What Homeschooling "IS" and "ISN'T"

Before I started homeschooling, I was plagued with the idea's in my head of what every day would look like. I thought I might be standing in front of a white board for 6 hours a day, teaching them like a school teacher might. Or preparing lessons long into the night, every night. But as I've progressed just a little in my journey I've learned a little bit more of what homeschooling is, and what homeschooling isn't.

Homeschooling is:

1) Teaching my kids to LOVE to learn! This I believe by far is the greatest joy.

2) Teaching my kids to be self initiators, and to be self governed.

3) Teaching my kids to be flexible.

4) Learning that doesn't end with the closing of a book.

5) Teaching my kids to work together, help each other, play together, and learn together regardless of their age difference.

6) Being able to teach my kids using their own learning styles, which are all different.

 Homeschooling isn't:

1) Bookwork from 8-3. Usually it takes my kids 2-3 hours total, that includes breaks to play, and snacktime.

2) Traditional learning in the sense that my kids sit in desks all day. 

3) Boring! There is never a dull moment. 

4) Easy :) It's just a lot of multi-tasking. 

5) Letting my children be lazy.

6) Teaching my kids to be anti-social (I love this one, contrary to popular belief homeschooler's are very social, and know how to interact appropriately in society).

Currently I'm homeschooling a 2nd grader, 1st grader and a Preschooler. A few of you have asked me about my curriculum, so this is what is looks like for each of them.

1. Easton - 2nd Grade
• Horizons Phonics and Reading Grade 2
• Horizons Spelling and Vocabulary Grade 2
• Horizons Math Grade 1 (finishing from last year) and moving into Grade 2 this week.
• Lots of Reading: Horizon's Readers, Magic Tree House books, Step 2 Readers
2. Natalie - 1st Grade
• Horizons Phonics and Reading Grade 1
• Horizons Spelling and Vocabulary Grade 1
• Horizons Math Grade K (finishing from last year and moving into Grade 1 this week.
• Lots of Reading: Horizon's Readers, Magic Tree House books, Step 1 Readers, and lots of Dr Suess books. 
3. Adam - Preschool
•  BrainQuest Workbook Preschool and Kindergarten

 

These are the subjects we do everyday. But, we do have days that are exceptions, a break in the routine, which is what I believe is one of the greatest things about homeschooling. 

Sometimes there are days filled with tears where nothing is clicking. Sometimes, I push them to overcome their "I can't," but other times I put their books away, and we try something different. And those are usually their favorite days. 

I love being able to be flexible. One of my kids has a hard time with bookwork, the other doesn't. And while I make them both do it, I love that I can be sensitive and flexible to help them learn, and love what they are doing. Instead of making school time a drudgery, and source of frustration, I'm able to help them understand the way they learn.

Kids are smart. Period. But how they learn is all different. When we put kids in our own little boxes of how we think they should learn it does more damage than we may think.  

We have lots of tactile games, phonics games, and math games that we pull out during these occasions.  If counting dollars and cents is challenging, we pull out lots of money and play store. If spelling and phonics is frustrating, we pull out our Silly Sentence game. 

Aside from doing the bookwork, which like I said is usually done before lunch if the kids are efficient. We have time to explore and learn a plethora of other things that interest them. 

My daughter is learning to cook on her own, and starting to sew. She also spends at least 2 hours daily drawing, she loves to draw! 

My boys play Lego's for hours every day, in addition to making squirrel houses and forts outside when its not raining. They do lots of building, and problem solving.

In addition to the things we do at home, the kids are all involved in gymnastics and piano once a week.

And on days when we have one or more sick kids, we often just turn on a movie and snuggle on the couch. I love those days too.