Homeschooling has been on the rise in popularity for many reasons. One of the most important reasons is that you can specifically target your child’s individual educational needs. Focus on their strengths and weakness to give them a quality educational experience, that you will unlikely find in many public schools. A personalized education plan is something very valuable as all children learn differently.

It is a very big decision to homeschool your children and the first thing you would have to do is come up with an educational plan. When you begin to build your plan you may want to think about including unit projects for each individual subject. come up with an educational plan. When you begin to build your plan you may want to think about including unit projects for each individual subject.


Probably when you think of projects, you think of school science fair projects and other projects you had to do if you were in public school. After each unit plan or subject plan, have your child begin a unit project to put the knowledge into practice that was just learned in the study unit. In other words it will bring what they have just learned to life instead of just testing them on what they learned, they will have to put that knowledge into action.

If you are studying a science unit, for example, consider assigning a unit project to build an ecosystem. This can be easily done with an old aquarium and a few things to get at the store. Even purchasing the materials needed at the store is part of the educational process. Have your child come up with what is required to build the ecosystem using the knowledge that was learned in the unit about nature and what is needed to create a self sufficient ecosystem. Then your child will have to monitor and record what is happening each day.

The benefits of using unit projects are numerous. Your child will be receiving an interactive education. It’s one thing to study and learn a subject then take a test and forget about it. With using unit projects it creates a longer learning process, actually seeing what you have learned come alive so to speak. This will by far remain in your child’s memory much more then just taking a test. Also, for example by placing your ecosystem in a central location in your home the whole family can become involved so that everyone is part of your child’s educational experience. It won’t be just something you hear about that is happening in school, you are actually seeing and sharing the same thing as your child along with the other members of the family.

We all know that the imagination is a wonderful thing, and that is what you and your child will have to use in your unit projects, not as many limitations like in a public school. There are some great resources to be found on the internet to help you implement quality learning for your homeschooler. The ideas for projects are unlimited, and you can rest assured that your child will have the working knowledge to take with them into the world.

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If you choose to become a home schooler for the flexibility it allows then you likely value the philosophy that learning does not begin or end when a school bell rings. You understand the necessity and benefits of incorporating learning activities into life as a whole.

The flexibility of home schooling also allows you the time to devote one on one with your child and assist him in learning in a manner that suits him best and to the best of his abilities.

Remember the old cliché “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic?” There is a reason why reading is place first. This is the fundamental skill upon which all others are built. Therefore, when working with your child it is importance to emphasis his reading skills.

Reading is a subject matter that unfortunately the public schools are not handling well. Many students test at a low percentile on standardized tests. As a home schooler you have the opportunity to emphasize reading to your child throughout the day, in addition to working one on one with him as he begins the reading process.

Once your child is reading on his own the best thing you can do is make sure he always has books available to him on subject matters that interest him. While it may be hard to convince him to perform math problems in his free time, reading can be cast in a more enjoyable light.

Encourage him to read whatever interests him in his leisure time. If you can get him in the habit of reading when he is young it will stick with him. By assisting him in finding books on subjects that he enjoys he will equate reading with an enjoyable experience, which will assist his education down the road.

It is important that you set a good example for him as well. Make sure he sees you reading. And try to cut down on television time by making a family reading time in the evening. Later in the evening, close to his bedtime, let him know that will be getting ready for bedtime soon as well as you have a good book that you want to read.

Reading assists in problem solving and critical thinking skills. And while reading a book your child will be able to absorb facts within its pages as well.

Since reading is a difficult task to grasp it is important to start your child young. It is equally important to distill an enjoyment of reading while he is young as it will be harder to do so when he gets older.

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There certainly is an abundance of homeschooling information available and this is a good thing… for the most part… as long as you don’t get bogged down in overload and suffer paralysis by analysis. There are a lot of wonderful articles and tips to help you insure your homeschool success.

So, through the experiences of my own and reading about those experiences and advice of others, here are some of, not only the best, but most universal home school success tips.

First of all have fun. Make learning fun. It should be for kids. And by the way, enjoy learning new things with your kids. There is some much in this world that we cannot control, so let’s let control what we can… our attitude and how we approach each and every day. Children will absorb your attitude and mood like a sponge, so stay upbeat and enthusiastic and your successes will reflect it.

Next, limit (or eliminate) your interruptions. This was my nemesis.

In this communication age in which we live, interruptions come at you from every direction, so you’ll need to stay focused. If don’t have an answering device, get one. Turn the ringers off.

Educate your family and friends as to your homeschool schedule. And it’s not just the phones (cell included); it’s the drop by visitors as well. Keep your time you spend homeschooling your kids very sacred.

And while I’m on this subject, this means that you can’t be a distraction to your kids. By this I mean you can’t be running around doing other things while your kids are trying to study and complete their assignments and projects. Stay focused on your children’s education during this time.

I mentioned paralysis by analysis earlier and this one dovetails off of that. Keep your teaching and homeschooling simple. With so much information and programs readily available to you, it’s easy to find yourself using an educational buffet of plans, curriculums, and approaches. Ultimately your kids and you won’t like nor benefit from this.

Be flexible, be pragmatic if something isn’t working, but don’t be mercurial. And when it comes to being a homeschooling parent, you must take steps to organize and simplify your life. During your homeschooling year limit your commitments and outside activities… keep your life simple and you’ll be happier; and with happiness comes success.

Don’t beat yourself up! Have confidence. Know that you can do it. Your faith is your beacon. Reward is directly related to effort. If you are doing all that you can, your children will learn and be successful. Children learn throughout the world in all kinds of environments. Be enthusiastic with each new day, get help when you need it, stay on a path continual improvement, and your children’s educational success will follow.

If you get stuck… read. Without reading skills your children will never reach their full potential. If your day becomes shot full of holes with life’s unplanned and uncontrollable events… then take some time and read to and read with the kids. There is no better life preserver for a day that has spun out of control than to cuddle up and read with your children.

There are so many wonderful people involved in homeschooling, and with today’s technology it is so easy to get in touch with these invaluable resources, you should not go wanting for advice, answers, or just some rejuvenating conversation and reassurance.

Online there are forums and support groups. Offline there is your church or library. Get in touch and be a part. As a homeschooler, you are in a sense a professional educator. Find yourself a couple of good publications and subscribe, or opt in to a few of your favorite newsletters. The message here is that you need not tackle everything solo.

When it comes to resources there is one out there that is often shadowed by the prevalence of the internet… and that is your local library. Your library is a wonderful resource. Libraries are a tremendous resource for videos, audio tapes, learning materials for all subject matter… (And of course books!). If you could only pick one resource and one resource only… choose a library.

Take breaks. For me, taking shorter more frequent day breaks as opposed to less frequent longer breaks always worked better for my family and kids. Of course, the dynamics of every family is different, but if you’ve haven’t tried this approach you should. I think you and your kids will like it. Of course, I’m not talking about a day off every other day… but shorter more often day breaks give you a chance to re-energize and catch up.

I mentioned family dynamics; and since you will be homeschooling you will naturally be introducing a very different and time consuming aspect into your family dynamics.

There will times when there just aren’t enough hours in the day. This is why it is very important to stay focused and plan as best you can. Avoid those activities that steal your day away. Remember, you are homeschooling. Try to organize outside activities all into a day or two instead of spreading them out across your week and having constant ‘little’ interruptions on a daily basis. I would much rather have longer days of outside activities, if it meant I could keep my homeschooling days uninterrupted. I found that my kids and my family appreciated this approach.

Unless you are an incredibly organized and efficient person that operates like a well oiled machine, you’ll find that all of the above won’t come together for you over night. Don’t feel disheartened… it doesn’t for anyone that I know of! No schedule is perfect all the time and no two schedules and organizational skills are the same. Work to sand, buff, and polish what works for you and over time you will find your stride.

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A recent comparison of over 5,400 home school students and their public school counterparts highlights two interesting findings: 1) On average, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, the nation's roughly 1 million home schoolers scored more than 30 points higher than public school students on standardized tests. 2) There was no correlation between the level of government regulation and the level of achievement for K-12 home schoolers.

For the study, Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America, Brian Ray, head of the Salem, Oregon-based National Home Education Research Institute, classified states as "high regulation," "moderate regulation," or "low regulation." High-regulation states "require parents to send notification or achievement test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements," such as curriculum approval by the state, teacher qualification of parents, or home visits by state officials; moderate-regulation states require parents to "send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress"; and low-regulation states do not require the parents "to initiate any contact with the state." The average percentile ranks for home schoolers on a basic battery of national achievement tests were 86 percent (high regulation), 85 percent (moderate regulation), and 86 percent (low regulation), compared with the average percentile rank for public school students which was, by definition, 50.

Klein, a consultant for a school district in Anaheim, presents her study of California Virtual Charter Schools (CAVA) as part of a movement to provide alternatives to traditional schooling. CAVA is said to be unique in serving elementary as well as middle-school students. Following an overview of the relationship of virtual education to home schooling and charter schools, she presents her findings (for example, nearly all parents were satisfied with the program) and recommendations for further research on this model. Appendices include informed consent and other forms for parents and school personnel, screen captures showing the Online School learning management system, and sample online student schedules.