Being the thorough couple that they are, they have already started doing their homework and they are quickly becoming aware that home schooling is a commitment. One that you only need to make one year at a time, but a commitment nonetheless. Home schooling is an amazing way to take control of your child’s education, especially if your child has a non-traditional learning style, is gifted, has special needs or even has a behavioral disorder. But that is not the only reason why you may want to home school your child. Of the thousands of children that are home schooled today, many of their parents (like my friends) are simply not happy with the education (both academic and non-academic) that the local school system is providing their children with.

So here are a few things you might want to consider before you take the first step:

Count The Cost
With most quality (and I emphasize the word quality) home schooling programs, there is a significant time commitment to made. As with any teacher, lessons plans need to be prepared, papers need to be graded, projects planned and field trips organized. Some programs are DVD based while others are internet based, however, you the parent will still need to set aside time to be “the teacher”.

Teaching Skills
You don’t have to be a teacher to home school your children. If you can read and write and communicate effectively, your children will learn. There are some extremely good curriculum programs with excellent teaching materials that will help you to both plan and teach. If you come across some really difficult topics or subjects, there is always the option of hiring a tutor.

Financial Costs
While homeschooling itself need not be expensive (some programs can cost as little as $200 a year) the opportunity cost of not being at work could challenge your family’s finances. Usually one parent will home school the children while the other works at home with the children.
This might require some sacrifice if the family is used to having two incomes.

Socialization
Homeschooling is a great way of having more control of who your child associates with. There is a less of a chance of meeting unsavoury characters that otherwise might be lurking in the school hallways. On the other hand it will require that you make an extra effort to ensure that your child still gets together with other children, preferably his/her age group.

Does Your Child Want To Be Home Schooled?
Some parents make the fatal mistake of assuming that their child wants to be taught at home – when in fact they don’t. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to teach a child who has made up their mind NOT to learn! Please take the time to speak to your child to make sure that they are willing to be a part of a homeschooling program.

Consider Your Approach
Which approach to homeschooling will work best for you? School at Home, Montessori, Classical homeschooling, Waldorf Method, there are many different approaches to teaching your children at home. You need to choose which approach will work with your child’s learning style, your schedule and your academic goals, Multiple Intelligences, Unschooling, Unit Studies, relaxed homeschooling, etc.

Get Connected!
There are many support groups that can be broken down by state, county and city. Some may be more helpful than others, but getting connected is a very important aspect of teaching your children at home. People have been doing this for years, so take the time to learn from their experiences, don’t reinvent the wheel!

One Step At A Time
While all of the above may seem a little overwhelming, the key thing that you need to remember is that you only need to take a step at a time. Also, if you do make the decision to homeschool you children, remember that you only need to commit one year at a time and if it doesn’t work for you, simply choose another option that works for you and your family.

I hope that this works as a good foundation or launchpad if you are starting to think about homeschooling your child.

But many single parents that are determined are able to find ways each year to home educate their children. The final results are typically worthwhile. A home tutored child will typically surpass their equals on similar tests and have a high rating on college admissions listings.

The initial issue is often related to time management. A well prepared parent soon discovers that they have more available time for practical home schooling than they might expect. That is typically true if you account for the actual tuition hours offered in a public school. In a school day, there’s a break between classes, lunch breaks, and a good deal of sitting about not doing much. By being certain that each hour counts at home can easily compensate.

A child can be left completely free to act on any topic that interests them, and at their individual pace. Or, they might be offered with guidance and resources to execute a great deal of individual study. The answers can be reviewed later on in the day and alterations made, if required.

Tutoring in a variety of styles is one more choice for a single parent that wishes to home school. Tutors can range from an in-house instructor to an online resource that’s entirely automated. The costs are likely to vary greatly, but a lot of tutors tend to cost less than full time day care. In some cases, a tutoring role can be combined with day care service.

Some single parents will opt to begin a home based business. Once you add up the expense of gasoline for the vehicle, full time day care, and the time spent on travelling back and forth, a home based business can often appear more cost effective. This does not even take into account the potential tax savings from additional write-offs.

With a small amount of creative thinking and fair measure of research, a single parent can discover the resources and time for practical home schooling their child. Both child and parent are likely to benefit significantly if they do.

Buy Used Curriculum:

You can buy used text books for your children and work from them. You can find used books many places online such as Amazon, Online Auctions and other sites that offer used textbooks. You can save up to 50% and more on books. The used books may not be the most current year of the publication, not much have changed year to year with the material that you are teaching. You will be teaching the same material that you learned in school.

Use Online Resources:

You can find many things online for your home school that you can print and use only costing you the price of the paper and ink. The good thing about using worksheets online is that you can print off as many as you need as often as you need them. Since you will only be printing off the ones that you need, there is no need to purchase a full book of worksheets that you won’t need or use most of them.

Your Library Card:

The library will be your best cost-saving solution. You will be able to go there and get reading material, use the computer if you don’t have one at home, and have a massive amount of research material for reports and projects. Your children will be able to learn to research and meet with other home school children while there during the day. The library has many resources such as DVD rentals that offer many educational show that you can make part of your curriculum.

You can educate your children inexpensively and still give them a great education. There are many great money saving solutions and free worksheets that you can find and use as part of your schooling needs.