SYPM 005: Getting Confident About the Decision to Homeschool

  School districts are starting to make plans to reopen - some with sneeze guards between desks; some on reduced schedules to accommodate the amount of space needed for social distancing, while some are going online-only for the Fall semester.   How will your child cope with this?   Did your child adapt well to online learning when schools closed?  Will they find it relatively easy to see their friends but not be close to them?  There are some children for whom these arrangements work well, but for others parents see big trouble ahead.   What are the options?  Even if you've never considered homeschooling as a realistic option in the past, it might now be the tool that gets you through the next few months.  But are you terrified that you don't know everything your child needs to know?  And how could it possibly work for your family?   Join me for a conversation with Dr. Laura Froyen, who is considering homeschooling her two children next semester - even though she has a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies and wrote a dissertation on supporting young children in learning to read, she's nervous that she doesn't know everything she needs to know - so if you're worried about this you're certainly not alone!   We look at what we know about how long children actually spend learning in school (the answer is going to shock you!), how you can work AND homeschool, and how you can get confident that you really can support your child's love of learning - even if you know your child will eventually go back to school.   Click the banner to learn more about The Confident Homeschooler:   Jump to highlights 01:30 Introduction to the episode and guest Dr. Laura Froyen 06:24 Letting go of the idea that someone else knows the "right" things to learn 17:15 Rethinking math: using curriculum as a tool 21:39 Willpower struggles, and why an imposed curriculum won't work for this family 30:23 How much of the school day is actually spent learning 32:52 Making the schedule work: creative approaches from other homeschooling families 36:05 What the Confident Homeschooler course covers 39:32 Getting a reluctant partner on board with homeschooling