Getting Started With Home Schooling Young Children: Key Concepts and Strategies

Homeschooling can be one of the best things you can do for your child – but it’s no walk in the park. Replacing the entirety of your child’s formal school education is undeniably a huge undertaking; there’s a lot to learn, and even when you think you’ve got it down, there always seems to be more. 

This is particularly true if you’re teaching young children. Generally, younger kids find it much easier to get distracted when they’re at home and find it difficult to adapt to the setting. They’re also at a crucial age group for hitting certain milestones (as will be discussed in further detail later).

Your child isn’t the only one learning, either. Successful homeschooling entails growing with your children and adapting when necessary, and each year brings a set of new challenges. 

Nothing worth doing is easy, though, right? 

It’s going to be tough, but the rewards are plentiful. In this article, you’ll learn key concepts and strategies for sufficiently supporting your child’s learning. 

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Establishing the Curriculum

The most important first step for homeschooling a young child is making sure the curriculum is well-defined and covers the full spectrum of subjects. 

When you’re ditching the systematized structure of school, it’s essential to replace it with something that closely resembles it at the core. The beauty of homeschooling is the freedom it allows, but without adhering to a foundation based on the pillars of education that have been evolving for decades, you may be doing your child a disservice. 

There are other methods, such as unschooling (focussing mostly on the child’s passions versus structured subjects), but especially at a young age, these approaches can result in your children missing out on key developmental milestones. 

Homeschooling is a flexible concept, though. You can have the best of both worlds, where you focus on a proper curriculum most of the time while also placing a greater emphasis on more exploratory, natural methods of learning. Let’s take a look at how to structure this:

The Classic Curriculum Portion

Start designing your child’s curriculum with the school system in mind. Consider what subjects are taught and what exams they build to. Purchase the relevant textbooks for each subject, and consider how you’ll structure the timeframes. It could be that you stick wholly to the traditional lesson and break times they’d have at school, or you could be more liberal in your approach by utilizing shorter working days or longer break times. Think carefully about your child’s needs and why you’ve decided to home-school them in the first place, and make any necessary adjustments to make them comfortable along the way. 

One of the most important things to do is routinely research what unique homeschooling resources are available, as you don’t need to go it completely alone. Online providers like Khan Academy and ABCmouse provide content based on the school curriculum at properly structured grade levels, and some states even offer public school programs online. 

The Flexible Portion

Once you’ve got the main curriculum down, you can start to explore the major benefits of homeschooling – namely the freedom it allows. 

Consider your child’s main passions and interests and organize learning experiences around them. This could be setting up special activities in the house, or going out on a day trip somewhere. Get as creative as possible: the sense of opportunity homeschooling offers should inspire your kids rather than simply representing school in a different building. Remember, schools also portion time to facilitating development outside of the main curriculum, and with homeschooling, you can really take this idea to the next level.

If you’re stuck for ideas, YouTube videos can be a great source of inspiration!

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Key Considerations Specific to Young Children 

Drilling a little deeper, you’ll need to be cognizant of your child’s age and what developmental needs that brings. 

If they’re aged around 5-7 years old and are just learning to read, there are several special considerations. For example, examples of phonological versus phonemic awareness is one key distinction to be aware of; where phonological awareness underpins the child’s ability to recognize and utilize words and syllables, phonemic awareness represents their capacity to understand the smallest units of human speech. 

This is just one example. The many elements of the science of learning can be complicated, so it’s key to make sure you’re aware of what further learning you will need to do to best support your child. You don’t need to be an expert, but when it comes to the really important stuff, it’s best not to try and reinvent the wheel (you could also hire an online tutor for stuff you’re finding too tough). 

Another aspect you should be aware of is the importance of social interaction. School isn’t just where your kids study, it’s also where they make friends. 

A foundation in extracurricular activities can be a huge asset in this regard: getting your children involved in sports teams, dance classes, and other clubs and social activities can form the backbone of their social experiences. There also exist homeschool co-ops in many areas, which are groups of homeschooling families that set aside time to connect with each other. This not only offers the opportunity for your children to mix with others going through the same process, but it also enables you to meet with other like-minded parents. 

There are even virtual meetups online where your kids can meet with other homeschooled students from across the pond. The website Meetup is a great resource for finding these events; the site is used for organizing general events, but they have a homeschooling section you can use to join group meets that are taking place all over the world.

At first, homeschooling can feel like a lonely process for both you and your child, so reach out to your wider community as early as possible.

Wrapping Up

Homeschooling is a challenging endeavor, make no mistake about it. You’re ultimately tasked with adapting years of systematized schooling mostly on your own, and that can feel isolating at times. With enough time, effort, and research, though, you’ll find homeschooling to be a rich, fulfilling experience for all involved.