowing you and your child to be slaves of the homeschool curriculum, make it the other way around. If your child can’t get the lesson, skip it. You have all the time to go back to it when your child is ready.

Do not force him to learn things he isn’t ready to figure out. It’s always okay to skip a lesson or even an entire course.

To make this easier, find an approach where you are both most comfortable. But of course, evaluate the course as well and figure out if the mistake is yours or is in the curriculum.

More often than not, taking a look at the curriculum from another perspective or simply slowing down a bit can change the whole thing. But if something doesn’t really work, do not be afraid to set it aside or move into another lesson.

In addition, do not rush your children to learn the subjects that they are most passionate about. Give them the time to study it as long as they want and go far more than what is in the curriculum.

homeschooling-problems — Homeschooling can drain you, but knowing that your child is improving makes it worth the while.

Doing it all alone.

A lot of homeschooling mistakes are due to moms trying to play superheroes by trying to do everything by themselves. More often than not, your pride stops you from asking for help, even when you can’t do it anymore.

Doing this can overwhelm you. You also lose the chance of finding a support group where you can bend for assistance in case you need it.

This isn’t really recommended. In fact, studies show that moms doing it all end up being lonely and frustrated. You might think you do need it, but you badly need to socialize. Remember, no man is an island.

As a mom to a homeschooling child, you need someone whom you can get ideas or pieces of advice from people who are on the same page as you. You need friends to whom you can be yourself.

So what you can do is to find groups where you can socialize. If you can’t find one, joining online forums can be a good option.

Conclusion

Homeschooling is tiring and fulfilling at the same time. It is a rewarding experience for you and your child.

Yes, tough days are unavoidable, but keeping away from the things mentioned above can make homeschooling more fun and effective. While it’s still early, change anything that you’ve been doing wrong all the time for better homeschooling experience.

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Know more mistakes committed by parents with homeschooled children?

Let us know in the comments section!

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Homeschooling 101: Things You’re Doing Wrong While Aiding Your Child in Learning From Home

What is homeschooling?