Making the Move to Home Education
This article assumes that you have been through the registration process, or have at least set the wheels in motion, have made a definite decision that homeschooling is for you and have decided on the method and/or curriculum you will follow. It is time to take practical steps toward making a start!
1. Get Support
If you have not already done so, join a support group now. Whether this is a local group, even a loose network of friends who are already educating children at home, or the Home Education Network, you are going to need support and it can be very reassuring to have the advice and wisdom of others who have been down the same road.
2. Make Space!
It is essential to set
aside space where you will keep educational material and equipment, books, a
computer, software and all the other paraphernalia that you WILL accumulate.
Even if you are short of space and the kitchen table will be the main scene of the action when you are learning at home, getting some shelves up or a cupboard or two specifically for learning material is really necessary. It does not have to be expensive, Argos is a good source of inexpensive and unfussy storage systems that work very well. These ones are especially good: wheeled storage unit and a bigger one and an even bigger one.
Clear a wall for sticking work on, along with a calendar and a notice board. Lots of small baskets, jars or boxes for holding pencils, art materials and so on are also useful - start collecting them now.
3. Plan and Set Goals
No matter what method of homeschooling you intend to follow you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there. This is not just about the academic side of learning, you need to plan how you will incorporate time for physical activity into your routine, how you will arrange and schedule opportunities for your child to meet and socialise with other children, what community or outside the home activities (such as say dance lessons, team sports or scouting) will your child be involved in? Which of these things are most important will be specific to your family, but you must plan for them and have a clear view of what you want from them if everything is not to descend into chaos.
In each case write down in detail what you want your child to have achieved by the end of a year, possibly with milestones along the way.
4. Create a Schedule
For some people the very mention of a schedule is enough to make them come over all funny, but it is very helpful, especially at the start, to have some idea of how you will use your time daily and weekly. Build in time for the activities mentioned above as well as for field trips and visits to the library. Some outings may need to be planned well in advance, for example visits to exhibitions or events that need to be booked or are on for a short time only. Scheduling relevant learning prior to and after such visits will greatly enhance their educational worth.
No schedule is set in stone, flexibility is perhaps the greatest asset of homeschooling. You can adapt it to suit changing circumstances. Be sure to refer to your goals when creating your schedule, they should work together towards a common aim.
5. Set a Budget
You may be in the fortunate position of having few or no constraints on the amount of money you have to spend, but for most homeschoolers the seemingly constant need to buy new learning materials, replenish stocks of equipment and pay for outside activities can present quite a financial challenge. You need to decide from the outset how much you can afford to spend, then ring fence that money. Divide it up into different mini budgets - say one for purchasing essential stock, such as art materials, paper and so on, one for spending on activities, visits to places of interest and the like and one for buying books, software and other educational materials. Look for materials that fit your budget rather than being tempted by those that will blow it all in one go.
A good place to buy inexpensive consumables is Viking Direct, who although they are an office supply business will deliver, and very quickly, to home addresses. (As an aside, they also have a very good range of well priced metal shelving - which we use and have found very durable.)