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Homeschooling Your Tween by Linda Sonna, Ph.D.

Homeschooling has become increasingly popular as more parents have become disenchanted with the problems of public schools and the cost of private ones. Now that homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million children (3 to 4 percent of all students) are being schooled at home. Statistics show that homeschooled children score higher on college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT. By eighth grade, the average student being educated at home is working on a twelfth-grade level! In truth, so much in-school time is devoted to discipline and administrative matters, studying a few hours a day at home can equal a whole day at school.

Getting Started

Before making a decision to homeschool your child, visit www.homeschool.comto start stocking up on textbooks and curriculum guides, and to locate online courses. Students can receive an entire online education from kindergarten through twelfth grade for $15.95 per month — with your help, of course. Lots of experts are available online to diagnose learning problems and help when you get stuck.

The Hooked on Phonics series has successfully taught nonreaders of all ages to read and helped students in underprivileged schools make huge gains in short order. The key to the program is the endless repetition. Some students do have difficulty staying motivated. This method is probably not one of the more enjoyable ways to learn. Nevertheless, it does work.

The following how-to books will cover most everything you need to know:

  • The First Year of Homeschooling Your Child by Linda Dobson (Prima Publishing, 2001)

  • Home Learning Year by Year by Rebecca Rupp (Three Rivers Press, 2000)

  • Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School by Rebecca Rupp (Three Rivers Press, 2000)

  • Homeschooling Almanac, 2002–2003: How to Start, What to Do, Where to Go, Who to Call, Web Sites, Products, Catalogs, Teaching Supplies, Support Groups, Conferences, and More! by Mary Leppert, Michael Leppert, Jamie Miller (editor) (Prima Publishing)

  • Homeschooling Your Child Step-by-Step by Lauramaery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski (Prima Publishing, 2002)

  • The McGraw-Hill Homeschooling Companion by Laura Saba and Julie Gattis (McGraw-Hill Trade, 2002)

    • You can also join the National Home Education Network online at www.nhen.orgor write them (P.O. Box 7844, Long Beach, California 90807) for information and to network with other parents involved in homeschooling.

    Creative Homeschooling

    Some parents have found wonderful solutions to thorny homeschooling problems. One remedy for the problem of having your child at home with you all day every day is to band together with three other parents and homeschool your children together. If each parent chooses a subject, spends one day preparing lessons, spends another day presenting them to all of the children, and works with their own child individually one day a week, each parent still has two days free during the school week. If your school district is amenable, you can have your child attend public school for art, music, recess, gym, and lunch, thereby solving the problem of providing sufficient social stimulation. Otherwise, most communities offer enough extracurricular activities so you can provide daily opportunities for peer interaction. If an after-school program is available in your area, it may be possible for your child to have time for free play in a supervised but less structured environment.

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