As I was discussing a particular scholarship with a parent, the parent made a comment that sparked my attention. Their comment was “it’s easier to get the scholarship than it is to hold on to it”. When I asked what they meant, they explained a ‘B’ average, or higher, must be maintained in order to keep the scholarship.

This brought to memory an earlier conversation with a college student who was in his third year. He explained to me how he had loaded up on too many courses his first year of college. Thinking he could manage the workload, he soon found out he could not, and as a result, had gradually fallen behind until his grade point average dropped below the ‘B’ average, or 3.0, required for maintaining the scholarship. He ended up losing his scholarship.

When asked what, if anything, would he have done differently? His reply was, “If I could do it all over again! I would have taken fewer courses and given myself more time to adjust to campus life. I could have easily maintained a ‘B’ average with a lighter schedule.”

This is good advice for student’s approaching their first year of college. Don’t overload yourself right off the start. Give yourself time to adjust to a new environment and new routine by working with a light schedule in the beginning. You may feel indestructible, but you’re not.

The same is true for starting a home school program. The first year or two of home schooling presents a steep learning curve. There are a lot of adjustments to be made and much information to digest. No matter how careful or how knowledgeable you try to be, mistakes will happen. Here are three pieces of advice that may help you avoid some common mistakes when starting your program.

START SLOW: EASE INTO YOUR PROGRAM

Anytime you can afford to take small steps, you should do it. What does this mean? Try to imagine. Taking a child out of a public/private school setting and placing them into the home school environment is bound to have some effects on the child, parent/teacher, and spouse. While some are quick to adjust, others may not be and may need more time. What about selecting curriculum, maintaining an educational record keeping system, and scheduling activities? If you put it all together, there is a lot to learn.

So what can you do?

If you have multiple children, try home schooling only one the first year and bringing in the rest the following year. This will give you time to adjust and an opportunity to see how the family reacts to home schooling.

Another area where it may be best to take things slow is choosing curriculum. Let’s compare (Plan A) against (Plan B).

Plan A: Some home schoolers are satisfied with purchasing a complete curriculum kit for each student. For example: a parent with a third grade student might purchase a complete third grade curriculum package from a sole curriculum provider such as Abeka.

Plan B: On the other hand, some home schoolers are determined to build an individualized curriculum plan around a student’s specific needs. This parent is more than determined to spend the time and money to research and build a custom fit program, year after year.

If you’re new to home schooling and (Plan B) sounds like your cup of tea, you might consider (Plan A) for the first year or two. We offer the same advice to the new home schooler that we offer the first year college student. Don’t overload yourself right off the start. Give yourself time to adjust to a new environment and new routine by working with a light schedule in the beginning.

ESTABLISH PRIORITIES

How many books do you intend for each child to read this school year? What about music, sports, and other activities? Should you wait a little longer before you begin teaching them how to manage finances, relationship building skills, or perhaps driver education? Are you and your children participating in group functions such as raising money for the home school band and going on mission trips? Will you attend home school day at the capitol?

The list can go on and on. There is little doubt that we could easily fill a half-a-dozen pages with activities and responsibilities that make up the home school program.

One benefit of home schooling is the flexibility of a schedule. Unlike public and private schools, home schools can easily schedule classes around activities and interests and create a make-up day when they choose. However, if care is not taken, the entire family can become overloaded to the point that organizing your calendar becomes as though you’re playing one big game of chess and you’re constantly looking for the next move.

With home schooling, there are no walls separating home from school. Any successes and/or failures experienced in one area will surely have an impact on the other. This is why home schooling is so often referred to as a lifestyle. So, when setting goals, be sure they are carefully managed and attainable.

MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Enrolling your child/student with the local soccer team is a great opportunity for your student to get the exercise they need, to gain new and/or improve current skills, and become exposed to some team building activities. However, this is not the healthy lifestyle were referring to in this section. What about mom and pop standing on the sideline? Are they living a healthy lifestyle? Are they leading by example?

If you want to increase the odds of your children and grandchildren growing into well rounded adults living a healthy lifestyle, you must lead by example. Consider incorporating the following resources into your family's lifestyle before adding extra-curricular activities to your homeschool program. You won't regret it.

 Power 90: This is a great in-home exercise program the whole family can use and benefit from. With several DVD’s demonstrating proper movements along with tracking chart and calendar at a reasonable cost, you can’t go wrong.

http://www.beachbody.com/product/fitness_programs/power90.do?code=BBHOME_CONTROL_P90

 Seven Pillars of Health: Everyone wants to be healthy, but you have to do more than just desire good health. Maybe you have not known where to start or which health plan is the best for you. Dr. Don Colbert wants to challenge and motivate you to pay attention to these seven areas: water, sleep and rest, living food, exercise, detoxification, supplements, and coping with stress. It's what you don't know that could be keeping you from enjoying good health—body, mind, and spirit.

http://www.sevenpillarsofhealth.com/

http://www.drcolbert.com/