Moving overseas? What an adventure! And such an educational experience! But how are you going to educate your children? A local school? An international school? Have you thought of homeschooling?
Homeschooling Overseas
Homeschooling overseas is similar to homeschooling is in the U.S. But depending on your situation, and if your company is paying for your child’s education, you may have more options overseas than you do at home. Just some of the options include:
- You being the primary teacher, teaching lessons that you create
- The use of online courses. These courses can cover the subjects of computer programming, foreign language, writing, math, science, and more
- Distance (online) accredited schools
- A local tutor or teacher in your new country (your company may pay for this). The tutor/teacher may even come to your home
- A combination of the above
Online Homeschool Curriculum Programs
There are MANY online homeschool curriculum programs that combine education with interactive fun. These cover the subjects of reading and writing, math, science, foreign language, and more. These programs tend to:
- Teach to all different learning styles
- Allow students to progress at their own pace
- Require mastery of a concept/skill before allowing a student to move forward
- Keep parents apprised of their student’s progress
Many have a free trial, a low monthly price, and most have a money-back guarantee – so you can try risk free.
Online Accredited Schools
There are many online schools available for homeschool students – and many are accredited (not all are, so if this is important to you, make sure you choose one that is). Almost all online schools:
- Have open enrollment (so your kids can start at any time)
- Offer classes that teach to all learning styles
- Are self-paced
- Employ certified teachers
- Provide a parent interface, so you can know exactly what your child is doing and how s/he is doing
- Religious and secular options are available
- If choosing a high school, some offer college bound options, many offer education counselors, AP courses, clubs and social activities.
Hiring a Tutor or a Teacher
If you choose this option, talk to other ex-pats, and see if one of their children would like to be a part of your homeschooling endeavors. Hiring one private teacher to teach a number of families might be even more affordable. This would constitute your own international homeschool co-op.
A combination of the above
This of course, might be the best of both worlds. You are the main teacher, but you have assistance when needed. Your local tutor/teacher will know about local, educational, and cultural opportunities,that you may not be aware of.
In Conclusion
Interested in what other overseas homeschoolers have experienced/have done? Just googgle. Many have started their own websites and blogs to chronicle their educational adventures (setting up a website or blog can be a fun and educational assignment for your child).
Living overseas–it’s a great opportunity to expose your children to other cultures, languages, to interesting geography, history and more.
And the opportunity to homeschool is an additional perk!
