Reading: The Key To Homeschooling Success
One of the most important aspects of homeschooling your child properly is reading, both for the child and the parent. As the parent and teacher, it is imperative that you read extensively on a wide variety of topics. Remember that you are attempting to provide your children with a better education than you believe the public school system can provide and thus, you want your knowledge on a broad range of subjects to be high.
Although you will definitely want to read some books on the subject of homeschooling itself, do not rely entirely on these books alone. It's important that you are knowledgeable not only on how to teach, but on the subject matter itself. You will find yourself in a more helpful position with a broad knowledge base from which to teach as opposed to a very specified knowledge of a particular pedagogical style.
To begin, read general works on subjects like history, science, literature, and philosophy. Think of the range of subjects your children would encounter in the public school system, and gain a general knowledge of each. While all this reading may seem daunting, remember that you needn't become an expert in these subjects. What will usually suffice is a general "history of" or "beginner's guide to" the various topics.
You want to avoid, of course, having your knowledge of a given subject depend entirely on one person's opinion or work, but at the same time be realistic: a few, short general works on the subjects should be sufficient to start. As you and your children start exploring the subjects in more depth, you may find new and different areas that you become interested in, and at that time you may seek out other books that cover the subjects in more depth. A good rule of thumb (assuming your children are young) is to read at least what a typical high school student would have to read on the subjects you plan to teach.
If you are just starting out and this task seems overwhelming, you may want to consider the idea of speed-reading. Learning to speed read will not only help you as you prepare the lessons, etc but will also benefit your child as they work to study each subject. If you decide that you want to learn to speed read, it's important to consider that it's a learned skill. Just as swimming or riding a bike is a learned skill, speed-reading is the same. They all take practice. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.
Even though you have the basic skill of reading mastered, it takes more than just moving your eyes faster along the page to become good at speed-reading. It takes concentration, determination and a set time each day devoted to practice.
Pick a time during the day when you are alert and not too tired. Trying to speed read near the end of a stressful day isn't wise. Many people find it easiest to practice their speed-reading either in the morning or at mid-day. At these times you are alert and are still not as fully immersed in the pressures of your day, as you are later.
Choose a part of your day when you will have fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time. Find a quiet spot and spend that fifteen minutes concentrating on your reading and on increasing your reading speed. If you do this each day, your reading speed will naturally increase. It's much the same principle as learning to play a musical instrument. Time regularly devoted to practicing ends up producing high-quality music that is enjoyable to listen to.
Taking your speed reading seriously and practicing it will guarantee success. Before long you'll be able to work your way through a book in a fraction of the time it took you in the past. In addition, you will quickly find that the amount of time spent reading in order to prepare your homeschooling lesson plans will drop and more time will be available to work on other things. As your children learn and implement the speed-reading techniques, they too will have more time to engage in other activities and spend less time reading their schoolwork.
Related Tags: homeschooling, home school, homeschooling curriculum, homeschooling resources, christian homeschooling, homeschooling programs
David Dunlap is the founder of The Homeschooling Report, a daily blog designed to provide informative and relevant information for prospective and veteran homeschoolers alike. For more information on homeschooling programs, please visit http://homeschoolinginfoforyou.com/blog/ Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- How Hypnotherapy Can be Used on Children
Today Hypnosis can be termed as a branch of medicine which is quite unique, whereas in the past this - Confidence Workshops For Children
Every parent wants their children to be confident, happy, highly motivated and enthusiastic in order - Inspiring Children Using NLP
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is one of the most successful therapies in psychology today. Init - Writing Term Papers
Students often tend to put off a written assignment, considering it to be a chore too formidable to - Naming In Term Paper
Give a descriptive name to each of your concept in the paper. Adhere using terms like "our approach" - Introduction Section of a Research Paper
Your introductions should not exceed more than two pages (typed, double spaced). See again the examp - Getting a Feedback of Your Term Paper is Important!
Get the feedback of your work! Finish your paper, having written it well in advance, so that you hav - The 1950's - Was Life Better?
Iconic TV shows like I Love Lucy, Dennis the Menace and My Three Sons seem to indicate that the 1950 - Online Classroom Systems Makes Home Schooling Even More Attractive
In the past it went without saying that you would send your kids to public schools. With public scho - 8 Helpful Tips For Surviving Military Basic Training
Getting through military basic training takes a lot perseverance. During this training it is best to
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Culinary Cooking Schools and What They Teach
Culinary cooking schools prepare you for a job in the culinary industry by providing you with the kn - How To Learn Spanish Quickly Without Moving To Spain
Learning Spanish is a popular pastime, as well as a serious goal for many individuals. Whether it's - How To Improve Your Life With An Accredited Online College Degree
With the information super highway raring full steam ahead, quality accredited online college degree - Online Bachelor Degree Programs Go Mainstream
The Internet has seen an explosion in online bachelor degree programs in the last five to ten years - Online Degree Program Just A Click Away
You want to go shopping, but your car is low on gas. You want to know your account balance, but do n - Online Paralegal Degree Will Open Doors
An online paralegal degree may offer the possibility of improving your chances in the legal professi - What West Point Military School Looks For In A Candidate
West Point is looking for well rounded young men and women who are good students, good athletes, and - The Importance of Effective Accounting Programs
In the past, small businesses like mom and pop stores were not required to maintain any sort of acco - California Schools Educators Retirement System And Lionstone Group Create Investment Fund
The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CSTRS) is the second largest public pension fund i - A Taste of China - Seattle Schools New Guest Teacher Shares Language and Culture of Her Native Hom
The Seattle schools have a new "guest" teacher. Zhu Dan arrived in the Seattle schools in January