Traditional education
This type of pedagogy immediately brings to mind schooling as we know it, with a teacher in front of a class teaching the subject and rows of seated students listening to the instructions and concepts. But in a homeschooling context, traditional schooling refers more to the curriculum that is used.
But why take our children out of school only to adopt a similar approach? There are many reasons for a withdrawal or for making the decision not to send your children to school. Being able to continue or even to start homeschooling in the traditional way provides a sense of security for some parents.
In some cases, this is the only form of teaching we know well and we want to use it because it's what we have experienced ourselves. Also, if your child has already been in the school system, they may be expecting the same approach and it may help them feel more secure.
For you, it may be easier to relate your choice to that of other parents and education professionals in your environment since the educational curriculum will be similar.
Academic progression
You can consult the Québec Education Program or the Progression of learning on the Ministry of Education and of Superior Education (MEES) website. They provide details on the skills and knowledge (basic knowledge) that students at school must acquire and be able to use by grade level.
Material
Organisation
This does not mean reproducing the traditional classroom exactly, but rather providing a suitable place for you to teach your child. If you have the desire to recreate a classroom and the opportunity to do so, go ahead!
You can get posters, filing cabinets and task boards, all to set up a routine for you and your child. The choice of furniture is obviously at your discretion as long as it is adapted to the child.
Also think about the supplies you can replenish as needed, such as glue, scissors, sheets and construction paper to enrich the learning process.
Books and textbooks
Find out about the books and textbooks used in the classroom at your child's school level. Your school board or local school will be able to provide you with a list of books used in class for the subjects to be covered.
You can make an inquiry to AQED volunteers by email or on the Facebook group Quebec Anglophone Homelearners/Homeschoolers (AQED sponsored), where you should find advice and support in your research.
You can find ready-to-use curriculums to fulfill your learning projects, as well as websites, blogs and forums, that can show you how to use these books, textbooks and documentaries efficiently.
Visit a bookstore, library or a university didacthèque to look at books and textbooks. You will then be able to order what is most suited to your child. Many publishing companies agree to an online look at their documents, which helps make an advised choice.
Check out the table of contents of chosen books to make sure that the content does reflect the traditional school curriculum. Don’t be surprised if you have to complete with additional materials to perfect or consolidate learning.
Look for additional materials to consolidate learning
Workbooks on their own are rarely sufficient to cover all of the curriculum and allow mastering of notions.
Counting rods or base ten blocks are examples of additional material. Handling helps with mathematics understanding. There also are a lot of reproducible documents: fill-out forms, interactive workbooks, scoreboards and checklists. It is possible to build your own material at a lower cost, option as useful as another, if you consider some basic rules.
Your creativity can be an efficient source of material creation. After all, teachers do it in their classes, so do not limit yourself to what is published or sold. If you have the possibility, time and energy, you will then have appropriate and unique materials to help with your child’s motivation and desire to learn!
Rhythm
School calendar
If you wish to match pedagogical days or holiday seasons with the children of your district, you can check out your local school service centre’s calendar. This is not mandatory, but it can be nice so you can coordinate activities, meetings and outings with friends.
Schedule
You can plan a schedule and follow a typical day, just like your child would have in school. This isn’t mandatory either, but it helps some kids with time references as to when French class is over and recess starts!
Don’t forget that your child is not in a classroom with 25 other kids, and your teaching will be one-on-one. Number of hours spent teaching will be different at home than at school (often less hours are needed, but you need to adapt to your child’s rhythm).
Benefits
- Offers a known and understood structure to your entourage and education professionals. This does not mean that your experience will be all serious and stiff. Your adventure will have a specific structure and will reflect your personality. A line of conduct will help, providing markers while helping you adjust learning, all so your child will be able to acquire knowledge and consolidate it.
- Once in place, this reassuring structure allows to enhance the learning experience with games, projects, educational outings and any other complement that would also be offered in school. It will even be possible to have even more of these educational moments since your number of students is way lower than in an ordinary classroom.
- You will be able to adjust your teachings to your child’s learning speed. It is a great benefit to be able to explore a notion longer if needed or to dig deeper into notions that have been acquired rapidly.
- Enables you to adapt the structure prescribed by the government to your child’s rhythm, all while following a chronological progression of learning as expected by the Ministry of Education. It can also give way to your child’s particular interests, to stimulate other types of learning once the notions are seen and acquired.
It will mean hours of preparation and research, but once all is in place, you will live a homeschooling experience in accordance with your journey and your school service centre’s.
Inconvenients
- It might happen that following an imposed rhythm proves difficult to do and that your planning needs regular adjustments. Remember that you are not in class and that a one-on-one teaching style will allow a faster cruising speed. You can modify or complement your curriculum to expand in time the joy of learning.
- If you are met with your child’s learning disabilities, your planning could get a little behind on its schedule. You will then have to find solutions and/or additional activities to fill your needs.
- Materials are rarely complete on their own. It is hard to rely only on workbooks sold in bookstores. It means a longer search for curriculum, even if a lot of ready-to-use material is available, to ensure a rich learning experience.
- It might happen that you feel pressure to follow the same rhythm imposed in school, even though the learning environment is not the same, which could place you in a less positive educational experience, with a grimmer atmosphere.
- The cost of workbooks and recommended books can easily become overwhelming for a family with a single student or many of them, since it is the family budget that will cover these costs.