5 things to remember when homeschooling

I never in my wildest dreams saw myself as a homeschool mom. But, here I am… 50 something lessons into our first “official” homeschool year. It’s amazing how God is preparing you for something and you’re completely oblivious to it at the time. Just living life… Unaware… I can honestly tell you I have always had a pull towards all things teacher. Organization, making charts, word documents, planning, pens, notebooks, calendars, planners, sticky notes… I believe with all of my heart that my desire towards all of those things came from God and that they were given to me for use in my homeschooling journey.

I can remember when Brian and I first told our families that we were seriously considering homeschooling our kids. Our oldest was just months old at the time. 6 years ago, homeschooling was not a word used in either of our immediate families. We both attended the local county school and had never been exposed to “homeschoolers” until we found our church. Fast-forward 6 years and i’m so glad that we didn’t let the stigma that comes with the word “homeschool” cloud our judgment and change our hearts. I sincerely believe it was God that gave us that desire and it was God that kept nudging us along. Homeschooling is such an amazing opportunity and we feel so blessed to be able to teach our children. So, if you aren’t sure if it’s right for you, if you’re going back and forth with the idea… Don’t let what anyone else says about it change your mind. You and your husband pray about it and if that’s where God is leading you, do it! You won’t be sorry!

With all of that being said, I’ve found out that homeschooling is just like any other passion in life. You can get sucked in to comparing your journey with everybody else’s. So, I’m just going to go ahead and state the obvious…

1.There is not ONE correct way to homeschool. There are many!

DO NOT try to compare your homeschool routine with anyone else’s.

EVERY HOMESCHOOL SETUP LOOKS DIFFERENT.

EVERY HOMESCHOOL SCHEDULE IS DIFFERENT.

EVERY HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM IS DIFFERENT.

Homeschool looks different for every family.

2. Find out what works best for YOUR family.

You can’t just go on Amazon and buy the “Homeschool for dummies” book and take it home and get started. (Or at least I don’t recommend that!) Homeschooling is something that you need to figure out as you go. Research curriculum. Read reviews. Join Facebook groups to help. Ask real life moms what they like and dislike about their curriculum. Most curriculums will let you see samples of their books online. Read through them and see if you think they would fit your teaching style. What works best for your family may not be the same for my family.

3. Don’t think you have to stick to some rigid schedule that can never change.

That’s one of my favorite things about homeschool. You can do it anytime, anywhere and at your own pace. If it’s a beautiful day outside, let your kids play outside and enjoy the day. If your child isn’t grasping a concept, don’t be afraid to slow down, take extra days, and use different approaches to help drive it home. If your child is blazing through their work and it seems too easy, don’t be afraid to let them do more work. Follow your child’s lead and don’t be afraid to change things up. The one thing you don’t want is to get yourself all worked up about a schedule. You have 365 days to get it done. Enjoy it!

4. Try to stick to one curriculum if you can.

I don’t have the years invested for this one. But, there are so many homeschool moms in our church that I go to for help. And, this is one thing I have heard over and over. Find what works best for your child and then stick with it. You may have to change the pace at which you teach the material but be careful about switching back and forth with curriculums every year. The fear is that your child will have “learning gaps” in certain subjects. Since every curriculum is different, they most likely teach certain topics at different times throughout the year. So jumping from curriculum to curriculum, topics are more likely to be skipped without you even realizing it.

5. Don’t forget your why.

When times get tough, and they will, remind yourself why you chose this path to begin with. Even if you have to write it down and tape it to your bathroom mirror so that you’ll see it every morning when you wake up. It is so important to remember why you started homeschooling in the first place. I’ll be sharing my “why” in another post. But, maybe you’ve been at this thing for so long that you forgot your why. Or, maybe you’re just starting out. Whichever the case, maybe you need to sit down with a pen and paper and write out your reasons. That way you have something tangible to hold on to when you feel like you can’t go on.

Homeschooling your children is such a wonderful blessing! Don’t get caught up in how someone else does it. Don’t let what other people do, or think, influence your choices for your family. Don’t loose the joy in this journey! Embrace the uncertainty and pray about as a family before you start each day!

Click HERE to find out why I LOVE our curriculum!