stepping into homeschooling? – a few words from me

Going into this school year looks really different for so many parents and students. My inbox has been full of parents asking me for my thoughts on homeschool – what curriculum I recommend, what works for us, etc. I’ll be honest, I don’t feel like I have a ton to contribute that has not already been shared by other homeschool moms. That being said, I have been on this homeschool path for a while – staring my 9th year next week. I am two years away from graduating my oldest. He attended a traditional school for K-2nd grade, but has been homeschooled ever since.

I am not an expert at homeschooling, but I have picked up on a few things I am happy to pass on to those interested.

Whether you are looking at homeschool, virtual school, or any other version of educating your kids at home, hopefully these thoughts will be beneficial.

Here are the first few thoughts that came to my mind when asked for homeschooling tips:

1. Put your phone down. The number one cause of frustration for myself and my kids is distraction caused by my phone. I’m not even talking about scrolling social media – just simply receiving texts or phone calls. I have notifications turned off for all social media on my phone & emails anyway, but if I hear a text or a call it is tempting to respond. I also know if I answer one email, text or call, – I can easily get pulled into answering more. For the first chunk of our morning I mentally make my phone off limits. This means my kids get my full attention…which means they get far less distracted and frustrated because they aren’t fighting for my attention. It also means I am not stressed out or frustrated because my attention is focused on them. Multi-tasking and homeschooling do not work well together in our house…at least for the first chunk of the school day.
2. Know your ‘why’. Every family has different goals for the education of their kids. Knowing your goals for your kids education will help you navigate the curriculum you choose, the path you go down, how hard your push your kids on what, where you place priority in the day, etc. Knowing your goal will also help you when there is the temptation to compare to what other families are or are not doing. We homeschool alongside some of our very closest friends and family, but our education goals are very different. When I am tempted to wonder if I should be doing more or less in an area in regards to homeschool, I come back to our family goals and it makes knowing the answer much easier.
3. Pay attention. One of the many beautiful aspects of homeschooling is you get the chance to really see first hand what your kids are thriving in and struggling in regarding school/subjects. If you pay attention, you will know when to push, when to pull back, when to encourage, when to shut the books and take some time off to recalibrate. This also ties into putting your phone down and knowing your why – it is hard to pay attention when you are distracted by other things. Knowing your why helps you navigate how to best help your kids when you are paying attention and notice the things that are or are not working.
4. Homeschool is not traditional school. This means you don’t have to recreate the classroom or the classroom schedule. My first year of homeschooling I needed to lesson plan and schedule out our days. It helped me cope and have a sense of control over something so new. I have not planned our schedule rigidly or have had a lesson planner for the last 7 years (partially based the curriculum we use). For some the rigid plan works. If that isn’t you – don’t try to force it. Homeschooling is beautiful because of the flexibility to make it an educational path that can be molded to fit the student, not the student molded to fit a certain path.
5. Don’t do unnecessary work. As you pay attention to your kids and know your educational goals – you will also notice the things that are not necessary. We don’t do a million worksheets or try to add stuff just to make our school day last a certain amount of time. We do the necessary work to reach our short term and long term goals and then we make the most of the extra time to pursue individual interests and to have down time. Down time is often where I see my kids’ creativity and ingenuity thrive. Just because another homeschool family does it – does not mean you have to!

So…none of that is related to actual curriculum. I know many of you have questions about curriculum. I am going to throw out some resources and links below for you. As far as the curriculum we use personally, we are part of a Classical Conversations Community. The CC curriculum is the foundation for all we use and then I add in a couple other things. We do a hybrid of book work, things online, lots outside, and adding in stuff based on individual interests.

All that being said…here are a few resources and links I recommend:

Teaching Textbooks – this is the math we use. Here is a post I wrote about why we use it.

Jodi Mockabee – Jodi has numerous resources for different topical studies. She also has manuals for getting started in homeschooling.

SnapShop Online Photography – of course I have to share where your kids can learn photography! There is a kids class with 30 lessons. For teens, I recommend the Phone Photography course and the DSLR course. Use the code: HOMESCHOOL for $20 off registration. You can use one membership for everyone that lives in your home.

Nature Journaling with Kristin Rogers – I am a HUGE fan of Kristin!

Emily Lex – Watercolor for Kids – online course…another artist I’m a big fan of

SkillShare – We use this for various interests among my kids. Use this link for 2 months free.

Rosetta Stone – we use the homeschool curriculum. Here is a post I wrote about using it.

BitsBox – great resource for entry level introduction into coding. Here is a post I wrote about using it.

WILD + FREE – Tons of resources for getting kids outside and learning in beautiful ways

Pinterest – I use Pinterest to search for all kinds of ways to enhance the things we are studying.

If you had a great or a terrible experience in the spring when you unexpectedly found your kids doing school at home – I would say…that probably wasn’t really homeschooling. It was more crisis schooling and it would have been hard to really experience the fullness of all that homeschooling can be when it is thrust on you so suddenly. If you had a terrible experience, but feel like you need to homeschool this fall – take a deep breath, it can be so, so good! If you had a wonderful experience and are stepping into homeschooling with excitement – it can be so, so good!

There will absolutely be challenges and really hard days with homeschooling – just like there are with public and private school. Most parents are doing their best to try to figure out what this new school year holds. It sounds this fall is a great opportunity cheer on each other as we all choose different things, but what we think will help our families and kids thrive.

If you choose homeschool – I’m rooting for you and your kids!

If you choose public school 5 days a week with masks – I’m rooting for you and your kids.

If you choose a hybrid of online and in person with social distancing – I’m rooting for you and your kids.

If you are forced into something you didn’t choose – I’m rooting for you and your kids!