Homeschooling Portfolios, Scheduling & Homeschooling Benefits

Today’s topic is home schooling.  We will explore issues such as:

  1. Homeschooling Benefits
  2. Is Homeschooling Legal?
  3. Public Schooling vs Homeschooling – You Provide the Structure
  4. Homeschooling a Preschooler
  5. Homeschooling Curriculum Preschool:  Ideas

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Author:Mark Gstohl

 

  • Homeschooling Field Trips:  Ideas
  • Homeschool Support Groups (By State Listing)

 

Note that in Number 5 above, “homeschooling curriculum Preschool“,  the listed link will cover science, literature, history, music, math and art.   Quite informative.

First of all, you must be aware of your state’s laws.  Check this out first,  even before making an outline or a simple plan.   You need to know what homeschooling records you must keep, and also whether you need to do a homeschooling portfolio which records the child’s educational progress.  For info on homeschooling record keeping, go visit About.com This  is a comprehensive site which provides tips on free printable forms, recordkeeping systems, scheduling forms, and homeschooling portfolios.

*Note:  Homeschool solutions software will make the job much easier.

Certain states will stipulate that a homeschooling teacher or parent should meet minimum qualifications to educate his/her child. You need to find this out.

Here is an excellent resource on state home school notification requirements too .  This will tell you which states are excluded from the rule of notifying your school district when you are going to homeschool.

Okay, next you need to put some thought into the amount of time (per day) you will spend educating.  Fifty minutes is considered by many to be equivalent to one educational hour, and 7 hours a day should normally be spent homeschooling – though with a preschooler, you will have to amend that due to their attention span.

Public School vs Homeschooling Debate:  See my webpage HERE

 

 

Producing a well-adjusted, well rounded human being is no easy feat.  It can be  very rewarding, however; and you are taking the first step now, in homeschooling a preschooler
And you can take great satisfaction in knowing that you will experience far greater control as to how your youngster turns out.  And no doubt you’ll do a better job, as you care more.

Still, you need to really stay on top of things.  You need to realize that a lot of your spare time will be devoted to exploring new possibilities, and new subject matter, for the classroom.  If you’re prepared for that, then you have a good attitude indeed.

They say that trying out home schooling during the preschool ages is a good way of “trying everything out”.  And certainly, you will have an opportunity to bond with your child in a unique way; you’ll both be making some wonderful memories to treasure.  You may just want to record some of them, with your camcorder or phone.

Now, I’d like to point you to some resources and ideas for homeschooling a preschooler:

  1. Provide paper & scissors.  Let your child fringe the paper initially, to get the feel of the scissors. Once he masters this, draw a circle, triangle, etc. on the paper and have him cut the shape out of the paper.
  2. Provide playdoh and cookie cutters, & let them play and have fun.
  3. Go to the grocery store, & have a learning experience.  Ask your child the name of fruits, etc.
  4. Print out alphabet coloring pages to make a coloring book for each letter of the alphabet.  It should be put into a binder, & have a cover page with the Letter it represents on the front.
  5. Stencils:  Create a variety of letters on a large piece of paper, or whiteboard; have your toddler choose some crayons to color the letters.  (You may want to tape the paper to the table, so it’s easier for your student)
  6. Make a visit to the library during Storyteller hours. While there, check bulletin board for upcoming events.
  7. Homeschooling Field trips:  Plan a special outing – something where the little ones can have a “hands on” experience and touch things – like a petting zoo, exploratorium, etc.
  8. Vegetable Game:  Objective is to learn the names of nutritious veggies      
  • Get an old pillow case or a large bag
  • Put the following in the bag or case:
    cauliflower, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, broccoli, artichokes, asparagus,
    zucchini, turnips, eggplant, potatoes, radishes, beets, onions, mushrooms, lettuce,
    spinach, cabbage, kale, cucumber, peppers, squash or rutabaga.
  • Put 5 0r 6 vegetables in the bag
  • Ask your child to insert a hand, & choose a vegetable and name it. (no peeking)
  • If the child is wrong, the vegetable must be placed back into the bag.
  • Whoever has the most correct answers, is Winner
  • Later on, cook the correctly identified vegetable for dinner, to cement it in child’s mind

 

 

Homeschooling Support Groups

There are many homeschool support groups, which is important –  since well-meaning friends will give their opinions, and confuse you or provoke doubts.

You will want to keep your youngsters attention throughout the day, so break the day up.   A neat resource I found, which uses the internet, is “click schooling” -  1 Fun, Free, Web-Based Curriculum Idea Per Day  is provided to you.      *This will help with ideas, & will provide some fun!

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As to basics, such as length of school year – visit Here and For more on Public School vs Homeschooling,  HERE

Your State’s Requirements:   Investigate HERE       HUGE Reference Book (pdf) – Toddler Learning

Activated Storytelling (Cultural Folktales/Field Trip Ideas)  and  Language Arts Education

Further Resources:  Homeschooling: Kindergarten and  Homeschool Support Groups

Homeschooling in the News as well as  Homeschooling Portfolio Assessment (Tip:  Start on Paragraph 3)

 

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