Who can homeschool?

Gifted, Special Needs, Average learner, ADD/ADHD, Actors, Athletes, All Kids!!!!!!

Some children have difficulty in a public school setting. Children often underserved in a traditional school setting include those who have learning disabilities, hyperactivity, a short attention span, or a low threshold for frustration.

Other children well served by homeschooling are gifted students who are under-challenged by the schools, often leading to student boredom. Also well served are athletes and actors who require the flexibility and freedom to adapt their educational schedules.

What about Socialization? 

Children who are homeschooled, traditionally, are socialized in a manner much more in keeping with the diverse social interaction employed by adults of all ages. They meet and interact with children and adults of varied ages and cultures, within an open framework.

School children, by contrast, are mostly constrained from this broad and true socialization model. Indeed, at times, the socialization effects on the child attending school may lead to harmful or negative consequences. Some of those consequences might include negative peer influences, anxiety, depression, negative behavior at home, loss of self-esteem, feelings of alienation, and limited educational success.

How Do I Homeschool? 

You may choose to follow a strict school at home model, an unschooling approach, or fall somewhere in between. Our program allows you the flexibility and support to find your child's best fit. 

To Test or Not to Test ?

While traditional public schools, public charters,
public school district independent study programs and
some private schools require that their students take
yearly standardized tests, Arbor Academy does not
require these tests. 

So What about Homework ?

It is quite common for traditionally schooled children
to experience stress (sometimes severe) regarding
homework.  Some students receive lower grades, fail
classes, drop classes, drop out of school, suffer
extreme anxiety, are deprived the time for any
pleasurable activities all because of homework!
Self-esteem and family relationships can be made to
suffer. 

Happily, homeschoolers do not have to experience any
of the possibly negative effects of homework.

A Background on Homework:

Ideally, homework should give students the opportunity
to practice and reinforce skills and concepts learned
in the classroom.  Homework should allow the child to
practice, review, and reinforce material presented in
class.  Homework can also be used to integrate
separately learned skills and concepts and apply them
in a single product (such as a book report or science
project).   It can also be used as an
extension (transferring previously learned skills and
concepts to other situations and across the
curriculum).  Finally, homework should not be
excessive.
Unfortunately, there are many inherent problems
surrounding the whole homework issue.  First, consider
the fact that children have been (mostly
sitting) in school for six hours doing "seatwork" for
most of the day.  (Do you enjoy taking work home with
you from your job?)  They may have energy to burn off
and need to change gears for the rest of the day.
Some children may just simply be exhausted after a
rigorous school day.  Others may have trouble focusing
on lengthy assignments (or too difficult) assignments.
 (This may, in turn, lead to meltdowns at home.)
Deprived of adequate time in school, teachers may attempt to teach concepts and skills solely through homework.  The child is unprepared to tackle this material alone.                                                         Assignments may also be irrelevant, not at all meaningful to furthering a child's understanding of class work.  Some teachers give assignments that take an unreasonable amount of time to complete.  (Each school or school district usually provides guidelines about the quantity of homework according to grade level.)  While some teachers may be accommodating and just excuse the child from completing any assignment that takes her too much time, others may
not.  (Homework can weigh heavily into a final grade
in the class.)  Besides, the assignment that may take
one child 20 minutes to complete, may take another
child 60 minutes.  Additionally, although it may be
reasonable for a teacher to check whether a student
has completed (or attempted) an assignment, it is not
reasonable for a homework assignment to be used as an
assessment.  However, this is not always the practice;
some teachers will grade homework for correctness
(even if the assignment wasn't previously covered in
class).
One last word on homework: homework is more meaningful
(and provides for better skill and concept enhancement)
if the student if given choices about the method.  For
example, when given a specific topic, one student may
want to write an essay, while one may want to build a
model, another paint an illustration, yet another may
want to do an oral presentation.