When most people think of homeschooling, they automatically think of a large family. A family with at least five or six kids and a mom in a denim jumpsuit that has everything organized like a well oiled machine. While that stereotype still exists in some families, homeschoolers come in all shapes and sizes including a large number of families who now homeschool an only child.
I don't have any sisters or brothers, so I can identify with those who are homeschooling an only child. Growing up, well meaning friends and strangers encouraged my single mother to "give" me a brother or sister, saying that I was surely lonely, or destined to become spoiled rotten.
This is a safe place for Christian families to share their hopes, joys, concerns and prayer requests as they homeschool an only child
Rhonda Clark blogs about life homeschooling an only child.
This is a secular group for parents homeschooling only children or homeschooling only one of their children. This is a safe space to share the joys and wonders and trials and tribulations of homeschooling only one child. This group welcomes all homeschoolers of single children regardless of method of schooling used, race, religion or lifestyle.
This lovely blog chronicles the journey of a grandmother homeschooling a single granddaughter.
The Parents Review was a magazine that was sent to parents and teachers of Charlotte Mason's schools and correspondence-type homeschools between about 1890 and 1920. This article, by Clement Parsons, was written in 1901. It does contain some interesting ideas about raising an only child, although many concepts will be dismissed as out-of-touch with contemporary thought on the issue. Thus, it should be read in the context of its time.
This homeschooling journey is shared by a mom who is homeschooling her only child.
Many parents of single children toy with the idea of homeschooling their child at least once during their child’s tenure at school. The trend of homeschooling is indeed catching on with growth rate of 7 to 15 percent per year. It is estimated that there are currently two million children coming under the homeschooling program. They are reported to be performing on par with regular schoolchildren at college, universities and at work.
We all know that homeschooling has its advantages. But is homeschooling an only detrimental to your child’s development? I shared many challenges of homeschooling an only child as well as socialization ideas for homeschooling onlies. However, the advantages of homeschooling just one far outweigh the obstacles you have to overcome.
An only child deserves an excellent education and formation, as does any other child. Don’t deny your child, just because he is your only one, the benefits of homeschooling. Make it work. The home educated only child will profit ten-fold from your daily guidance in how to become a good and decent person by watching you in your daily life. The majority of his life will be spent as an adult so this training is of utmost importance. We have been fed a pile of lies to think that our child’s ability to socialize consists in getting along with a multitude of kids his own age.
Homeschooling offers special challenges (as well as blessings) to those who have only one student. Find help and camaraderie in "HOOville." HOO = Homeschooling Only One.
What’s the minimum number of children required to homeschool successfully? If you’ve ever wondered whether you can homeschool an only child, this podcast is for you! HSLDA President Mike Smith discusses socialization for the only child and how you can home educate well.
Are you homeschooling an only child? Or perhaps your other children are grown (or infants) and there's just one whom you homeschool? Or are your other children in public or private school and there's just one at home during the day? Is there such a large age gap between your children that each child feels like an only? Then this group is for you. All homeschoolers are welcome: new, old, school-at-homers, and unschoolers.
Whether by God's design, or by the fact that your older children are grown and gone or for other reasons, most of us will all be homeschooling only one at some time or another. However, just as homeschooling many children has its own challenges, so does homeschooling one child. The author shares some of the different issues, both 'pros and cons' regarding homeschooling one child.
The Homeschool Only One (HOO) message board is a place where those on this journey with one student could network with others.
While the social needs of the "only" are important, there is more to homeschooling an "only" child than connecting with friends.
This blog chronicles the joys of raising and homeschooling an only son.