Preparing for a life of homeschooling
If you have been along this journey with me for a while, you might remember that Husband and I took our babies to Burundi this time last year. It was their first time there, and it was also the first time all five of us traveled to another continent together. We consider ourselves largely adventurous, but this trip put a lot of our previous discussions about how we want to live our lives in perspective. Major among the desires of our hearts is the freedom to live, grow, and thrive in the best way we can. This is the reason that, after years of debate and research, we decided last summer that our children would be homeschooled. We want to spend our days together as a family and having our children in the school system just doesn’t accommodate that.
When we made the decision, our oldest was in the second grade. He was in a language immersion charter school, studying in French and English while learning Kirundi at home. My only concern with pulling him out of school was that he wouldn’t have as much time to dedicate to French, but I realized he could learn that just as well at home. When I had the conversation with him about homeschooling, he asked several good questions (such as what in the world is homeschooling? lol) and told me that he needed time to think about it. He wanted to learn more about what it would mean for him and ask more questions if he had any. After a week, he told me that he made me a decision. He wanted us to proceed with homeschooling but only if his siblings would be part of it. In case you can’t tell, the boy was seven (now 8) going on 30. I was clearly excited because this was an idea I had been toying with since he was two and we needed a preschool for him.
One of the main reasons we choose to homeschool was so that our family would have the flexibility to fit learning, travel, and relationship building into our schedules. We were done with waiting until school breaks to visit family who live far away. We wanted to be able to take Friday off to go to a museum without a call from the school system reporting that our child missed school. We wanted to be able to let a child sleep in after a long or hard night without being late to school.
Then COVID-19 came full force with no sign of slowing down. Our babies will still be homeschooled. That will not change at all. However, now we are going to be home all the days while we teach and work and play and build relationships with relatives long distance style. It is the opposite of the images in my dreams, but it is still exciting. We have selected our curricula, completed out required school system forms, and decided that I will not, under any circumstances, be the main math facilitator for our students. :) If you’re curious to see what materials we will be using, I will be sharing that information on my social media pages in August.
We are excited for a time in the future when we will be able to join sport teams and meet up with friends. Even more exciting will be all the traveling we will get to do as part of our learning or just for fun. Until then, we will do our best to stay entertained while navigating this new life of doing everything at home. If you, too, have decided to homeschool for any reason, I hope you will join us as we learn together.
Some basic tips to get started, not in any particular order.
Figure out what learning style and teaching method work best for your family. Learn more here and here. We have a Montessori background, so we will keep as many aspects of that style as possible.
Research what your state requirements are. Do they require testing for homeschoolers? Is it expected that you present a portfolio showing what your students have learned? Do you have to be part of a homeschool umbrella? In our case, all we have to do is submit any form showing our intent to homeschool and meet with a homeschool liaison once a year to review our portfolio. The school system uses this time to ensure that our children are learning what they should be learning at their levels.
Discuss your plans with your children and figure out what their interests are. Learning at home gives parents and students a chance to focus on the materials that truly matter. There can be as little busy work as you want, depending on your situation. If your children learn fast, set them up with tools to keep them moving through materials even if it is faster than they would in a regular classroom. Remember that the teacher to student ratio is much smaller in your home, which sometimes leaves room to learn in more depth faster.
Prioritize! You will not get everything done. Ever. There is always something that needs to wait. It is ok to just focus on core courses and fit in the extras where you can. If you have three children with unique learning styles, be sure to set aside one-on-one time with each. This way, they each get a chance to address any issues they might be facing in their learning.
Leave time to play! This one is self-explanatory. Children need to play. Even adults do. It is important to make sure that part of your day (or several parts) are left for fun activities that the children either do with you or on their own. If you have a backyard, put it to good use and count it as PE for them.
