Homeschooling allows us so much flexibility, but there are times when that flexibility can leave us overwhelmed. We aren’t sure what the best options are for our children or how to best guide them to learn well and make solid progress.

While there are many components to successful homeschooling, there are three key ingredients that can help put your homeschooling venture on a solid path.

As you progress through your homeschooling journey, it is important to clearly see where your child is thriving or struggling. Without this, the learning process is a hit-or-miss guessing game!

No matter how smart or proficient they may be, children do not learn at a consistent rate across the board. They have strengths and weaknesses, concepts that are easy and those that present more of a challenge. But sometimes these strengths and weakness are hard to spot in the daily flow of homeschooling. Regular, intentional evaluation allows you as the parent to clearly see where your child is flourishing or struggling. This in turn enables you to customize a homeschool plan that meets your child right where he or she is, reducing frustration and increasing success in homeschooling.

In a culture where technology and the Internet comprise such a large percentage of our regular interaction and learning experience, we sometimes forget the importance of pen and paper. While children do need to learn how to engage with technology and should be confident about their ability to engage in online or computer-based learning experiences by the time they graduate from high school, it is equally important for children to know how to learn from books, take paper-based tests, and even write essays by hand rather than by typing them on the computer.

Successful homeschooling is not about simply completing a course. It’s about well-rounded learning. And a measure of paper-based learning is a critical component to homeschool success.

When asked why they homeschool, many parents respond that they are able to tailor education to their student’s needs. But, it’s easy to forget this benefit in the day-to-day experience of homeschooling. Parents try to fit the mold of a specific curriculum or school year, especially if they have to keep records to meet state requirements.

Sometimes it’s necessary to be reminded that homeschooling is not about checking off a box. It’s about letting your child truly learn. And that means allowing him or her to work at a pace that best suits personal learning. Children need to be able to process concepts when they’re ready for them and until they have mastered them, moving on only when they’re ready. This means they might be slower than average on some concepts while they fly through others. This is not only okay – it’s best! Self pacing is a critical aspect of successful homeschooling.

Perhaps you are just starting your homeschool journey and aren’t sure where to find paper-based curriculum, how to incorporate evaluations, or even how to make sure you let your child work at his or her own pace. Maybe you’re currently homeschooling and just aren’t happy with the path you are on. Either way, Basic Christian Education might be the answer you are looking for!

Here at BCE, we carry Christian, paper-based curriculum that allows your child to work at their own pace. They build upon the foundation that they have and gain mastery of the concepts before they continue on.

We offer Diagnostics to see exactly where your student is in our curriculum to avoid the guess-work of where to put them. This eliminates frustrating your child with work that is too easy or too difficult for them, and also transitions them smoothly into this new educational path by allowing them to have success and build their knowledge. Diagnostics are available individually in math, English (spelling included), and reading (covers social studies and science), or we have our full-service Diagnostics available which include the following:

• academic progress
• neurological organization
• short-term memory
• auditory processing skills
• overall reading comprehension

You return the testing to us, and we analyze the results. Together with you, we then work to plan an education path for your student.

You can purchase any of your curriculum needs directly from us at your convenience. This allows you to build the education you desire for your children and keep all your records. We also have a full-service, accredited Academy available where we provide all the curriculum, score keys, forms, record-keeping, and assistance for you and your student. We work with you on your child’s projections toward graduation, build their transcripts, and then issue them an accredited diploma upon completion of their studies. BCE Academy has open enrollment year-round, so it’s never too late to make the change to help your child!