HOME
SCHOOL
THINGS YOU NEED
LESSON PLANS
SCHEDULES
FORMULATING LESSON PLANS
CURRICULAR GOALS
OTHER GOALS
TIME
LEARNING STYLE
LESSON PLAN FORMAT
HOMESCHOOL LINKS
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SECTION 1
THINGS
YOU
NEED
The Ten Most Important Things You
Need to Know About Homeschooling
1. Homeschooling is life changing. It creates personal growth for
both the parent and the child. You (the parent) get a second chance
to re-discover your own special genius, while you help your children
discover theirs. Nothing you will ever do will have a more profound
effect on your child and your family's future as homeschooling.
2. You are qualified to homeschool your children if you love to read
to them, love to spend time with them, love to explore the world with
them, love to see them learn new things and, most important, love them.
3. Children love to learn. It is as natural to them as breathing. They
have an inborn hunger to explore the world and examine what is interesting.
They learn by following their interests, with one interest leading to
another. This is the way we all learned as younger children and how as
adults we learn after we leave school. Homeschooling families learn together
and know that learning is a life-long process.
4. Homeschooling is legal everywhere in the United States, but homeschooling
laws vary from state to state. The three basic categories for homeschooling
laws are: home education laws, private school laws, and equivalency laws. The
best way to find out what your state laws are is to contact a local support
group in your area. To contact a representative from your state, please visit
our list of local homeschooling groups. They are well versed in your states
particular laws and regulations and can assist you.
5. It does not take six to eight hours a day to homeschool your child. Most of
the time children spend at school consists of waiting. Design a plan that works
for your family and be prepared to scratch it several times and start over. Don't
sacrifice your family's happiness to "school" your children. There are many ways
families homeschool; find what works for you and your family.
6. Your child will not become a social misfit. Children do not need to be socialized
in a large group of same-age children to become well adjusted socially. Quite the
opposite. Most parents want their children to learn their social graces from adults,
not other children. Homeschoolers have healthy relationships with people of all ages,
including the new mother next door, the retired couple who loves to garden, their
friends at ballet, 4-H and Karate and, most important, their parents.
7. You will not have to teach algebra unless you really want to. It is not necessary
to teach pre-algebra to ten year olds. When your teen decides to become a scientist,
or is ready to explore the requirements of college admission, together you will explore
the ways they can learn algebra: in a community college class, with a tutor, or through
text books. After years of using math in their daily lives, homeschooled teens are well
equipped to teach themselves higher math. Don't worry about it when they are ten.
8. You will question yourself a lot. Maybe several times a day in the beginning. This is
normal. Find a fellow homeschooling friend. Support each other. Tell each other that it's
okay to sometimes feel that your children didn't seem to learn anything on a given day.
They did, and so did you!
9. You do not have to starve or live in a tent to homeschool your children. Thousands of
homeschooling families are able to make the money they need and homeschool their children
at the same time. While you create a family business or dream job, or restructure your
current job, your children will learn the most important skill of all- how to create the
life of their dreams.
10. Trust in your child. They learned how to love, smile, crawl, walk, talk, run, dress
themselves, and understand their world before starting school, and they will continue to
grow and learn without school.
The Ten Most Important Things You
Need to Know About Homeschooling
http://www.homeschool.com/articles/mostimportant/
DIY
HOMESCHOOLER
https://diyhomeschooler.com/
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SECTION 2
LESSON
PLANS
LESSON
PLANS
Lesson plans can be intimidating for
a parent-teacher to develop the first
time around.
Here are some simple,
helpful guidelines.
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1:
Start with the end in mind.
List three to five learning objectives
for the lesson and work backward.
For example, you might decide, "At the
end of this lesson on volcanoes, my
child should know how volcanoes are
formed, the different classifications
of volcanoes and how they have affected
and continue to affect the earth."
STEP 2:
Assess your child's prior knowledge
on the subject.
This helps to identify any gaps in
background knowledge you will need
to fill in; plus, it serves as a
starting point for the lesson,
connecting the new with the known.
STEP 3:
Plan lessons across subject areas.
For example, if you map a region in
which a historical novel takes place,
you'll multiply the return on your
lesson plan investment.
STEP 4:
Gather all necessary materials before
you start. Nothing kills interest faster
than stopping an activity halfway through
because you don't have enough empty film
canisters.
STEP 5:
Follow the three Ts of teaching:
Tell them what you're going to teach,
teach it,
tell them what you taught them.
This model maximizes learning
and retention.
STEP 6:
Include a review activity at the end
of each lesson. Be sure to produce
something for your child's portfolio,
even if it's just a snapshot of your
field trip to the crayon factory.
Tips & Warnings:
Take advantage of the flexibility
the homeschool arrangement allows.
If your child develops a keen interest
in some part of the lesson you planned
to cover briefly,
follow your child's lead.
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SECTION 3
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULES
How to Schedule Your Day for Homeschooling.
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1:
Plan your lessons weekly.
That way, if you're way behind,
or ahead in a particular subject
by Wednesday, you can adjust your
schedule for the next couple of
days to stay on track.
STEP 2:
Make a schedule and stick to it.
There's nothing wrong with some
healthy flexibility, but you
should at least start "school"
on time.
STEP 3:
Avoid getting locked into "school hours."
It's surprising how much more you can
accomplish in three hours a day than a
classroom teacher with 28 students can
in six or seven.
STEP 4:
Note that not all "school time" needs
to be "teacher time." You might try
two hours of instruction in the morning
followed by "project time" after lunch.
STEP 5:
Fit school into your life, rather than
working your life around school.
Involve your children in math lessons
related to cost per pound of grocery
items and your science lessons on
photosynthesis while you garden
together.
STEP 6:
Schedule housework into your homeschool
day in such a way that your children
participate and learn some valuable
nonacademic lessons, too.
Tips & Warnings:
Turn on the answering machine
when school starts,
and don't answer the phone
no matter what
until lessons are done.
Preschoolers, more so than babies
or toddlers, offer a tremendous
challenge to a parent trying to
homeschool older children.
They don't nap regularly or long
enough for you to give undivided
attention to lessons for any amount
of time.
If you're serious about teaching,
consider forming a cooperative or
hiring a baby-sitter to occupy your
little ones for a few hours in the
morning
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SECTION 4
FORMULATING
LESSON
PLANS
Things to Consider
When Formulating a
Lesson Plan.
SECTION 4A
CURRICULAR GOALS
The curriculum you are following will,
of course, be one of the prime guides
for the content of your lesson plan.
Identify as specifically as you can
what the student(s) will accomplish.
You may find Bloom’s Taxonomy:
which lists verbs that fit with
educational objectives, helpful
for this.
It divides cognitive skills
into 6 areas:
knowledge,
comprehension,
application,
analysis,
synthesis,
evaluation,
and each of these areas has
specific abilities and skills
within it.
You may also consider
cross-curricular
lessons:
lessons that combine goals from
different subject areas into a
single coherent presentation.
You might, for example, create a lesson
that combines language arts and science,
or visual arts with math.
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SECTION 4B
OTHER
GOALS
When curriculum is presented in a
context, sometimes there are other
skills or items to be learned as
well that are outside of the
curriculum you have chosen to the
present.
It’s still worth noting such
accomplishments.
Suppose, for example, that you are
doing a lesson to teach the shape
of certain letters.
You decide that today you will have
students use a tapestry needle and
yarn to stitch the letters on plastic
canvas.
In this case, one “other goal” might
be that the students learn to thread
a needle.
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SECTION 4C
TIME
As you progress, you will learn
the cues that help you estimate
how long a lesson may take, and
how to adapt if it’s not going
according to plan.
Keep in mind the student’s
attention span(s) as you
decide on a task.
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SECTION 4D
LEARNING
STYLE
The term learning style alerts
us to the fact that people have
different preferred ways in
which they can best interact with
the world and ways of learning.
The student’s preferred learning
style(s) is a factor to take into
account when preparing a lesson
plan.
Providing variety in the daily work
is another item to keep in mind when
creating a homeschool lesson plan.
This can apply to:
Length of time it task
takes to complete,
Means of accomplishment
computer use, paper and
pencil, painting, talking,
pantomiming, etc.
Alone or in a group,
Many steps or few steps
in the procedure,
The kind of thinking
involved.
TYPES OF LEARNING STYLES
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SECTION 5
LESSON
PLANS
FORMAT
Here is a homeschool lesson
plan format that you can
use/adapt for your purposes.
Name:
Date:
Subject:
Grade Level(s):
Students:
Summary:
In this activity,
the student/students
will learn.
Goal:
The purpose of this
activity is to:
It meets State
Standards as
follows:
Objectives:
the various component
steps that will lead
to the goal being
achieved.
Materials:
Resources:
references,
including on-line
information, videos,
books, etc.
Procedure:
Evaluation/Assessment:
Vocabulary:
How to Homeschool Your Children
http://www.wikihow.com/Homeschool-Your-Children
Preschool and Kindergarten
http://www.wikihow.com/Category:Preschool-and-Kindergarten
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SECTION 6
HOMESCHOOL
LINKS
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ESchool
Today
http://www.eschooltoday.com/
Academic Kids Free Online
Educational Encyclopedia
http://academickids.com/
Awesome Library
http:// www.awesomelibrary.org/
Children's encyclopedias
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Children%27s_encyclopedias
Difference Between
http://www.differencebetween.info/
Education.com
http://www.education.com/
Nick Jr.
http://www.nickjr.com/
Highlights Kids.com
http://www.highlightskids.com/
KIDS WORLD
http://www.kidzworld.com/
SEARCH JUNIOR
http://www.searchjunior.com/
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Earth Station Nine
http://www.earthstation9.com/
Classroom Clipart
http://classroomclipart.com/
Know it all.org
http://www.knowitall.org/
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