If you are thinking of homeschooling your child but feel intimidated by the prospect of getting your child to sit still and learn anything, you are not alone. Discovering the key to teaching your child is about remembering there is more than one way to skin a cat. There are a number of strategies that you can utilize, so let’s show you some approaches.

Working Alongside Your Child

Learning is a process of discovery and this is a great tool that teachers use. The teacher does not know everything and opening it up to discussion by asking the right questions can be invaluable, while also making sure that you are working alongside your child to learn at the same time. If your child needs to learn about a topic like amplitude and sound you can both read more about it together and go on the same journey. 

Communication is Critical

When you encourage your child to express their opinions, you can start to point them towards more efficient resources. Homeschooling is a challenge but you have to get over the initial speed bumps where you are essentially retraining your child to learn in a more nurturing environment. This is why communication is critical because if they feel like their opinion doesn’t matter, they are going to disengage with the learning process. The benefit of homeschooling is that it is you and your child, so you can reassure them to voice their opinions or question concepts without feeling ignored or judged.

Determine Their Learning Style

One of the most essential ways to ensure your child will learn more effectively is about understanding how best they learn. Lots of children struggle with sitting down and reading, either because it’s boring or because they don’t take in information that way. It is a good idea for your child to take a learning styles quiz so you can provide a better foundation. When you discover that your child is not a visual learner, but is an auditory or kinesthetic learner, you can provide more appropriate resources.

Work Within Their Concentration Span

One of the biggest problems with the traditional school environment is that children go from one class to the next and there is no time to consolidate what they’ve learned. You can work with your child to provide shorter sessions that focus on quality, rather than quantity. You may want to throw in a few deep learning sessions of 90 minutes here and there, but they should only be every few days. If you are planning on giving your child homework, as well working with their concentration span and providing a far more supportive approach can help them to consolidate information much quicker.

Focus on the Learning, Not the Performance

When our child shows they’ve learned something this is far more important than them having to sit down in an exam hall. We have to celebrate their achievements, but learning is never about the final product. If you are homeschooling your child you’ve got a great advantage over traditional teaching environments, and while it may seem tough to figure out how you can teach your child, some of these methods can point you in the right direction.