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Get Creative: Home Education May Be an Option Yet
Before you decide that home education is not an option because of difficult circumstances, consider the possible solutions we've compiled. There are few simplistic answers when it comes to child-rearing, but for the determined and committed parent, there are often options that just have not been thought of.
Many parents around the world must resort to extreme means just to keep their children alive. That thought can help keep things in perspective. You won’t have to starve yourself or steal to homeschool, but if home education is what you really want to do, you may have to take some unconventional steps to make it happen.
Imagine the lessons your children will learn from it all!
A List of Creative and Sometimes Unconventional Ideas to Help Get You Started
If you can’t be home full time or if there are financial, health or other difficulties that create obstacles for you, consider these ideas:
Younger Children
Could you work with your child after hours or on weekends and have a grandparent, other relative, babysitter or retired person from church work with him some (homework that you assign, maybe)?
Or maybe one of the above people could take on the whole job of teaching. One-on-one tutoring/teaching does not take nearly as long as classroom instruction and can be reinforced through games, play and casual conversation.
Could you rearrange your schedule to be with your child more? Or could you find work that would allow you to be with your child more? Several ladies we know run in-home daycares and are able to homeschool their own children as well as teach other children some things. Another lady always held jobs that allowed her to take her children along.
If you’re a single parent, could you share housing with another single parent wishing to homeschool, reducing living costs and sharing schooling responsibilities? Or could you reduce living costs by sharing housing with a parent or retired person?
Could you manage a live-in nanny – a retired person (or someone else) who would help with either finances or teaching in exchange for rent?
Could you find a college student majoring in education who could help with teaching in exchange for the experience?
Contact a local home education group and see if any help is available through them.
Can you trade a skill or work for tutoring/childcare?
Can you live more frugally? Can you find less expensive housing, reduce regular expenses, etc., so you don’t need to work as much or can take a more flexible job?
If you have the skills and meet the qualifications in your state, can you take work homeschooling other people’s children along with your own, even considering a position as a live-in helper for a well-off homeschooling family?
Do you have relatives or friends who could lend a hand with tutoring a tough subject?
Would a parent be willing to invest in your child’s education by helping you out financially?
Older Children
Older children can be left alone some of the time as long as they’re responsible and can work on their own. Learn the laws in your state about leaving children alone (some states have age restrictions), and be sure your child can contact you and others if necessary and can deal with emergencies.
An older child can also help pay for his or her own education by trading skills or work for tutoring. Family, friends, retired people might all be willing to consider such an arrangement.
Apprenticeship is another great way to “finance” an older child’s education. He or she learns skills in exchange for helping at a business. Children can also gain valuable skills and experience through volunteer programs at such places as hospitals or nursing homes.
Older children are sometimes more welcome as tag-alongs in a workplace. Can your child go to work with you, at least part of the time? Or maybe there’s a library or some other place near your workplace where he could work on assignments.
Maybe your church or place of worship would allow your child to study in its library (or some other room) while some of the staff is on duty.
Think of other places that have atmospheres conducive to study and might like a mature and serious helper who would crack the books quietly while she wasn’t needed: law offices, accounting firms, libraries, etc.
Could another homeschooling family make room for your child?
Take a look at the options for younger children, too. Many of them apply to all ages. If you're looking for encouragement and support in your journey to Home School, here’s a website you may find helpful: Print up the above list and start brainstorming. Make a list of possible jobs you could take that would allow you to homeschool or ways in which you could alter your living circumstances to make home education possible. At first, it may all seem off-the-wall, too different, but as you think and plan, you’ll realize you’re engaging in an old-fashioned American habit – innovation!
The future is full of hope. Please join us — and millions of others — on an exciting journey toward educational freedom.
True Life Stories. Read about people who are practicing freedom now.
Do YOU have additional ideas or experiences that would help or encourage others? Please share them with us!
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