5 Research-Backed Tips for Homeschooling Success

Whether you’ve been planning to homeschool your child for a long time or suddenly found yourself scrambling to adapt to remote learning as a back-to-school contingency, it can be challenging to get the most out of homeschooling. There’s no shortage of tips for homeschooling you can find out there, but which of these pieces of advice really work?

That’s what we wanted to answer in this blog post. We went over many different tips for homeschooling from various sources and aggregated what we found. But we didn’t stop there. We narrowed down the list of best practices and advice to only those where there’s actually data to back them up.

Here’s what we uncovered.

Homeschooling: What the Latest Statistics Say

Before we talk about research-backed tips for homeschooling, let’s first take a look at some interesting trends and stats about home-based learning. These numbers come from compilations by Mark in Style and Study.com.

• Prior to the pandemic, there were more than 2.5 million homeschooled students in the U.S.
• Homeschool attendance in the U.S. has nearly doubled between 1999 and 2016.
• Over 80% of homeschool parents cite concern about school environment as top reason for opting for homeschooling.
• Homeschooled children outperform their peers in standardized tests by up to 30%.
• Around 24.5% of homeschooled students enroll in subjects at least one grade above their age level.
• Differences in academic performance between homeschooled and non-homeschooled children become significantly wider by fifth grade.
• Homeschool boys score twice as high in reading tests than public school boys.
• As much as 98% of homeschoolers engage in at least 2 activities outside their home.
• On average, homeschoolers participate in 5.2 activities outside the home.

These stats have been compiled prior to the pandemic, so the numbers may vary at time of writing.

Homeschooling Tips Backed by Research

We gathered several expert tips for homeschooling, and we found five that are actually supported by research:

1. Get the basics right first
2. Build on the curriculum and don’t be constrained by it
3. Turn the learning space into a homeschooling hub
4. Set and maintain a flexible schedule
5. Don’t try to go at it alone

Here they are in a bit more detail.

1. Get the basics right first

There are a few things that must be checked off first before you go full speed ahead with homeschooling. You need to make sure you have a clear idea about your kid’s learning needs, your homeschooling options, your state’s homeschooling requirements, and your homeschooling goals.

In an article for NPR Life Kit, ANYA KAMENETZ and Cory Turner explain the crucial need to “know your kid” when opting for homeschooling. We know that homeschooling lets you tailor the curriculum to fit your kid’s needs. But this won’t happen without first understanding the learning environment your child thrives in.

In addition, homeschooling provides different paths to help you and your child achieve your goals. That’s why it pays to do your homework and try to research as much as you can about home-based learning. Moreover, part of your due diligence will be to take note of your state’s regulations on homeschooling. These tend to vary from state to state, so it’s important to know this ahead of time.

Here’s a list of things to take care of before doing anything else in your child’s homeschooling journey:

• Find out if your child is an independent or dependent learner
• Identify different homeschooling options available
• Be familiar with your state’s homeschooling regulations
• Set goals and expectations together with your kid
• Create a road map for the academic year

2. Build on the curriculum and don’t be constrained by it

The homeschool curriculum gives your child’s home-based learning journey some direction and finish line. But too much reliance on it stifles your kid’s creativity and curiosity. The key is to use the curriculum only as a jump-off point for your child to explore other things that excite or interest them as well.

There’s no question that homeschool curriculum, in general, works academically. A number of surveys find that homeschooled kids achieve academic performance which are in line or better than their public school peers. One study, in particular, points out that homeschool learners, on average, score at the 80th percentile or higher across different standardized tests.

But there are some clear benefits to reshaping the curriculum based on stuff that pique your child’s curiosity. A research paper published in the NCBI mentions that the current educational curriculum lacks room to let children really develop their interests. Getting genuinely interested means more motivation and better performance. So, sticking exclusively to a curriculum might leave your child less inclined to spontaneously learn new things or explore topics in more depth.

In addition, research also shows that extra-curricular activities help improve students in other ways than just academics. According to a paper on the topic, high levels of extra-curricular activities are associated with better grades, higher test scores, improved mental health, and a more well-rounded social skill set.

Here’s how to make sure the homeschool curriculum stimulates your child’s curiosity and creativity (instead of holding them back):

• Include other resources (such as online games and platforms) to reinforce lessons
• Pick activities that your child is excited about or needs to prioritize
• Connect lessons to activities they can do at home
• Let your child pursue projects they’re passionate about and that they can do on their own

3. Turn the learning space into a homeschooling hub

We know the importance of choosing specific areas in your house as your learning space. It can make or break your child’s homeschooling success. But it goes beyond simply finding a quiet place at home and doing the lessons there.

Different studies show that classroom design and surroundings directly affect a child’s ability to learn. In fact, the physical environment impacts as much as 25% of a student’s academic performance. When kids work in an environment where they’re comfortable, they tend to engage and concentrate better.

But some experts caution against trying to make your homeschooling space look and feel too much like a traditional classroom environment. Dr. Erin Baker recommends not to “make it look like public school at your kitchen table” since it can cause additional pressure and anxiety on your child.

The idea is to turn your designated learning space into a homeschooling hub. To set up an effective hub for learning at home:

• Choose one or two designated locations for learning
• Provide enough room for your kid to freely move around
• Make sure to pick a spot that maximizes conversations
• Consider designating an outdoor learning space
• Avoid making your homeschool environment look and feel like a regular classroom
• Organize the learning materials into cabinets and baskets

4. Set and maintain a flexible schedule

Having flexibility continues to be one of the biggest advantages of homeschooling. But at the same time, learning requires a clear structure. That’s why following a daily schedule allows you and your child to reap the full benefits of learning at home.

Your daily homeschooling schedule needs to strike a balance between structure and flexibility. A study by researchers from the University at Albany finds that children who grow up with predictable, consistent routines are less likely to develop issues with time management. On the other hand, a UK-based study of 153 classrooms credits flexibility as a key driver in improving academic performance.

It’s good to start with a basic daily schedule that supports your key homeschooling objectives. But as your child’s learning needs change, the schedule also has to adapt. For example, ANYA KAMENETZ and Cory Turner suggest allowing your child to sleep in a little later sometimes and to go for 2- to 3-hour days (instead of the full 7-hour schoolday).

So what does a flexible daily homeschooling schedule look like? It varies from learner to learner. But award-winning educator Pam Barnhill offers the following pieces of advice:

• • Follow a routine, instead of a schedule

• Divide time into manageable blocks
• Take contingencies into account when scheduling blocks
• Assign homeschooling priority to each child
• Vary the subjects you tackle each day
• Integrate activities with daily household routine
• Schedule around your family’s activities, not the other way around
• Draft your plan and review it periodically

5. Don’t try to go at it alone

Not all parents have the luxury of time to spend the entire day homeschooling their kids. In the same way, parents sometimes lack the right expertise to teach their kids a given subject. This is why you don’t have to do homeschooling by yourself.

Hiring a tutor can be an excellent way for you to do homeschooling. According to research, families that hire private tutors think tutors have an important role in improving their children’s academic performance. Tutors can free up time for very busy parents, and they can fill knowledge gaps that parents might have on a subject.

Additionally, many parents are now pooling together resources to organize homeschool pods. In a homeschool pod, a small group of parents divvy up the cost of hiring tutors and teachers. This is an ideal way for you to provide homeschooling to your kids, especially if you don’t have the time or resources to do it all by yourself.

So, if you find yourself unable to personally carry out homeschooling, here’s a list of what you need to do:

• Hire a tutor
• Organize or join a homeschooling pod
• Connect with communities of homeschooling parents

Conclusion

We took a look at five tips for homeschooling which are backed by research. So you can now put these ideas into your child’s homeschooling journey. Tell us any other homeschooling tips you want to share.