A Parent’s Guide to Setting Homeschool Hours

So you’ve decided to home school! Congratulations on this new
role which you have taken on in your life. Not that every parent
isn’t already a teacher. Of course they are! However, this is a
different sort of teacher and this role will take careful
planning in order to make it the very best role that you will
play in your child’s life that it can possibly be.

First of all, you will want to set aside certain hours that are
designated school hours. Not that these school hours need to be
inflexible, but the times when changes are made should be the
exception, not the rule.

Have a certain area which you set aside as the classroom. This
doesn’t mean that you have to have a special room that is set
aside with desks etc., but it does mean having one spot, such as
the dining room table that is used consistently for this purpose
during school hours. This will help both you and your child to
develop a mind set of thinking of this as a time for learning as
separate from a time for play or other activities.

Try to make sure that there are as few distractions as possible.
Engage the help of your family and friends in this. Making them
feel a part of this can go a long ways towards avoiding hurt
feelings if you have to cut short a telephone call to get back to
your work or if they come to visit and find that you really
aren’t available when school is in session.

If you are used to having a regular telephone “gabfest” with a
friend or family member at a certain time each day, maybe you can
arrange your child’s recess time to coincide with it. Most
important, be sure to communicate to others the importance of
your new enterprise of home schooling.

Perhaps someone likes to stop in and get you to go on spur of the
moment shopping trips with them. Explain beforehand that you
won’t be able to do this as regularly as before but you might
also engage their help in planning educational trips and letting
them be a part of those trips.

Don’t think of yourself as “playing teacher”. You aren’t
playing. This is your job. One of the most important jobs you
will ever have, in fact. Treat it that way. You are most likely
homeschooling in order to see to it that your child has the best
education possible. See to it that you don’t short change them.

Plan ahead. Talk with other parents who are or who have home
schooled. Have a curriculum planned. Don’t just sit down at the
table with your child and open a book to see what you will be
teaching for that first class of the day. Study beforehand.
Know what you will be teaching and have a plan as to how you will
present each subject. Respect the homeschool hours the same as
you would if you were working outside of your home. You can
accomplish much and your child’s successful education can be one
of your greatest accomplishments.

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