Time scheduling is an integral skill for any student, and particularly for the homeschooled student. Outside of the strictly regimented structure of the public school systems, parents who homeschool must take particular care to instruct their children in efficient time management. The skill of scheduling and managing time will serve any homeschooled student well, especially those who plan to move on to a college education. However, time scheduling is perhaps the most difficult challenge facing homeschooling parents, particularly those who have never been in a self-managing situation like running their own business. It takes a great deal of discipline and planning for both homeschooling parents and children to manage the issue of time scheduling.
There are several ways that parents of homeschooled children can assist in the development of good time management skills. One is to recognize the importance of establishing work habits. For homeschool students, this means first and foremost planning a schedule for study. It is not only important to factor in sufficient blocks of study time, but it is also important to ensure that study occurs at the same time every day. This repetition reinforces the study habits and enables homeschooled children to set boundaries for themselves and their work. The optimal time for study periods is immediately following a lesson. The material is fresh in the mind of the student, and allowing time for study can help cement the information the homeschooled child has just received.
For homeschool students in particular, it is equally important to allot time for non-academic activities. Family time, church time, recreational activity and free time should all be given a specific frame in which they take place. This allows homeschooled children to develop the concept that there is a time for having fun, and a time for paying attention; this is one of the major stumbling blocks many parents who homeschool encounter. However, it is also imperative for homeschooling parents to remain somewhat flexible. A rigid schedule that must be followed “no matter what” hinders the development of crisis management skills. By building flexibility into a homeschooling schedule, parents can prepare children for real world occurrences and allow them the ability to adapt.
It is beneficial for the homeschooling parent to engage children in developing a schedule that is conducive to both learning and having fun. When homeschooled children are allowed active involvement in their education, they are more enthusiastic about the learning process and better equipped to retain the time management skills for adulthood. Time scheduling should be a priority of any homeschool curriculum. Many publicly educated children enter college or the workforce ill-prepared to deal with the many demands of time. Parents who homeschool can prevent this difficulty by introducing the concept early in the educational process and reinforcing it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.