I have been homeschooling for so long and roadschooling has been a regular part of my family, so sometimes I forget what it was like in the beginning.
Many people already homeschool and are ready to make the leap into roadschooling. Other have babies, not yet ready for school. And many more have kids in school that will leave the traditional model of education for life on the road. Whichever phase you are in we are here to help.
If homeschooling is brand new to you I recommend you start by learning about the requirements of your state. HSLDA has a great website with a ton of useful information. I have never been a member, but many people find their services helpful. https://hslda.org/content/laws/ Here is a list of state laws about home education.
The next step is deciding on a curriculum. There are so many options and everyone seems to have an opinion about which one is best. As a parent, you will have to do your research to find what will best meet your and your childs needs. Some questions to ask yourself are; Does my child want to go to college? What career is my child interested in? Does my child learn better studying a book, hands on, or online? How structured do I want to be? How much time do I have to devote to education?
Some options that you have are unschooling, purchased curriculum, online curriculum, charter school, distance learning with a teacher, or you can make up your own. Your state laws will influence your decision if there is testing or some sort of accountability.
If you opt for a curriculum keep a few things in mind. Most of the hours spent in school are for waiting and crowd control. Kids line up to go into class, put their bags and coats away, sit down, the teacher takes attendance, then class begins. It takes time for the teacher to explain things to 20 children, time to turn in or pass out papers, etc. There is a lot of waiting time. So don’t expect your child to spend the same amount of hours doing their schooling as they would in school. They can get things done much faster at home. And know that you don’t have to follow a school schedule. Maybe you want to travel to a national park or tourist location during the week when lines are shorter. Schooling can be done evenings and weekends too. Some children do better with the same routine every single day. No breaks for weekends or summer. Others want to do as much as they can as fast as they can and they get their weeks worth of school done in 3 days so they can have the rest of the week off. Do what works for your family.
The most important advice I can give is that if it’s not working, change it. Maybe you bought the most expensive highly rated curriculum, but it has become a daily battle to get your child through it. Learning doesn’t have to involve tears. It can be fun. Try something else for a while and maybe come back to it later. Maybe you’ll decide that your child’s learning style doesn’t match your teaching style. That’s okay, experiment with different things until you find what works.
I have always said that no matter what you do, in the end, they will turn out okay. A friend of mine has the opposite view. He said he knows he is going to screw up his kids, he just doesn’t know how yet. We are both probably right. We’ll do many things wrong and our children will be there to point out our faults, but we’ll also do many more things right. No one is perfect. You are not a perfect parent and you certainly aren’t raising a perfect child. But always think about the big picture and see what a smart wonderful person your child is becoming.
