Best Strategies for Homeschooling

Homeschooling can be an incredibly rewarding experience for both parents and their children. Although figuring out the best teaching strategies and methods to use can be challenging, The Centre for Learning@HOME offers supports to families in choosing the best teaching resources and methods. To ensure your child’s experience is meaningful and their distance learning is successful, follow these helpful strategies for homeschooling:

Create a routine

The first important strategy is to create a realistic routine and stick to it as much as possible. This can help both parents and children feel more organized and structured, yet less stressed and overwhelmed. Try to set aside specific times for each subject, and for different activities like free play and outdoor time.

Use a variety of teaching methods

In order to keep your child engaged, try not to rely on just one method of teaching. Mix things up with activities, games, books, videos, and other resources. This will help keep your child engaged with the content and interested in learning more! Your Centre for Learning@HOME facilitator can provide ideas to help achieve these goals.

Learning opportunities outside the home

There are many great learning opportunities available outside of the home. Take advantage of museums, libraries, galleries, historic sites, parks, and other resources in your community. The Centre for Learning@HOME organizes hundreds of activities each year for homeschooling families across Alberta.

Get organized

Staying organized with all the different subjects, grading, and assignments can feel overwhelming and demanding. You can keep track of your child’s progress, assignments, and grades with planners and online templates. There are many helpful resources available to help you stay organized. Advice is easily available from our Centre for Learning@HOME teacher facilitators.

Choose the right curriculum

One of the most important decisions you’ll make as a home education parent is choosing the right curriculum for your child. There are many different homeschooling curriculum options available, so make sure you do your research to find the right fit for your child and your family. The Centre for Learning@HOME assists families with the selection of homeschool curriculums.

Continue learning

As a homeschooling parent The Centre for Learning@HOME helps families stay up-to-date on homeschooling regulations, and best practices. Parents can deepen their knowledge of home education by reading about the latest homeschooling trends, and attending homeschooling conferences and events.

Be flexible, when needed

As helpful as it is to use planners and calendars to stay on track, it’s also important to be patient and flexible with both yourself and your child. There will be days when everything goes according to plan and days when it all goes off the rails! The important thing is to be able to roll with the punches and not get too stressed out if things don’t always go according to plan. 

It’s also important to find a balance between structure and freedom. Too much structure can be stifling, but too much freedom can be overwhelming. The Centre for Learning@HOME provides advice to families seeking to find an appropriate balance in their homeschool programs.

Take breaks

Finally, it’s important to make time for both parents and children to have a break from school. This can be built into the daily routine or schedule, and it can be a special weekend activity. Taking breaks helps everyone stay refreshed, rested, and motivated to learn! A break can also be in the form of one of the hundreds of activities hosted by The Centre for Learning@HOME across Alberta each year.

There are many different strategies to make homeschooling less challenging and more manageable while keeping it engaging and fun! By following these general tips, parents can ensure that the distance learning experience is a positive one for both themselves and their children.

At The Centre for Learning@HOME, we’re here to help give your student a meaningful and successful learning experience. To learn more about how we support parents and students in their home education experience, contact us today at 1-800-659-1945, or at our web address: https://albertahomeeducation.ca/ 

Enriching your Homeschooling Program

The Centre for Learning@HOME provides opportunities to families to enrich their home education program with co-curricular and extra-curricular events and activities. The Centre for Learning@HOME helps families with enrichment by hosting several hundred activities for homeschooling families across Alberta. The Centre for Learning@HOME is also organizing a trip to Europe over Easter Break in 2023. Details can be found here: https://albertahomeeducation.ca/school-trip/