By John Brooks
Homeschooling is one of the most popular trends in education worldwide. It is an informal type of schooling that is conducted by either the parents or a tutor. For decades, homeschooling was considered as the last option when there is no other choice. For instance, if an expat family with a teen moved to Singapore in the middle of the year when the semester has already started. But now homeschooling is popular even among many Singaporeans. Homeschooling in Singapore is legal since the codification of the Compulsory Education Act 2000.
Why do parents consider homeschooling?
There are several reasons parents consider homeschooling for their kids:
- To be hands-on with the education of their kids.
- To spend more time with their children.
- As a temporary solution during relocation or travel abroad.
- Dissatisfaction with the current school environment (curriculum, teaching quality, bullying).
- To cater to the special needs of their children.
- To provide a more religious-based education.
- For expats, homeschooling is a more affordable alternative to international and private schooling.
What you need to know about homeschooling in Singapore
Before deciding on homeschooling for your kids, there are some things you need to consider first:
Determine the legalities. Just like in traditional schools, you need to figure out the rules about homeschooling in Singapore. You can check it out with the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). You may want to check with your school if you need to drop your kids from the classroom roster.
Choose an approach. One of the benefits of homeschooling is that parents will have an option to select the kind of learning approach they will use for their kids. They can either go structured or unstructured. If you are still confused as to what approach to choose, talk to other parents who have already done it. The important thing is to look for what is comfortable and fits your child.
Tap into the local homeschool community. Making the transition to homeschooling can be more fun if you seek outside support. Link up with Singapore homeschool associations, communities, and other support groups to make the transition less stressful for you.
Be patient. At first, your kids may not grasp the homeschooling format. Do not rush them. It is okay to experiment with different approaches until you find the one most comfortable for your kids. You need to keep trying until you get it right. Homeschooling in Singapore should be fun for both kids and parents, so start out by taking educational field trips to local museums and galleries.
Best tools for setting up your virtual classroom at home
Whether you yourself will oversee the homeschooling of your kids or a tutor will, there are certain tools that you will need to make the process smooth and more effective.
- Spreeder
Not all kids will have the ability to do speed reading. However, mastering it can help boost your education potential. One effective tool for learning speed reading is Spreeder. It helps you get rid of bad reading habits so you can quickly digest important information. Learning how to speed read can help improve your reading ability. It comes in free and paid versions.
- DuoLingo
DuoLingo is the most well-known and established language learning app in the world today. The program is designed to make learning a language fun and enjoyable. It tracks your kid’s achievement to help them take their language learning to the next level. DuoLingo offers a great way to start young kids learn a language and can be a great supplement for language learners of any age.
- G-Suite Education
One of the biggest challenges of homeschooling is collaboration and the opportunity to learn with other kids. Not anymore. With G-Suite Education, collaboration has never been easy. It comes with different collaborative tools for making homeschooling a breeze. It is also bundled with the normal office tools. G-Suite Education includes Google Classroom, which allows teacher-student interaction from remote locations.
- SmileTutor
A compelling source enriched with vast volume of online tutoring resources can be SmileTutor, a Singapore-based tuition agency. Their interactive web portal provides instant access to top tools and step-by-step guideline by skilled and certified tutors, no matter wherever in the world you reside, or language you speak! Their comparative pricing packages comes with features and usage of tools setting a tech-savvy virtual learning center.
- Homeschool Helper
Planning lessons for your homeschooling kid can be difficult. With a homeschool, you also act as the school administration which makes the task more difficult. Homeschool Helper is a handy tool that makes everything much easier from lesson planning, tracking your kid’s progress, computing grades, monitoring tasks, and others. It is an affordable solution that helps you evaluate your kid and help them move forward with their lessons.
Homeschooling your kids is not always a simple task. Although teenagers are able do more of their homework independently, juggling teaching with other responsibilities can be tedious. So you need to carefully consider how to proceed with homeschooling. However, homeschooling in Singapore has never been easier with the help of these resourceful sites.