This is the first in a series of posts I am planning: about homeschooling, obviously.
I was homeschooled from second grade to graduation.
I grew up in a homeschooling family: my sister, brother and I were all taught at home. Being the oldest, I was the first, and I started learning at my old wood-and-metal school desk (which was set up in my parents’ bedroom), at the beginning of second grade. It’s almost funny to think that my school career started back in that tiny house, at that rusty little desk. I still remember how proud of myself I was when I learned how to spell complicated words like ‘answer’. (Okay, I’m still proud of myself for that one, heh.)
We learned from a curriculum that my Mom ordered every summer, and unpacked – amidst great excitement – from its huge cardboard box every September. We all sat on our hands, trying not to reach out and grab all the shiny new books, as she sorted all of the upcoming year’s education into three stacks. After that, she made up our new school schedules, while we carefully paged through our new textbooks, caressing their smoothness with our eager little hands, smelling the uncracked binding.
Our schedules weren’t fancy or printed from an Excel spreadsheet. They were hand-written on notebook paper (I think sometimes she used graph paper), and each different subject was color-coordinated with different shades of colored pencil. Each school day had its own column of boxes to be crossed out as each subject was done. One of my most favorite memories from my childhood is of standing in front of the refrigerator where our schedules hung up, and looking at all those lovely bold red X marks that meant I was DONE for the day.
Now, not very many years later, I am homeschooling my own three eldest children, and I am extremely grateful for the advantages that come from being a second generation homeschooler.
We live and die by the schedule.
I understand, having lived by a schedule for the entirety of my homeschool experience, how very important it is to have everything planned out. (Those of you with a background in academics are all having a DUH! moment, I know!)
Now, this does not mean that unless you begin at 9 o’clock every morning, break for lunch at 12 o’clock in the afternoon, and resume immediately at 1 o’clock, you will surely fail. It also does not mean that you must use all five traditional school days each week, or that you must take summers off each year.
This is what it means: If you have a plan for when you are beginning each subject, and a plan for when you are finishing each subject, then you have a much better chance of actually reaching the goals you have in teaching those subjects in the first place.
I make my plans ahead of time.
I learned, from the way my Mom always made our schedules before we even got to the first day of school, not just to plan everything out, but to plan everything out AHEAD OF TIME.
Of course, in order to plan your school year out ahead of time, you need your materials in hand before your school year starts. To have your materials before your school year starts, you’ve got to order them well before you want them – which means that you need to have your school supplies budget in place even before THAT.
Let’s say you’re going the traditional route, and you plan to begin school in the early days of September. That means you need to order your books by the beginning of August. How long will it take you to budget for school supplies? A month? Three months? A year? While I’m a big fan of the spur-of-the-moment school of OOH AWESOME LET’S DO THIS RIGHT NOW, that kind of spontaneity is the best way to give yourself a massive headache about your homeschooling plans.
Workbooks are a homeschooler’s best friend.
I personally love coming up with topics and questions and curriculum all on my own, but that can be very mentally exhausting, not to mention a big let-down for yourself if you didn’t manage to do it just as perfectly as you had planned. My Mom is one of the most intelligent people I know, but she ordered curriculum that came with its own worksheets and tests, and that made homeschooling three of us at once that much simpler for her.
Sure, you can do it all yourself. Some of the best curriculum ideas come from your own imagination, because you’re the one there with your kids, you see what they need or what they’re interested in, and you are creative enough to find a great solution. However, nearly all of the good curriculum I’ve used as a student or taught as a parent has been created by academics from within the worldwide homeschooling community.
In short, don’t reinvent the wheel unless it’s really necessary. Take advantage of what others have already done, and use the extra time you have to have a more relaxed homeschooling experience.
Nobody is perfect.
Okay, another DUH moment, but please - remember that nobody is perfect. My parents didn’t decide to homeschool us because they were perfect, and I didn’t decide to homeschool my own kids because I think I’m perfect. It is as much a learning process for the teacher as it is for the student (or students), so cut yourself some slack, and take advantage of my experience.
So, ask me your questions! I’d love for this series to be full of helpfulness, so please tell me what you want to know!
Dear Zen Mother,
