“What have I gotten myself into?!” If you’re a homeschooling parent and find yourself pondering over this question—a bit more often than not— here are 6 splendid ideas on how to help make homeschooling more productive, Insha’Allah.
#1 Establish respectful discipline methods.
Determine how to handle misbehavior and incomplete class work and homework assignments. Many teachers eagerly confide that often the greatest difficulty with teaching is managing behavior rather than teaching the material itself. Knowing effective ways of managing your child’s misbehavior can help simplify the teaching process significantly. If you can get your child to cease talking, sit in his seat and follow along with your instructions, you will have accomplished a major part of your teaching job. There are loads of ways to respectfully encourage your child to comply with your directives. One remarkable way is delaying an exciting and desirable activity until the end of the class period or end of the day.
Let’s say you’re having science class and part of the lesson is to collect an assortment of leaves from outside. Children generally enjoy participating in outdoor activities. Remind your child that if he stays seated throughout the lesson and follows along in class, the two of you will be able to complete the class a few minutes early and go outside to gather the leaves. He might need repeated reminders, so let him know casually. This discipline technique not only encourages appropriate conduct, it also teaches your child to self-manage his own behavior. You accomplish two goals in one!
It is reported the Prophet 
said:
Allah did not send me to be harsh or cause harm, but he sent me to teach and make things easy. 1
#2 Avoid reinventing the wheel.
If you’re a novice and a bit nervous about taking on the admirable job of homeschooling your child, take the easy route when starting out. Although, some parents prefer designing their own learning materials for teaching, this may not be the best solution for you. There is an abundance of educational materials you can purchase for teaching most areas of study.
Educational materials including student texts and teacher’s editions ranging from arithmetic to science can be purchased online from academic textbook companies. There are publishers that specialize in educational materials for kindergarten through 12th grade. The fantastic thing about these companies is that you can purchase the student edition as well as the teacher’s edition. The teacher’s edition, of course, provides answers for your ease in teaching. But they also provide you with an assortment of lesson plans, teaching techniques, and extracurricular activities you can use when teaching your children. This can be invaluable when trying to manage on your own.
Alhamdulillah, you can even find Islamic learning materials for a variety of subjects. Susan Douglass has a book collection for grades Kindergarten through six. The set provides a great selection of Islamic based stories that include reading comprehension questions and lesson correlated activities. The titles can be found under Islamic School Book. Another fine educational selection is the Emaan Reading Series by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. This compilation of 58 paperback books provides wonderfully colorful and entertaining stories for children 6 through 9-years of age. The excellent aspect of these readers is that the vocabulary is specifically designed to be age appropriate.
If you’re still a little queasy about starting your homeschooling journey, here’s an even simpler way than searching out and purchasing your own materials– join a homeschooling program online or in your area. You will get the moral support you need, and some programs even provide you with free materials! How about that for ease?
If The Prophet
#3 Don’t over schedule.
In an effort to provide your child with an optimum educational experience, you might be inclined to bite off more than you can chew. Keep in mind that even public schools rotate certain classes periodically as opposed to scheduling them daily. Avoid attempting to schedule every subject into a single day. You will likely run yourself ragged—if you’re even able to accomplish this feat in the first place. Your primary lessons should be reading, writing and arithmetic—those age-old subjects.
Here’s a tip for history lessons and the sciences if you find little time to teach these subjects: check out books on these subjects from the juvenile section of the library for your child to read for pleasure, homework or extra credit. These books are often easy-reading and more entertaining than school texts, and your child will still be exposed to the material.
#4 Realize you can’t do it all.
Homeschooling is a full time job, so is maintaining a home. Realize that the kitchen may not remain sparkling clean, clothes might pile up, and dinner may not be ready on time—or at all. On occasion, try opting for meals that are less time consuming but still healthy: Yogurt fruit salad – oatmeal, fruit and nuts; sandwiches and smoothies. Be sure to discuss with your spouse ahead of time your concerns—and his–about your time management issues while homeschooling.
One option you might consider is having the kids help out more around the house. Explain to them that you need extra help now that you are homeschooling. Create a schedule of chores you need help with and designate certain children to be responsible for them. Some parents are uncomfortable with the quality of housework their children perform. They feel it’s easier to do it themselves or not have it done at all. And that’s fine, too. Everyone has their own comfort level.
#5 Appreciate your assets.
Often times, homeschooling parents consider their own abilities inferior to teachers in standard schools. Try minimizing these comparisons. There are many factors that make a great teacher. And there are just as many factors that contribute to children learning better. One important point educators tend to agree on is that children learn best when they feel secure and accepted. What better environment than one’s own home can these two attributes be felt?
This is not to say you should not continue educating yourself in ways of improving your teaching abilities. We should always seek to become the best we can. Browse the internet for helpful teaching techniques you can use with your child. Improve certain academic skills, if need be. Contact home school organizations to gain personal assistance in your job as a homeschooling parent. Attempting to improve your abilities will help you feel more secure in your role as a homeschooling mom.
# 6 Welcome the opportunity.
Last, but not least, realize that homeschooling your child provides you with great leverage in fashioning his thinking and perspective of the world. You can address class lessons from an Islamic perspective. You are free to teach your child that Allah is completely in control of everything in the world—the movement of the stars, the setting of the sun, the orbiting of the moon. You can openly explain to your child the harms and ills of today’s society. You can protect your child from feeling inferior to those who deride him for not conforming to their ways. In essence, you have the opportunity to, insha’Allah, raise your child up as a slave of Allah.
O! You who believe, save yourself and your families from Hell-fire, whose fuel are humans and stones. (At-Tahrim 66: 6)
Helpful Resources:
- The Muslim Family Guide to Successful Homeschooling by Jamila Alqarnain: https://www.facebook.com/muslimhomeschooling
- Little Deen Explorers Islamic Homeschooling http://www.magcloud.com/user/islamichomeschooling
- k-12 International Academy http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-private-school/k12-international-academy#.UjlEa8aRBwM
Do you have any tips/resources/ideas/etc. related to homeschooling? Please share with us in the comments section below. We would love to hear them out. 🙂
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11 replies on “6 Top Tips for Homeschool Success”
amazing! jzkALLAH KHAYRUN KATHEERA….I wish i had home schooled my children…they are now parents themselves,ALHAMDULILLAH…so i can share this article with them and pray it will give them the confidence to become home school teachers.
Amazing tips.
I would like to add that Repeat and Repeat whatever you learned on that day.This helps your child to revise and do not be too strict.Reward them when they do great and when they fail let them know that they cannot escape. Everybody tries to escape the extra hour of study.And finally be Patient.In sha Allah it ill work out .
I came across few books for effective homeschooling.They are by Darussalam and cover most aspect of Islamic study.They are graded from year 1-12 .
I thought I should share it with all of you – http://islamhashtag.com/books-for-islamic-homeschooling-islamic-studies-course-books/
Jazakumullahu khayran for the simple-to-follow tips. I’ve had success with the Emaan series by Dr. Philips, and I think I’ll have to re-order it because my first two have REALLY used them, if you know what I mean!. Has anyone tried Douglass’ collection?
One idea I want to share is to work with other home-schooling parents to fill in the holes left by not attending public schools (such as sports programs, field trips), so that they miss out on the communal aspects of going to school with other kids
As a single parent. I strongly think homeschooling is going to be good for my kids. I really don’t have the time to pick him up from school since I am working on 3 jobs.
JAZAKALLAH ! for sharing this ! By reading this parents can do schooling in a better way which an make their work easier !
[…] of how to manage your child’s behavior optimally. Here are some points you want to keep in mind, whether you homeschool or send your child away to […]
Slam nice, heart touching article.
Assalam Alai Kum, nice to read this blog as this will make our next generation well-disciplined and devoted to Almighty Allah. Our emphasis should be on behavioural education rather than book-based study as it will lead a life of our kids.
Great read!! Thanks for sharing such a great blog.
Great blog!! I have homeschooled my children and my children are doing well. Thanks for sharing such a great blog.