Getting Started In Home Teaching Added: 06/16/2007

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School is out and summer is here. Now is the time to reflect on the past school year. What went well? What areas does your child need some additional help with? What are your overall feelings about the past year? If you felt as though things went well and were satisfied with the overall level of education your child received, great. You will probably not need to make any changes for next year. However, if your assessment of the year is not so positive, you may want to consider making some changes. Perhaps the teacher was not a good match for your child. You can make a request for a teacher that will match your son or daughter’s learning style better. Maybe you did not like the school as a whole. Most districts allow for open enrollment to other schools within the district or to schools in a different district. If the window for open enrollment within the public schools has closed, there are always private schools to consider. Private schools do have a price tag attached to them, however. If these choices are not appealing, you may be thinking you are out of options, but you are not. Home schooling one’s child is becoming popular once again in America. If you have the time to manage it, home teaching your child may be an avenue to consider.

In a home teaching situation, the parents assume full responsibility for the education of their child. If considering this option, it is important for the parent to learn more about education at home. The first thing one should do is consult with the state’s Department of Public Instruction in the state in which one lives. The Department of Public Instruction will inform the parent interested in home teaching what specific requirements need to be met. More than likely there will be requirements related to reading, language arts, and math.

Once one knows the requirements of the state, one can then begin thinking about curriculum. There are many commercially available curriculum packages for sale from on-line sites. These curriculum packages can be faith based or secular. Some curriculum packages can also be tailored to meet specific learning styles and needs. Commercially available curriculum packages will be an expense of home teaching. If one does not wish to incur this expense, library books and real life learning experiences can take the place of text books. This approach to home teaching, however, will be much more time consuming and involve more research and creativity on the part of the parent. One can also contact their local public school and find out if the school operates a virtual school program. In a virtual school situation, education of the child still takes place in the home but through the use of on line lessons and tutorials. The curriculum programming is developed and monitored by the public school system. The parents can also check to see if the school will provide the computer for the child’s use at home.
Another great way to learn more about education at home is to get in contact with a home school association. These organizations have members who are currently in home teaching situations. Making these contacts and networking with people in home teaching will help ensure a successful experience for the person just starting out.

Your child’s education is very important to you as a parent. You want nothing but the best for your son or daughter. If public and private schools can not meet your child’s learning needs, maybe you can. Do some research, learn more about home teaching, and then make an informed decision about what the best course of action would be.

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