One big advantage that homeschoolers of today have is the computer. The many ways the computer can be used to homeschool are endless. You don’t need a computer to homeschool, but the use of one can make life so much easier. While I allow my child to play on the computer by himself whenever he wants, there are some guidelines that he must follow in order to continue to be allowed to play on the computer. When he wants to play on the internet though, that’s a whole new set of rules.
The use of a computer to homeschool is helpful whether or not you are connected to the internet. You can buy an entire curriculum on a disc for the children to use (or subscribe to an online curriculum if you have internet). Children can use the computer to write papers, play educational games, work on educational programs, or use paint for lots of subjects. Jonathan uses paint for a variety of things. He has used it to visually see how many one hundred is and for addition and subtraction, he uses it all the time to make patterns, he makes maps (of our house, of our property, with directions on how to get to friends’ houses or to the store), and sometimes, one in a great while, he just uses it to paint.
We have a timer right next to the monitor and when he sits at the computer for free time, he automatically sets it for 15 minutes. That’s the rule, if he’s working on something in particular he can leave it open and go back to it during his next block of time. We do this because he can get so involved in some things so deeply that if he doesn’t do this, he would be on there for hours if he isn’t interrupted. He can go on several times a day, but only 15 minutes at a time and he has to do something else in between. If we have a day like yesterday where he continually “forgets” to set the timer and/or gets off the computer does something for a few minutes and immediately jumps back on, he looses computer privileges. It’s a three strike rule when it comes to those situations.
If Jonathan wants to go on the internet and play games it involves even more guidelines. He has several sites in his favorites that I have approved already. Most of them like PBS, Animal Planet, Noggin, and the like, or any of the subscriptions ones I have paid for, he can go on at any point in time as long as he tells me what site he is going to. If he plans on switching to a different site he has to let me know. There are a few however that he has to tell me when he is planning on going on them. Not because there has been questionable content, but because you just never know. If he wants to go on a new website, he has to tell me what he is looking for. When he is not there, I will search for what he is looking for and find appropriate ones to add to his favorites.
Computer Literacy and Children
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