January 26, 2011
Homeschooling ~ Really? Beth Baldino is taking it On.
Advantages of Homeschooling
For the last five months, with the help of my partner and support of my ex-husband, we’ve been homeschooling our 8 and 10-year-old children and taking advantage of the many advantages of this approach. The kids were previously attending a very good private school with a devoted and hard-working staff, so it wasn’t as if we were dissatisfied with their efforts. I do feel, however, that I am able to give them more personalized attention tailored to their specific needs than a teacher who is managing a larger group and working within the constraints of a set curriculum. Being able to focus on the children’s specific needs within each subject and provide the individual coaching they require throughout the process allows them to progress at their own pace. As such, they don’t need to spend their “after-school” hours in tutoring for extra support or doing additional homework to ensure they master the skills. This allows the children more opportunity to pursue their own interests, and we still have enough time most days to prepare and enjoy homemade meals together, an activity that is important to me.
The Benefits of Managing your own Schedule
I really appreciate the flexibility this approach allows us. We can stay up late one night watching an educational DVD, engrossed in a compelling book, or enjoying a musical or theatre performance and know that we can adjust our schedule the next day to make up for the lost sleep. We can take advantage of opportunities to visit museums and various exhibits when they aren’t crowded and vacation when it is most affordable, convenient, and again, least crowded. And we’re able to take extended trips to places we visit because we can bring our work along and study wherever we are (as we’re currently doing in Florida, where my parents live).
The World is our School
I like being able to expose my children to real-life learning opportunities on a regular basis. When I need to take them along to the bank, for example, we end up talking about budgeting and managing money and how checking and saving accounts work. We inevitably have the most interesting conversations when the children’s interest is piqued by an experience that allows them to see the practical impact of how the world operates. It isn’t that we couldn’t talk about these things when they were in school, but there does seem to be much more time and energy for it now. As we run two businesses from our home, the children get intimate daily exposure to our working lives as well, which has prompted them to initiate projects that have turned into great educational opportunities. For example, when my partner, a professional photographer, was gearing up for holiday sales of his work last year, the children were inspired to set up a “store” for their own artwork. This activity led to numerous discussions about all aspects of the entrepreneurial process and resulted in my son selling one of his drawings to someone who attended one of our business events.
I don’t know how long we’ll continue homeschooling, because we will ultimately do what’s best for the children from year to year, but it’s truly been an education for all of us.
Beth has her Masters in Social work and is a Certified Holistic Counselor in addition to being a Mom. She is proactive in her community, environment and forward thinking in her parenting style. You can reach Beth at beth@consciouswellness.net or www.counsciouswellness.net.Feedback
Would you homeschool?
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One Response to “Homeschooling ~ Really? Beth Baldino is taking it On.”
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Excellent choice. Colleges are actually clamoring for students who were home-schooled. Also look into local homeschool support groups where you can share your skills and time with other home-schooled kids and their parents can share their skills with yours. Good stuff!