Home Schooling and the Study of History

By Marion Jones

Do you think that spending time in traditional classrooms is a waste of time? For many people, that is probably true. For example, an exam is coming up and the students are told to memorize a list of dates and names. However, after taking the exam, they will probably forget 90% of those dates and names. That's what the majority of students do when they have exams. 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 interest you more.

Simple memorization by rote is just not enough to know the importance of historically famous people and fateful events. However, through home schooling in history, you can learn about the different cultures of the past in a different, but interesting way - that is your own way! By the study of history, you will also understand the situation of the world today.

If you think that home schooling is the most effective option for your child's education, you should 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 suppose that your child is interested in sports. Through history and home schooling, you could start by just hanging a map on the wall of your child's room. Mark the location of his favorite sports team and make sure that you track all the team's activities and schedules. Then, you could go back to history by reading biographies of the various athletes, who had been popular in the particular sport that your child enjoys. Aside from that, you can also look into the history of that specific sport and discover where it originated, its inventor, and the other things happening at that particular time.

For instance, if your child loves baseball, you can teach your child about the history baseball, government hearings on the use of steroids and other favourite pastimes during that period in time. Just remember that you can apply this method 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 You can also have conversations with your child about current events or read interesting historical documents and other books. Aside from that, you could also watch documentaries together with the rest of the family. There are various resources that you can use in home schooling, like 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 methods are recommended if the child is still young, but once your child is older, you must choose an appropriate home schooling program that is suitable for his/her age group. The programs are available at the elementary, high school, and even college levels. You just have to search online for these different programs. A good thing about these programs is that you can adapt them to suit the interests of your child. However, you must see to it that all the lessons are studied by your child.

After you and your child decide to try home schooling, you must be prepared to make some changes to your life. The learning environment will now be in your home not at a school and through the various resources that you think best, such as a computer and the Internet.

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