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Integrative Approach to Supporting the Homeschooling Family
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes

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CEUs available at:
https://www.allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/1310/c/ Integrative Approach to Supporting Homeschooling Families (2 Hours)

Objectives
– Explore the impact of homeschooling on the family
– Identify issues that may come up during homeschooling
– Explore creative ways to help families effectively homeschool
Impact of Homeschooling
– Physical
– It is easy for the child’s schedule to get out of synch when they don’t have to get up to meet a bus
– Maintain a schedule
– There is a risk of greater weight gain related physical problems due to a lack of enforced PE and 24/7 availability of food
– Mindful eating, cooking, fun activities, nutrition literacy
– Some children may rely on free and reduced breakfast and lunch and will no longer be able to access that.
– Work with food pantries and volunteers to disperse care packages
– Increased risk for unnoticed child abuse or neglect when children are home all day
– Conversely, children could get more sleep, be exposed to fewer germs, encouraged to be active in meaningful ways, learn how to eat mindfully as well as develop culinary skills.

Impact of Homeschooling
– Affective
– Depression & grief due to
– Separation from friends
– Inability to have experiences that they dreamt of (prom, graduation, student council, IRL friends…)
– Extracurricular availability through the district or homeschool organization
– Feeling hopeless and helpless when they are learning a difficult subject and do not have peer support*
– Online resources
– K12 type schooling
– Virtual or IRL study groups

Impact of Homeschooling
– Affective
– Loneliness
– Extroverts and competitive youth may struggle more than others
– Introverts may thrive in this setting
– Caregivers may feel very isolated, especially if they quit work to homeschool
– Parental Stress
– Deciding on a curriculum
– Feeling unprepared to teach certain subjects
– Difficulty getting youth to do what they are supposed to do
– Exhaustion from being “on” all day every day

Impact of Homeschooling
– Affective
– Happiness due to:
– Being able to do some self-directed learning and get frequent feedback from primary caregiver
– Caregiver being able to see those aha moments
– Not having 5 hours of homework each night and having time to be a kid

Impact of Homeschooling
– Cognitive
– Caregivers may not be able to adequately identify learning issues (ADHD, LD, autism, FASD, hearing or vision problems)
– Provide screening tools
– Work with the district or homeschool group to have a clinician available for consultation
– Connect with Early Intervention Services if a child under 3 is in the family and demonstrating developmental delays.
– Provide practical tools and information to support the family
– Caregivers may not feel prepared
– Help them find tools to teach. Nobody knows everything.
– Connect them with homeschooling support groups

Impact of Homeschooling
– Cognitive
– Some children thrive in this environment because
– They are able to be taught in a way that they learn best
– They are able to be in a conducive environment
– They are able to work at their own pace
– They are able to explore things “traditional curriculum” doesn’t provide
– They are able to use the skills for practical purposes
– Math: Cooking, wood working, money management
– English: Research, health literacy, learning about a topic of interest (birds, interior design), improving at Jeopardy or Trivial Pursuit
– History: Talk about lessons learned and compare/contrast with present day
– They learn how to learn and be self-disciplined which prepares them for the future
Impact of Homeschooling
– Environmental
– Part of the house and/or times of day will need to be dedicated to homeschooling (same as work from home)
– Some families may have to move to reduce bills which can cause stress, anger, resentment and grief
– Homeschool “day care”
– Relational
– Relationship dynamics with the caregiver may become strained
– Relationship between caregivers and/or family may become strained
– Children will not be interacting with their friends in the same way
– *Explore extracurricular activities

Impact of Homeschooling
– Relational
– Relationship dynamics with the caregiver may become strained (or improved)
– It is easy to focus on misbehavior, failures, limit testing.
– It is vital to focus on positive behaviors, responsible actions, and successes
– Relationships among siblings may become strained (or improved)
– Caregivers need to remember the uniqueness of each child’s temperament, interests, abilities and learning styles.
– Children will not be interacting with their friends in the same way
– Explore extracurricular activities
– Ensure regular video and IRL activities to promote effective communication skills

Types of Homeschooling
– Classical
– Socratic dialog using classic books and writings are used to teach facts and data in grammar school, logic and critical thinking in middle school, and rhetoric and self-expression in high school. It incorporates Greek and Latin learning and subjects are taught as much as possible in chronological/historical order.
– Charlotte Mason
– Short periods of study, typically 15-45 minutes coupled with nature walks, nature journals, history portfolios, and practice in observation, memorization, and narration. Reading, especially biographies, classics, and other “living books” (i.e., stories, with heroes, life-lessons, and important socio-ethical implications) plays a big role.

Types of Homeschooling
– Montessori
– Humanistic student-based approach using free movement, large-unstructured time blocks (up to 3 hours) and interest-based and individualized learning plans. Teachers instruct indirectly through kinesthetic activities, and encourage students to choose from a range of learning activities.
– School-at-Home
– School-at-Home is basically the same as your local public or private school classroom, but it’s implemented at home. School-at-Home education is typically organized around complete curriculum packages, often arranged by school year

Types of Homeschooling
– Unschooling
– Free-form learning model which is student-centered, unconventional, and individualistic focusing largely on the student’s interests with a high priority on experiential, activity based, and learn-as-you-go education. Youth are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic, but this is often administered with a variety of technology and materials, and typically without conventional testing/evaluation
– Unit studies
– Unit studies are thematically related learning plans where students will study the same event or object from the perspective of each subject area

Homeschooling Options and Resources
– HSLDA.org
– Free complete homeschooling options https://www.thoughtco.com/free-online-public-schools-4148138
– K12
– Connections Academy
– State sponsored online charter schools
– Fee-Based:
– EDHelper
– Time4Learning
– Complete Curriculum Books (SAMs)
– Textbooks (used)
– Saxon Curriculum

Homeschooling Options and Resources
– Topic Specific Resources
– https://www.youtube.com/user/profrobbob
– https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse
– Khan Academy
– Brain Pop
– IXL
– CLEP / Modern States
– Spelling City
– Free online college courses (Example 1 Example 2)

Homeschooling Options and Resources
– Social Resources
– District extracurriculars
– Community center (Parks and recreation) activities and clubs
– MeetUps

Summary
– Homeschooling is NOT right for everyone.
– Homeschooling may be chosen by families due to
– Mental or physical health concerns
– Religious ideals
– Personal preferences
– Homeschooling caregivers will need support making this transition.
– Families may need additional help learning how to
– Effectively communicate
– Access resources