I keep seeing the following types of questions on homeschooling boards all over the internet. (while you are here, visit our homeschool boards):
- How do I homeschool my child for 1 year?
- I do not like my child’s teacher, should I homeschool him this year?
- We are homeschooling this year to take a break from school, what am I required to do?
Yikes!
As a homeschooler, I am afraid to say that homeschooling for 1 year is a bad thing for everyone involved.
It takes more than 1 year to be successful at homeshooling: Studies show that the longer a child is homeschooled, the more that child will be advanced over his peers. It will take several months just for the parent to understand how the child learns and to create a workable plan. Until then, the biggest success you will see is a more relaxed child who is up to date with what his peers are doing in school. If going back to school the next year is looming over the child’s head, chances are, they will not relax and will likely fall behind.
Homeschooling needs to be consistent and ongoing: To put a child in school, take them out again, and put them back in, and possibly out again is akin to moving a child to a different school every six months. Any military kid knows that socially, emotionally, and/or academically, failure is imminent. A child needs a sense of consistency, and homeschooling can create that, in a stable environment.
Homeschooling is not a break from school: Homeschooling is a substitute for school. By using it to take a year off, you are essentially, causing your child to lose a year. If your child truly needs a year off from the stresses of school, see if your school district has a school at home option that includes an online curriculum and supervision. If your child is to return to the school next year, then you will want to ensure that he or she has covered all of the academics as his or her peers did in the year your child was away.
Please read:
The Deschooling Series: The Fallacy of Traditional School
The Deschooling Series: The Fallacy of Good Grades