Put away the chalkboard, desks and workbooks! Home education does not have to resemble traditional classroom education. When teaching at home, look for a method that fits your goals and your children's learning styles. Here are descriptions of the most popular homeschooling methods:

* Charlotte Mason - The Charlotte Mason method focuses on literature, short lessons and nature appreciation. In this homeschool method, children learn primarily through literature, which is referred to as "living books." Students acquire language arts and writing skills through the use of copywork, narration and dictation.
* Classical Homeschooling - Classical Homeschooling breaks learning into three stages known as the Trivium. These stages are grammar (birth through elementary school), logic (middle school) and rhetoric (high school). Each stage of the Trivium corresponds to a child's natural brain development. Classical homeschoolers focus on academic achievement, exposure to the great books of western civilization, and knowledge of Latin and Greek.
* Computer Based Homeschooling - Children who are visually oriented and prefer working alone may favor online or computer based homeschooling. Computer courses work well for children who are self-motivated and not easily distracted. These programs come with structured lessons and pre-planned schedules that help busy parents save time. Many of online courses also come with systems for grading and record keeping.
* Eclectic Homeschooling - This style of homeschooling involves choosing from a variety of methods depending on the needs of the child. An eclectic homeschooler may use traditional workbooks for some subjects and computer courses for others. Some eclectic homeschool families may even choose to unschool certain subjects.
* Montessori Homeschooling - The Montessori method focuses on learning through multi-sensory, self-directed activities. Parents serve as facilitators, not teachers, in a Montessori homeschool environment. Many Montessori activities mimic those that occur naturally in the home.
* Relaxed Homeschooling - Relaxed homeschoolers focus on tailoring education to fit the needs and goals of a child. In a relaxed homeschool, formal curriculum is used as needed, but many lessons occur naturally in the course of daily life.
* Traditional Textbooks - This method of homeschooling most closely resembles traditional school because of its reliance on textbooks and workbooks. Although some homeschoolers believe this style of homeschooling is dull and tedious, others enjoy the lesson plans, structure and successful outcomes of traditional workbook programs.
* Unit Studies - This homeschooling style combines the study of history, science, math and language arts into the study of a single theme. Homeschool unit studies are great for larger families who need to combine children of multiple ages, and hands-on learners who enjoy working on projects.
* Unschooling - Unschooling, or delight-directed learning, involves letting the child choose what he or she will study. Unschoolers focus preparing a learning environment and leaving their child free to explore it.

Home education will look different in each family, depending on the family's needs and goals. Take time to observe your children and assess their strengths and weaknesses. Don't be afraid to experiment until you find the homeschooling method that is right for you!

Did you realize that well over one million children take part in homebound schooling on an annual basis? This is an amazing achievement, considering the fact that almost all children went through the public educational process just a few short decades ago. Since that time, however, homebound schooling has become the choice for many parents and children alike for a number of different reasons. It has been shown to consistently result in individuals who are balanced and healthy, through their childhood and into their adult years. That is, of course, provided the schooling was done in the proper manner.

There's no doubt about the fact that homebound schooling is something that is going to take a major commitment on the part of both the parent and the child that are involved. It can all be well worth it, however, whenever a child is able to move through the curriculum at their own pace and to grow as an individual, rather than being part of a larger group. As a matter of fact, that is one of the inherent flaws of the public school system.

Many parents are concerned about the socialization skills of children who take part in homebound schooling. The fact of the matter is, socialization of children does not necessarily have to do with competing against a large group of peers. By making sure that the child interacts with other children on occasion, even within a controlled environment, the child can grow to be healthy as far as this is concerned.

The common state of obesity in preschool children has risen significantly. Approximately twenty five percent of preschoolers in the United States have been diagnosed as overweight. With the dramatic rise of obesity in preschool aged children there is ample concern about the health issues that can ensue with this lofty increase and what can be done to remedy this major health concern. Being overweight for a preschool child means they are at an increased risk for different types of issues, not only medical but mental. Some of the potential problems may include heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleeping disorders and premature death. For the parents, having an overweight preschool child may include such economic hardships as the rising hospital costs brought on by the caring for an overweight preschool child and the therapeutic treatment of the mental concerns imposed by the young preschool child having to deal with being heavy. Being an overweight preschool child also usually means that there is a greater chance of being obese later on in life.

An overweight preschool child can suffer from dramatic emotional problems. Overweight preschool children are aware of their surroundings and how they are treated by others. A preschool age child is affected mentally and their mental health at this age, or at any age, is very important. The Center for Disease control, CDC.GOV, covers this topic. Overweight preschool children usually have to acknowledge that others may treat them harshly. A preschool child that is overweight may experience various assumptions including such extremes as they are unwilling to do any work and / or they are unsanitary even though this is known not to be true. Also, because they are larger than other children their age, some individuals may assume they can handle physical labor more readily than other children the same age due to their abnormal size; While the truth about the additional weight for a preschool student is that it would be more difficult for the student to perform simple tasks that their classmates of a healthy weight could accomplish easily. A heavy preschool child, under these circumstances, will inevitably develop a negative self-image. There are a tremendous amount of possible causes for developing emotional scaring from being overweight.

Preschool age children can lose weight and become more healthy, but it is not an easy task. Weight loss programs are not very successful without including a walking regime and a nutritionally well-balance meal plan. Prevention of further weight gain is important too. Contact a physician prior to making any drastic changes to a preschool child's diet and exercise program because there may be some very serious underlying health issues that are undiagnosed. Make an appointment with the preschool child's physician and see what would be a healthy and reasonable regime for the preschool child.

A healthy and active preschool regimen does not need to be daunting but can be fun with incorporated learning. For fun and exciting activities, the possibilities are endless and they should instill a love of creating while reinforcing the educational / developmental goals of the preschool aged student. Never forget that FUN is always a wonderful foundation to build upon!

Knowing what home school curriculum books or resources to purchase can be an overwhelming task. There are so many things to choose. How do you know which one to choose and whether it will be right for your family? Here are some questions you can ask yourself when looking at different home school resources:

1. What is my child's learning style? Does this book or curriculum fit in with how my child learns?

2. Is this resource a formal textbook, workbook or unit-study support material?

3. Do I know anyone else that is using this book or curriculum? What do they have to say about it? What positive and negative comments do they have about this book or curriculum?

4. Does this resource look like it's easy to use? Can I just pick it up and teach from it or do I have to spend some time reading through the manual to prepare?

5. Can I view this curriculum at a bookstore or homeschool conference?

6. What does my child say about it after they have looked over it? You don't have to put as much stock in this answer as the others, but sometimes your child has some insight into whether you should use this or not. Children tend to want to have the easiest work possible, so you will need to use your judgement about whether your child should ultimately use this curriculum or not.

7. Is this book or resource secular or Christian? Is this fact important to you or not?

8. If you get confused or frustrated with this resource, is there parent support available?

Once you answer all these questions, you will have a better idea of whether this book or resource will fit in with your educational and family goals or not. You will invariably purchase some things that you don't need. Every veteran home schooler has purchased books or resources that they didn't like or need at some point over the years, no matter how closely they looked at what they were buying. You just move on and learn from those purchases. But, for the most part, these questions should help you make an informed decision of what you should purchase for homeschooling this year.

Math is one subject that scares a lot of home schooling parents, especially as their children get older. Usually this is because the parents didn't do well in math when they were in school.

The main problem with math, is that math is a very "sequential" subject. The new material always depends heavily on what you were taught before. If you have a problem (i.e. if you miss a few things because of sickness, a bad teacher, or other problems in a particular school year), you have to go back and "fix" the problem, or you will have difficulty understanding things after that point.

If this happened to you, even only a few times during all the years you were in school, the chances of you having done well in math, are very low.

Many people have a problem at some point, in school. Then they end up trying to learn the previous material and the current material at the same time. Normally this means they learn it more poorly. They struggle a lot with it, and they don't learn the current material fully. Then the next material is difficult, too. Then they conclude they are poor at math.

In my family, when someone had a problem with math at school, they were helped at home until they got caught up. We all got very good at math, and this is why. It was also because of the effectiveness of one-on-one tutoring, just like when we are home schooling our children.

Also, having helped adults who were "supposedly poor" at math, I know that their ability is usually not the problem. They just were not taught every thing they needed, to do it well.

Just because you found math difficult at school, doesn't mean you can't teach math to your children. And if you are starting off with the lower grades, you probably know most of that math by now, anyway. Get good materials, and learn the few details you missed, as you go through it with your child (also, go over it the day before you teach it, and you should be fine).

And, check out our home school math teaching tips, on our site, listed below. Many of these tips are not even used in schools yet (to be fair to teachers, some of these tips would be more difficult to implement in a classroom environment, with lots of children in a big class, but home schoolers don't have that limitation).

Combine these tips with a good curriculum, lots of determination from you, lots of love, and getting the occasional outside help when you need it, and you will build a great math foundation in your child, that will serve them well, as they advance to more challenging math, and through out their adult life.

Many parents are worried about the quality of their child's school. Thousands of families each year leave the public schools forever to educate their children at home. The renowned Cato Institute finds that there are as many as 1.23 million home schooling families. Those numbers are growing each year. The number of families who decide to home school is a good barometer for the general dissatisfaction they have with the public schools. As a result, thousands of parents decide to take their kids out of school. There are ten conditions to watch that will help you make this critical decision.

Watch for signs of unusual boredom in your child. Learning is not boring. What schools now call learning is often excruciatingly boring. Schools are rapidly becoming one size fits all education factories. Much of the work now designed for the classroom is written for a statistically average child. That child does not exist.

Watch for changes in your child's mood. Children can be depressed in the best of conditions. However, no child should be routinely apprehensive or depressed about school. Be sensitive to any long term changes in your child's mood. This usually indicates a systemic problem in the child's learning environment.

Watch for a high number of office referrals. Increasing numbers of office referrals indicate that the school is not connecting with its children. This one is harder for parents to determine. Listen to your child. Talk with other parents. Listen to your child's friends. Become a nosy parent. Show up with the intention of visiting in the office for a time. You may be amazed with what you see.
Watch for an obvious police presence. Even many elementary schools will have an armed police presence. Problem schools use the police as a not so subtle means of enforcing discipline. Police officers walking the hallways of a school with a loaded sidearm indicate the expectation of violence. This is a symptom of something more ominous.

Watch for high teacher turnover in your child's school. There are several possible reasons for high turnover. None of them are good. Teacher morale is at an all time low across our great country. The work load is tremendous in the best schools. If more than a very small number of teachers leave a school at the end of a year this is a symptom of something that is negatively impacting teachers. If teachers do not feel that a school is worth working in you should wonder if it is worth your child attending.

Watch for any sudden change in the physical health of your child. One of the most common complaints will be stomach aches, headaches and ill-defined symptoms. Be responsive to a child who wakes up sick every morning. If a child wakes up each day physically sick first see your doctor to eliminate some serious problem. Then look to the school as a reason. A child in a good school should look forward to the day. Don't depend on the child being able to tell you exactly why he feels ill. The child may be responding to the general conditions at the school. Or, the child could be responding to some specific problem such as bullying. In either case parents should regard continuous illness as a serious indicator that something may be wrong at school.

Watch for an increase in fighting or violence in the school. Every school will have a fight from time to time. Such is human nature. But, believe what your child tells you about the events at the school. At least assume there is something that needs to be investigated if she reports regular instances of violence. Too many parents dismiss their children's stories as the simple exaggerations of a child. Good teachers will tell you to pay attention to your child's stories.

Watch for the use of the courts to enforce discipline. Schools that have lost control respond by using increasingly draconian measures to attempt to control students. Teachers report that students are being ticketed for talking in class, chewing gum, and ordinary behaviors that should be taken care of casually in class. Tickets can run from to as much as five hundred dollars or more. Ask your school administration to tell you which courts take children from your school. Visit the court on a day when the docket includes students from your child's school. You may find, as other parents have found, that a local court may have to give an entire day's docket to one school.

Watch for a lot of drill and kill kinds of work. Some parents find that their children bring home worksheets that require them to do things such as write material repetitiously with no attempt to help the child understand the material. If the child always brings home assignments that are just questions in the back of the chapter then there is a problem. In order to learn students must be given assignments that lead them to use information in creative ways. Mere repetition is inappropriate.

Watch for obvious emphasis on state tests. Visit your school unannounced. Go by the office and ask to just walk the school. As you do this look carefully at the material on the walls. When you see numerous signs that may tell the students to "tackle the TAKS" the school may be so concerned with test scores that learning is compromised. The state tests as they are designed now carry so much weight that many schools have thrown out most other content. Many schools take time away from instruction to teach questionable "test taking skills". Most give constant "bench mark" tests to determine how well students have done on some discrete set of facts often taught out of context with the larger discipline. Student who miss certain questions on "bench mark" tests find themselves placed in special classes where they drill more and more on less and less. To paraphrase Albert Einstein some of the least important things can be measured with tests while some of the most important things cannot be measured with a simple test.

Any combination of these indicators may mean your school is failing. Learning is a process of ever increasing sophistication in understanding that results from allowing a child's creativity and curiosity to engage. Every child is born with a natural inclination to learn. They absorb information naturally like sponges. By the time many children have gone through a few years of traditional schooling the desire to learn is just destroyed. Take control of your child's education. If you find these indicators or even a few of these indicators present in your child's school you should seriously consider home schooling.