What I Wish I Had Known When I Started Homeschooling

Some of you have been thrown into homeschooling this year, and many are loving it.

Here are some simple tips for all you new homeschooling mama’s out there — just based on what I wish I would have known when I started out!

TIP ONE: You don’t need All That Curriculum!

There is A TON of amazing curriculum out there, but don’t buy it all.

Each Spring, shiny new editions and sparkling new curriculum is released — but don’t fall for that trick. If you have found a curriculum that works, stick with it until it no longer serves you or your child. (For instance: I loved Saxon Math, but it was taking me a full hour to complete it each day… for EACH child! With three little ones, this meant by the time lunch rolled around, we had managed math and nothing else. We switched).

If you have more than one child, hang on to those books. Hand-me-down’s aren’t just for clothes and shoes!

Consider leveling up or down to group certain subjects for your children. For instance, if you have a 6th grader, a 4th grader and a 2nd grader, you could group literature around 5th or 6th grade for outloud reading in a group setting with all three. You could supplement for your oldest (have them read on their own in additionl to the group literature), but simple hacks like this create space for more free time (for them and for YOU) as well as save on books.

Remember there are important “life skill” education opportunities that don’t require curriculum at all, but are just as valuable (if not more so) than what your kids can get from books. Consider financial planning/management lessons using cash, a checkbook, a computer or ledger; outdoor exploration with nature notebooks; cooking classes and time spent in the garden — all important classrooms, no curriculum needed!

TIP TWO: Find your people!

When you are surrounded by like-minded people and begin the journey of trusting them it will create an amazing experience for you and your children. Love them, do life with them. Get messy! Look at moments of interaction as opportunities for teachable moments. Sometimes your life journey changes and your community is no longer serving you, and that is OKAY.

Find and interact with a new community. I cannot express this enough. I prayed for a community I could call at anytime and cry or laugh with, families that were on the same page I was with their upbringing and children’s education. Turns out, we are not all on the same page, but we are in the same chapter!

Be intentional about facilitating relationships. Make every effort to have dinners together, go on adventures, or sit and chat with your people and their children. This is time consuming and sometimes hard, but so so worth it. I wouldn’t trade our community dinners, field trips, or movie nights for anything.