Thinking about homeschooling? Want to avoid the homeschooling mistakes most people make? Below you’ll find what we’ve discovered from homeschooling our 5 children from birth to college.

In 1987 homeschooling was just as newborn as our first child. We looked at homeschooling for a number of reasons which were mostly related to our academic goals. And yet, our first child’s Cerebral Palsy tipped the scales. The simple nature of having a young and impressionable soul around active and undiscerning ‘friends’ made it clear that we should homeschool.. We really didn’t want our son settling into confusion about what he was capable of doing. So, we decided to give it a try until he was old enough to physically function well around others who were his age, but weren’t his friends. We thought it would be through third grade—it lasted until he went to the University of Texas in Austin.

Now, these 23 plus years later, we know seven things that we make sure all of our homeschool coaching students start to understand–inside and out. If you want a successful homeschool embrace these seven (or violate any of these at your own risk)!

Define Homeschool Success for Yourself
Use a Curriculum that Matches Your Definition
Don’t Compete with Public or Private Schools
Find a Support Group(s) or Network
Learn to Use Systems for Success
Make Discipline a Nice Word
Find a Coach

Here’s a quick summary to get you started:

Define Homeschool Success for Yourself

Definitions determine everything. If your definition of “learning math” is to ‘get through the book’—then things will turn out very different from the family whose definition is to “learn how to do math.” The definition for homeschooling success that we use is our basic understanding of education. Education is learning how to learn. We want our students to develop skills for learning so they are prepared for anything. How sad when people think knowing information means education…especially when information changes and your are obsolete because you didn’t keep learning.

Use a Curriculum that Matches Your Definition

There are as many curricula as there are people (so it seems). Every curriculum is build on some set of assumptions or educational philosophy. Some writing curricula believe (falsely) that we learn to write by studying grammar, while others show the students the power of learning to write by actively writing (for example see http://www.advanced-writing-resources.com). Whatever the curriculum for whatever subject-make sure it matches your own definition so you aren’t caught wanting one result while using a process that takes you in the opposite direction.

Don’t Compete with Public or Private Schools

One of the great mistakes is to compete with schools. A homeschool does not have large buildings, massive funding, and a variety of specialized teachers. So, trying to produce the results they aim for will simply exhaust you. Homeschool can actually produce greater skill and knowledge, but trying to match all the subjects a school offers is chasing the wind. By the way, the students aren’t always leaving a school system as educated as you think!

Find a Support Group(s) or Network

It is the height of arrogance and the height of inefficiency to go it alone. Why not benefit from the wisdom and knowledge of others? Why not let others benefit from the insights you’ve gained along the way? There are groups online, groups in your part of the world, or groups just waiting to be started by you and a few like-minded families. You’ll never be like the people you don’t hang around…so get busy and connect for your own good.

Learn to Use Systems for Success

One of the great insights in life is how things operate by cause-and-effect. Good cooks can reproduce the same quality meal over-and-over because they follow some type of system (recipe). The practical results you see in life are largely the result of the systems we use. Homeschooling itself is a ‘different system’ of education which is aimed at a bit different result (included the character, sense of family, etc., it often affords). If you don’t have an overall sequence of steps you are moving toward following, then you can rest assured your results will be as shoddy as your system.

Make Discipline a Nice Word

One of my favorite mentors, Robert Fritz, offers a helpful definition of discipline: “Discipline is when you itch, but don’t scratch.” The truth is that some amount of discipline is necessary for learning. Very few children naturally gravitate to wanting to learn in all the areas important to education. It turns out then, that we must help them do what they don’t “feel” like doing, so they can ultimately benefit. External discipline tends to lead to life-long internal discipline. We all need help doing what needs to be done. Homeschool (or any school) simply won’t work without making discipline a nice word which is practiced often.

Find a Coach / Mentor

In many ways it is the ultimate hypocrisy to ‘tutor’ our own children without having a ‘tutor’ for ourselves. There is something powerful when we discuss, interact with, and learn from someone who is ahead of us in any field. Sports training knows the value of coaches because the competition and economics involved are so great. Without a coach you can’t compete. If you find a voice or two you trust, a person or two whose results you want to see in your life— find them, pay them, beg them to coach you. Nothing will save you more time and heartache than to learn from someone with wisdom.

Dr. Lybrand is an author and educator who is responsible for changing the lives of students all over the world through his innovative approach to applying systems thinking to practical learning. Go to http://www.homeandschoolsuccess.com for a free learning gift.

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Now that most college applications are submitted, it is time to turn your attention to financial aid applications. In tight economic times, many families are struggling and schools are as well. With the stock market crash, many colleges’ endowments were severely damaged. I know of several top schools that eliminated merit scholarships altogether. This is particularly hard on those whose income falls in the “middle income melt” range, when a family’s income is not low enough to qualify for lots of need-based assistance and not high enough to pay for a college education outright. It’s a tough spot to be in. A term you need to understand is EFC – Estimated Family Contribution. This is the amount of money the federal government determines a family can pay for college, based on the information filed in the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Most schools require the FAFSA. Some private schools also use the CSS/Financial Aid Profile, a service of CollegeBoard. The EFC is the same regardless of variable tuition, room, board, and fees at different schools. You can go to EFC’s website for more invormation. One way to possibly bring down your EFC is to fully maximize your homeschool expenses. We really are in a private school situation and bear many expenses that families in public school do not. Sit down and figure out how much it is costing you to educate your children. Go through checkbooks, credit cards statements, etc. and take good notes. * educational books and materials * magazine subscriptions * curriculum * science materials * online classes * co-op tuition * college tuition (for those enrolling concurrently) * umbrella school fees * tutors * music lessons * organizational dues * tournament fees * transportation to all these events * computers The public school has music, sports, debate, etc. and would pay for that if your children were there. Taking the time to document this information can help lower your EFC. However, I have always encouraged my clients (and my children) to hold their school choices lightly and to apply to a range of schools. If the family is financially strapped, the student needs to be prepared to go to the school that offers them the best financial deal, even if it is not their first choice. For my daughter, that meant the University of Oklahoma, which offers full rides to National Merit Scholars. She wasn’t excited about it, but knew she could get a decent education there if she was willing to make the most of every opportunity. She was fortunate in that her first choice school offered her the best financial deal as well, so she didn’t have to take up the safety option. But, she was emotionally prepared to do so. Jeannette Webb is the founder of Aiming Higher Consultants, a firm dedicated to helping Christian students gain admission to great colleges. She has a heart for assisting parents as they train their children for excellence. Jeannette works to empower families to make thoughtful choices for their younger children, to confidently navigate the difficult high school years, and then ace the college admissions process. If you liked this article, you’ll love her personalized consulting services that help you map out a holistic plan for your student at http://www.AimingHigherConsultants.com. While Jeannette is best known for her clear-sighted counseling, her clients feel that her biggest gift to their family was permission to be themselves. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeannette_Webb

Parents will opt for home schooling for several reasons from a wish to instil particular values to the desire to remove a student from an unsafe public school setting to the aspiration to offer a better quality education. But the most general, basic reason for many is the well established belief that home schooling is ultimately healthier for their child.

‘Better’ can imply an assortment of things, but it includes as many deficiencies as it does positives. The omission of bullying or peer pressure are two major features of public school that many home schooling parents aim to remove from their child’s life. But the positive side is as equally important. It has been well studied that an improved education can be achieved by home schooling over public or even the modern private schools.

And the research undertaken largely agrees: home schooling is superior for education in the vast majority of cases.

There are numerous individual achievement stories. Winning student of the 1997 National Spelling Bee contest was home schooled. Four sisters went on to achieve Master’s degrees from an Ivy League university after being home schooled.

But cases like this might be dismissed, declaring that these students, and their parents, were unusual. Also the numbers indicate that the typical home schooled pupil is within the 60-70th percentile by 12 years of age. From this, on average, they are a grade in front of their public school peers.

The figures for the elder children are often even more notable. After the average home schooled pupil reaches the equivalent to 8th grade, he or she will likely be four grades ahead of their peers. That’s to a great extent due to the poor results of some public schools as it is great results of home schooling. The figures are based upon research not purely by home school supporters, buy also by the U.S. Department of Education itself.

Although, as most home schooling tutors are aware, nothing good will come easy. Parents can feel the effects of burnout, especially when first beginning with the home schooling. As with any new assignment, it will need time to gain the knowledge require to instruct a child everything needed to develop suitably.

In accordance with a well established home school philosophy children are natural sponges for soaking up knowledge. But many home schooling tutors will feel the need to study the curriculum options, guide children, define goals, and several other duties.

But are the results from home schooling worth the effort? If the desired outcome is a keen minded, well-adjusted student ready to begin life’s challenges, for many parents that will be a simple question to respond to.

Darren Lintern writes extensively for www.andallabout.com, a popular informational website that provides helpful tips, advice, and resources on many home schooling topics including Home Schooling Programs [http://www.home-schooling.andallabout.com/Articles/If_Im_Teaching_My_Child_Why_Do_I_Need_a_Home_Schooling_Program.php], and Home Schooling Curriculum [http://www.home-schooling.andallabout.com/Articles/How_to_Plan_a_Home_Schooling_Curriculum.php].

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Home Schooling. Let’s start off by saying that home schooling is not just for the rich and powerful. Anyone can be home schooled. How do we know that? Because today in the United States there are over 1.2 million students being home schooled. It is doubtful that all of them are very rich.

Yes, home schooling does cost money but a child can be home schooled for as little as $1000 a year. Unless a family is truly poor this is not a large sum considering that comes out to about $3 a day. We spend more than that on our lunches at work.

So what about home schooling as far as it’s benefits? Is it worth it? Do kids learn better? Are they smarter when they finish? Is there anything about home schooling that is bad?

Statistics show that students who are home schooled have better grades and actually learn more than students who go to public or private schools. Of course many people argue these statistics saying they are skewed and inaccurate and some say they are outright lies.

Why the battle?

Because the one truth that can’t be argued is that home schooling is eating into public and private schools’ pocket books. The growth rate for home schooling has been rising about 15 to 25% per year of late. This is about 20% of the students outside the government school system when you look at the raw numbers mentioned above. Another 250,000 children are expected to enter home schooling in the coming year.

The number of home schooling students do present a threat to government schooling, as they are finding that you don’t have to hire super qualified teachers to get a good education for your child. And the truth is, an average family only spends about 10% of the per pupil cost that public schools spend on each child, which refutes the theory that you need to spend a lot of money to educate a child.

This does pose a significant economic threat to public schools since their school budgets depend on attendance. It is estimated that over $7 billion has been lost to public schools because of the number of children who are being home schooled.

Home schooling families are also a very powerful force in government. When a bill was introduced that all home school instructors be certified the home school community made such a loud noise that the bill was defeated by a vote of 424-1 when it came up in the house.

In an attempt to battle back, defenders of the public school system are fighting with every legal resource at their disposal. One of their tactics is the undermining and co-opting of the home schooling movement by establishing government home schooling programs which try to lure families by offering them free resources. Yes, the battle goes on and it won’t be ending any time soon.

In the next article we’ll go over exactly how home schooling works and how students earn their diplomas.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Home School
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

Saxon Homeschool Curriculum has earned its reputation for quality, reliable and affordable home school programs. It started as a curriculum for students who had difficulty in mathematics, but has grown into a complete core curriculum program, and is a leader among secular providers.  If you are still deciding what homeschooling program to use with your child, this article may help you determine if Saxon will fit your needs.

The main focus of Saxon homeschool curriculum is helping students establish a strong foundation, and learn the concepts they need to live successful, productive lives. While Saxon offers programs for public schools, private schools, and large groups, its most popular program is its personal distance-learning course.

Saxon has expanded its offerings from math courses to other disciplines. Saxon home school curriculum now includes primary, middle and high school mathematics, as well as phonics, grammar, writing and science.

The home school phonics program is designed to assist children who struggle with reading and spelling. This course covers consonants, vowels, decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. For grammar and writing, the curriculum uses a book produced by Stephen Hake, which is designed in the Saxon Math model of incremental development and continual review.

Saxon physics is designed for both average and gifted students. The topics are practiced every day, and gradually increase in complexity. It gives children time to become comfortable and master the concepts taught in each lesson.

The main difference between Saxon homeschool curriculum and other programs are in the arrangement and delivery of lessons. Saxon does not rely on rote memorization, nor does it encourage a “take it or leave it” chronological system of education. Instead, it presents concepts systematically throughout the year in a manner that allows for maximum understanding and mastery.

Saxon promotes hands-on learning. Because it relies on manipulatives and a multisensory approach to learning, children are left with a firm grasp of the concepts. Its straightforward approach to academics makes it a fine option among secular home school programs. Its unique approach makes home instruction easy for parents, and makes learning easy for children.

To read reviews of Saxon that were written by other homeschoolers, visit Saxon Homeschool Curriculum Reviews.

You may reprint this article by giving credit to the author. To post this article on your website or blog, provide a live link to http://www.successful-homeschooling.com.

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