Homeschooling but Not Your Own Child

Homeschooling is growing in popularity as the problems in society increase.  Many parents feel that, in order for their children to learn proper values, they need to be taught these values during school time.  This conclusion makes sense as children typically spend more awake-time at school then they do with their parents.  Other major concerns in today’s society are peer pressure and bullying.  In school, children sometimes suffer damage to their self-esteem that haunts them for the rest of their lives.  The other main issue with the public school system is that teachers have to teach to the ‘average’ student.  If a particular child is not ‘average’ in learning style, attention span, energy level, etc., then that child will run into problems in the public school system.

With these things in mind, I set out down this path called homeschooling.  In Kindergarten and Grade One, my daughter had really struggled in school.  She had been behind academically and struggling socially.  She told me she hated school.  I resolved to fix the situation.  I helped her at home to catch up in reading and mathematics.  I told her that, for Grade Two, she could be homeschooled; it was an option.  My daughter wanted to go back to school again in Grade Two.  She didn’t want to be separated from all her friends.  So we decided to try the public school again.  This decision left me in the position of being all ready for homeschooling but having no child to teach!

Here in the province of Manitoba, it is legal to homeschool someone else’s child at the request of their parents.  I have a tutoring business in Steinbach, Manitoba, so I advertised my homeschooling services there as well.  Almost immediately, I got a client who wanted me to homeschool their child.  Homeschooling this child has turned out to be a very good experience.  I overlap my homeschooling with the homework club that I tutor afterschool.  That way, my homeschooling student has the benefit of interacting with other children during the homework club portion of the day.  Homeschooling typically takes half the time of regular schooling.  So my student has the rest of the day to spend with his family.

One resource I use, both in helping my daughter after school and in homeschooling my student, is online review activities.  There is something about using a computer that makes learning exciting for children.  I have compiled some of the best Kindergarten to Grade Four online learning resources on my website – viathenet.ca.

Overall, the year is going well.  My daughter is having an excellent experience this year in the public school system.  Her academic difficulties appear to be behind her now and she is really enjoying learning with her friends.  The child I homeschool has been very happy and learning well here.  This experience has reinforced for me the fact that some children only truly flourish in a homeschool environment while, for other children, the public school system is more than adequate, perhaps even desirable.  As parents, we need to be sensitive to the needs of our children and we need to plant them where they are able to thrive.

© Celesta Thiessen