Central West Virginia's Guide To Life

HOME SCHOOLING IN WV
By Karen Pennebaker

10/07 - What do Homeschoolers DO?

What do Homeschoolers DO all day?

This is one of those questions that is often asked by the people who don't understand the benefits of home schooling. However, it is a legitimate question if asked by someone who really wants to know!

The answer is going to be different from just about everyone who home schools, as home schooling is something that becomes part of family life and not a separate function.

Some families do "school at home", with regular hours and classes. Some families have a special room or area in the house they designate for "school." Others may work on academic pursuits only in the morning or only in afternoon, because of the schedules of family members. Still others are "unschoolers", who follow the interests of the students and basically learn all the time.

I know of one home schooling family that did their school work in a tractor trailer while the parents worked as a driving team. They quite easily combined "school hours" with "work hours" and had the advantage of being able to go all over the United States at the same time.

A major benefit of home schooling for a family is the flexibility. If a home schooling family decides to go on vacation in November, they can. If they decide to do all their academic work in the mornings or afternoons, they can do this, as well. If both parents work, education can be fit into their schedule however they want to work it out. In some cases, parents arrange to work at different times. When parents need to have child care from others, the children take school work along. Many single parents work full time and home school their children without a problem.

In most cases, homeschoolers start with a more scheduled structure for younger children. As the children get older, they take more and more responsibility for their own education. Because they start out with a close, one-on-one relationship with the person teaching them, homeschooled children often progress much faster than they would in a classroom setting. It is much easier to teach two or three or even five children than it is to control a classroom of 20 or 30. This is true even if the children are different ages and work at different levels.

I teach two teenagers, at the present time. One of them really needs very little help from me. The other one is dyslexic and I must spend a lot more time working with her. However, we may work on something one day in the morning and the next day in the evening. We do not need a scheduled time for "school", because they know that learning should be an ongoing process and not something you only do "in school."

If you are thinking about home schooling your children, what you will do all day will depend very much on how your family lives. You don't have to wait for school to be out to go to the dentist, the library or the grocery store. If your family members are early risers, you can work early in the morning. Since no one has to catch a school bus at 6:45 AM, people who like to sleep in can do their work later in the day.

People quite often ask my granddaughters if they want to go to public school. They laugh! Both of them tell people, quite emphatically, that they are so happy that they do not have to go to public school.

We live four miles from a school bus stop, so imagine the number of hours they would spend on a school bus - once they got to the bus! They both love to learn new things. They have different interests. Some of their friends are home schooled; others go to public school. They have taken adult level craft classes, during "school hours", since they were young girls. We can go to the library any time during the day. If there is something interesting going on in the middle of the week, they are able to participate.

There is freedom for homeschoolers.

How would you answer if someone asked, "What do YOU do all day?" Homeschoolers learn all day, every day.