Homeschooling From A to Z

Carolyn D Tatem

• Publisher: Forever Publishing
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN: 9780996285186
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Have you considered homeschooling?Perhaps you are not happy with the education that your child is currently receiving in a traditional school.Maybe your child is an above average student or one who is not working up to their full potential.You may have the privilege of being a stay at home parent but have never considered educating your own children. Why not? You may not know anything about homeschooling or realize that it is an option.Allow the author, Carolyn Tatem the opportunity to tell you more about her homeschooling journey.

Homeschooling from A to Z provides a glimpse of what homeschooling is all about. Principles from A to Z are shared from the author's experience on homeschooling from elementary through high school, a seven year journey. These principles are designed to help homeschooling parents and help their children THRIVE!

This book is for you if...

1.You want to learn more about homeschooling

2.You are considering homeschooling

3.You are already homeschooling

Chapter One

The A Principles

Attitude

Homeschooling! “Why would anyone want to do that? It’s easier to just send your children to school.” This was my original attitude towards homeschooling. You see, I am an educator and I was very happy with being in a classroom teaching other people’s children. I believe that they learn so much by being in a classroom with others, good and bad. Therefore, it took me a while to decide to homeschool. My original attitude was negative. I didn’t think it could be done well, and I wasn’t sure that I could successfully educate my children.

Your attitude determines your altitude. Your attitude is your disposition and feelings towards homeschooling. If you don’t take it seriously then you will not be serious about putting in the necessary time, discipline and work that is required to be successful. Your altitude refers to the extent or distance upward. Therefore, if you have a good attitude towards homeschooling, you and your child can reach high heights. It is so important to have a positive attitude and to see homeschooling as a privilege because not everyone can homeschool.

In addition to having a positive attitude, you need to realize the seriousness of educating your child. In order to homeschool permanently, you have to withdraw your child from the traditional educational system and come up with a plan to do education at home. This is serious business because you become responsible for educating your child.

The key to having a good attitude is to keep putting good information in your mind and your thoughts. Also, you should surround yourself with people who are homeschooling or who have successfully completed their homeschool journey. When you see that it can be done and done successfully, it is very encouraging. You will need to encourage yourself on a regular basis. You must tell yourself things like: “I can do this, I want to do everything that I can to help my child succeed, I may not know everything but God is going to provide everything that I need to successfully homeschool.” He will put the right people in place to help you on this journey.

Since homeschooling is a different educational path, I have had many days where I questioned myself. “Why are we doing this? I could simply enroll my children back into a traditional school setting.” There is an easier way; why am I choosing the more challenging way? Not only have I questioned myself but there are other people who will come along and question your decision to homeschool. Some people have a negative attitude towards homeschooling because they really don’t know much about it. They have an idea of what they think homeschooling is and usually it’s not a positive view. Some will even volunteer to share their negative views with you. If you are not confident and walking with a positive attitude, you will be discouraged. I can honestly say that there have been many days where I have questioned and doubted my ability to homeschool successfully but each time, God would send someone or do something to let me know that this was the path that He wanted for our family. Be encouraged to have a good attitude and to keep believing God for a successful journey. Speak positively each day and don’t give up. Remember; your attitude does determine your altitude!

Acceptance

Although more people are choosing to homeschool today, not everyone accepts the idea. I can remember when I first made the decision and started telling a few people. The expression on some people’s faces was enough to let me know that they did not like the idea. A few even came out and said, “Why would you want to do that?” I specifically remember someone telling me, “I pay taxes so that my children can go to the public school, so I wouldn’t be caught homeschooling.” Sometimes it may be your “friends,” your children’s “friends” and other times it could be family. I never thought I would get flak from people, but then I realized I didn’t need to broadcast it to everyone. I got tired of hearing people’s negative comments although every now and then I got some positive comments too. Nevertheless, you should be convinced that homeschooling is what you are determined to do. Once you decide to take the homeschooling journey, you need to stick to it regardless of the naysayers.

Everyone does not accept the idea of homeschooling because oftentimes, they don’t understand how you can homeschool successfully. People often think the worst. They think your child /children will be lacking social time or something else. They also think that your child couldn’t possibly be learning everything that they need by being homeschooled.

I had no idea that my daughter was receiving so much flak throughout her homeschool years until she got ready to apply for college and wrote her college essay. She talked about her homeschooling years and how challenging it was as far as dealing with people. Instead of saying something to me, some people would approach my children and have questions for them. The questions always seemed to be interrogating. “So, what are you learning or what did you do today?” My daughter told me that sometimes she would meet other children who would have something negative to say about homeschool. Some would even make comments like; “I would not want to be around my mother all day.” Hearing these negative comments made my daughter uncomfortable with sharing that she was homeschooled when she was younger. As the years went by, she was older and became more comfortable with saying; “I’m homeschooled.” Remember; everyone is not going to accept your decision to homeschool. You must make the decision to homeschool, go forward and be encouraged!

Accountability

When I really want to accomplish a goal, I seek accountability. There is something about sharing with someone who will encourage you and hold you to what you say you are going to do. Most of the goals that I have successfully accomplished have been because I had some form of accountability. In the areas of reading, writing, exercise and weight management, I have had a person to hold me accountable.

I have friends who were homeschooling, and they would check to see how we were doing. I highly recommend connecting with someone or an organization that will hold you accountable. Without accountability, I know that I am likely to slack off, and I never wanted to slack off with my children’s education. Some parents choose to connect with a representative from the state that they live in. A representative from the homeschooling office can come to meet with you and your children as a form of accountability also to make sure that you are doing what you are supposed to be doing. I chose to sign up under a Homeschool Umbrella as a form of accountability. I will share more about homeschool umbrellas in the U Chapter.

Having accountability means having someone that you will report to specifically in reference to homeschooling. Your child’s education is very important, so you want to make sure that you are giving them your best. You should make sure that your children are learning on a consistent basis and that you have documentation to prove that they are learning. You should be able to explain your homeschooling schedule and how you go about educating your children. When you homeschool, you are responsible for your child’s education and you want to successfully get the job done. There are so many things that you may not have thought about so having accountability is great.

Attendance

Although there is a lot of flexibility with homeschooling, attendance is very important. You have to make sure that your child is being educated on a consistent basis. This means there should be dedicated time specifically for learning and educating your children. It is so important to have a daily schedule and routine for you and your child. Map out what should be done each day and the amount of time that will be allocated for learning. Be sure that you stick to the schedule so that your child can get enough work completed in each subject. As a parent, it is important you are present to oversee, give feedback, check schoolwork and to encourage your home­schooler along the way.

I kept an attendance book that documented the days that we had school. I also would write down what we focused on each day and record anything that was graded. Keeping good records of their attendance is key. Each state has a certain number of days that students should be in school; you should know the number of days and be sure to comply. If you have a review with the state or a homeschooling umbrella, you may be asked the number of days your kids have had school.

Consistency in attendance is important because it helps your children to develop a daily routine. When you consistently get up, get them ready to learn and work with them, they develop the discipline that will carry them through their years of being educated. As homeschooling parents, we must remember that if we don’t show up, our kids don’t get educated. We are responsible for educating our children. Good attendance in homeschooling is just as important as good attendance in any other school. You must show up to start the learning process!

Chapter Two

The B Principles

Balance

Whenever I think about the word balance, I think about a balance scale that is normally used to symbolize justice and law. The scale swings from one side to the next based on the side that has the heavier weight. I visualize this scale and used to think that balance is giving everything an equal amount of time every day. However, one day I heard someone teach on balance and they explained that balance is about praying and asking God what your focus for the day needs to be. Based on who or what needs more time and attention, that’s how you should plan to balance while homeschooling.

If you have more than one child, you will need to balance your time and attention for each child. For example, if you have three children, each child will have daily work but you may divide your time to give each one-on-one time as needed. Some children may require more time than others. You will need to evaluate the age, needs and the ability of each child to determine how much time you need to designate. Balance is necessary when you have one child or multiple children; each child needs one-on-one time with the teacher. If you have an older child, they may be able to help you with th...

Table of contents

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Chapter Ten
• Chapter Eleven
• Chapter Twelve
• Chapter Thirteen
• Chapter Fourteen
• Chapter Fifteen
• Chapter Sixteen
• Chapter Seventeen
• Chapter Eighteen
• Chapter Nineteen
• Chapter Twenty
• Chapter Twenty-One
• Chapter Twenty-Two
• Chapter Twenty-Three
• Chapter Twenty-Four
• Closing
• About the Author