If you're thinking of homeschooling your child, I'm here to encourage you. Anyone with dedication, determination, and enthusiasm can homeschool. I am a huge advocate of home education. No one knows or has your child's best interest at hand better than you, the mother or the father.

Did you know that your public schooled child has only seven minutes of teacher/child interaction per day? It's not the teacher's fault. They are inundated with over loaded work schedules. Their classrooms are over crowded. I won't go into all the problems of public education. Just know this, if you're worried about the time aspect of homeschooling fearing that you wouldn't be able to put in an entire day, remember the seven minute interaction public schools offer. If you spend one hour a day with your child teaching him or her, you'll be succeeding far greater than the alternative.

MYTHS ABOUT HOME EDUCATION

1. You have to have a degree to home educate.

This might vary from state to state. In Ohio and Tennessee no degree is required. However, I'm a bit of a rebel in that no state is going to tell me that I can't educate my child because I don't have a degree. Given the high school drop out and illiteracy rate, they have bigger problems to concern them. I kept a journal of my child's course work and tested him regularly through the state to satisfy any concern the government might have had.

2.Homeschooling takes hours throughout the day.

First, I believe in the "unschooling method". Radical as it is, it makes sense. Your child has a natural curiosity and an innate ability to be creative and learn on their own. As long as you don't squash that ability with regimentation and a "do as everyone else does" mentality, your child will thrive in an environment totally contrary to what public education offers. Surround your child with every opportunity to explore, learn, feel, direct and experience. This includes projects, activities, books, internet and pretty much anything that is lying around your house. When I taught my boys, we spent one hour a day with actual teaching time. I did expect them to do some paper work. But the rest of the day was designed for "free learning". They picked events in history that interested them and we ran with that. We incorporated math, science, english, and reading in our study. I never expected them to read material and regurgitate the information through arduous testing. They lived events in history by acting out scenes or designing small models of their discoveries through reading. I took them grocery shopping where they were required to estimate the cost of my total bill or figure the change I would be receiving after handing it to the check out clerk. My oldest son learned about accounting and business development by starting a web based business at age nine. He was so impressive at a craft show that a professor from a nearby college asked him to speak to her business class. These are only a few examples of "free learning". Your day can be filled with experiences such as these. While I was dedicated to spending every moment with my children carving out opportunities to teach, very little of my time was spent in a "classroom" setting.

3. I cannot teach my child, he or she won't listen to me.

I promise you that your child will listen to you if you are full of ENTHUSIASM and you include them in whatever activity you are trying to convey. There's an old Indian proverb that says it all. "Tell me and I'll forget, Show me, and I may not remember, Involve me, and I'll UNDERSTAND.

4. I'm afraid I'll forget to teach them something they need to know.

This is a concern for many home schoolers. There are curriculums that you can purchase. If you can read, you can follow one.

Fear is an enemy of the homeschool mom. Confidence is your friend. In public school, each year builds on the year before until all they do is repeat the same information. If you find that you have not included some vital information, then teach it. Testing at the end of every other year will help you with that. However, I'm not a fan of testing. I always say, "If my child only knew what was on this test, he'd be an idiot." The point is, testing reveals very little. Knowledge encompasses far more than a test can predict. You may not cover everything, but neither can the public school system.

I know that homeschooling is not a popular choice. Though it is a growing phenomenon. For those of you who are wondering. My oldest is now a Junior in high school and he is in public school. He is in the top ten percent of his class and has an overall gpa of 3.5. He is taking college options so that 3.5 wasn't earned from taking easy classes. Though I believe homeschooling through high school is certainly a good thing, I decided to expose him to the public institution at some point since he will be going to college soon.

I loved my experiences as a homeschool mom and I'm thankful for the time I spent with my boys. I would love to encourage anyone who is thinking about it or currently experiencing it.