Single mother homeschooling is a topic that often arises when discussing educating your children as a single mom. For one thing single moms seem uncertain that they have what it takes to home school their children and are concerned about whether or not it is a good idea. However it is not only something that is achievable, in many cases it could even be more beneficial for your child. Although you have to be careful about cutting your child off from the world in general, it may be a good thing to keep them at home following a divorce or the loss of their father. This type of schooling also provides a larger degree of continuity, something which is essential for the well being of your child following a life changing event such as the loss of a parent. The good thing is, you don’t have to do it all on your own. There schools that offer an Online Special Education Program so your kid will have all the support he or she needs while studying at home.
Even if you are a working mom homeschooling is still an option. You could, for example, hire someone else to provide the homeschooling service. One of the best solutions is to leave work for your children to do during the day which you can then discuss in a class in the evening when you get home from work. Family members could also help. The joy of homeschooling is that there are no set rules regarding how it should be done. A lot of single moms are reserved about this form of education and feel that it will be too taxing. Homeschooling is certainly not for everyone, but it can be highly beneficial and you should not rule the option out automatically without at least trying. Homeschooling is increasing in terms of its acceptance by society, so now is a great time to get involved.
Why Homeschooling?
Something that we need to look at in detail are the reasons why some single mothers choose to home school their children. These reasons are as follows:
- Despite popular belief, single mothers who home school are not uneducated. This is one of the major unfounded stigmas against the homeschooling movement. Single moms are aware that they have the educational abilities to teach their children themselves.
- For Christian single moms, homeschooling offers a way for them to protect their children from the evils in the world. This is not a bad idea to strive for. A large portion of mothers who engage in single mother homeschooling are Christian, but it is not compulsory. However if you are not religious and would like to teach your children from home, you may find that it is difficult to find approved textbooks that present the coursework from a secular rather than Christian viewpoint.
- One very convincing argument is that children who are homeschooled tend to receive higher scores on the ACT than children who are not taught at home. This is a surprising statistic as people generally assume for some reason that children who are taught at home are not receiving an adequate education. Homeschooling could in fact improve your child’s chances of success. This trend is a consistent one that has shown itself for a number of years continually.
- Despite many concerns children who are homeschooled need not grow up to be socially withdrawn. This is all about how you as the single mother handle the situation. School is not the only opportunity for socialization and if you make adequate pans for your child to meet with other children you will not have to face the problem of having a socially inept child. In fact, in most cases, this simply does not occur.
Single Mother Homeschooling Tips
Firstly, and most importantly, is how to organize your home school life:
- Be prepared in terms of supplies, a Boogie Board is a great idea to start with. Think about what you will need for each of the lessons that you will teach and purchase all items ahead of time. Buying extra containers for storage is also advisable.
- Prevent the spread of home school items around your home by designating a specific area for the storage of those items.
- Have a board up with the school schedule for the week clearly outlined. Designate an area for working. This can be the dining room table if you do not have a separate room. Make sure that you keep all activities and assignments neatly organized in sensible folders.
- Keep the ‘school’ area and the ‘home’ areas separate, even if the separation is only symbolic.
One big question is how to juggle work, home and homeschooling. Single moms don’t generally have the luxury of not having to work, so this is something that you will have to take into consideration. One thing that you could do here is buy a laptop computer or a notebook. This will allow you the flexibility to work while at the table overseeing your child’s activities. There are many occasions where your child will have to work on his own leaving you free to do a bit of work without leaving the room. If you want to start your new computer search haga clic en este sitio.
Work time needs to be scheduled, both for you and your child. If there is not a strict schedule, there is no serious motivation to get the work done. By scheduling time and sticking to the schedule you are committing to getting the school work done. It is equally important that you schedule time for your own work as well. Do not let work time spill over into home time, and vice-versa.
The most important thing is that you plan ahead. If you do not you may run out of time to finish all of the coursework. Or you may push your children too hard and then have nothing left to focus on. Plan ahead and break the work up into manageable chunks.
Have boredom buster activities in place and close at hand. Children at school get a play time, so children in a home school situation should also be given the chance to relax on a regular basis.
Grants For Homeschooled Children
Single mothers will be glad to hear that there are grants for children who are schooled from home. This may come as something of a relief. Even if you continue working while homeschooling the financial strain could become significant as you will have to buy all of the materials yourself. In addition enrichment classes such as music lessons may not be financially possible. Although it is not what you would call easy to find grants for home schooled children, it is possible if you take the time to look.
Sources Of Grants
There are four main sources for homeschooling grants:
- From the government
- From private sources
- From non-profit or church organizations
- Form canvassing in your neighborhood
Although there are no government grants that are specifically aimed at homeschooling, with a little bit of effort you may be able to get one of the more than 500 education grants offered by the government and use it for homeschooling purposes. This is possible if you are able to motivate your need adequately.
Private organizations often only support large companies or charities. However if you belong to a homeschooling organizations or club, you may be able to present a convincing argument to receive grants form large companies.
There are a number of non-profit organizations, especially ones with a Christian orientation, that are in favor of homeschooling. Seek out these groups in your community as they often have grants or other systems in place to make single mother homeschooling substantially easier.
Canvassing your neighborhood takes a lot of organizations and guts. However it may be the best source of supplies for your homeschooling year. At the end of the school year make a list of all of the things that you will need for the beginning of the next school year. Then see if you can get family members to donate in the form of presents for the children. In addition you could appeal to organizations such as Wal-Mart for discounts on stock that they have too much of. Appeal for donations of money and supplies at your church and any other organization that you think may be willing to help.
Some of the scholarships and grants that you may be able to benefit from as a homeschooling single mother are:
- The Compassion Fund
- The Widows Fund
- The Children of Single Parents Fund
- The Special Needs Children’s Fund
- The Members Helping Members
- The Patrick Henry College Scholarship Fund
As you can see there are a number of reasons why homeschooling is not only a good idea, but also something that is achievable. If you feel that your marital status is holding you back, think again. This does not need to be the case, and if you feel that homeschooling will benefit your child there are a number of ways in which you can achieve this ideal. Single mother homeschooling is not a pipe dream, it is something that you can actually do if you put your mind to it and rise up to meet the challenge.