Homeschooling in the USA

Homeschooling in the US is not new. From the primary grades through high school, home schooling is one of the options among the people of America. Even American Presidents like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt were homeschooled. Homeschooling in the US gained prominence in the late 1970s and early 1980s when many Christian parents wanted their child to learn through biblical teachings which were in tune with their thoughts and beliefs. They were concerned that the secular education institutions were incapable of imbibing the same values in their children.

In the early days of modern home education, state laws were highly restrictive and prohibited parents from teaching their children at home. But as homeschooling families grew in number, all fifty states passed laws allowing parents to teach their own children.

Today parents opt for homeschooling for their children for a variety of reasons. It could be the desire to teach children according to family’s religious beliefs, or to design a program tailor-made for their child or some even want their child to be homeschooled because of school violence, drug use and negative peer pressure.

The pertinent question that you should ask yourself is whether you are ready for Homeschooling.

Time commitment : If and only if you are prepared to devote most of your time, then you should opt for homeschooling of your children. It is more than just devoting a couple of hours to your child. You have to do experiments, take your child to field trips and other lessons and activities.

Personal sacrifice : As a homeschool parent you will have little personal time. However, you should be clever and good at time management so to find time for yourself as well. Parent and child are basically together 24/7.

Financial strain : Homeschooling is usually inexpensive. However, since homeschooling requires one parent to be at home, the family is depended upon the income of one person.

Managing Household : Managing housework along with homeschooling is a difficult task. You have to be extremely organized as a family to help your child have a successful homeschooling.

Both parents in agreement : It is important for both the parents to agree to homeschooling. Don’t opt for homeschooling if one parent disagrees.

If you’ve decided to homeschool your child, knowing exactly where to begin, especially if you are new to it, is the first and the most crucial step to homeschooling.

The decision and the way to homeschool your child is completely yours. We at usaeducation.info have gathered resources to make your task easy and simple.