Three Investments that Homeschooling Families Make

When students attend a traditional public or private school environment, they are taught by a teacher in a classroom with their peers, assigned homework which may be done at school or home and they can engage in extracurricular activities. Parents primarily have an accountability role to ensure the work is completed and submitted in a timely manner but otherwise, they are not too engaged as a general rule but are more in the background as the learning process occurs.

Homeschooling is very different in that it requires at least three investments from the parents and student(s) to make this a positive and successful process. Time/effort, financial and emotional are the different required investments each individual makes, whether they utilize the best accredited homeschool online or choose to create a custom curriculum and schedule that complies with their state’s guidelines. The level of each investment depends on the path the family chooses to take.  Hence, it is important to understand the requirements of each option so the right one can be selected and the students will be encouraged to stick with the program through the short and long-term. 

The time/work effort will vary across grades as younger students will typically have a print curriculum with the parent as the primary teacher, while older students will be more self-sufficient and independent in their studies. When looking for Christian online school programs, check the available options for dividing the teaching responsibilities or allowing the certified teachers to have it full-time. While this may seem similar to a traditional approach, parents must be more involved in keeping track of the student to ensure they are following the lesson plan and making positive progress. Homeschooling is not free so there will always be an associated cost that varies depending on the program: but, parents should never sacrifice quality for a cheap tuition bill. The selected homeschool program should be accredited, have different paths (i.e. standard and advanced), college prep and a path to graduation which should be clearly outlined for students starting in 9th grade. Lastly, there is an emotional investment because parents and kids are in close proximity for longer periods of time than if the kids were in school most of the day. This requires communication, space when needed and the freedom for the student to respectfully express opinions and ideas that may be different from the parent.

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