School Is Where The Home Is

Summary: Schools are learning institutions with set values and philosophies that they tend to inculcate in their method of teaching. Usually, a parent's decision as to which school to send their children to are based on precisely the values and philosophies that these institutions are known for. If however, as a parent, you feel that no school or learning institution share your values then perhaps you are better off home schooling your child or children. Home schooling differs from...

Schools are learning institutions with set values and philosophies that they tend to inculcate in their method of teaching. Usually, a parent's decision as to which school to send their children to are based on precisely the values and philosophies that these institutions are known for. If however, as a parent, you feel that no school or learning institution share your values then perhaps you are better off home schooling your child or children. Home schooling differs from regular, traditional schooling only in the sense that the child learns all the regular lessons except that he or she does not learn this inside a school room. It is important to note however that home schooling should include taking field trips, incorporating music and physical education into the child's curriculum, and other duties involved in a regular school day like grading papers and such. It is also important that the child's social development not be taken for granted. One of the main contentions in home schooling verus traditional learning is that the child or children may not be able to exercise and develop social skills properly since they are not around other children that they would otherwise be in contact with inside a traditional classroom.To get the most out of home schooling and to know if home schooling is for you and your child, below are links to really good home schooling resources on line. Jon's Homeschool Resource (http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/) This site is one of the largest home schooling resource you will find on the Internet because of the amount of useful content it has in it. Even better is the fact that this is a non-commercial site which means that the site will not try to sell you anything so that anything you read or learn from the site can be considered neutral as opposed to sites that offer information on home schooling as a marketing tool to sell their products. The author of the site is a parent who actually does home schooling for his children. You'll find useful and empathetic answers to your frequently asked questions on this site. The Home Schooling Advantage for Socializing (http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/faqs/a/socialjacobs_2.htm) As mentioned above, one of the biggest concerns raised against home schooling is that home schooled children may not be able to develop social skills as well as children who are taught inside a traditional setting. In this particular site however you will find an article by someone who was actually home schooled as opposed to learning inside a classroom. Here you will read about how learning at home as opposed to in a classroom did nothing to deter him from developing the proper social skills needed for a fully functioning adult in our society. Look out also for other useful links found in the pages of the article to point you in the right direction on learning more about home schooling and other rich resources on line. Learn in Freedom (http://learninfreedom.org/hsguides.html) Here is another great home schooling resource online that showcases what's new and current in the home schooling world. The page is straight forward and easy to navigate, and puts more meat into their content rather than their appearance. This a great site to get started or improve your home schooling.