On Homeschooling

I don't homeschool but have taken it under consideration as the two kids I have in school are a bit bored and don't feel challenged enough. Then again, I have a third who is only two and needs attention. I might do it once he starts Kindergarten. Anyhow, there are a lot of resources on the internet in regards to homeschooling and how to set things up, even lesson plans. In a homeschooling environment one or both of the parents are usually the teachers, some parents hire a tutor to do the job, some parents build a cooperative with other parents to share teaching responsibilities. The kids usually receive daily lessons on various subjects. Here in the US there is usually a knowledge test they have to take at the end of the year to proof that they learned the material and the homeschooling is really taking place. Requirements vary from state to state. Some even require the parent to have a teaching license. The upside of homeschooling is that the child gets individual attention instead of being in a classroom with like twenty or more other kids. You know your kids are safe. You know what subjects they have trouble with etc. Study times can be flexible. You don't have to get up early to get them off to school, for example but can start homeschooling in the afternoon, if necessary. The downside is that the child has less social interactions with his/her peers. It's of course important for kids to learn how to make friends and how to keep friends. It's also important for them to learn how to deal with unfriendly kids and rejection of friendship. Another problem is that parents are often not that knowledgeable in all the required fields of study and the kids might not achieve the knowledge they should have or things are explained wrong. Some parents seem to slack a bit at times, especially if there is no rigorous schedule set up. But the homeschooling websites all explain how to counteract things like that. Here in town is a private school that offers a homeschool cooperation (for a fee of course) where the kids can participate in PE and team sports with that school but attend regular classes at home. If you intend to homeschool your child, I would recommend to find out first whether this is allowed in your country. If yes, you need to know exactly what the requirements are. Then I would suggest to find other homeschooling parents in your area just not just for feedback but also for cooperatives, joint field trips, physical education (it's always more fun with friends;)...