Guest Author - Meg Grooms

It’s a worry we all have at some time or another. Am I covering everything we need to for my child’s grade level? Does my child do enough educational activities during the day? Are we missing something?

The first thing I suggest to parents with this worry is a time-consuming, yet rewarding suggestion. Keep a detailed journal of daily activities for one week. Write down absolutely everything your child does. Record every television show watched, every game played, every instance of free play, every time they help you with a chore, everything!

Second, get a good scope and sequence. A S&S is a list of what most children should be learning at each grade level. Remember that home schools are not traditional schools and some topics will be covered at different levels, or not at all depending upon your personal beliefs. Keep in mind, also, that homeschooled children rarely fit a standard grade level, so use the S&S only as a guideline. You can obtain a S&S from World Book Encyclopedia Online or from your local school district. You can also find good guidelines in the books What Your X Grader Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch and Core Knowledge, and in Good Stuff by Rebecca Rupp.

Compare you journal and the S&S and see if there is anything you are missing. If you discover that there is a subject you aren’t offering, but would like to, there are some very simple ways to add it.

Some ideas:

-Short health and nutrition lessons accompanying meal preparation and eating
-Physical education can be taught through free play
-Science can be found during nature walks, quiet observation of living things, and playing outside
-Reading and math can be focused on through daily chores such as cooking
-Social Studies and Home Economics can be taught through chores

You don’t need to run out and buy a new curriculum to cover most supplemental topics. The fact is that your child is learning 24/7, even while they are sleeping!

Looking at your journal will show you exactly how much learning is going on and should ease your mind.

New to Homeschooling?
Take a look at my ebook
Homeschooling With Confidence: A Plain English Guide to Homeschooling in the United States