The economic turbulence of the past couple of years means that for many families, relying on a single income is not an option. It’s not just that one income doesn’t cover the average family’s expenses – it’s also that relying on one income is very risky! If the breadwinner loses their job, the family could quickly become destitute.

Traditionally, homeschooling moms were always good at saving, conserving, reusing, and being as frugal as possible. These days, more and more of them are looking for ways to contribute to the family’s income without giving up homeschooling. Can it be done?

We believe it can. Of course, the older your child is, the easier it would be for you to get work done while they are studying, simply because older kids are much more independent than younger kids. In addition, pre teens and teens don’t have the same emotional needs as young kids – for young children, having you sit with them and pay attention to them is crucial – they need you!

However, even with young children, you can organize your day in a way that makes it possible to homeschool and get some work done. Make yourself available for those tasks that require your undivided attention, and use the time when your child does independent work to finish your own tasks.

Our last piece of advice for combining working with homeschooling: relax your standards when it comes to how your house looks. Just like any working mom, the worst thing you can do is to try and be a “supermom” who works, raises her kids and keeps a spotless home. The pressure and stress are simply not worth it, so get your priorities straight and realize that teaching your kids and contributing to the family’s income are far more important than keeping a spotless home!

Photo by Dane Khy

Which is why we dislike traditional education and were looking to do something better – we wanted to find a way to allow students to be creative, to explore, to create – while learning. In other words, we wanted to see students immerse themselves in the material in many different ways and learn through experiencing rather than through passive listening.

Immersive education is about immersing students in a rich, complex curriculum that allows them to learn by participating in a wide range of engaging activities. Of course, immersive education doesn’t have to be about technology!

There are many ways to immerse students, as many homeschooling parents know quite well. We immerse our children when we take them outside to the playground and allow them to throw a ball down the slide and see what happens (gravity!). We immerse our students when we let them build with blocks and find out which structures are stable and which are not. We immerse children in art when we take them to the museum, to the library and to the children’s theater.

There are countless ways to teach by immersion. Certainly one of them is using the wonderful tools that technology offers to immerse, experience, and create.

When kids use technology, and especially 3D technology to learn, they immerse themselves in their virtual surroundings. They get to play, create, discuss, collaborate and build, all while assuming a unique 3D personality via their avatar. The beauty of 3D immersive education is that it uses technology to free students from physical limitations such as location or special needs and allows them to truly immerse themselves in the material.

The physical world places limitations on what we can do or on how we can represent ourselves. Our age, gender, medical conditions, physical location and many more factors often dictate our activities and how others perceive us.

A virtual world lifts those limitations. It frees us from physical boundaries and enables us to truly tap into our imagination and our creative side and to express ourselves, freely and fearlessly. In fact, many disabled people report that joining a virtual world community, where they can represent themselves with a “healthy” avatar, makes them feel normal again. Elderly people who have discovered virtual reality also report that by using young-looking avatars, they get to feel young again.

This is not about deceiving or pretending to be someone you’re not. Virtual worlds are very much about being the best possible you – without the labels that physical reality often places on you.

When it comes to 3D virtual learning, there are of course boundaries that stem from the need to keep a safe, respectful learning environment. Those boundaries are carefully enforced. But as long as students are respectful, they get the same level of freedom that always comes when engaging in virtual reality – the freedom to set themselves free from labels. Students can create avatars that express who they really are, on the inside – not how the physical world perceives them. This is obviously an amazing experience for special need students, but in our experience, it is a dream come true for any child, and especially for teenagers.

Photo by Jim Sneddon

We believe that homeschooling through high school is not only possible, but has many benefits, for both the child and the parents.

Homeschooling through high school: concerns

Of course, it’s important to choose a fully accredited high school homeschooling program that offers a full, rigorous high school curriculum. This would enable your child to receive a high school diploma and easily transition to college.

It is also important to make sure the child engages in competitive sports and in other extracurricular activities that develop her potential and help her to get into the best colleges.

While many parents are worried about not being able to help their child with their high-school level learning, they need to realize that the public school system does not really provide that much support to students who show major learning difficulties, so that in most cases, it’s either up to the parents to help, or they need to hire tutors. If helping your student with the advanced material is of concern, the same concern exists whether they are home schooled or go to public school.

Homeschooling through high school: advantages

One of the biggest advantages of homeschooling a teenager is that they are so independent. Homeschooling is perfect for them, enabling them to manage their own education (with your supervision of course). For you, this means significantly less time spent teaching and supervising, and more time to pursue your own interests. Of course, 3D online homeschooling is especially suited for teens, who enjoy virtual worlds and texting for leisure, and appreciate being able to incorporate those into their learning.

Another advantage of homeschooling teens is that you are relieving them from the intense peer pressure and the need to conform that are so prevalent in the typical public school classroom. You are allowing your teen to focus on academics and to socialize in a safe, violence and drug free environment. Sure, teens need to socialize – but is the public school classroom atmosphere the best place for that? We think it can actually be a very emotionally damaging atmosphere for many teenagers, who would do so much better socializing in a more natural, mixed-age, accepting environment.

3D immersive education is a virtual reality and game-based learning method. It combines interactive 3D graphics, game and simulation technology, virtual reality, voice chat, Web cameras and rich digital media with collaborative online course environments and classrooms to give students a wonderful sense of “being there” even when they learn from a distance. 3D immersive education is fun and exciting for children, and it provides both teachers and students with the ability to connect and communicate in a way that greatly enhances the distant learning experience.

Traditionally, 3D immersive platforms were available only to university students, but today, online schools such as WiloStar3D are offering next-generation immersive education in the form of a fully accredited 3D immersive learning curriculum for K-12 students.

Unlike traditional computer-based learning systems, which can be repetitive and boring, Immersive Education is fun – in fact it’s just as fun as a video game, only it’s educational and provides your child with a fully accredited online learning experience that can take them all the way through high school and allow them to continue to college. While old-world educators often dismiss the importance of “fun” in learning, next-generation educators know better. When learning is fun and exciting, children do much better academically. They are more challenged, and material retention rates are significantly higher.

Immersive Education is very suitable for intelligent, independent students and for creative and visual learners. It supports self-directed learning while also offering social interaction in the form of collaborative group-based learning environments and 3D classrooms.

To us, Immersive Education is simply a tool – a wonderful tool to get students excited about learning.

Children with Asperger’s are not mentally challenged. In fact, many of them are gifted. They are however socially impaired and need a lot of patience and one-on-one adult interaction, both of which are not typically available in a traditional school setting.

Aspie children are essentially socially impaired and have a very hard time socializing with other kids. With ongoing training and lots of adult feedback and assistance they can learn basic social skills, but they’ll probably always seem “different” to other kids, which often means rejection, bullying and taunting.

Many parents to Aspie children decide at some point that public school is simply not a good environment for their child. For some families, small private schools provide the answer, while for others, homeschooling is the perfect solution.

Aspie kids often flourish when homeschooled because they are removed from a stressful social situation and can focus their energies on academics, and on gentle, guided socializing. Unlike the harsh classroom environment at school, the homeschooled Asperger’s child can experience positive social experiences through family activities and homeschool group activities, where, unlike school, parents are there to help, guide and give gentle feedback.

3D online homeschooling is especially suited to Asperger’s children because many Aspie kids flourish in an online 3D environment, which they perceive as safer and less threatening than face to face interaction. Research shows that face-to face interactions are extremely difficult for people with Asperger’s while interactions via computer virtual environment technology are more manageable because they tend to be slower than face-to-face interactions. Slowing down the rate of interactions may provide users with autism-type disorders with time to think of alternative ways of dealing with a particular situation, thus reducing their anxiety level.

Of course, we are not recommending that kids with Asperger’s be totally removed from in-person social situations. But we do believe that the combination of online, special needs homeschooling and gentle, supervised real-life social exposure is very beneficial to Aspie kids and enables them to reach their full potential, academically and socially.

The rigid structure of traditional schooling and the often-ruthless social atmosphere are very hard on many middle schoolers, and especially on the more sensitive, creative and techie types. The ease and flexibility that homeschooling offers take a lot of the pressure off these talented students and allow them to work at their own pace and to free themselves from the stress of trying to measure up to impossible social standards.

Online homeschooling, and especially 3D online homeschooling, is absolutely wonderful for middle schoolers. Your middle schooler probably loves technology, breathes technology and finds it very hard to let go of technology. How wonderful for him to be able to incorporate exciting 3D technology into his education! Instead of trying to get away from his boring studies to play video games or text his friends, he can create virtual worlds and message other homeschooled friends as part of his studies!

Another important aspect of homeschooling that makes it especially suitable for middle schoolers is that it allows your middle schooler to be creative and to use self expression via the creation of 3D avatars and various virtual objects.

Middle schoolers need to be challenged. They hate to be bored (can you blame them?) and become bored very easily. Dry repetition of facts drives them crazy! Another hands down victory for online homeschooling, and especially for 3D online homeschooling, which keeps students engaged because it’s fun and interactive.

WiloStar3D’s virtual world homeschooling program has been specifically designed to meet the needs of homeschooled middle schoolers. It provides students with a challenging technology and with student-centered multidisciplinary approach to virtual learning. The WiloStar3D online homeschooling middle school curricula is designed around an integrated 3D virtual reality approach to language arts, science and social studies. Each middle school course has been designed to address specific academic standards. The WiloStar3D middle school program is fully accredited so that if your child chooses to transition to a public or a private school later, their transition will be smooth.

An accredited homeschool program is accredited or certified by an outside agency. Homeschool programs do not have to be accredited, but accreditation has significant value because it means that the school’s program and its curriculum have been evaluated and approved by a third party.

Online homeschools that obtain accreditation demonstrate to students and to parents that they are committed to the highest education standards possible. Obtaining accreditation for an online homeschooling program takes time and effort by the school and is a demonstration of the importance that the homeschool places on guaranteeing the quality of their academics.

Choosing an accredited online homeschool makes a real difference. When your child attends an accredited homeschool, you know that they are learning material appropriate for their grade level and that they will be able to easily transition into any other educational program or institution, including college. You also know that your child will have a full curriculum and will thus develop important time management skills, just as they would in a more traditional educational setting.

When choosing an accredited homeschool program for your child, you are more likely to receive a transcript and grades, and your child will probably receive a homeschool diploma upon finishing the program. Both would later enable your child to demonstrate academic achievements and to receive scholarships.

Choosing an accredited homeschooling program is one of the best ways to make sure that the school applies rigorous standards of excellence to its program and that it takes pride in providing the highest level of enrichment and education.

But we took online homeschooling a step farther and created a homeschooling program that immerses students in 3D educational virtual worlds.

A virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. Virtual worlds are not just for video games – they represent a powerful new media for instruction and education that presents many exciting opportunities for students, parents and educators.

A revolutionary new way to homeschool, 3D online homeschooling incorporates stimulating online 3D virtual reality world development in educational online homeschooling projects. Incorporating 3D virtual worlds into the learning process gives students a chance to think outside the box, to be creative, and to be challenged in their thinking. Instead of regurgitating facts or doing busy seat work, students create, explore, collaborate with other students, and enjoy every aspect of their online education. Unlike traditional learning, the word “boring” is simply never associated with virtual education.

3D online homeschooling is the polar opposite of traditional, passive schooling. It is active and fun and greatly enhances the online homeschooling learning process. 3D online homeschooling enhances problem-solving abilities, keeps students engaged, motivates them to excel and – most importantly – makes homeschooling fun, for the students and for their parents.

Photo by wmshc_kiwitayro

Common obsessions in children include fear of dirt and germs, the need to have things in a certain order, and aggressive impulses such as hair pulling. These obsessions lead to compulsions, which are repeated over and over, such as washing hands and arranging items in a specific order. These compulsions create a lot of anxiety in kids, because they know their behavior is different and strange, yet they can’t stop.

OCD kids have a hard time adjusting to a traditional school environment. The compulsions make it impossible for the child to maintain full focus, which makes it very hard for them to follow what is being said in the classroom and complete their schoolwork on time. Worries about cleanliness and organization make it extremely difficult to play with other children. In addition, kids often ridicule OCD children because they find them “weird.” Thus, the anxiety of going to school and facing challenging situations (mess, dirt) and the other children is added to the anxiety brought on by the obsession.

While some parents choose to treat OCD kids with medication, others worry about side effects and want to find a way to empower their child to manage their condition without relying on medication. With all the challenges facing these children in the traditional school system, special needs homeschooling often becomes the best choice.

OCD doesn’t go very well with the traditional schooling’s structure – the need to get up early, be on time, do homework every afternoon and go to bed on time are very stressful for OCD kids, who typically need lots of time and patience.

Homeschooling the OCD child provides relief from the impossibly (to them) rigid schedule of the traditional school system and from the anxiety and stress of dealing with the disorder at school. A homeschooling schedule can be flexible and can be worked around the child’s needs while allowing them to gradually learn to manage and control their disorder. In fact, in many cases, as soon as the pressure of traditional schooling is taken off, levels of anxiety dramatically decrease.