I Didn't Do Well in School -- Can I Still Homeschool My Kids?

If you are considering homeschooling your children, you might be
apprehensive if you didn't do well in school yourself.
Thankfully your success, or lack thereof, in school does not
have to be an issue in choosing to homeschool. In fact, you can
take advantage of the time you're teaching your child to brush
up on some of the things you didn't do so well with when you
were in school.

Math is one subject that parents stress over when they choose to
homeschool, especially if they struggled when they went to
school. Your struggles shouldn't be a factor in choosing to
homeschool. If you weren't good in math, remember you'll have
the teacher's manual with the answers. However, you may have to
spend a little bit of time relearning, or learning anew, the
concepts prior to trying to teach your child. And remember, you
can always turn to other homeschooling families to help you if
you need it.

Another subject parents might not look forward to teaching is
English. Maybe you hated English and writing. If you haven't
found a planned curriculum to use for English, you can find
helpful books at the local library. You can also find materials
online, including worksheets and tests.

Besides Math and English, another subject that parents worry
about teaching is Science. There are a number of good science
curriculums available, some with all of the materials for
experiments. You'd be surprised just what you can find to use
for free on the Internet. In fact, you can even dissect a
virtual frog instead of having to smell formaldehyde if that
turned you off when you took Biology.

Reading should be one of the easiest subjects. Your children
will learn to love reading if they see you and your spouse read,
no matter the book. Read books aloud with your child and then
have them re-tell you the story in their own words. If they are
just learning how to read, one resource that is popular with
homeschoolers is "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"
by Siegfried Englemann, Phyllis Haddox, and Elaine Bruner.

It doesn't really matter if you did well in school or not. You
don't have to let how well you did keep you from teaching your
children. You can learn along with them to fill in the gaps in
your own education. If you come across something that you don't
understand, search out your homeschooling friends, they can
probably help you. Another option would be to see if you can
find a local homeschool co-op. In either case, you can make
homeschooling a positive experience for yourself as well as your
children.

Author: Jane Saeman