For a few years, I would periodically hold Q+A sessions to discuss homeschooling on Instagram. It’s always been a topic that gets a lot of questions, but I quickly learned that when given the invitation many more people than I would have otherwise heard from came forward with curiosity. Last year, as questions increased without any prompting from me I noticed a surge in people starting or considering homeschooling. So I started hosting regularly scheduled “homeschool chats”; a chance to ask questions that myself and other homeschooling parents could reply to with advice and resources. It has become a way of offering encouragement and equipping parents with the information they need to feel prepared. And it has grown to a point where the information shared there needs a more permanent home. So I’m going to be transcribing a few of the topics from each chat into posts here. These will quite literally just be copies of what I shared on Instagram. So while it will be repetitive to some of you; my hope is that it will provide you with information that is easy to save and share.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned
through homeschooling is that it may not
always… or often… or ever… match my
vision. My children may learn in ways quite
opposite to how I learn. Their passions may
be wildly different. Their timing may not
work with my idea of how a day or week
should flow.
Homeschooling (as with parenting in
general) can set a fire to our selfishness, our
desire for control and our preconceived
notions of what we thought it would (or
should) look like.
A very, very common thing I see in parents
new to homeschooling is that they set out
with a plan that matches who they are.
They decide on a homeschooling identity
and they go all out. Too often they create
the aesthetic and miss the point. This may
partially be based in anxiety or uncertainty.
They want to appear confident. So they aim
to take it on as a lifestyle without a glimmer
of doubt in their eyes.
The problem is, of course, that it often runs
counter to what one of the largest benefits
of homeschooling is – an education tailor-fit
to your child.
If you are having trouble wrangling attention
at morning poetry tea time… Rather than
asking, “How do I get them to listen?!”
Maybe try asking, “Do my kids even like
poetry? .Or tea?…Or mornings?”
You may have a picture in your head of
candles and freshly baked biscuits on the
table next to stacks of books… while your
kids are dying for you to let them pursue
their actual interests. So you’re trying to
read over the clatter while they are
squirming and bored!
I want you to put aside your preferences
and personality for a moment. And I want
you to get real about who your kids are and
what they need. The good news is, you
already have the home team advantage.
You know them better than anyone.
Use that! Use the unique insights that you
have to ignite their hunger for learning.
It will be ten thousand times harder to do
this if you make homeschooling your whole
personality. I love teaching my kids. I am
passionate about it. I am excited to partner
with them in their education for now and
forevermore. It is a huge gift. BUT I have
other interests and passions. And I’m not
trying to convert everyone to the church of
homeschooling (though I will defend it
against an ignorant argument in a flash).
See if you have already decided you are a
diehard Montessori Mama… what are you
going to do when you find out that method
isn’t reaching your kid? You cannot so
entwine your identity with a philosophy (or
with homeschooling in general) that you
miss the opportunity to really see your child
thrive.
Incidentally, this can be applied to other
scenarios.
“I could NEVER homeschool! I am so not a
teacher!”
What would you do if your child absolutely
hated school and begged to be homeschooled?
And don’t you naturally teach them things all
the time? While some parents may be
especially gifted in teaching, homeschooling
parents are not magical unicorns. They’re just
putting in the work to figure it out.
“My dad played basketball. I played basketball.
We are a basketball family. I signed him up as
soon as he turned three!’
What happens when that kid cries every time
you take him to basketball practice?
Okay, so what about staying consistent in
all of this teaching without burning out and
falling out of structure?
If you are facing burn out or frequently
reaching restlessness with routine – you are
not alone! This has been a lifelong lesson
for me. But homeschooling finally made
something click for me.
Life is seasonal.
Think of how much your children are
growing and changing in the course of…
let’s say, three months.
Deciding on a set rhythm or schedule or
learning plan or even curriculum and
expecting it to fit for a year (or even six
months!) often just won’t work!
Are you ready to become an improvisational
artist? Change the plan at a rate that matches
the changing of the seasons and the growth of
your children.
If their shoes from two months ago no longer
fit, I bet their school rhythm doesn’t either.
If two months ago, you were bundled by the
fire but now you’re barefoot in the garden, it’s
time to change how you’re teaching.
You’ll have to pay attention to the natural
shift and you’ll have to be flexible. BUT the
pay off is engaged kids and a not-burned-out
parent.
It’s so much easier to stay consistent when you only have to stay the current course for a short time. Set an intentional homeschool plan for the next month.
Write out a daily and weekly rhythm.
Stick to it consistently for just that month.
And then set aside one morning at the end of the month to reassess. Maybe some of it will stick for another month or maybe you will totally change methods and the flow of your week!
You will be cutting the plan to fit. So you need not worry that it will throw anyone off… The idea is quite the opposite. You will actually be making it fit everyone better by changing it as life changes.
But what about covering it all while not burning everyone out?
Well, assuming that you really aren’t trying to do too much are you somewhere in the 4-6 subjects range?)
Two strategies come to mind here.
I would consider implementing a loop schedule or a unit study curriculum.
Most unit studies won’t cover every subject every day. Rather they’ll use a few subjects a day and over the course of the unit cover many.
But in many cases I wouldn’t recommend trying to fit every subject into every day anyway! Especially if you are teaching multiple kids at multiple levels. It’s just too much. And there is no real reason for it. You don’t need to fill a 7 hour school day with a list of 30 minute classes. You aren’t a school. They can learn a vast amount of information in many areas of study without touching on each subject every day if you focus on quality time and effective methods!
So what about that loop schedule idea? Here is an example: We are going to use four subjects for this example, but you could apply it to more. I am also giving examples based on traditional curriculum styles but the same concept could be used for many methods.
Let’s say you are teaching math, science, history and language arts. And you are dedicating two hours a day to school Mon-Fri.
Loop scheduling would look like this:
Monday: You do one math lesson, then move on to a science experiment. You still have 30 minutes so you read one chapter from your history text.
Tuesday: You review that history text and do it’s corresponding activities. You have an hour left; so you use that to complete one unit of your language arts curriculum.
Wednesday: You complete a math lesson and the following quiz.
You then read a chapter of science text and do a corresponding worksheet.
Thursday: You read another chapter of history and complete the corresponding writing assignment. There is just enough time to do two pages of the next Language unit.
Friday: You complete the Language unit you started yesterday. Then do two math lessons.
The total work of one week:
Four math lessons and a math quiz
Two chapters of history
One chapter of science and one experiment
Two units of language arts
Not bad for a week really!
Alternatively you may choose to do block scheduling. Many people use the block method by assigning days (Math + History, MWE. Science + Language, T+Th, etc). The next week would kick off with science, since you ended with math. Make sense?
Con: If anything routinely causes interruption on a given day it can cause setbacks. For example, if Tuesday is a always a busy day in
your family, it may make it challenging to stay caught up in that day’s subjects.
Pro: It dedicates larger chunks of time to focus on one area of study and still allows you to cover an array of subjects. It can be used with younger kids because they are still getting frequent time in each subject (i.e. not going weeks without math etc).
But another block scheduling method is to map out subjects for quarters or semesters of time (or any measurement you want because you can!). It could look like breaking the year up into four quarters and devoting one quarter per subject. This method is a better choice for older students. During early education, they should be working on skills regularly. Now we have done a variation of this with our eldest (a fifth grader). His unit studies were heavier on language arts and history for a few months. But we supplemented with math. Then we flipped to focusing on science and math, supplementing with reading. This works well for him because he doesn’t get overwhelmed trying to “do it all”. And I know he can handle having less of one subject for awhile (especially given a year around school schedule). In the course of a calendar year he covers a lot of territory.
But this is a highly individual thing. Only you can determine if your kids would benefit from a block schedule.
Oh look, we came full circle…
You know your children.
You can customize their education.
Put aside what your nosey friend or
judgmental family member thinks.
You can shed your preconceived
notions.
You can stay consistent and still keep
things engaging.
You can cover a diverse range of
knowledge without drowning.
I know you can. Just the fact that you
are asking how tells me so.
Emmy Goulet 