by Emily Tuuk

Created on: September 04, 2008

Homeschooling allows incredible freedom in what your child can learn. You are free to teach them anything you want, in any way you want, and at any time you want. There is a world of options out there today - more than ever before - and you can choose any of them that you please!

However, with so many options, sometimes things get crazy, and you have no idea where to turn. This person tells you one thing, that person tells you another. How do you choose? How do you know what your particular child should be taught?

These are the main guidelines used in my family to decide what subjects to teach:

1) Remember why we do school

What is schooling for? We do school to learn things that will help us in life. This is important to remember, and to keep in mind as you are deciding what subjects your child should do. Remembering the ultimate purpose of school work will act as a guideline when making these sort of decisions.

2) Know what subjects are most important

Things like math, reading, and writing are usually considered the most vital things for education. There are other things as well, like spelling, history, and science that are important in your child's upbringing. Think of what they will need the most to get through life. There may be specific requirements where you live a law about what each child is required to learn, for instance. Also, bear in mind things that they will need to know if they go to college.

Having a clear idea of the basics will greatly aid you in making a learning plan. Write those subjects down, if it will help you, and keep the list somewhere where you can pull it out and look at it if you ever feel lost in the slew of options that are out there. This can also help keep you on track of what is most important, if you find yourself getting sidetracked by unnecessary options.

3) Figure out an estimate of the time you have available

Time is a very important factor in deciding what schooling your children should do. Perhaps you have all day, every day, to do whatever you want. Or, perhaps there are other things going on that will limit the time you can spend on school work.

You may want to have room for free-time. Time to sit and relax, get together with friends, take a day to go to the zoo as a family, and whatever else. Perhaps you just want flexibility in your time, to take any opportunity that may come your way. Remember, life is school! What better way to learn about life than by living!

Find out how much time you have at your disposal,

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