Home Schooling Authority

The Montessori system of Home Schooling education is named after its creator, Dr. Maria Montessori who was a doctor, scientist, philosopher and anthropologist. She perceived that external influences do not just influence a young child’s mine, they form it.  Therefore the aim of the teacher is not to control or impart knowledge to a child, but to create an environment where the child is exposed to the desired influences.

This concept is best created in the home, which explains the popularity and success of the Montessori HomeSchooling system. No matter what, or where the child ends up going to school, there are still going to have some negative influences. Some children are just naturally unhappy in large groups. Others will pick up  habits from badly behaved children or even develop anti social tendencies. The aim of the Montessori system is not to correct these things, but to prevent them from happening in the first place. While this can be achieved with some success in a regular school environment, it can be done best in the home in a Montessori home school.

In a Montessori Home School children are allowed to be free in their own environment. This allows a child to express its natural curiosity and as concepts a grasped, a need for order and organization develops and along with that so does self discipline. Obviously the safest place for a young child to be given this freedom is at home.

Young children have an innate desire to do things for themselves, either out of curiosity or to imitate the action of elders. The Montessori home school will provide children to participate in “adult” activities like cleaning, washing, gardening and so on. When a child is involved in these “natural” activities, things like learning what the letters C A T spell becomes equally natural. The Montessori home school allows children to learn by allowing freedom to their desire to understand. Allowing this freedom to children allows their self confidence and self esteem to also grow.

In a Montessori home school the parent does not direct the child towards subjects to learn. Rather the parent follows the child’s natural inclinations and curiosity to support him or her in their efforts to understand what interests them. Of course, not everything will interest every child but the satisfaction children get from understanding things that interest them will lessen their resistance, in later years, to studying subject that are not appealing to them. The subconscious memory of the satisfaction that comes from understanding will overcome many of the barriers to studying “boring” subjects.

The Montessori home school is a positive way to begin a child’s education. Even if later on parents decide to send their children to regular schools, the benefits of the Montessori home school will stay with the child for life. By allowing children to progress at their own pace and making understand that there are things they want to learn as well as things they are required to learn, a balanced outlook towards life is created in the minds of the children and this balance will stand them in good stead when they move out on their own.

Home School Jewel is a new community website all about homeschooling your children. Come by Home School Jewel today and join the site for free and you get a free Homeschooling Basics EBook just for signing up! Come by Home School Jewel Today for your free Ebook on Home Schooling.

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HomeSchooling has come a long way. From the early days when parents merely passed on what knowledge they had, perhaps sometimes supplemented by instruction from an itinerant tutor, it is now an acceptable alternative to institutionalized education and is a legal alternative for parents in all fifty states.

While home school allows parents to decide, within certain prescribed parameters, what and how they will teach their children, it is always advisable to work with a recognized home school curriculum.  There are many Home School curricula available; all with different approaches and philosophies to education and the teaching and learning process. What every home school curriculum has in common is that is works towards ensuring that at the end of the home schooling process, a child has achieved a sufficient level of knowledge and developed the cognitive skills to enable him or her to function successfully in the outside world. Among the popular home school curricula parents can choose from are (in alphabetical order):

· Charlotte Mason
· Classical
· Computer based / Online
· Eclectic
· Literature based
· Montessori
· Relaxed
· Text and work book
· Thomas Jefferson
· Unit study
· Unschooling
· Virtual
· Waldorf

The best way to understand the different types of curricula and the advantages and drawbacks of each is to study them all in detail. Extensive data is available on the internet. What it really comes down to is some soul searching and figure out what your life goals are for your child and go from there. Each HomeSchooling curriculum will have its own objectives so it is important to find one that is right for your child’s future.

Balance this by considering your child’s learning style. The great advantage of home schooling is that child may learn in a way that suits him or her best. Forcing a home school curriculum on a child who is not suited to that way of learning defeats the whole purpose of home schooling. If it is possible, attend a few home schooling fairs that will give you an opportunity to interact with the companies offering the various curricula to understand more and also ask questions.

You will always have certain needs and regulations that you really want so do some checking to see what meets your requirements. What you have left are home school curricula to choose from that are both legal and suitable for your child.

While working with the chosen home school curriculum is important, you do not have to be bound to following the procedure to the smallest detail. You can modify the curriculum to meet your child specific needs. If your child is more of a “practical” learner, focus more or practical work than on “classroom” work. What is important is the level on knowledge the child acquires at what stage of his or her education, not so much as to how it was learned.

Keep searching the internet and magazines / catalogs for new materials and programs that you can consider using.

Remember that you do not have to purchase all the material from the same company. An Eclectic Home Schooling Curriculum allows you to buy curricula for different subjects from different suppliers.

Home School Jewel is a new community website all about homeschooling your children. Come by Home School Jewel today and join the site for free and you get a free Homeschooling Basics EBook just for signing up! Come by Home School Jewel Today for your free Ebook on Home Schooling.

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Through much of human history, the only education children received was from their parents. It was only in the middle ages that special institutions were set up to impart education, and this too was only to the socially elite and royalty. The education imparted at these institutions was what is called Classical Education – the study of history, philosophy, ancient languages and perhaps some rudimentary science. Most children were apprenticed – they learned a vocation either from their fathers or from a skilled tradesman. This was the education that saw them through life.

It was only in the late 17th century that compulsory education began in the West.  This was a concept the early settlers brought with them to America.  Families moving out from the east coast to settle the virgin lands to the west were basically on their own and what little education was available to children was given by the parents. But schools soon followed and by the end of the 19th century, schooling was available to most American children. However, by the middle of the 20th century, people were beginning to question the prevailing education system and the type of learning it imparted. It was at this time that the concept of Home School emerged, or to be historically accurate, re-emerged.

So what exactly is home schooling? In this form of education, instead of an institution doing the teaching it is the family that is coming together to help each other learn. Home schooling is legal in all the fifty states and while the specifics of the rules and regulations governing this form of education differ from state to state, in general the parents have freedom to choose when, how and what their children will study, subject to the end result being that the children have certain minimum levels of knowledge is various subjects.

Home School should not be confused with home study which is institutionally supervised education programs for those who would like to attend school but can not. This include such forms of education as Independent Study Programs where visiting teachers visit students who are unable to attend school, for a variety of legitimate reasons which can include physical or learning disabilities, on a regular basis to set the study schedule and monitor progress. Many school districts also offer support programs for children who are unable to attend school due to sickness and injury. These programs are designed to allow the children to keep up with the class work until they are able to return to school. Neither of these or other home study plans offer parents any control over what and how their children study and so cannot be called home schooling.

There are many reasons why parents opt for HomeSchooling . Among the most common are:

· Control over what their children will learn
· Maintaining and developing the family bonds which need not be affected because the child must go to school.
· The option of being able to understand and respond to a child’s special needs
· Concerns about the safety of children in schools and also about the journey to and from there.
· Home schooling provides a huge amount of flexibility. Parents who travel often are able to adjust the study schedules so as to take their children with them.

Home School Jewel is a new community website all about homeschooling your children. Stop by Home School Jewel and if you decide to become one of our free members you will get three free homeschooling basics books just for signing up! Visit today for your free ebooks especially for you so stop by Home School Jewel today.

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The huge variety of Home School supplies available does not make choosing what to buy easier – it makes it harder.  With so much choice and brands that promise the earth and yet are often so like one another, parents are often left in a quandary as to what  to buy.  Before going on to a few tips on buying home school supplies, let us first define what exactly we mean by the term.Home Schooling Supplies are a good part of home schooling but they aren’t the only thing that you need for home schooling. Not so. In the case of home schooling all the stationery, arts and crafts materials, computer accessories and so on are left out. These are common to all schooling needs, be they regular school or home schools. When people talk of home school supplies what they are talking about is the teaching material the one thing you as a parent need to be able to school your children at home.

· One size does not fit all. The materials your friends used for Home Schooling their kids may not work for yours. Sometimes we forget but as parents you know the best about your childs persoanlity and their learning temperament. Choose material that presents what you want them to learn in a way that appeals to them. Sometimes the best thing to do is consult some people in your area for help on what they purchase.
· Don’t forget yourself. Belief in what you are teaching is one of the most important parts of being a teacher. If you are not clear about what is presented or unhappy with the way it is, you will never be at ease when teaching your children and an uncomfortable teacher is never a good teacher. And remember kids are smart. If they feel you do not believe in what you are saying, they won’t accept it either.
· All education material is biased! Be it the author or the publisher, every bit of educational material will be presented from particular point of view. It does not mean that some are right and some are wrong. It means that every subject can be viewed from many different angles. Make sure the materials you use are the ones that are based on the concepts that made you choose home schooling.
· Expect waste when you first start buying Home School supplies. Its as much a learning process for you as it is with your children. You will make mistakes and buy the wrong things. Don’t waste time brooding about it. You have learned something that will help you the next time so move on.
· The internet has tons of sites offering home school supplies. Visit them and see what is available but don’t start buying right away. Just note down the product details, prices and deliveries. Make a list of what catches your interest. Do some more research on each item to be sure it is what you are looking for.
· If you are lucky enough to have a retail store that specializes on home school supplies take the list down there and see for real what you saw in the screen. Retail stores rarely have the variety of materials on line shops do, but there’s no harm in trying.

Home School Jewel is there to help you through the home scooling process. Stop by Home School Jewel and if you decide to become one of our free members you will get three free homeschooling basics books just for signing up! Visit Home School Jewel to get your free 3 books all on homeschooling just for signing up to be a free member of the site.

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Parents opt for Home School because they believe that this will offer their children a  better education than that which they would receive in a regular school. It is most unlikely that parents would opt for home schooling as a means of saving money, although the presumption that it will be cheaper than a regular school is something that enters the minds of most parents. Unfortunately, this is a wrong assumption. The costs that could be saved by home schooling is really not the reason why one should choose homeschooling because the cost savings really aren’t that much.

Giving your child the best education at home means high Home School costs. Top quality education needs top quality equipment – up to date text books and course material, a library, computers and accessories, lighting, special furniture etc. Schools can buy items in bulk for a lot cheaper than you can buy one single item.

One factor often over looked is not the additional direct expense but the loss of income that should be added to home schooling costs.  One parent, usually the mother, will stay at home to teach the children. One the assumption that she has a level of education that makes her competent to teach the children, she could have been working and bringing money home. Some times the best example is around the corner with the parent who has a college degree and stays home to home school their children. What could the earnings from a job have been? A good amount.

Also there will be areas which the parents can’t cover, like perhaps physics or chemistry. Getting a tutor for these subjects can be very expensive.

The reality is is that the costs don’t have to be so expensive and out of your budget. The size of the family is an important consideration. Sometimes its nice to have materials that can be used and maybe even passed along to other younger children. HomeSchooling support groups often circulate and reuse material. Online discount home school suppliers are another cost effective option, as are buying used books, if you are sure of what you are getting.

Membership to public libraries, and taking children to reduced price shows (home schoolers can easily go for weekday matinees) at theatres, operas and ballets are another money saving option. 

Money that would have been spent on tutors, as mentioned above, can sometimes be saved by a barter system. For instance, the mother of a 9 year old may teach anther child English along with hers. In return the other child’s parent will teach both the children maths.

Costs for home schooling aren’t assured to be less than normal home schooling but you need to sit down and take a look at the costs as there is nothing wrong with that. And remember , the costs are only in material terms. When you are able to decide what your child should be taught, when he or she should learn it, how they will learn  and are able to focus the home school experience on building a better life for your child than he or she could have received from a regular school education, you are profiting in ways that cannot be measured in money terms.

Home School Jewel is a new community website all about homeschooling your children. Come by Home School Jewel today and join the site for free and you get a free Homeschooling Basics EBook just for signing up! Visit Home School Jewel to get your free 3 books all on homeschooling just for signing up to be a free member of the site.

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Home schooling has been around in its present form for nearly 40 years, is gaining in popularity and is legal in all 50 states. Really no matter what there is still controversy. Sadly, the home school controversy stems from both ignorance and the self interest of some groups. You can get your best information from the parents who are home schooling and they will tell you the true truth of the opinions of home schooling. The school system and Parent Teacher Associations who feel that home schooling reflects badly on them, are active in their criticism.

Unfortunately, it is not only schools and PTAs that pass judgment of HomeSchooling . Family, friends and neighbors all chip in with their opinions and since in most cases home schooling is something they have never experienced and have no knowledge of, the advice parents get is nearly always negative. People have become conditioned to associate a school – the buildings, classrooms, labs and gyms – with education. They feel that without the formal physical structure, there can be no educations. They are unable to comprehend that education is a process of transfer and acquiring knowledge and the physical structures only support the process and do not control it. They feel home schooled children are being deprived of what should rightfully be given to them. In extreme cases the children are even discriminated against in matter of play and social activities.

Another area of Home School controversy is the fact that home school means one parent give up a job and the income from it to stay at home and teach. The argument here goes that the additional income would improve the family’s standard of living and would allow the children to go to a “good” school and get a “proper” education.

One area of genuine concern that many people have is that Home Schooling children are cut off from their peers and will grow up lacking the social skills needed to survive in our modern world or even just to be able to go to college. This is true but to a large extent could be over come by an understanding of what home school is, why the parents have made this choice and support in terms of encouraging social interaction between children going to regular school and home schoolers.

Yet another cause of the home school controversy is the question of extracurricular activities – dramatics, sports, academic competitions and so on. This is one area where the concern is based on, at least to some extent, reality. While some state laws say a home schooled child should be allowed to participate in all activities of the local school board, other states require a child to attend a regular school to be eligible to participate. Whatever the law, the fact remains that a home schooler will not be able to be a member of a school sports team, act in plays and the many other things that a regular school provides. A home schooler also has less opportunity for the normal school high jinks that are very much apart of growing up. These problems can also be helped through various support groups that are out there.

In the end it is for the parents to weigh the pro and cons of home schooling and make their own decision. Home schooling is not a perfect solution, but if society would stop finding reasons against home schooling and instead find way to support families who have opted for home schooling, no one would lose.

Home School Jewel is a new community website all about homeschooling your children. Come by Home School Jewel today and join the site for free and you get a free Homeschooling Basics EBook just for signing up! Come by Home School Jewel Today for your free Ebook on Home Schooling.