Continuing the list of considerations relating to children learning at home are as follows:
Some children may require a ‘refresher’ - time off from formal academic study with lots of informal and experiential based learning. Far from being a ‘holiday’, which is what it resembles, this time can be used to show both child and parent the educational value in many day to day activities, including play and spontaneous investigations. During this time parents can begin to understand the child’s unique learning style.
Often children need reassurance that they are keeping up with their peers. They need to be reminded frequently that they are learning, but perhaps different things, in different ways, and at different times from their friends. When home educated children have returned to school they are often surprised they have progressed amazingly in some areas and are ahead of their peers, while in others they are‘behind’. Subject matter and skills not covered in the home environment are usually easily ‘picked up’ or learned at school. When education is considered a life long process, arbitrary grades and levels lose their importance!
It is important to provide a network of caring, supportive and trusted adults outside of the home whom your child can access at any time. This is true of schooled children as well.
To be successful the learning program needs to be tailored to the needs and interests of the children, and based on their personal learning styles. This is gained from conscientious observation of your children - at work or play. How you learned as a child may be vastly different from how your child learns. Current lifestyles and expectations from education have changed enormously from your own childhood years, and technology presents challenges to most parents. Remember this as you develop learning programs - what and how you learned may have suited you, but your children are different!
Flexibility, trial and error, and a little research are the learning tools of the home educating parent - no different from parenting really!
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