General Articles: Avoiding Overscheduling for Your Home-School ChildBy Mimi RothschildThe too-common profile of the overscheduled, overextended child is not limited to students in the traditional public education system. Home-school children are also at risk for the dangers of a fast-paced, stressful life. The risk may be even more marked in the home-school environment. Parents who are concerned that their home-school children are missing out on the social opportunities of the typical school setting might become overzealous in ensuring social activity.
When it comes to home-schooling, it is just as important to strike a balance between work and leisure activities. Home-school students are prone to make commitments to several pursuits at once, and many soon find that they don't have time for any of them. Parents of home-school children are often reluctant to interfere in their children's creative development, as one of the primary goals of home-school is to encourage independence and resourcefulness. However, without guidance it is easy for a home-school child to find himself over-stimulated. This can quickly lead to a lack of interest in important educational components.
As a home-school parent, you can take the initiative and help your children plan a schedule that will allow them to balance work time and leisure time. Your first step should be to determine those things that must be done, whether it is math lessons or Scripture studies. One good rule of thumb is to allow each child certain blocks of free time each day, and then encourage them to choose a few excellent activities to participate in, as opposed to several "good" ones. In this way, your home-school children can concentrate on development of the things they're most interested in, and increase the overall quality of their home-school education.
Having a daily schedule in place for your home-school activities is a great way to ensure that your children are receiving a well-rounded education. Of course, one of the greatest benefits to parents who home-school is the ability to remain flexible. If opportunities for learning arise that are too good to pass up, such as a special community event or a perfect day for a picnic, home-school parents who have been following a regular schedule can be confident that including the occasional spontaneous activity will not negatively impact the direction of their children's learning process. When it comes to extracurricular activities for home-school children, the axiom "less is more" can be taken to heart. A handful of quality activities and educational courses are worth far more to a home-school child than the opportunity to participate in dozens of groups and the resultant inability to enjoy any of them.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, children's rights activist, author, and Founder and C.E.O. of online education company Learning by Grace, Inc. Rothschild and her husband of twenty-eight years reside in suburban Philadelphia with their eight children.
Feeling that “our current system of education has broken its promise,” Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. to provide families with Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children all over the world.
In addition to her twenty years of experience as a homeschool mother, Rothschild has written a number of books dealing with education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education Websites Blog consists of helpful online content and activities for Christian homeschooling families.
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