Working and Homeschooling - Essential Information For Work at Home Moms

Working and homeschooling is becoming more popular as many parents need to earn income while educating their children at home. Some parents who work at home while homeschooling need a full time income. Others need supplemental income to pay for homeschooling activities, curriculum and supplies.

Here are five tips for homeschooling and working:

1. Find the right work at home moms opportunity. Think about the needs of your children and how much time you have available. Figure out how much income you need to earn. You may be able to arrange telecommuting in your current position. If that option is not available, consider working in a virtual call center, starting your own business or joining a direct sales organization.
2. Set specific, measurable goals. Set clear goals in the areas of work, homeschooling and family. Know what you want to accomplish and what you will have to do in order to achieve the results you desire. Don't let your aspirations in one area overshadow those in others. Limit work to certain hours to make time for family fun and personal pursuits.
3. Find a curriculum that works for your family. Some moms who work and homeschool prefer prepackaged curricula that offer structure and allow children to work independently. Others prefer a more relaxed homeschooling method that involves learning through everyday life. In addition to finding the right program, teach your child good work habits and time management skills. Set small goals that can be reached independently. Use audiobooks, educational videos and computer programs to supplement direct teaching.
4. Find a schedule that works for your family. You don't have to conduct lessons during typical school hours. Consider teaching during evenings or on weekends, and teach science, history and electives one or two days per week. Schedule your work hours for times when your children are napping or engaged in independent activities. Be flexible. You may have to try several arrangements until you find a schedule that works.
5. Develop a support network. Allow relatives, friends and other homeschool parents to help you with child care and transporting children to and from events. You don't have to be your child's only teacher. Take advantage of educational opportunities at homeschool support groups, museums, libraries, co-ops and other activities.

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Here are some additional tips for working and homeschooling.

Carletta Sanders is a working homeschool mom of 3. Visit her website, Successful Homeschooling, to find additional advice for moms who work at home.

Virtual Homeschooling - Getting Started with Online Curriculum for K-12 Students

Here we cover the Beginners Guide to using online curriculum and retain your initial excitement for this novel approach to learning!

3 Ways to get started with your online curriculum.

1. Always read over the scope and sequence section of your online program. This will give you information about what will be covered for the next semester/year. With this in mind you can relax and understand that one day at a time you and your student will cover what is laid out. Referring back to this section will help you understand where your student may need more time to solidify his or her learning.

2. Use your curriculum as a resource base. Logging in to find answers to questions raised by your student will give the understanding that the curriculum materials are helpful in learning. If answers are not found encourage further research to reach a conclusion. Your online curriculum then becomes an active part of the learning process leaving room for much needed creativity generated by the student. Working as detectives with the guidance of a solid knowledge base is a more innovative approach to covering curriculum content.

3. Discover the approach built into the curriculum that resonates with your student. Online curriculum is designed to cater to all learning needs, not just those of your student! In knowing this, duplicate the approach best suited to your student and present lessons that are engaging for your student. Using the curriculum as a resource in a flexible way engages your creativity as a teacher. Modeling flexibility in your thinking encourages flexible thinking in your student. Always take the learner into consideration when planning how you might share the curriculum during a learning experience.

Using the curriculum and your student as a guide you will certainly have a successful experience with teaching online curriculum in the home.

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Find you online curriculum needs at http://www.k12genius.com Have your Virtual Student engaging and excelling in response to your improved teaching skills. Visit us at http://www.2Think2Learn.com for more interactive approaches to implementing K-12 Virtual programs in the home.

The Many Benefits of Home Schooling - 3 Reasons Why Home Schooling is Better

For parents, the choice of teaching your child at home is becoming an increasingly popular one. Although it is going to take a lot of work on your part to make sure that things go smoothly, there are some benefits of home schooling that will make it all worth your while. Here are three different reasons why teaching a child at home is better than allowing them to go through with the mainstream schooling.

Environmental Reasons - One of the main reasons that people decide to teach their children at home is because of the environment that exists in many school systems. It is difficult enough to raise a child to be a balanced adult without the influence of other children whose parents may not share the same ideals as you.

Lack of Supervision - Another thing that is difficult for the school systems in general to monitor is the behavior of the children. Since one adult is generally responsible for a large group of children, they can be difficult for them to keep a handle on the situation. One of the benefits of home schooling is that you are able to supervise the situation and to control it to the extent that it is possible for you to do so.

Custom Tailored - One more of the benefits of home schooling your children is that you can custom tailor the curriculum to the child. This will help to reduce boredom, especially when it comes to subjects that your child may excel in. Since you will not have to stick with the rest of the group, you are free to move along as quickly as you desire.

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Learn more about the many benefits of home schooling at http://www.homeschooling4you.com

Home Schooling - The Benefits

There are many benefits to homeschooling. Some of the benefits are purely practical, such as not being tied down by school hours and vacations; others have to do with your child's education. Homeschooling gives you more control over the influences that affect your child. You can decide what it is you want your child to learn. The curriculum can be adjusted to suit the needs of your child. This is obviously one of the most important benefits of Homeschooling.

What are the benefits?

1. You have control over what your child learns.

2. The curriculum can be adjusted to suit your child's needs.

3. Your child will be getting individual attention.

4. The time spent on each subject can be tailor-made to suit your child. If your child needs more attention in one subject but find another very easy, more time can be spent on the difficult subject. The amount of time needed to learn each subject will depend on the abilities and interests of the child. This allows your child to learn all subjects without unnecessary pressure.

5. Your child's schooling becomes part of the family's activities and the parents are involved in every aspects of the child's learning and fun family activities can incorporate valuable lessons. Family closeness becomes the focus here. The child is also free of any negative peer pressure while making choices and decisions.

6. Your child is free from unnecessary competition and only has to compete with himself/herself.

7. Because the parent understands the child's strong points as well as weak points, the day can be planned in such a way that difficult subjects can be followed by a fun activity to give the child a chance to relax and rebuild his self confidence.

8. Learning becomes fun.

9. Parents can also tailor the curriculum to suit the learning style of the child.

10. The parent has control over the moral as well as the religious aspects of the child's learning. This is a very important reason why many parents do homeschooling, as especially religious learning is often not included in the school curriculum or the curriculum differs from the beliefs at home. This can confuse a child and make him very unsure of his moral roots.

11.Very often parents are also very worried about discipline in the school system and feel that there is too little discipline. Parents have better control over discipline at home and can also use discipline in a way that suits the personality of each child.

12. Parents also feel they have a problem with ethics and homeschooling also solves this problem.

13. Many parents repudiate the educational philosophy of grouping children solely on the basis of their age. With homeschooling the parent can have better control over the people their chills mix with and the decision can be made on other criteria than simply the age of the child. Because of this children learn to socialize with people from all ages, there are no artificial borders based on age alone. This is a model that is more true to real life as in real life one has to be able to mix with people from all ages.

According to research homeschoolers normally do better academically than their counterparts in normal schools. A national study, entitled "Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America," found that homeschoolers, on average, outperformed those in public schools by 30 to 37 points in all subjects. For parents who have the means and the time to invest in their children's education, homeschooling will always be an option they have to seriously consider. It can be difficult financially, because one parent normally has to stay home to do the main part of the homeschooling. If the family cannot manage on only one income, it may not be possible, although there are more and more opportunities these days for work at home moms.

Carefully consider the pros and cons before you make a decision on homeschooling.

Author Info:

Magriet is a work at home "Gran" with websites on family related matters. Visit her insightful site about homeschooling at http://www.homeschooling.topknacks.com She also have a site on Kids Crafts that is very related to homeschooling at http://www.kidscrafts.topknacks.com You can also visit her fun website with easy science projects ideal for the homeschooler at http://www.learnerscience.com

Keeping Track Of Your Students And Your Progresses

Keeping Track of Progress: Keep a Journal

Plan Lessons Ahead

Keeping a journal has many advantages, you can plan lessons ahead, with a clear view of your schedule and avoids panicky situations when realizing how much tuition work you have to do for the following week! It will help you plan assessments and prepare your tutoring. If you are a new tutor, it is strongly recommended that you prepare every lesson carefully, with a structure and lots of examples. This will give you confidence, support and will look professional in the eyes of your student. It is especially useful if you are starting your tuition career and do not necessarily know the tricks of your profession. The advantage of keeping track of your tutoring lessons reflects on your results as a tutor. You can note the particularities of each student, which tutoring method worked with them, which method definitely did not, whether they require more homework guidance or simply someone to discipline their revision time. You might think that you do not need a written reminder of this information, but you could most certainly find a use for it, especially if you have a fair number of students, or if you have students hiring your services for a few weeks only, every year before their exams.

Organized for Booking Tutoring Sessions

Another advantage of a journal is the ability to book in students quickly, by identifying available slots of time in a glance. If you are a freelance tutor, you should have available sessions and have a specified time to call back your potential clients. This can be easier if you keep a clear record of your schedule in a journal. You can organize your days, note the time required from the transition of one student to another, and therefore give reliable information on any available slots to your client.

Tracking The Students Progress

Keeping a journal will help you keep track of your students' progress. It is important to know their weakness, strengths, what topics you have covered with the student, topics you plan to cover with them next, and areas where the student doesn't require tutoring. The students are paying for your time, and you are also using their time, often near exam periods where time is most valuable, so it is important you use both your time and their time effectively. Avoid going over areas where they do not need tuition, this will frustrate them, and not aid their studies. Create a personal one to one tuition plan with the individual, and make a note of what you have covered in each lesson, and what you intend to cover next.

As your tutoring business picks up, it will almost be impossible to keep track of all the information for each pupil. Before each lesson, make sure you go through you journal, review what you taught in you previous lessons, and what you planned to teach in your next. Be prepared, and have your notes and examples available for each individual lesson. .

Tracking You Own Progress As A Tutor

As a beginner tutor, it is important to track your own personal development. What teaching methods have you found most effective with most pupils, where have you made mistakes in the past, what have you found works, and what hasn't. Although you will find some methods work better than others depending on the individual, there will also be universally 'good' tutoring methods and universally 'bad' tutoring methods. Make sure you keep a note of your effectiveness, at the end of the tuition get some feed back from the student. Towards the end of the tuition, it might be useful to hand out a Q&A to ask what they found most useful, and what they found least useful, you maybe surprised at the results, and restructure your future tuition plans.

Above all, your journal is a personal tool, so it is really up to you how you use it or what best applications you can find for it. Whether you use it as a simple log entry to record your appointments, schedule and lessons plans, or whether you use it a a more introspective tool is for you to discover. Either way, a journal is a necessary step to take to start your professional career as a tutor.

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