Is homeschooling for your child?

Homeschooling could be the best thing since sliced bread but is it for your child?

Homeschooling is a growing trend all over the world. Its reasons may vary from household to household, but the goal is the same.

That is: to educate your children using their learning style to their benefit and shield them from peer pressure, ethics and morals different from your own and possibly give them the extra one-on-one attention they may need to succeed.

Who homeschools?

There was a time when homeschooling was considered cult-ish. Only those children whose parents who thought themselves more righteous than others and didn’t want their children ‘tainted’ chose it. The ‘normal’ people who homeschool include:

– Military families who move frequently
– Families with children who have special needs
– Families with a desire to include their faith and values into their children’s education
– Families who have a desire to educate in a more non-traditional way
– Families with children who compete athletically on a professional level
– Families with gifted children—a higher intelligence level than can’t be met in a local school

Requirements for homeschooling

Homeschooling was legalised in Singapore in 2000. The issue was addressed as part of the CE (Compulsory Education) Act of 2000, stating a child between from six to 15 must be in school and meet requirements within the primary education curriculum.

Parents must apply for and be issued an ‘EXEMPTION FROM COMPULSORY EDUCATION’ (CE).

Applying for and being issued the exemption will require proof to the Ministry of Education (MOE) that you can satisfy the CE’s preset standards–curriculum choices, lesson plans, learning environment and plan for educating their child.

NOTE: The application MUST be made one year prior to kids starting school.

What homeschooling is…

Homeschooling shouldn’t be: “You do your work while I do the laundry” or “You’ll learn more at the Science Center or the nature trail than you will from a book.”

You need to be there to monitor their progress. The Science Center and nature trail are great, but school isn’t one big field trip. The book teaches reading, study, library, and concentration skills and more.

Instead, homeschooling the right way looks like:

– Choose a curriculum that will fit your child’s learning style
– Choose a curriculum that will cover all the core requirements for each particular grade
– Set aside a specific amount of time each day for school
– Have a specific area in your home for having school
– Provide a personalised classroom atmosphere and commit to the task
– Don’t forgo field trips to museums, musical and theatrical productions, working farms etc
– Don’t forget the importance of daily exercise and physical activities
– Don’t deny your child outlets for socialising and forming friendships with children their own age
– Don’t ignore the vast resources you have available at your fingertips thanks to the internet (worksheets, science labs, experiments, contests and online schools for classes you don’t feel capable of teaching)

For more information on homeschooling organisations in Singapore and to network with other homeschool parents, click here.