Simplifying the complex code called “Home-schooling.”

This pandemic brought to light an underlying and rather suppressed aspect of parenthood. ‘Homeschooling’ has been a popular and sought-after schooling avenue in the WEST for years. In India, however, traditional schooling is considered ideal. The schooling ball game completely changed with this unprecedented and everlasting pandemic. Virtual schooling has become a way of life for learners of all age groups, and there’s clearly no escape route to this. Where there are multiple benefits associated with the gamut of activities supporting virtual schooling, which makes learning more fun and interactive, the increased exposure to screen has been raising concern for parents across all communities. Schools across the globe are doing a fantastic job to ensure optimum delivery of education virtually, yet the void created by lack of physical and social ‘real’ interactions cannot be ignored. This void can only be filled by the involvement of parents in their children’s education. The focus on homeschooling is now greater than ever in the history of education.

This has led to increased anxiety among most parents. For years now, with the growing efficiency of schools with respect to independently nurturing and educating the kids in a way that they do not have to depend much on parents for their work or assignments, the parental role in education had somewhere taken a major backseat. With this sudden urge to get fully involved now, it is but natural for most parents to get cold feet. The most common reasons for the same being – their inability to do so, lack of confidence in teaching, lack of knowledge of the concerned subject, lack of experience, etc. At the same time, even the children may be apprehensive of acceptance of this sudden role reversal they witness in their parents. Some insecurities, few emotional apprehensions, and a lot of pre-conceived notions make the whole concept of “homeschooling” seem daunting for all parents who dedicatedly aspire to do the same but are unable to do so.

Countless times we have heard that “A mother is the best teacher for her child”. I would like to tweak this a bit by saying that “Parents are the best teachers for their children’’ and this is where the emphasis and focus on homeschooling amplifies more and No! I’m not trying to scare you. Homeschooling is no rocket science, it can be done by anyone and everyone, and there are ways and means to do it. The very first step towards it being – accepting the fact that it is ‘No rocket science’. I am not a homeschooling expert, and I want to assure all moms that there is no specific rule to homeschooling. It is basically chalking out – the most important aspects that you feel your child should learn and implement the same with available resources. Opt for concept-based learning rather than curriculum-based agendas. I will illustrate a few examples that will give you an idea of what I’m trying to say. So when I talk about concepts, it could be anything like shapes, reading a Clock, lifecycle of plant/ animal, parts of the body etc. Now depending on the age of your child, you decide how deep you would want to go in a particular subject. For instance, you can introduce the basic square/ triangle/ circle and rectangle to 1-2 year old, but for kids above 2.5 years old, you may want to go deeper with cones, spheres, cuboids, cylinders, etc. You design your own curriculum, set your own timeframes, and set the pace in accordance with your child’s learning abilities. If my examples seem too unrealistic, you can always tweak them as per your child. Remember! Every child is different and has different learning abilities as well. We must respect the same while homeschooling them.

Now comes yet another important and integral yet underrated part of homeschooling that is ‘Understanding the different learning styles of your little one.’ You must understand that every child is different, and every learner has a different learning style. Owing to their differences in upbringing, socio-economic background, childhood environment, genetic differences, and a lot of other factors, heterogeneity persists in the way they perceive knowledge, and hence the way every child reciprocates to a form of teaching will always vary. Visual learners are those who show more inclination towards videos, movies, graphs, pictorial representations, or the visual aids of learning. Where some others may prefer learning the traditional way- by reading and writing, the aural learners are those who grasp better lectures or when they listen to audios /clippings/podcasts, basically aural methods of teaching. Kinaesthetic learners, on the other hand, are those who prefer ‘learning by doing’ things. With such learners, active experiments, hands-on training works better. Again, children may not have one restricted learning style but a combination of both like aural-visual, kinaesthetic-aural, or read-write-visual, etc. There are multiple resources and tests available in the public domain to help you classify your child’s learning style. Also, with a few trials and errors, you would be able to diagnose your child’s learning style. It is imperative that you first identify the same and accordingly tweak your homeschooling activities as per their learning style. Under any circumstances, I always recommend using the ‘teaching style’ conducive to your child backed by a blend of other styles as well to break the monotony. My analysis of the different learning styles is based on the “VARK” model, in case you would like to read up on this a little more.

In a nutshell, we all can do this. You do not need a teacher’s certificate to teach your own child. Learning happens best when it is done at home under parental guidance. The best outcomes of learning have been achieved when the child is known to be intrinsically motivated, which means having an inner burning desire to learn. More often than not, this motivation is a direct outcome of the child’s bond with his parents. When you are homeschooling your little ones, you are not only building a bond with them but also strengthening their roots of conceptual understanding. Children often need that little push to go beyond what they perceive they can achieve of themselves. This push, if not provided, at the right age can stifle their ability to achieve and excel. This conditioned push and scaffolding by parents can be instrumental in imbibing self-confidence in the child at the right age, thus escalating them to scale heights in the future.

Follow us-

Instagram/ Facebook/ Youtube/ Pinterest 

Also read:

Introduce your Kids to Coding only @Code.org for Free

Five Effective Homeschooling Tips For Parents

Top Kids Activity Boxes for 4-7-Year-Old Kids

You May Also Like: