One Month In | Our Homeschool Update

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A year ago if you had asked me if I would ever homeschool, I would have answered,

“Absoultely Not..

And yet here I am, one month into homeschooling. So, how is it going? Do I regret our decision? Do I miss all of the things I talked about missing in the original post explaining why we decided to homeschool? What is our homeschool update?

To make a long story short –

I love homeschooling!

I do not regret homeschooling at all (so far, lol)! I’m so grateful we took the plunge and just did it. Here is my homeschool update, one month into it.

Disclaimer | Our Homeschool Update

Before I continue, I need to include a disclaimer. The goal of this post (and any of my homeschooling posts) is not to convince you to homeschool your kids. It’s not to tell you that homeschooling is better than other school choices. No. It’s to detail our journey in case it helps you on yours. It’s as plain and simple as sharing my story. No guilt. No pressure. No judgment. 🙂

What I love | Our Homeschool Update

Ok, where were we? Oh right. It takes some reflection to articulate why I love homeschooling so much. So after some deep thinking, here are a few of the reasons why I love homeschooling (so far).

Involvement in My Kid’s Education

I absolutely love knowing what my kids are working on in school. I had that to some extent when my eldest was in public school, but if you had asked me if my son learned about sneaky E in kindergarten, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. If you asked me what science lessons or social studies topics he covered in public school, I’d have very little idea.

On the flip side, now I am his math teacher, science teacher, language arts teacher, principal, board of education and janitor. Ok, I wouldn’t mind giving up that last title. In all seriousness though, I chose his curriculum. I teach it. And I love knowing how he’s doing in each subject. I appreciate seeing his strengths and weaknesses. I even enjoy learning more about how he learns.

Similarly, my daughter expressed a desire to learn how to read, so I got to be with her when she read her first word! I got to celebrate with her when she read her first book! It is such a joy to be part of learning with my kids.

A science activity to show how God made our hands and feet. Our hands and feet contain nerves to help us feel.

Seeing the Kids Form Lifelong Bonds

Seeing my three kids (ages 2, 5 and 6) becomes friends with one another has been my prayer for them before they were even born. The reality is that if my two bigger kids were in 1st grade and preschool five days/week, they would miss out on being with each other during that time. They would miss out on knowing their little sister during that time. Instead, all of them get to be together during morning meeting. My girls get “sister” time together while I work one on one with my son. Then, when I prep lunches, all three of them get time playing together outside. They’re learning to express their feelings, to include one another, to resolve conflicts, and to share. They’re forming friendships that, I hope, will last a lifetime.

Caught this candid through the screened door

Time for Chores

Last year, I struggled to find time for chores. By the time my son got home, finished his homework and had a second to play – it was time to start prepping dinner. And I knew that if I was going to implement chores, I needed to be available to teach them how to do the chores and be ready to help them learn. It wouldn’t be fair of me to be busy and expect them to do the chores without training them in it first. I didn’t have the time to do that and my son didn’t have the stamina.

Flash forward and we have chore charts that the kids actually look forward to doing. They don’t complain about doing chores because to them, it’s all part of homeschooling. My kids have learned (with varying degrees of support) how to do their own laundry, mop the floors, put away our silverware, vacuum, dust and wash the windows. Even the 2 year old is doing her own laundry!

I love this! It teaches them that as a family, we are community. When you live in community, you help out. They are helping their family by doing work. They are taking ownership of their work and feeling proud when they pitch in. I’m teaching my kids life skills and in the process, I’m making my life easier too.

Finding Creative Solutions to Learning

When my son needs extra help to master a concept, I have two choices: 1.) Get discouraged or 2.) Get creative.

I love being creative in the name of learning. It feels like a riddle beckoning me to solve it. Learning can happen at a desk and learning can happen jumping across spots on the floor because *GASP* the floor is lava and the only way to get from one spot to the next is to read a sight word!

Kids learn through playing, so why not enter into their world and teach them through playing too? Note: This doesn’t mean everything has to be fun. Some learning is rote, work or plain ol’ boring. But if the child is stuck, creative learning through play can do wonders.

The floor is LAVA! You must read a sight word to jump to the next spot!

Making Learning a Way of Life

I think this happens naturally for most homeschool families. Probably because when you’re teaching your kids’ curriculums, you see connections to what the kids are learning all around you. And what good is knowledge unless it gets applied? Being able to point out these connections makes learning a way of life rather than a relationship between a student and a textbook. And it’s even more priceless when the kids have these “aha” moments first and point them out to you

Calmer Mornings

While getting coffee with a friend, I told her, “I feel less stressed homeschooling every subject than I did just trying to get the kids out of the house 5 mornings each week.” Have I mentioned that I’m not a morning person? I’m a huge fan of the calmer mornings. Don’t mistake a calmer morning for an unproductive morning. Don’t mistake a calmer morning for a boring morning. Don’t misunderstand and think our mornings aren’t busy.

It’s just calmer. I’m not rushing to pack lunches. I’m not ordering kids to find their socks and shoes. I’m not checking backpacks to make sure all the right items are in the right bags. I’m not driving kids to school, hoping to get there before the bell rings.

I’m staying home and I’m deciding when the bell rings. We’re still busy, but we’re calmer.

Are We Missing out? | Our Homeschool Update

Surprisingly, we have not felt like we’ve been missing out. Since we are part of a co-op, the kids get the opportunity to learn in a classroom setting once every week. They have picture day through their co-op. They have spirit days through their co-op. They’ll have a talent show through their co-op. In addition to their co-op, they have the chance to be around peers several times each week. They still have play dates with their friends. So far, we have not felt like they’ve been missing out.

Has it All Gone Well? | Our Homeschool Update

Honestly? Yes.

It hasn’t been perfect but if you’re aiming for perfect you will miss every time. There have been days where I’ve been cranky. There have been days when a child hasn’t wanted to learn. There have been times when a toddler has wanted mommy’s attention while I was teaching. But the moods are a part of life with or without homeschool. Navigating the specific life stage of my toddler is just a season we’re in right now, whether or not we homeschool. After being a stay-at-home-mom for six-years, none of these are deal breakers for me when it comes to homeschooling. Especially in light of all of the reasons I love it – so far. 🙂

The main thing to keep in mind here, is that when your day doesn’t go according to plan, you just need to REROUTE. Read more about that here.