If you have decided to home school your child, you realize rather quickly that there is more to teaching than just choosing the right courses for her age. You must develop a home school teaching method that not only helps your child learn each subject, but also one that teaches your child how to learn effectively. Although teaching your home school student the fundamentals of reading is important, it is also just as important to teach her how to get the most out of what she reads. Reading is the foundation of learning – there will rarely be a subject that she studies in life that will not involve reading – and your home school student will benefit greatly from learning how to remember and understand what she reads.
One of the benefits of home school is that your child will receive attention far beyond what she can get in a public school atmosphere. You have the time to spend with her to help her learn techniques that will help her not only through home school and college, but also throughout her entire life. Teaching your home school student how to concentrate on what she reads so that she will get the most benefit from it should be a priority in your home school curriculum – and it should begin early. Help her to help herself, and your student will grow to be a confident and capable adult.
When it comes to reading, you should show your home school student how to get the most from her studies. Encourage her to ask questions as she reads. Did she already have knowledge of the facts that she just read? Can she cite examples of these facts? Can she find a way to prove these facts? Though she may believe what she reads, finding examples or proof will help your child to retain the information much easier. You can help her by suggesting different ways for her to answer these questions.
If your home school student is having difficulty concentrating on her reading, you can help her by suggesting several reading methods that enhance concentration. Reading in a whisper can help, as well as stopping to summarize each paragraph or page. Encourage your home school student to take short notes that include keywords to help her remember the subject of a paragraph or chapter.
Home school is an excellent environment for learning, and for going beyond learning to develop positive habits that will help your child in almost every aspect of her life.
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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.