Home schooling is the right of parents to educate their children the way they feel is right. There are many different reasons to do this, but we won’t get into those here.
Many feel that with the knowledge a parent can have about their own child’s learning styles and strengths, an education can be tailored to a family’s needs. Some children get a much better education in a much shorter time than can be found anywhere else.
Also, learning at home can be considered a simple continuation of what a parent has been doing all along, from birth. Helping a child learn on his/her own, finding the resources, providing support, and answering questions. Nurturing, watching, being there for them, teaching when the need arises, and providing a safe, warm environment in which to grow.
The one on one attention and a relationship with a parent can truly help a child learn more quickly than anywhere else. This can make home schooling much more efficient.
A concern people have is the “socialization” of home schooled children. For me, this is not an issue. Long before schools, kids learned how to be a part of a successful community without being segregated into age groups. They worked, played, and talked with many differently aged people and grew up to be well-balanced adults. Between the different activities that children get involved in, they receive plenty of socialization and learn good people skills.
Getting Started
My advice for starting homeschooling is to surround your children with learning, make your home a place where learning is a way of life. This doesn't have to be expensive or even mess up your home. Just gradually bring things into your home and set things up so kids know where they are... things like art supplies, books, LOADS of books, posters, maps, globes, white boards, playdough, music, easy musical instruments. And then LET them experiment, I mean, everything doesn't have to be out all the time, noisy toys have no place when a younger sibling is napping, but things can be rotated, tape recorder, recorder, play trumpet, puzzles, blocks, legos, get down and show them a new way to play with toys they already have. You really need to love being with your kids, interacting with your kids, and answering questions, TALKING to your kids. The learning will naturally follow. Kids are born to learn; their brains are programmed to take in all the information they can get.
Get a few books about homeschooling. Any library will have at least a few. These books will have places to find information about curricula you might be interested in using, other ideas for getting started, how to network with other homeschoolers, and other items of interest for your area.
The first place I advise people to go is to HSLDA’s website. There is a clear concise list of all the laws relating to homeschooling and how to comply in your state/province/country if possible.