5 Steps to Succeed at Large Family Homeschooling
Home-schooling may not seem like a task for the faint-hearted, especially when you are dealing with more than one or two kids. However, you should never be discouraged from home-schooling even if you have a large family.
In the States, public school funding is on the decline and nowadays many parents choose to give their children a better education from the comfort of their own homes.
Teaching your children at home gives you greater flexibility when it comes to choosing their academic curriculum.
Other parents prefer this style of teaching because they can foment a warm family environment free from toxic behaviors like bullying.
Large Family Homeschooling
Whatever your reason for choosing to home-school your children, don’t be discouraged if you have a large family.
Here are five steps you should know in order to succeed at large family home-schooling.
Set Up Your Classroom
To get your kids ready for a day of learning, it is important to designate an area of the house for ‘school time’.
If you have multiple kids to teach, its best to designate an entire room for teaching, as this will give them some sense of organization and structure.
Once they are in the classroom, they should get into the mindset that they are there to focus, learn, and enjoy themselves. This can be done by creating a warm and organized environment.
Consider investing in some flex seating, posters, and a whiteboard or projector.
Join a Local Home-schooling Group
You don’t have to tackle your kids’ entire educational curriculum by yourself. There are plenty of support groups and online forums for you to discuss any outstanding issues or queries that you may have.
Local home-schooling groups will help you connect with other parents and allow you to share resources, ideas, and materials.
Sharing resources is especially useful when you have multiple children who are all at different stages of learning.
Incorporate Fun Lessons
Funding in public schools for subjects like arts or music has significantly declined, so it is worthwhile letting your kids express themselves creatively.
This is also a great way to break up the day and it gives your kids an outlet for creativity after the more mundane lessons like interactive math lessons or science.
Music lessons are beneficial for many reasons and having multiple children jam out together can teach them teamwork, communication, and listening skills.
Manage Your Expectations
Make sure that you manage you own expectations during homeschooling. Every day will be different, which means that some days will be more difficult than others.
Productivity levels won’t always be at an all-time high, this goes for both you (the tutor) and your children (the tutees).
Believe in Your Kids
Have patience with your children, if you are stressed, your kids will pick up on this and feed off of your energy. For this reason, it is important to relax and enjoy the extra time you spend with your family.
Believe in their ability to thrive and succeed in the educational sphere.
