10 Things That I Learned By Being A Homeschool Parent Of A Teenager
- Home Educating
- 14 August 2018
If you are a homeschooling parent who will prepare your kid to enter the O Level (end of the Secondary stage), you’ll need to read these 10 things that I learned by being a homeschool parent of a teenager:
1. The lessons are more difficult and challenging
There were only Math, Science, and English in the previous stage, but at this stage, there were more additional lessons: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geography, and History. In this situation, I’ve been thinking that my knowledge is not enough to teach my son. But I don't give up, because there’s always a way.
Through the Youtube, websites, and books my son can get the explanation for his question. I only need to direct him to the website or book that have the credibility to teach.
2. Study to prepare for the college
The college is getting closer, only in 3-5 years more. Currently, the aims are to study to prepare to enroll in a dream campus and learn to be independent of life skills which include: learn to cook, clean the room, practice self-discipline, scheduling activities, socializing.
3. To knowing and fulfilling all the exam requirements
In my country, there are always exams that must be done to go to the next level and are a requirement for the next exam. There are differences in the number of subjects, schedules, and the conditions that must be known in order to successfully take the exam. We must know these and get prepare long before the exam time. This will not happen in school, because school rules require students to just follow the rules. While homeschooling is free to choose the exam that will be taken.
4. The books are very expensive
The book prices are more expensive than the primary, there is no free worksheet at this level. The book price is almost 1 million (IDR) for each subject. With so many subjects, this will be very burdensome to parents like us. In addition, we are a traveler who doesn’t have a house with room to store those books, we live in a very small company housing.
We overcome this problem by buying the core books and delve the syllabus. Math, chemistry, physics, and biology are subjects that we think are obliged to have the book. While English, history, and geography we take from the YouTube and other websites whose material is in line with the Cambridge International O Level syllabus.
5. Adding the learning hours
As the subject increases, learning hours must be added too. We only add 1 hour to learn at 8-9 pm so that the total study in one day has become five hours.
6. It is necessary to provide a career guidance to prepare for the college
Career guidance doesn’t have to be done by a career institution, parents can do it. Explain about various types of work ranging from those that require physical strength to those that require intelligence thinking to kids. Also, show him the life model that can be obtained by each career. Ask the kid about what kind of life that will make them happy.
We did our career guidance since my son starts the O Level stage. It only takes one hour because my son has already known what future he wants, it is great to know that he already think about his future.
7. The house is full of books, not worksheets
When at the primary level our house was filled with worksheets. There were worksheets everywhere. At that time we didn't use a lot of books. We download the worksheet from the website that set it for free download, prints it, and gave it to my son to complete.
8. As a blogger, I’ve become a teenage parenting blogger
The blogger's work is where we paid to document our lives. We writing and photograph our experience and make the inspiration for others through the blog.
That's what homeschooling bloggers do. When I started my blogger career, my son was a toddler that when we were busy making various worksheets and guides for homeschooling toddlers. Then a few years later, I walk into the world of teenagers.
9. Daddy teach more than before
When in the primary, I was qualified to accompany my son to study every day. But now it is not enough anymore, because the learning difficulties have increased. Lessons such as Chemistry and Physics must involve daddy because my husband is mastering how to teach these lessons.
10. Parents are not enough
Additional teachers are needed for several subjects. My son’s Chinese language lessons are taught by a teacher that we pay for because my husband and I didn’t master the Chinese language. Chinese is an important language to master because it may be needed by my son in the future.
OK, now I have to stop writing, it is time to discuss geography with my son ;)