You can’t Homeschool without Textbooks
Homeschooling can seem like a hugely daunting task when you realize you’re taking your child’s education into your hands. You want to do the best that you can but you’re not a teacher. You have to rely on what you know, and you think that traditional school textbooks will give your child the best education. Besides, public schools use them, so shouldn’t you use them too?
What if I told you, you could let go of textbooks? What if I said that you could still give your child an excellent education without textbooks? How relieved would you be?
It is possible.
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You won’t be able to cover everything
You’re not a teacher, you want to be sure you cover everything so that your child is learning everything they need to. You’re not confident about the material being taught, you didn’t like this subject when you were in school and you worry that you can’t do a good job. You need to know that with so many homeschoolers now, there are so many options and curriculum can look so different now. There are multiple curricula available for each subject and grade level, they vary from using hands-on tiles for spelling to workbooks, flash cards, lapbooks or notebooking pages too.You’ll miss out on traditional school
Parents are often concerned that they won’t be able adapt to school should they return to public school if you haven’t used textbooks. But if you know you will be homeschooling for awhile, why have your 1st grader working out of a textbook? Read great books, have them draw a picture of what they learned and narrate it. Write in the sand for spelling, make a model brain out of play dough.They won’t learn like their peers
We want to raise kids who love learning. We don’t want them spending their time only on their phones hanging out on social media. We want to raise thoughtful, helpful adults who can become contributing members of society. We want them to love what they do and to continue learning beyond school. We don’t want them to sit in front of the TV for hours. We want them to enjoy the outdoors, strive to achieve their goals and work towards new ones. Not being like their peers may be a good thing.Go beyond the textbooks
If you’re studying history, you can visit historical sites as you travel the country. If you’re studying the ocean, visit an aquarium and take a trip to the beach. Learning isn’t always in the form of books, it can be journaling, notebooking, videos, animations. Learning doesn’t have to be book reports, it can be dioramas, playdough structures, Lego creations or messy science projects.Other ways to learn
- Online classes
- Tutors
- Unit studies
- Lapbooks
- Notebooking
- Projects
- Dioramas
- Field trips
- Interviews
- Documentaries
- Volunteer
- Internships
- Apprentice
- Job shadow
