Homeschooling is becoming an increasingly popular decision among parents. These parents are eradicating homeschooling stereotypes: the mom in the long denim skirt (with the badly permed, long hair) and socially awkward children. Today's homeschooling parent is educated, creative, and cool (think tattoos, organic-grocery-buying, and field trip expert extraordinaire).
One reason I have grown to know so many homeschooling parents is because, as mom by adoption, I befriend a lot of adults parenting children who come from hard places. The children's difficult pasts don't yield to schooling that requires a lot of sitting, standardized tests, and large classes: seven hours a day, five days a week. Plus homework. Plus little flexibility. Plus a sometimes lack of diversity (in age, race, and ability).
To the WHY:
What you need to know about me:
- I taught college English for eight years.
- My in-laws are both retired educators/administrators in the public school system.
- My husband and I were both educated in the public school system and we attended state universities.
- My oldest is in half-day public school.
- My middle child is in private preschool two mornings a week.
- And...we part-time homeschool.
We decided to part-time homeschool for a few reasons:
- As a former educator, and as my children's first/most important teacher, I wanted to have a heavy influence in their educational experience.
- I wanted to teach my children things they wouldn't get in public or private school (such as an emphasis on Black history, Bible verse memorization, etc.)
- I'm a big believer in free play. We can homeschool for about an hour a day, and then my girls have time to ride bikes, play with toys, create art, etc. My kindergartner has been playing in the sunshine, reading books, have a snack with her sister, and creating art for hours by the time the bus that would typically be bringing her home at 4:00 in the afternoon goes by.
- I can tailor my teaching to their individual needs and desires.
- I can give them one-on-one attention.
- As a mom, I was feeling that I wasn't doing enough teaching of my own kids: teaching them about the Bible, teaching them certain subjects, etc., so I would randomly, in a wave of guilt, try to teach them on X subject. The lack of consistency and a plan made me feel more guilty and discouraged. Homeschooling is a way to be organized, consistent, and purposeful.
To the HOW:
Homeschooling options can be overwhelming and shake a person's confidence. However, the perfect time to give homeschooling a whirl, from my experience, is when children are young. They are typically eager to learn, embrace free play, and are more receptive to learning from mom or dad.
Tools we utilize:
- workbooks. I really like Explode the Code and Handwriting Without Tears. My go-to book for teaching my kids to read is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We also like the Curious George and Brain Quest workbooks. (Kumon books aren't my favorite, but I do utilize a few). We also buy workbooks at the dollar store. I'm a big fan of clean, simple workbooks without distracting colors, though most of the dollar store books are pretty colorful and tend to be based on Disney and Fisher-Price characters. A few of these more colorful books are ok.
- puzzles. We love Melissa and Doug puzzles! There's world and US puzzles (think history and geography) and alphabet and number puzzles (for recognition and identification).
- story cards, matching games, bingo games, letter matching.
- window markers and sidewalk chalk These are great for "workbook" type work done on a window or sidewalk/driveway
- magnets. We made a killer magnet board using a Goodwill frame (spray painted it purple) with a custom-cut piece of magnetic metal super-mega-glued to the inside. It's 3'x4'. We use our alphabet (put them in order) and number (do math problems) on it, as well as fun magnets like animals, vehicles, etc. (see magnet board hung on the left-hand wall?)
- art supplies. lots and lots and lots of art supplies. our favorites are plain paper, kid-safe scissors, washable paint, canvases, stickers, coloring books (here is one my favorites, as an adult!), beans (for gluing onto paper), crayons, markers, Melissa and Doug scratch art, yarn, and colored pencils.
- math press-down board. My kids adore this toy I found in clearance at Home Goods. They play with it in the car all the time! It's a great non-electronic toy.
- counting objects. These are great for math skills, identifying colors, categorizing, and understanding patterns. Plus, they are just fun to play with! This set I've had since I was in grade school, and we love using it for art and math. When my oldest with struggling with math, we got a $1 clearance set of multi-colored unicorn figurines (her favorite!) and her attitude turned around instantly!
- books, books, books, books
Our overall focus:
- Each month, we pick one Bible verse to memorize that matches the month's themes. For example, this February, we are focusing on Valentine's Day, Black History Month, and babies (since my sister's baby is due). I pull books from our personal library that focus on these things. We read a book a day from the stack, plus additional books at bedtime and on the day we only read books. This focus helps us not be overwhelmed, gives us the same thing to start off with each day (Bible verse and talking about our themes), and helps us select what books/videos to utilize.
Tips:
- When we can take our schooling outside, we do. This means homeschooling on the porch, identifying words/numbers in the driveway with sidewalk chalk, collecting objects from nature to stamp-paint or create nature bottles, etc. I'm also realistic. After the girls have been at their schools that morning and after lunch, we try to go outside and ride bikes for a bit before sitting down to homeschool.
- Have a designated space for school, and make it attractive and organized. Be sure to put homeschooling items you don't want your kids to get into on higher shelves. If it's not a place you want to spend time in, why would your children? Paint the room/area a fun color, hang up some kid-friendly art, and have a great table and enough chairs.
- Choose a few subjects to focus on, especially when the kids are young. Our main three subjects are: math, handwriting, and reading.
- Pick a day a week where you just read books together.
- Pick a day a week that you don't homeschool, because you are going to need flexibility! Use this day when someone is sick, when you have a lot of work to do at home, or you just don't feel like doing school!
- Wear play clothes. Buy washable supplies, but know that learning isn't always going to be tidy. Put your children in clothes where you aren't going to fret over spills, pen marks, etc.
- Utilize homeschooling to spend time with your children. There are many ways to teach a child to read, for example, without electronics. Nothing is more magical than sitting a child in your lap and reading a good book (and it promotes attachment). There's something to be said for delaying a lot of screen time for little ones.
- Get creative. I love to bake. Baking is a fun activity that teaches little ones all about math (volume, fractions, etc.), following instructions, reading (the recipe, ingredient lists, etc.), and patience. And it's so yummy!
- If you are schooling multiple kids, games and puzzles can be a great way to let the kids learn together. My girls take turns calling letter BINGO, they put together huge floor puzzles as a team, and my oldest can help teach her younger sister.
- Give yourself and your children grace. One of my life mottos, as a recovering perfectionist, is PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION.
- When it comes to workbooks, don't assume that just because a book is labeled for a child of a certain age or grade level, that that particular workbook is right for your child. It's always best to physically flip through the workbooks you want to use and then order them from the cheapest place possible (which is most likely Amazon).
- When something isn't work, stop doing it. Adjust. More forward.
- Do what works for you and your family. For us, it's part-time homeschooling while utilizing our local public and private schools. Homeschooling isn't all-or-nothing.
- Join FB homeschooling groups, in-person groups, and befriend experienced homeschooling parents.
- Keep in mind that one of the perks of homeschooling is time together and building relationships, not just getting educated.
- Pinterest. (No explanation needed for this one!)
Affordability:
- Buy supplies at the dollar store. Another great place to get supplies is the "add on" items from Amazon. (From the Amazon site: "The Add-on program allows Amazon to offer thousands of low-priced items that would be cost-prohibitive to ship on their own. These items ship with qualifying orders over $25.")
- Ask for supplies for Christmas and birthdays instead of loads of plastic toys. Also, ask for gift cards for places like Amazon where your children can order books.
- Utilize your library. We rent movies and get the latest books (and old favorites) for free.
- Home Goods, TJMax, and Marshall's (all part of the same company) have awesome prices on books, Melissa and Doug products, Eeboo products, art supplies, and more.
- The day after a major holiday (Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween) go to your local stores such as Target, Micheal's, and Hobby Lobby to stock up on clearanced art supplies. You can use the items right away or store them for the next holiday. Likewise, go to bookstores the day after a major holiday to get 50% off or more on holiday-themed books for your children.
- My local FB swap and sell site always has dining room tables/chairs for sale. We picked up our homeschooling room table and chairs (very sturdy and in good shape) for $40. Because we got such a great deal, I don't worry when things spill or scratch.
