As I was making dinner tonight I realized that this will be our fourth year of homeschooling! I then started reflecting on how the last four years have gone for us. The highs, the lows, the laughter & the tears. The decisions we made that worked well for us and the decisions that brought lessons learned (and possibly a few tears shed). I am thankful for every single moment -truly, the best of the best moments & the challenges. I’d like to think that after four years we have a good grasp on what works & what doesn’t work -while also being fully aware we are always learning & each year will look different. I am excited to dive into each year as it comes & to continue learning alongside my boys each year!
I know I personally love to read what has worked / not worked for other homeschool parents so I thought I would compile a list of what has been amazing for our homeschool journey & what we learned does not work for us. If you’re in a season of not knowing what your schooling journey will look like or are brand new to home education I hope this is a helpful resource for you! I am a firm believer that you as a parent know what type of schooling experience is best for your family (public, private, home, online, etc) whatever that may look like for you I pray that you and your child have an encouraging & transformative year! Like I said, these are some of the things that has worked for us -it might not be best for your family and that is ok! You will find what works for you and your family over time 🙂
My top encouragements & lessons learned
- You DO NOT need to have a designated “school room” in order to have a successful homeschool experience. Listen, I get it, having a space specifically dedicated to hold all of your school items, that you can take the time & investment to decorate beautifully would be AMAZING! However, it is not needed to have a successful school day. We have always held school in our dining room & it has worked great!
- DO NOT compare yourself or your child to other families. Doing so will do nothing but hinder you. Each family approaches homeschooling differently & each child learns at their own pace.
- There are SO MANY curriculums to choose from. Curriculum is not a one size fits all. There may be times a curriculum doesn’t work well or stops working well for your child. It is ok to stop using it and find one that works.
4. When there is frustration coming from either your child or yourself, take a break. Whenever I tried for force myself & Bear to work through a frustrating moment I noticed he would shut down & progress would come to a screeching halt. Once I started implementing our “take a break” rule our days became so much smoother & less tears were shed. The rule is that if he starts feeling frustrated (about anything) he communicates to me & we stop what we are doing. We will either pray through it and take a few deep breaths or I will let him go get a snack or play for a few moments before trying again.
5. DO NOT do this journey alone. Find other families who are seasoned in this life & lean on their wisdom & experience. I am so grateful for the women in our life who walked alongside us when we were first getting started. I cannot image doing this alone. Co-op or community days are another great way of ensuring you don’t homeschool alone 🙂
I have so much more I can talk about with homeschooling -it’s one of my favorite topics to talk about! I will save it for another blog on another day 🙂
Each year I share which curriculum we are using in hopes that it will help others who may have never heard of it before & can do research to see if it would be a fit for their family. All of the curriculum we have used in the past & are currently using is typically because I saw others using it and looked into it 🙂
Here is what we are using for Bear’s 1st grade year that has been amazing for him:
I should put a disclaimer that we do not go through each of these studies every day. We alternate days through the week & most of these are supplemental to our main curriculum (Classical Conversations). During the early years we wanted to make sure he had more in depth studies of certain subjects which is why we chose to add them to our curriculum list.
Main Curriculum & Community Co-op: Classical Conversations (Math, Science, History, English, Geography & Latin)
https://classicalconversations.com/
Supplemental Math: The Good & The Beautiful Math 1
https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/choose-first-grade/
Science Unit Study: The Good & The Beautiful Sparks & Stars
https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/products/sparks-and-stars-course-set/
Reading & Phonics: All About Reading Level 1 & 2 (started level 1 in K & currently on level 2 for 1st grade)
https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/all-about-reading-level-1
Handwriting: The Good & The Beautiful Level 2 (level 2 is typically for 2nd grade but he has advanced quickly through handwriting)
https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/products/pre-k-8-handwriting-workbook-level-2/
Language Arts & Literature: The Good & The Beautiful Level 1
https://www.goodandbeautiful.com/choose-first-grade/
Discipleship: The Kingdom of God; The Bible Recap; Parables of Jesus
https://us.10ofthose.com/category/all-children-youth
Thank you for reading along! If you are a new homeschool parent I hope this was helpful & if you are a seasoned homeschool parent leave a comment giving new families advice or encouragement!
xo, G
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