Homeschooling - Is it for You?

By Ina Woolcott

Homeschooling has become ever popular and gained more wide spread acceptance in recent years, but it still isn't everyone's cup of tea. How do you know it is right for you and your children? Below are several personality traits that have been found to assist home schooling success. The first on the list is the only trait you need to have before embarking on home schooling. All others can be worked on and developed as you go along.

* If you get on well with your child and enjoy their presence and company, home schooling is for you. You will be spending near enough every waking hour with your child. It is highly important that you appreciate the daily interaction between you. But IN NO WAY means that there WONT be moments when you desire and deserve some time out just for yourself (in public schools, teachers have break times too!). IF you resent your child's constant need for you, and feel aggravated by your child's constant presence, home educating is not for you.

* You need to stick to the underlying theory that motivated you to homeschool in the first place. You need to remember the positive reasons that helped you decide to homeschool, especially when the going gets tough as it sometimes will. A sense of humour is a bonus here!

* You need to be able to write, read and have basic maths skills, as well as be willing to add to your basic skills when required. No degree is needed to educate your child, but the basic skills afore mentioned are necessary. Being able to read a child's picture book aloud, write a letter as well as add, subtract multiply and divide - these are the basics being referred to. A vast array of material is out there to help home school your children - textbooks, guidebooks, and pre-packaged curriculum's. There is also always the internet.

* Be open for developing observational skills. It is of great importance that you know what makes your child tick so that you can assist them in learning. The more tuned in you are to your child's learning style, the easier it will be to find material that will enhance this.

* Be ready and open to change. It is important that you are willing to change and are flexible and responsive. Children are constantly growing and changing, and so must you if you wish to keep up with them, understand them and support them. Homeschooling parent(s) have the amazing opportunity to be active participant in their child's developmental stages and upbringing.

* Be adept at learning from mistakes -a natural part of learning. Home schooling gives us many chances to learn for mistakes. We all makes mistakes when trying something new.

* Be willing to work on limit-setting and boundary skills. This is vital as home schooled kids are home a lot of the day. This also aids the assurance of a child's physical and emotional safety when they are not at home.

* Have patience, or have the desire to develop it. We aren't necessarily born with patience. Show me someone who is the epitome of patience, we all have our limits. If you are open to letting your patience limits grow, home schooling will most certainly create many opportunities to do so! If you are an impatient kind of person NOT interested in developing patience, then home schooling is not for you however.

* Be willing to expand/add to communication and listening skills. Communication is THE key to all relationships. Being able, or learning the ability, to listen and speak clearly is imperative for successful home schooling.

* Be ready for an onslaught of criticism re your choice to home educate. The decision to do so is very visible to other family members, not like other parenting decisions. It may be of help explaining how you reached the decision to home school, telling them you are just letting them know and in no way asking for their permission to do so or trying to get them on your side. Ask them to respect you decision, after all you are the one(s) bringing up your child(ren) and really, why should you have to justify yourself? You want the best for your child and family.

* Have a support system/network, and/or a supportive partner. Many support systems and networks are available for homeschoolers. Some like meeting with others in a group on a weekly or monthly basis. Others are happy with a couple of supportive friends who can listen. Magazines, chat rooms, and phone calls can also help you feel less alone as you educate your children outside of what has become accepted as the norm.