Home Schooling and the Study of History
Do you consider that spending time in traditional classrooms is not worth it? For many people, that is true. For example, a test is due and the students are told to memorize a lot of dates and names. However, after taking the exam, they will definitely forget 90% of those dates and names. That’s what most students do every time they have tests. If you are one of these people, you will find traditional history lessons boring, so home schooling, which focuses more on the history of the world will surely catch your fancy.
Just simple memorization is not enough to realize the importance of historical, famous people and important events. Through home schooling in history, you can learn about the different cultures of the past in a unique, but interesting way - that is your own way! Through the study of history, you will also realize the current situation of the world.
If you think that home schooling is the most effective option for your child’s education, you must also be prepared to take on some responsibilities. Since there will be no teacher physically present, you will have to oversee your child’s learning progress yourself.
Let’s say your child supports a particular sport. You could combine history and home schooling by simply putting a map on the wall of your child’s bedroom and mark the location of his favourite sports team. Make sure that you track all the team’s games, scores, activities and schedules. Then, you could go back to history lessons by reading biographies of the different athletes, who had been famous in the particular sport that your child enjoys. Apart from that, you can also look into the history of that particular sport and discover where it originated, its inventor, and the other things happening in that particular time in history.
For example, if your child likes baseball, you could teach your child about the history baseball, government hearings on the use of drugs and other favourite sports during that period of time. But remember that you can adapt this concept to any interest such as dancing, cars or any invention. You can also have conversations with your child about current events or read interesting historical documents and other books. Apart from that, you can also watch documentaries together with the rest of the family. There are various resources that you can use in home schooling, such as TV, maps, newspapers, books, a globe, an atlas, and encyclopedias. Due of the exciting adventures that you and your child will read about and see on film, he/she will find it easier to remember the names and dates of the history lessons. After all, learning is best when it is done in a fun way.
These ways are advisable if the child is still young, however when your child is older, you must choose a home schooling program that is suited for his/her particular age group. The programs are pitched at the elementary, high school, and even college levels. You just have to search online for these various programs. One good thing about these programs is that you can adapt them to fit the interests of your child. However, you must see to it that all the modules are learned by your child.
Once you and your child decide to go for home schooling, you must be prepared for some changes to take place in your life. The learning environment will now be your home not a school and through the various resources that you can use including the computer and Internet.
