Sure, homeschooling is a bit different from brick and mortar school, but some things are certainly similar. Here are some things to consider when you are getting your child ready for back to homeschool.
When my son was a tween, I coordinated a field trip to an agri-tourism farm for our home school group. When it came time to do some pumpkin activities with the kids, the farmer asked the kids to line up and take turns. Instead of forming a long, snaking column, with only one child at its head, our children stood in a compact row, side-by-side, so everyone could see the action.
This column comes with a caveat. Before you take action to start a home school support group, please take some time to consider your family’s lifestyle, your kids’ needs and your own strengths, motivations and limitations. You and I both know starting a home school support group isn’t the hard part. It’s the commitment to sustain that group as a positive and fun environment for all its members that can become a formidable undertaking. Don’t expect a rose-colored DIY tutorial. This advice-laden reality check is designed to help you keep from piling too much more onto your already full plate. And it comes from an experienced home educator who has recently traded down to a smaller one.
Don’t think that just because you aren’t artistic, you can’t teach your children about art. That’s like saying you can’t teach your kids to eat - all you really need to do is supply the food (and maybe a fork or spoon) and they’ll do the rest. With art history, theory and technique, the recipe is to present your home schoolers with a mix of information, examples and tools to explore and to express themselves. Let ’em get their synthetic bristle brushes wet at home.
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