I’ve known for years that I wanted to at least try to Homeschool my children someday but I’ve always had some apprehension about doing so. That is mostly because I feel way under qualified to teach the higher grades in a comprehendible way. I mean, the kids have to actually understand and grasp the material and in order for that to happen, I have to have a good concept of it myself! And I’ve never been overly confident in my grasp of certain subjects; math for instance. 🙄 I absolutely loved Science, Biology, and History but I’ve been far less excited about English and Math in the upper grades. So all of this has made me worried over the years, until recently….
My SIL found a great curriculum which we actually used bits and pieces of over the years when I was a kid. I liked it pretty well myself back then but we never had a set curriculum. It was always some of this and some of that. Which worked out alright I guess but personally, I think I’d rather teach with a set course that is all laid out and organized. And one that will give my kids a real diploma at the end so they don’t have to get their GED like I did! The curriculum my SIL is using looks really simple to teach from and comes with all the teacher answer keys. I like that it is a Christian based program too and is affordable. DH and I have also talked about using online schooling at some point. I think that would be a really good option for the higher grades but when the kids are younger, I prefer the flexibility of schooling on my own time. I will definitely still want to keep a schedule with it but if we need a day off or something, I think it would be nice to make it up as we go along. I’m not sure at what grade I would want to switch to online but I’m sure I’ll be able to tell when the time has come.
The other pro to doing a curriculum that isn’t online (at least for the first several grades) is the ability to tweak the lessons to fit the learning styles of each child. For example, I can sit with Tru and read him books and watch educational videos with him and he soaks it up like a sponge! He also loves to work on projects with me and has a pretty high level of patience for hands-on learning experiences. Levi doesn’t learn as well this way though. Sitting still and reading isn’t his thing. He has never liked watching videos very well and he doesn’t have much patience for sitting down to do a project. Of course, he’s 3, so I expect his attention span will grow with age. I just want to make sure that I present lessons and projects in a way that my kids can learn from as individuals with their own learning style.
One thing that is extremely important to me is that we get involved with a Homeschool group and that my kids have the opportunity to play sports if they want to. It’s absolutely not negotiable. It’s the one thing that I always said I would do differently for my kids so that they don’t feel left out or cut off from their friends. We are already scheduled to go on a group outing next week and I’m super excited! I have also found another group that does hiking adventures and I know that is definitely one I’m interested in with my boys. 😉
There is a possibility that Tru and Levi may be able to do the same grade at the same time since they are only 17 months apart in age. I’m not sure how that would go over but I would really like to try to start them both in kindergarten at the same time and see if it works. If it doesn’t, we won’t worry about it. But can you imagine how much easier it would be to teach them 1 class together? YAY! If they were going to school, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea but for me at home teaching them, it may go over alright.
We started preschool last week (officially – we have done preschool workbooks with Tru for the last couple years but now we are doing it for real) and both boys are absolutely loving it! We do a worksheet or two from a preschool workbook and follow that with an art project that incorporates the lesson content. We also like to use dry-erase tracing books just to make it more fun. We look for numbers and letters everywhere we go. Both Tru and Levi know all the primary colors and most shapes. I have lots of flash cards that we play with to help reinforce the things they have learned. I try to keep it short and simple (about an hour at a time) and as fun as possible. I hope that we continue to enjoy “playing schoolwork”, as the boys say. 😉
What about you? Do you think Homeschooling would be fun? Any insight or tips?
I have a few friends who have homeschooled and they love it. My sister in law did it for preschool for all her kids but decided to stop and send her kids to public school. I myself wanted my kids to be socialized and be involved in school so I sent my oldest and she is excelling every day. She’s in first grade reading and doing math at a second grade pace! So I have no hate for either lol
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Wow that’s great how well your daughter is doing! I think we will take it year by year and just see how we feel with what we are doing. I’m excited though. It’s fun teaching new things. 🙂
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My degree is in education and I really don’t want to homeschool. It’s never been an interest of mine and now that I have kids, I am more than willing to give them to someone else to teach. We live in a great school district for that reason. That said, I think it’s wonderful for anyone who does it well. Kids can get much better instruction when class size is smaller and lessons are tailored to them and their learning style.
I have friends who home school and love it. I’m still surprised about one friend but her oldest is now in 4th grade and she’s still going strong. They do a co-op which sounds like a great alternative to traditional school, and an absolute blast overall. They plan to send their kids to the middle school when they reach that age because it’s so much harder to teach those grades and they want them to have that experience.
I have a cousin with high school aged kids who home schools because they are a military family. I don’t know the cost or details but they do an online program. All of her kids are very smart and wonderfully sweet.
So, home schooling is great as long as you do it well. From the concern I’ve read about, I think you’ll be just fine. 😊
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That’s interesting that you don’t want to homeschool even with a degree in education. Do you mind if I ask why?
We had talked about only homeschooling for the younger grades and then sending them to school. We do live in a good school district (though that may change if we move) but the more DH and I have talked about, the more we both like the idea of online classes for the upper grades. I think we will really just have to take it year by year but for now, I’m excited about homeschooling. Which is a surprise to me because I thought I would hate it.
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I love my kids but I need a break from them. Sending them to Mothers Day Out has shown me just how much I need that. I love teaching and exploring and seeing kids faces when that lightbulb comes on but I’ve found that at home, I don’t set aside time for that. I can barely do dishes and laundry and some cleaning before my energy gives out. If I homeschooled and was intentional about making time for it, I’m afraid something else would get dropped.
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Absolutely, I understand what you are saying. It’s definitely a very very precarious balancing act. I can see already, even just doing 1 hour of school a day is really hard to fit into my day! I absolutely abhor schedules but I think it’s going to be a non option soon. I’m just going to have to draw up a schedule and stick to it so that I can keep focused on what to do next. There are certain things, like working out, that absolutely have to fit into my day for my mental and physical health.
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This is my 9th year homeschooling, and at the start of every.single.year. I question the decision, but then I get over it and we proceed as normal. It’s just always rough getting started, I guess. But I’m so glad we’ve persevered. We all love it.
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Wow! That’s great! Were you homeschooled yourself? When it comes to homeschooling my kids, I think it is both an advantage and a disadvantage in its own way that I never went to school. Mostly because I’m not sure what a classroom structure should look like and how long we should spend on each subject. But I think short and simple lessons are going to be key for teaching 3 very active boys. 😉
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I went to public school. I use an online curriculum, which keeps us very structured, called k12.
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Oh, I’ve heard of that! We’ve looked at a few different online programs for later on and that is one of the ones we’ve considered.
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It’s interesting, of course my girl is so young schooling hasn’t once crossed my mind. But I send her to an early childhood centre even though I’m currently not working, and even though I have a degree in early childhood. Because knowing what I know I know her teachers at daycare can teach her things and do things with her that are sooo different to home life. I expect I will feel the same with school education!! Yet I also have this guy wrenching pull to home school. Parenting is full of so many choices huh! I just had a read over comments on here too and other views. Gosh. Glad I’ve got 4 years to think about it 😖😖
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Yes! Parenting is just one hard decision after another. I don’t think I ever realized just how much I could second guess myself. 😂
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I think as homeschoolers the biggest concern we all have is whether we are capable of teaching our kids especially once they advance into middle school and high school grades. What I have come to learn after 6 years of homeschooling and speaking with many homeschool moms is that it is possible. I know a mom who never finished high school and she has two kids that she homeschooled and one went to Notre Dame University and the other is attending Sarah Lawrence and both are at the top of their classes. I am often learning alongside my kids and that is okay but the best thing any of us can do is to teach our children how to find answers. Homeschooling isn’t so much about filling their virtual backpacks with random facts and information instead of its about filling their backpacks with the skills necessary to identify issues, seek answers and properly research to find solutions. My oldest son is interested in coding and I can’t make heads or tales of it but I provided him with the materials he needed and he has made a video game all on his own. It’s amazing how much kids can learn when they are simply given the tools and the opportunities to learn.
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Wow!! This is great encouragement! Thanks so much for sharing. 😊
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We are considering homeschooling our youngest two so we can travel more. Traditional school makes traveling long term really hard. I read an article on a homeschooling site that said to plan to homeschool one year at a time because you can always change your mind later. I loved this. It made me feel so much better about making this huge life choice. I was so stressed but thinking of the fact that we could change our mind at anytime if it wasn’t working for us helped me so much. Do what you think is best & always follow your heart 😊
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Thank you! I think that’s a really good point. Take it one year at a time!
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