11 Must Know Secrets to Homeschooling
Have you ever for one second thought about homeschooling your children? Perhaps it’s something tugging at your heart or perhaps it’s something that has you intrigued. Maybe your friends homeschool and you don’t quite get it or maybe you’re currently thinking of all your schooling options for your children.
I wanted to share just some basic thoughts on homeschooling that may help you or guide you into any decision that is currently weighing you down. I was there once before too, struggling to say yes to something so big, and I’m here to tell you that it was one of the best things I’ve ever said YES to.
Most mothers who either say yes to homeschooling in the beginning or who make the transition from traditional schooling to homeschooling, will struggle at some point with the decision. Either they fear it’s the wrong choice or they fear they will not handle the job well. I learned that many mothers, myself included, let fear creep in when it comes to homeschooling. Anytime your parenting choices goes against the mainstream norm, it does get a little tricky and being fearful is normal.
I hope these “secrets” to homeschooling below help you as you begin your journey to something so wonderful for your family!
We thrift books from garage sales and thrift stores to build up our book stash.
You don’t have to lesson plan. There’s different ways to look at this. Some homeschool moms will sit down and fill out beautiful planners with their ideas, unit studies and learning goals. Others will flip open the book to the next page and tackle the day. Your curriculum that you choose for each subject will explain what is expected for your child to do each day. No planning necessary only your end; it is often quite self explanatory.
It’s not that expensive. Again, this goes different for each family. Some parents go all in with homeschool and build a home library, have fancy learning tools and more. Others just have a library card, a few math manipulatives and a really great curriculum.
You don’t have to have a homeschool classroom. Absolutely not! While a homeschool classroom is super cute and all, it’s just not practical for most families. The dining room table is the perfect place to gather. You can school anywhere from the living room floor to the bed room or outside on a picnic table. Many people keep their supplies in a rolling cart near the kitchen table.
You don’t need a ton of fancy books. A library card will suffice for you! It’s truly all you need. However if you feel compelled to have beautiful books on hand, then I suggest hitting up the local thrift stores, garage sales and asking your Usborne friends to host a party for them!
You don’t have to homeschool only for religious reasons. While majority of homeschooling families are using Christian curriculums or choose to homeschool for faith based reasons, this is not always the case. There are many secular curriculums available out there and many tools and resources for secular families.
Your kids WILL experience socialization. This tends to be the biggest hold up that so many families have when it comes to homeschooling. Most people still have this stigma in their head that homeschoolers are “weird” based off of either no experience or perhaps one person they knew growing up. In today’s times, many homeschooling families have access to homeschool co ops, hybrids, park dates, 4H meetings and church groups. In addition to this, if your child does extra curricular sports, attends sporting events, has a lot of siblings or neighborhood friends or even just goes to the store with you - then you have nothing to worry about.
Some states require little monitoring. Each state has its own requirements that you must meet as a homeschooling family, but you’d be surprised to know that it is often very little on your end. Some states require a portfolio of work to be submitted and other states just require that you “register” your homeschool name with the state and that’s it. Check your local educational website for more information.
It’s not public school at home. Homeschooling does not look like traditional schooling. Your child does not need to work for eight hours during the day and will actually only work 1-4 hours depending on their age. You’re not teaching 30 kids and having to divide your attention. You can devote your attention to your child/children and then take breaks as needed and work in a way that’s best for your family. You have the time freedom to still work from home, cook meals, tend to the home and take care of the baby.
Many of us were scared to say yes to homeschooling. You may be experiencing some conflicting emotions about choosing to homeschool your children. One minute you’re all for the idea and the next minute, you’re afraid and listing reasons why you shouldn’t homeschool. I can assure you that many of us have been there!
It’s not as hard as it seems. This just seems like I’m sugar coating it. You can homeschool anywhere and at any time. You can homeschool with a newborn or a toddler. You can homeschool on bad days and good days and you can work around your life. You can homeschool all fall and then take off the whole month of December to enjoy the holidays. You can homeschool while your loud toddler naps. Where there is a will, there’s a way and I promise you that it gets better each day.
But yes, some days are hard. Since I don’t want to sugar coat it, some days are hard. That’s a given when you’re discussing anything to do with parenting. Some days you may want to throw in the towel and other days you may end the day early because you’re one second away from a meltdown. It’s okay. That’s why God created tomorrow and it’s also why He teaches us about grace. His grace is sufficient and each day, each month, and each year, things can become so much easier. Eventually you’ll discover the routine and rhythm that works for your family.
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