Question:
What advice do you have for those considering homeschooling, or just starting out?
Answer:
My advice would be to prioritize what you want for your children. As an example, my priorities are
- Relationship with God
- Relationship with me
- Character
- Academics
Then base your homeschooling style and curriculum choices around your priorities.
Now for me having academics last does not mean I want dumb children. It just means that I look for those other qualities in curriculum first.
My next advice would be to start out slow. With the basic subjects first. Reading, Writing, Math. As you get the hang of it, you will know when you are ready to add in other subjects, such as History, Science, Art, etc. However, you can about those subjects through reading, writing, and math as well.
Next, Do NOT compare yourself or your children to others. I am sure you will hear that from most homeschoolers out there. We are all different in different situations.
Know that you will have bad days, everybody does, including school teachers. Know that things will not always go as planned, you may be ahead of schedule, but most likely you will be behind. It’s ok.
When I was considering homeschooling I did alot of research, ALOT. I checked out every book from the library on homeschooling. My favorite book was Homeschooling, Take a Deep Breath, You Can Do This. I searched the internet, read blogs, etc. I even began after-schooling, before I pulled them out of public school. That way we could all get our feet wet with it before jumping in. I also know that if things change and it really doesn’t work out. The public school will be there. However, I do not live day to day thinking that I want to send them back. It just made me feel more comfortable in the beginning. Now, I don’t even think of sending them back. However, I have enrolled Katey in public school Kindergarten for a half day. I have various reasons for doing so. However, she will still be doing homeschool after school. So we get that quality time together.
To see what advice other have, check out The Old Schoolhouse Blog Cruise.
3 comments:
It is OK to do what you have to do for each child....whatever the reasons. Great advice though and I love your family photo :)
God's Blessings
Great advice on prioritizing. That does help ALOT! Thanks for participating in the Blog Cruise this week!
Before we were scheduled to move, I had enrolled T-Rex for half a day special ed, and half day homeschool with me - so I understand. Now he'll be home with me all the time, but I'm not complaining. This was an excellent article. I think it's so easy to get caught up in expectations and miss the joy of homeschooling and building relationship with your kids. Great job!
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