As we have started yet another homeschooling year, second grade, I wish I could give you a list of sure-fire tricks that can help you on your journey. But homeschooling in and of itself is a learning experience for both the teacher and the students. When preparing to start your homeschool journey, it often begins with a lot of research. Online blogs. Tik Toks, Instagram’s, Pinterest boards, you name it. You need to go from choosing curriculum, whether you’re going to stick with one or shake things up, and what kind of teaching method you want to follow.
The struggle that I had, was to find recommendations for working parents who both worked full time while also trying to homeschool, and how they did it, which is why I want to share my experiences so far even if all I have to offer is a list of the top 3 things that I have found does NOT work for our busy, working, homeschooling, lifestyle.
1. Get it out of the way at the start of the day.
Over the years I have met and seen plenty of people who homeschool and would share about how quickly they were able to just get their ‘lessons’ and curriculum done in the morning and the rest of the day was open for other learning/teaching activities or to teach life skills. I think this is great and fantastic for them. But for us, it just doesn’t work. For starters, I work in the mornings, and my girls are younger which means they need a lot more hands on attention. Secondly, they’re younger. Their attention span runs out at lightning speed and they will get easily distracted. In our house, breaks are our friends. I have noticed in previous years that mornings do seem to be when they are most alert and absorb the most. So this year our mornings are going to focus on the core classes, Reading, Math, etc. Then after some free time to play and decompress we will do other subjects in the afternoon, subjects that are more engaging for them like science, music, etc.
2. Dedicated School Room
When getting started on my homeschool journey, I fell in love with all of the cute homeschool Pinterest boards and the decorated dedicated rooms just for school. I had started homeschooling my girls in my home office. They had their tiny desks, which they quickly grew out of. It resulted in my office always being messy with scrap papers or art supplies, etc. on the ground. or they would stuff things into my bookshelves that I would find much later. What I ended up finding is that for us school happens everywhere.
Early preschool years when we were learning about different plants, fruits, and vegetables, we took school to the market. I still remember walking around the produce section and holding up different fruits and vegetables asking them to name them and whether they grew on a tree, plant, or underground. I remember a few other shoppers chuckling when they saw us. We have taken school outside. We have done it in bed. But the place that seems to have worked out the best so far, is at our kitchen table. With their books and supplies on the shelf close by and plenty of space to not constantly bump elbows, it has worked best for us all.
3. Co-Ops
The number one concern that I had with homeschooling, was the socialization aspect. I think that is always the argument that comes up when you talk about homeschooling and it is a good argument. My first experience with homeschoolers when I was younger was with kids who had clearly not known how to really interact in public social settings. It honestly had me completely against homeschooling for most of my young adult life. It wasn’t until later on after other family members had started homeschooling and meeting even more who had successful homeschool experiences, that I learned that there were different ways to homeschool.
When looking into the socialization aspect of homeschooling, the number one recommendation I received was to sign them up for co-ops. The problem with that is I have yet to find any local co-ops that would work with my working schedule. It just has not been feasible. That being said, what I did find that worked for us were local community center groups. Our small city community center has tons of activities, camps, groups, sports, and more that ranges from all ages. The girls have done soccer, basketball, arts and crafts, and nature exploring through our local community center and they have loved each and every one of them. I definitely recommend looking into what your local community center has to offer.
I am only starting out on my 4th year of homeschooling, and I am sure that there will be even more things I try this year that will not work. But there will be more that will work. The important thing to me is that I cultivate my girls’ love to learn instead of making them dread each moment and feel like they’re just given work. I hope sharing my experiences and lessons can help someone else who is getting started, or has been struggling on their journey.
Little Piece of Quiet 