Our Approach to Homeschool Education

Homeschooling K-12 students comes with many benefits and some challenges. One of the upsides, for instance, is that families have more time together. Rather than rushing from drop off, to pick up, to various activities in which students and parents are separated from one another for the majority of the day, families learn together in the home. 

For many families who are learning together at home, it means that parents are acting as the primary teacher to siblings of different ages. One challenge that therefore arises for many homeschool families, is the question of how to provide a quality homeschool education to multi-age students. As a leader in the homeschool space for over 20 years that strives to be one of the best homeschool programs in San Diego County, The Learning Choice Academy has helpful insight to share about how to make this successful.

Strategies to Homeschool Different Ages

1. Choose curriculum that can be diversified across ages. While there are many great curriculums to choose from, some are more readily adapted to serve different ages than others. For example, The Story of the World is a history curriculum that can be multi-age. For younger students, this curriculum includes read-alouds with corresponding maps and coloring activities. For older students, there are options to read independently and answer comprehension questions as well as dive into hands-on projects. It can therefore serve a diverse age range of students while keeping them challenged and engaged.
2. Create a schedule. A challenge that comes from one parent homeschooling multi-age students is that you don’t want one or more students sitting idle while you instruct a student of a different age. Having a plan in place as to what each student will be doing at each point of the day is key to ensuring that precious learning time is not wasted. For example, if you plan out a schedule in advance, you can give students independent work to complete in the same time block that you are providing direct instruction to another student, keeping all students engaged during learning hours.
3. Have a space dedicated to learning. All home learning environments are different and not everyone has a dedicated office or classroom space. Even if it is just a kitchen table, having a space that is dedicated to education and instruction can be supportive of both students and parents. First, it serves as a place where you can keep all supplies in one location. That makes organization and hands-on learning much easier. You can reduce the time spent gathering supplies or looking for materials if they are all kept in one reliable space. Second, it helps to signify when parents are in “teacher mode” versus “parent mode.” This can be a challenge of homeschooling, but having a clearly defined time and space in which learning takes place provides supportive context for both students and parents that school is in session and mom or dad is now the teacher. Stella Fox, a TLC mom and homeschooling parent of a 10 year old and a 16 year old shares that, “Creating a cozy learning environment, such as arranging separate desks in the girls’ room so they can work on their assignments independently, is a strategy that has worked for us.”

The Benefits of K-12 Homeschooling

In addition to helping families navigate the challenges of homeschooling different ages, The Learning Choice Academy has the privilege of witnessing the many benefits that come from multi-age homeschooling. These include:

1. Students learning from one another. There is an educational benefit that can come from learning alongside different ages for both younger and older students. Younger students benefit from expanded learning and exposure to content at higher levels. For older students there is an opportunity to guide and coach their younger siblings; teaching content to littles is a great way for older students to solidify their own knowledge. As homeschool parent Stella says, “one advantage of homeschooling children at different ages is that they support one another in staying focused. My oldest is able to assist her younger sister on occasion because she is aware of how things operate.”
2. Time together as a family. This is among the biggest benefits of homeschool education. Families can create their own schedules and they not only spend time together while learning, they also experience the organic bonding moments of breaks and down time. In addition, they can partake in enrichment time outside the home/classroom, such as a visit to a museum, a local park, or some physical activity.

One of the best choices I have ever made for my kids is to homeschool them. I can spend all of my time with my kids and have complete control over what and how they study, which makes school a joyful and engaging experience. Their schooling has benefited from the one-on-one attention they receive.Homeschooling Parent Stella

How The Learning Choice Academy Helps Families Provide a Quality K-12 Education.

The Learning Choice Academy offers two educational programs for our families, a Hybrid Program in which students attend on-site classes three days a week and homeschool two days a week, and a Homeschool Program in which students homeschool five days a week with a parent serving as the primary teacher. Both programs offer parents and students the chance to dive into homeschooling and turn their living space into a learning space for some or all of the week.

While homeschooling is a great option for many families, it can be daunting even for the most experienced. The Learning Choice Academy makes this doable for families by providing guidance, support, and community along the way.

1. Support. TLC supports families in many ways, including through helping families choose curriculum that meets their needs and helping them to create the learning plans and schedules that can be so beneficial to their homeschool experience. Our seasoned Educational Partners work directly with families to help them navigate these pieces and more, meeting in person with families at least once every six weeks, while also being available for any questions that come up along the way. TLC parent Stella reflects that, “Educational Partners at TLC offer weekly virtual meetings with students to go over homework and collaborate on educational activities. Homeschooling is successful because of the variety of curriculum options [TLC] offers.”
2. Peer Connections. While there is great value in learning alongside students of different ages, it is also important to have connections to one's peers. The Learning Choice Academy helps facilitate these connections. Hybrid Program students come on site three days a week, where they learn alongside students of their own ages. Students in both the Hybrid and the Homeschool Programs are given the opportunity to log on virtually with their TLC teacher for lessons, read-alouds, or social-emotional learning opportunities where they can also receive some peer connection.
3. Community. For families who are homeschooling there is also value in staying connected to a larger community. TLC helps to provide this connection through numerous school wide events and field trips that are open to all families. Families who choose to homeschool therefore do not have to miss out on events such as a spelling bee or prom. In addition, field trips give them the chance to connect with other homeschooling families and create social and supportive relationships.
4. Accountability. TLC has been in existence for over 20 years and has numerous accreditations and professional affiliations behind it, including being a California MTSS certified school, WASC accredited, and more. We therefore ensure that all of our students are receiving a certain standard of instruction and that teachers are trained, qualified, and readily able to support families in their homeschooling education.

If you're interested in learning more about The Learning Choice Academy and our approach to providing a quality K-12 Homeschool Education to our students, visit our website today.