- Homeschooling is becoming a common topic for students and parents. Find out the benefits of homeschooling and tips on getting started!
What is homeschooling?
Homeschooling is bringing education home. Instead of sending your child to a public or private school, families choose to homeschool their children.
Reasons for homeschooling
The reason for homeschool can stem from different reasons, and here are some of the common reasons:
– Family relocating to another state or country
– Flexible learning schedule
– Cultivate and strengthen morals and values at home
What do I need to know before homeschooling my children?
1 – Your child’s future plans
Some parents would choose to homeschool their children without following a certain curriculum or have them sit for the national examinations.
Whereas some would homeschool their children and expect their children to sit for national examinations as private candidates.
Different colleges or universities may have different requirements when enrolling. Thus it is important to know which curriculum can help your child reach their dream university. It is important to discuss with your child their future plans.
2 – Materials and resources
It is good to be aware of the materials and resources you will need to teach your children at home. If you are following a certain curriculum, knowing which textbooks the curriculum uses will help give you some direction.
If you are unsure, you can always look for forums and Facebook groups that help first-time parents with homeschooling.
3 – Personal tutor
Explore and be open to options and choices. A personal tutor can help to take some of the load off you if you find your child struggling or feeling not challenged enough. A tutor can help bring additional knowledge, resources and guidance for your child in their homeschooling journey,
Online tuition could be one of the considerations as it provides families with more convenience. Online tuition is also easily accessible and available.
Tutopiya is a 1-1 Live Online Tuition that offers online tuition for children aged 7 to 19. Tutopiya offers both international and Singapore curriculum. The international curriculum would include IGCSE, IB and many more.
Our tutors are experienced and trained to deliver quality online tuition to students all over the world.
Tips on homeschooling your children
1 – Planning a schedule for your child
One of the great things about homeschooling your child is the flexibility in time. Your child does not need to follow a typical school schedule every day for 5 days a week.
Homeschooling allows you and your child to plan a schedule together. It is good to establish a time for both your child and you to sit down and start lessons.
Tips for making a schedule
Keep the studying time the same thorough your schedule
This is because it helps to build a habit for your child and their minds to settle down to start learning at a specific time of the day.
2 – Making study time enjoyable and fun
The perks of homeschooling are that you can personalise learning however you like it!
The classroom limits learning as it is not often children get to go on excursions or outside of classrooms to learn.
Since homeschooling provides your child with the opportunity to learn differently, you can always customise their learning by bringing them out of the room more often.
You can do hands-on experiments (at home or in nature) to help your child understand concepts better. You can even curate your own experiments and worksheets for your child to learn!
Youtube provides loads of home experiments that you can reference off and perform with your child.
3 – Building a study space
Building a study space for your child can help your child to get into the mood of studying. It helps your child to establish that space is for studying. It can help your child to separate work and fun.
Build a study space that has everything your child will need when they are studying. It is good to keep the room clean and uncluttered with bright lights. It is advisable to keep any books and informative materials inside the room/ near the study space for easy access.
4 – Stay in touch with homeschooling forums/ Facebook groups
It is always good to have an extra helping hand. Stay in touch with the forums and homeschooling facebook page as parents like you may share interesting information or tips.
You may even find useful information and tips that you can incorporate into your child’s learning.
Homeschooling Facebook Group Singapore
5 – Additional help from experienced teachers
On top of the lessons you provide for your child, you can also look into options like hiring a home tutor for your child.
It is always helpful to have another experienced individual to guide your child in their studies. You can look into different options such as online tuition as it provides you and your child with much more convenience.
Read also: Online tuition with Tutopiya VS Face-To-Face Tuition
Eleen Tan
I am currently a full-time student studying at a local university in Singapore while freelancing as a writer. I enjoy writing and sharing useful education-related tips with my fellow studying peers. During my leisure time, I enjoy doing creative arts and volunteering work. I am passionate about sharing my experience as a student! ☺