Homeschooling…
July 30, 2008
Most of you know that I am planning on Homeschooling fulltime next year.. (which is right around the corner) This is where I need all of my fellow homeschoolers to give me their best advice! I already have the curriculum for Easton and Elijah:
Easton:
Grammar - Wordly Wise
Language Arts - Daily Grams
Math - Saxon 65
Science - ABeka (Investigating Gods World)
History - ABeka (Old World History)
Reading - Chapter books with comprehension questions.
(We thought about doing ABeka Math with her, but she had Saxon Math last year and did so well with it so we decided to stick with it again this year.)
Elijah
Phonics - Worksheets
Grammar - Daily Grams
Math - Saxon 54
Reading - Abeka Readers
Art - Abeka Art Workbook (Art Projects 3)
History - ABeka (Our America)
Science ABeka (Exploring Gods World)
And they will be tutored on Tuesday and Thursday from 10-2 so that will make my life easier. Easton has Guitar lessons during the week and we are trying to get Elijah into Tae Kwan Do (if the instructor would ever call us back) We are part of a local homeschooling group, so that area is covered.
So, this is where you come in.
What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling? What do you regret? What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
I’m sure there is more, but Emma is tearing up the living room so…..
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In other words: Play Nice
46 Responses to “Homeschooling…”
I would love to hear from you!
Hmm…
What would I have done differently? I would have gone a little bit easier on her. We started when she was pretty young.
What do I regret? Nothing really. What would I change? I need to focus on teaching in a manner that works well with how she learns. I like to teach to the way I like to learn.
My biggest piece of advice would be to realize that nothing’s permanent. You can always change the way things are done to suit your needs.
Have fun!
Vickis last blog post..She Said - He Said: Displaying Stuff
My advice is to really think through the WHY you’re homeschooling, because the reasons behind it make the difference in how you do it and how you measure success. Is it for academic reasons? Is it for character training? Is it simply to give your children an adequate education but enjoy every minute with them? There’s no right or wrong answer, just differences. But knowing your goals and reasons can really help when maybe test scores don’t place your children at the top, or when you look and see your friend’s children all dressed alike and playing violin together, or whatever. :)
Kim in MIs last blog post..In My Yard Today
What do wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling? I would have started earlier with both my kids.
What do you regret? Being so worried about “getting it right” and worrying about sticking to a “strict” schedule. It took me awhile (actually several years-LOL) to learn to go with the flow and relax.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
Seeing their eyes light up with joy and their excitement at learning something new or mastering a difficult lesson. Seeing my children grow and become more confident within themselves.
Have a wonderful school year!
My daughter is 18 and just graduated from high school, having been homeschooled from the beginning. We started when she was four, only because she begged me to teach her how to read. The day it all clicked and she started reading effortlessly is my fondest memory of homeschooling.
My only regret from our early years was the year we enrolled in A Beka and all her work was required to be submitted in cursive. She was only seven years old but she was quite the perfectionist and was incredibly frustrated that her handwriting never measured up to the standards set by the program. MY handwriting never measured up to the expectations they had of second-graders!
I do wish, however, that I had been in a position to focus more intently on her academics in her last few years, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer halfway through her freshman year. Between two chemo regimens, two surgeries, and 36 rounds of radiation, my brain was in a fog and I couldn’t concentrate well enough to work on math. After I completed the “active phase” of treatment, I was diagnosed with diabetes and had another set of meds and their attendant side effects to get used to. We bagged geometry and switched to consumer math because she could do most of it on her own, but we never went back and picked up any higher math.
But I will never regret homeschooling and being able to have all that precious time with my daughter! She came to us by adoption when she was just a day old, after my husband and I had been childless for nearly 17 years. She’s our miracle.
I wouldn’t trade the homeschooling years for anything!
My kids are going into 7th and 8th grade, and they’ve been homeschooled since 1st and 2nd. I think if I had it to do over, I would lose much of the guilt I heaped (and still do sometimes) on myself by not being able to stay on track with the curriculum. I’ve since talked with so many schoolteachers who are so quick to assure me that they have *never* gotten all the way through the curriculum in a year. I have to remind myself often that I am here to develop their minds and thinking skills more than to cram facts (which they won’t remember a few years from now anyway).
And the thing I’m so glad I did? Switched to Teaching Textbooks when they hit Pre-Algebra. It’s incredible. Two brothers - tutors at Harvard - lecture on dvds. Every problem has the answer worked out for you. It has been amazing. And I know it works, because my kids just took the state achievement tests and scored at the top of the charts in math.
I think that’s great the kids have a tutor twice a week - what a blessing!
No advice. I only homeschooled Carter kindergarten from Jan - May one year. He is now in fourth.
Just wanted you to know that I am checking in and thinking about you.
k-
kates last blog post..Could it be Harry & David?
What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling?
I wish I would have had more confidence in myself at the start and not have been so ‘’school” like public school focused
What do you regret?
no real regrets other than just not enjoying the journey enough.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
I LOVE homeschooling…I am starting my 5th year and every year I love it more. I love learning with them. I love taking our time and really digging into a topic. I love rabbit trailing from one topic all the way around to another-and yet learning the whole time. I also love that I’ve taught 3 of my kids to read. I did that. Wow.
Cheris last blog post..I met Leann! I met Leann!
Ohman! There are so many things to say to answer those questions. Where does one start? I have homeschooled my oldest two girls and plan on doing allmy children (the youngest are 3, 1 and still cooking) but I do think I ever go a day where I do not feel I could do more. But on the flip side, I feel such a sense of accomplishment. Does that make sense? Good luck to you this year. You will do great!
monileighs last blog post..Sore & Sleepy
What do I wish I had done differently when I first started: Relied on God more and myself less. I just didn’t know what I was doing! Yet God showed me over and over that He knew what He was doing and would get me through this. We’re now entering our 11th year of home schooling. My son graduated in 07, my daughter is in 11th, and my other daughter is in 7th.
What do you regret - I don’t regret the fun we’ve had for sure, but I DO regret making my son think this was supposed to be easy. He would balk at anything that took some effort.
What’s your fondest memory: When we were learning about the circulatory system. We’d traced their bodies on paper and they were putting in the heart, lungs, veins and arteries. I was blabbing on about “What does the heart do?” and they’d answer, “Take food and oxygen to every single part of your body.” Then, I asked the question, “Well, why does God tell us to hide His word in our hearts?”
My son’s eyes got big, he actually gasped and said, “OH! Because if you DO, it will go to every single part of you!”
Now, that was cool. But what was cooler still was the fact that his (then) six year old sister was listening. At age 15, she shared the importance of hiding God’s word to keep your “heart” healthy to a group of moms and daughters. I’m obviously a firm believer in home schooling and teaching multiple grades together as much as possible! This is why we used unit studies for everything but math and English, so I could teach them together.
BTW, I noticed you had Wordly Wise AND Daily Grams. I just wanted to check and see if you knew Daily Grams were taught in conjunction with Easy Grammer, which is what we’ve used. I’m not familiar with Wordly Wise, but Easy Grammar is excellent.
Mrss last blog post..Hey!
Reading. Aloud. Excellent literature and well-crafted stories of history (look to Sunlight curriculum’s list for a good springboard). I am continually amazed at how much my children enjoy, learn and retain through the simple and extremely pleasurable act of reading and listening. It’s so fun and natural that it’s hard to feel like we’ve “done school,” but the proof is in the fruit!
Enjoy. More than anything–enjoy. The “holes” in their learning can and will be filled throughout their lives, but these few and formative years with their mother can be recaptured–especially if they never happened.
Grafted Branch@Restoring the Yearss last blog post..A Charge To Choose
Of course I meant, “can’t.” Can’t be recaptured…
Grafted Branch@Restoring the Yearss last blog post..A Charge To Choose
I homeschooled for three years and then took a year off and now I’m homeschooling my youngest two. The thing I hope to do differently is RELAX more, not get so up tight about fitting everything in, have a loose schedule and read lots and do more projects together!
Homeschooling the first go round was HARD, just short of a nightmare, okay, it was a nightmare many days (which is chronicled on my blog) but I loved the flexibility of homeschool days and sleeping in and running out when ever we wanted.
One last bit of advice…DON’T COMPARE yourself to others!
I highly recommend the book “The Way They Learn” by Cynthia Ulrich Tobias. Understanding your children and their learning styles will help you so much in being able to effectively teach them. Remember that each child is different, so what works for one will not necessarily work for another!
Don’t be so stuck on following the lessons exactly that you miss out on those learning moments that we can never plan for. Be willing to skip a lesson if they already “get it”. Allow them to learn in the way that works best for them!
Remain calm :) They are young, and have a long time to get all the info they need. Keep in mind that Abeka is a more intensive curriculum. Don’t let any perfectionism in your own character get in the way of appreciating all the great things your kids are doing well. Reward good work, and review the stuff that wasn’t done so well :)
My regret is that I didn’t know all the things I’ve shared with you when I first started out!
My fondest memories of homeschooling from this last year occurred when I was dealing with morning sickness and early pregnancy exhaustion… We would wait to do school after the little ones went down for afternoon naps. Then I would take my nap while the boys did their work on my bed. They would wake me up when it was my turn to teach
Kristins last blog post..Things heard in my house lately.
I’ve been a homeschooling mom for 27 years now, progressing from doing it all myself to using tutors and sometimes some home school classes (high school level)–whatever the kids needed. We have a huge family and the kids range from age 9 years to age 32 now; so half are adults and have finished college, and they’ve done great academically, even the ones who started life with some difficulties (most of our kids are adopted).
I don’t have regrets and I don’t wish I had known anything, actually. As I look back I see God’s grace and how our love for one another was magic and beautiful.
My fondest memory is of the day each child learned to read. That was wonderful!
And my best advice is to use a curriculum that gets you out of school after 3-4 hours max (we used Calvert); have fun; and as my hubby always says, “take it one year at a time.” Don’t paint yourself into any corners, assume you will home school forever, or that you will be able to predict the future educationally. Never say never. ;o)
I know you’ll do great. Enjoy your kids; they grow up so fast!
Eves last blog post..The Art of Writing | 1
My fondest memory is when my daughter first sounded out a word by herself. She was so excited and I got to be a part of it. I regret not taking more pictures to capture the time at home when we were having our lessons. I also found a “form” on another homeschoolers blog where the mom had her kids fill out every year. It had a few questions like their favorite color, what they wanted to be,best friends, age and other questions that the answers were likely to change. Its something to have to look back on and remember.
I would slow down and not join as many activities, some are good but too many can cause burnout and take away from the joy of “home” schooling.
Wishing you all the best….
What do I wish I had done differently when I first started?
I honestly don’t know. I think had more of a focus on the Bible and Scripture. We had just recently come to Christ when we began our homeschooling journey. We only had one child, and that was over 10 years ago now. We have homeschooled ever since.
What do you regret?
Getting hung up on bookwork- while important a math lesson that lasts more than 45 minutes is a burden - thinking that they learn through writing like I do. Not relying on God enough in the beginning years, thinking I could somehow fix things.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
I don’t know that there is one single fondest memory. Its hearing your son sing “I’ve got the joy joy joy…down in my heart Tuesday’s” or the first time your baby who can barely speak start signing to you, or the joy of watching your children engage and love learning in a unit study where they don’t even feel like they are working in school…. or the wonder in a little boys eyes as a goat is born, its in all those moments of learning alongside your kids that are irreplaceable.
I am a little different that some. We do our Bible, our English/ phonics & math in the morning, and our afternoons are filled with unit studies, animal husbandry, music, and volunteering.
I have 5 children with a 6th little one due in March- all of that has certainly changed the equation over the years. There are bad days, and on those days we drop our bookwork and pull out games and play-doh and paint and… whatever- but I do not regret one day of homeschooling. Ultimately for our family it is about Jesus Christ and if I teach them nothing else that day, I pray that they see a glimpse of Christ each. and. every. day. whether through scripture or memory time and simply time spent around the table at lunch.
God bless you. Take time to enjoy your kids. Play with them, laugh with them. Make mistakes with them. Be authentic in all you do.
<
Jennifer in CA
Hi Heather,
I have 4 boys. First went to school for the first time in 6th, second one in 7th, third one in 9th, 4th one I’m keeping home until 6th, (assuming I am healthy).
Treatment for the past 1 1/2 years for breast cancer.
Best thing: reading aloud together in our pjs everyday. When you are tired or need rest, have them lay on your bed and have them read to you. Can’t beat it. This will help their vocabulary and overall learning exponentially.
I might also suggest either picking read alouds from literature or getting your two older ones on the same phase of history, so any books you read aloud in history can complement both of their histories.
While homeschooling on chemo, I might also suggest I liked adding one class from the FL Virtual school so they could work on it when I was wiped out.
Just some thoughts….
Take care,
Sheila
Good for you for homeschooling! I’m sure you and the kids will have a blast!
On a personal note, I have another friend who will be homeschooling while dealing with cancer and all that it entails. Would you be interested in her contact information? LMK? TK
Taras last blog post..It’s Garage Sale Day!
Can I write a novel here?!?!?! I’ve been homeschooling for 16 years. We have graduated our oldest two (of 10 at home) - our youngest is 16 months - so we have a ways to go! :)
My main thing I would tell you is keep it simple, especially as you are recovering. Do what you can, but starting out, it need only be a few hours a day. Our son that just graduated this year struggled - did not start reading until he was 9 years old. I am sure he would have been labeled “ADHD”. But we did what we could, kept encouraging him and went at HIS pace. He took a college pretest (Compass - not sure if this is at every college) but he scored 95% through most of it - and higher in reading!
If you ask me what grade my children are in, I have to take 10 minutes figuring it out, by their ages and what grade they “should” be in. We just keep prodding through it all.
I’ve done most of what you have done for homeschooling, and it does not appear too challenging. I tried unit studies for awhile - too much work for me and very stressful!
A book I would recomend reading is “Better Late than Early” by the Moores. Also, I don’t recall your children’s ages, but “Alpha Phonics” for teaching reading is wonderful and simple - and getting the computer program for it is another great “tutor” for your children. I personally do not like Abeka for teaching reading/phonics, but like it for science and history. Yet, with even the history/science for Abeka, we never do it “all”, meaning ALL the tests, pre-tests, experiments, etc. I mainly have the children do the reading and “some” tests as their schoolwork. There are times we put the history away and do more chapter books for reading, or put the science way and read chapter books on inventors, etc. (BTW, gardening is science, baking can be math or science, writing thank you notes, or cards can be a writing assignment, you can have weekly field trips to the grocery store for math, reports can be written on a movie, etc. I look for homeschool opportunities with our daily lives).
Do what YOU can. I don’t say this as a pat on the back, but we have also had many life interruptions as you have been doing through - from a daughter needing two open heart surgeries, a stillborn daughter, the death of our 16 year old son, and very sick pregnancies - and though it seems so minimal at times with our homeschooling, they have learned a lot of life lessons, learned of giving and hospitality, and have still “somehow” by God’s grace, learned well with their homeschooling. (Our oldest son went to community college for an automotive course, and had to take all the basics as well, and got A’s all the way through and made the honor roll each semester). DON’T WORRY! God will sustain you in this as well! :)
Loni
Mama of a Dozen
http://writingcanvas.wordpress.com/
Lonis last blog post..In Other Words: Reach out and touch someone
What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling? I wish that I would have gone easier on my older two boys and explored their interests more rather than being so freaked out.
What do you regret? What I said up above, and ironically enough, that I am not a better planner. I don’t have the “quality” of school that I could have if I were to do it to my best ability. I hate admitting that, though, because it kinda hurts to say that my kid’s schooling hasn’t been as high on the priority scale as it should be. I am the queen of being sidetracked.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)? Anytime we are really exploring something. When their eyes are opened and the really “get” it and want more. LOVE that. And most importantly, watching them grasp spiritual truths.
Gayle @ thewestiecrews last blog post..Pure Sugar
WHOA NELLY! That was HTML gone wild! Sorry, Heather…
I only meant to bold my answers.
Gayle @ thewestiecrews last blog post..Pure Sugar
One thing I learned VERY quickly is to stop at the first sign of frustration. By that, I mean, my frustration! lol
There is always another day, why push it?
For my first grader, we focus on reading and math, and use the library to make up the rest. I wouldn’t push the reading if she didn’t know how to read yet.
What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling?
Like so many others, not taken myself so seriously. One of the joys is being able to really enjoy them.
What do you regret? This is our fourth year - I’ve done preschool, K and 1st with my Punkin. My biggest regret this summer is that I have let myself get burned out. Remember that it is important to feed your soul in some way - don’t wait until you feel completely crazy. :)
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
Just seeing them “get” things is amazing. And being able to be with them somewhere besides in the car.
weavermoms last blog post..Tiny Talk
Love your kids, enjoy them, enjoy teaching them, teach them and not just the books. And be prepared…. when she’s there, Emma will still trash the living room, and that will be, even when exasperating, part of what makes it all precious. My younger two trash the place daily, and yes I need to hold them more accountable (they are 7 and 5 and can help more than I make them ). But it is indescribable joy and it is so right to be the one who teaches them all and spends their day with them. I am so glad you are home schooling them. They’ve been through a lot (as your whole family has) and I believe they will draw great reward and great security from long hours with you, on days you get a lot done and on days you cuddle in bed or even lie on the couch and rest if you need to, while they attempt to get a little work done. If you are like us, you’ll have days at both ends of the spectrum, and your children will learn that schooling with Mom is good, but time with Mom — loving her, being with her, sometimes serving her, and learning Christ through her — means lots more than books.
Dee Dees last blog post..Happy Birthday, Toby!
I didn’t notice Emma in your list of curriculum as being “officially” homeschooled, but I thought I’d share that there is a great group for Christian parents who are homeschooling their autistic children. http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/preacch (Parents Rearing and Educating their Autistic Children in Christian Homes). AWESOME group, I know at least one other mom is homeschooling all her children -except- her autistic son, so I’m sure you’d be welcome to join either way if you were interested!
Oh Heather! I love these questions and I love even more all these ANSWERS!!!! This is a fantastic thread! Loretta’s response brought tears to my eyes to hear how she cherishes her daughter so. I want to tell her she shouldn’t feel one ounce of regret for lightening her daughters work load so she could battle her cancer more effectively. I bet a healthy mama means more to her dear daughter than geometry ever could!
What do I wish I had done differently in the beginning?
Gotten help for my learning challenged daughter when I *knew* there was a problem instead of listening to everyone else tell me she’d grow out of it. And on that same note, I wish that I had been consistent in her schooling early on in spite of the learning hurdles instead of using them as an excuse not to do the work. Homeschool moms must trust themselves and the wisdom that God gives for their children. PRAY and seek HIS will for your child and then follow it no matter what others might say or think!
What do I regret?
It’s a current regret. Because of the horrid time we had starting off with dd#1, I ‘assumed’ that I would have the same problems with the twins and so used an ‘easier’ curriculum. I wish I’d just stuck with A Beka, knowing that they CAN do the work but now I’m stuck in a curriculum that I don’t really care for, trying to supplement with old A Beka stuff and muddling through a brand new school year because I can’t afford to replace what I’ve already bought! GRRRR….
On the other hand, it’s important to remember not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I love what someone said about teaching for your child’s learning style, not your own! So true. I can make this curriculum work and I need to be happy about it. The twins adore it!
Fondest memory so far?
You know, I’m not really sure - they are all in the making. I LOVE that my children are always with me. I love seeing them accomplish new things. I love that the little ones are excited about learning. We’ve made lots of ‘hands on learning’ memories that we will all never forget - like raising tadpoles on our kitchen table till they turned into frogs and we watched them hop away. Or starting our garden from seeds and then seeing those plants grow till we could eat the fruit of our labors. Or dissecting their dad’s latest trophy deer (ok, that one was an EWWW for me but the kids loved it). So many things that you can’t duplicate in a classroom!
I love homeschooling!
Karens last blog post..Our Morning Cry
I wish that I would have lightened up at first. They’re so little, for heaven’s sake. The last thing they needed was a psycho mom getting angry about stupid things. They need to learn to read at first. I wish I had just GENTLY focused on that and let other stuff go more often.
I wish I had asked for help sooner with one of mine who wouldn’t/couldn’t read well until the 6th grade.
About your curriculum…Don’t let A Beka run your life. It’s not the Bible. If they can’t finish it all, that’s ok. If they already ‘get it’ don’t make them finish it all. It’s a great educational tool, but that’s all it is… a tool.
The 2 cents of a stranger!
Denises last blog post..my all-time favorite movie scenes, part 3
One suggestion for Easton: Look up “Progeny Press.” They do Christian study guides for secular books, like “The Giver.”
“What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling?”
I wouldn’t have chosen a computer curriculum for my 3rd grader. That was not good.
What do you regret?
Not getting reading help for my son sooner. He’s doing great now, but he didn’t read well until he was 11, and it was hard on him.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)?
I’m still in the midst of homeschooling (7th grade and 9th grade). My most precious memories aren’t academic at all. Their behavior towards others is what’s astounding to me. There is none of the sullenness I’ve observed in so many traditionally-schooled children. And I have a wonderful relationship with my 14yo daughter…I hated my mom at that age, mostly due to the feeding of my teenage angst by my peers. My kids have lots of friends, but they are choosy, and won’t hang out with kids who have bad attitudes.
Also, my daughter is highly motivated, so her schooling is mostly self-guided. I’ve loved seeing her delve into things like “The Federalist Papers” all on her own.
My son is still a challenge. He would prefer to play music all day long. Since he wants to be a pastor, we’ve told him he really does have to learn how to study. :-)
So glad to hear you’re feeling well enough to homeschool this year. God bless you, dear Heather.
Claire in CA, USAs last blog post..
I don’t homeschool my kids, but I just wanted to say I’m glad I happened upon your blog. I enjoyed stopping by!
gennys last blog post..The Story About the Best Friends on the Train
My background…homeschooled 4 kids all the way through to graduation, currently homeschooling my last one and have 6 years to go…so I have completed 19 years and have 6 more years to go.
My fondest memory…Curling up on the couch next to the woodstove and reading together while the snow is falling and we sip hot chocolate while most parents are driving their kids to school on those bad roads…I remember this many times over :)
Good for you and God bless you!
I homeschooled our oldest for the first two years. I think one thing I would have done differently is to not put so much stock in the negative/anti-homeschooling folks. Often I felt set up and put in a corner. It made me feel inadequate to teach. Yet, I knew deep down that I was doing a great job. I regret letting others get me down over it.
I loved our classroom and made it so fun for the kids. It was actually an office, but worked perfectly as a classroom. Also, we lived in the country, so I loved when we went outside for some hiking/ searching for nature times. We had a wonderful time reading together, as well. I still read aloud for our family now that they are in public school here in Colorado. Oh, and I loved Sonlight!! It was my very favorite. We used Singapore Math and our puzzle-loving kids loved it. They have some CD-ROM’s that you can use, if you want to check them out at sonlight dot com.
Oh! And the best advice I’ve ever had? “Look at your environment, children and location and with prayer, choose how you want to do school.” There are so many good options, but sometimes, people get competitive that their way is the best way.
Sorry for the very long comment! I DO miss homeschooling so much!
Holly Smiths last blog post..A Settling Groan
What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling? I wouldn’t have had my son do so many subjects (in kindergarten!) and I would have let him be a child! I also have decided to not get into a whole gamut of subjects until he gets older.
What do you regret?I regret getting so uptight when things went off schedule.
What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)? Just the whole experience has been a wonder! I look at other families that work full-time and don’t know their kids and I just can see the relationships that I have built with my kids are incredible and blessed.
B F.s last blog post..Friends, or the Lack Thereof
We’re now into our 9th year homeschooling, and what I would’ve done differently is focused on just the basics (3 r’s) and been much more relaxed about the rest…done more hands-on things for science, like growing butterflies and just getting outdoors for “nature study”. For history, the absolute best thing that has worked is reading books out loud and skipping textbooks. My kids remember so much from the “real” books we read, and very little from the textbook times. The great thing is that I’ve got a bunch of little ones who I get to do things better with now (unfortunately, my teenagers were the guinea pigs). Enjoy your full-time homeschooling. I pray for you often.
shel@lifewithsevens last blog post..Chugging Along
We’ve graduated two and our “baby” will graduate this next year. With the first two we started when they were in 6th and 7th grades. Our youngest when he was in second grade. So the first thing I’d do differently is keep them all home from the beginning. Second, like so many other mom’s have already said, I would relax and enjoy the moments more…not be so bent on getting all the paperwork and bookwork done…spent more time doing hands-on things and exploring God’s world.
What I did right and what constitutes all our favorite memories of that time period, was lot’s of reading out loud…we had our sweetest times and our deepest conversations…and I think our greatest learning moments during those times.
Wishing you all the best…homeschooling is such a sweet journey…even on the worst days (and you will have those!)…your heart still knows these are the best of times and worth every minute, every effort, every dime expended.
Blessings…and I hope you’ll keep us posted on how it all goes for you.
sheryls last blog post..~* Faith-Lift Fridays August 1, 2008 *~
Heather, I have long followed your blog and kept you and yours in our prayers. We have homeschooled for eight years. I wish I had a little more time right now to add my thoughts, but I wanted to jump on real quick and tell you that I have a ton of ABeka stuff. If you can use any of it, you can have it with my blessing…just send me an email.
Here is a post I wrote back in July to encourage another mom… I thought it might help you too!
http://theendoftheroad.typepad.com/the_needle_in_a_haystack/2008/07/god-driven-schooling.html
Leas last blog post..Gift Giving Ideas
Hi Heather, I read your blog all the time. You might want to check out http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=mrscatherine for advice on homeschooling. Mrs. Catherine is a wonderful godly woman who has been homeschooling for a very very long time. Hope it helps.
We are about to start our second yr of homeschooling. My kids will be in 5th and 8th grade. Last yr was rough as we moved, then I had my cancer “experience” which landed me in surgery, then recovery. Trying to keep up with curriculum was stressful at times. Now I am leaving the country for a month in September so catching up this yr may not happen either. What I keep reminding myself is that God told me to homeschool, He didn’t tell me to homeschool and freak out over the details. We do best when I am flexible and allow us to enjoy ourselves, not watch the clock (curriculum vs days left in the year or semester).
We are still taking things one day at a time but I am much more hopeful about this school year. I hear the 1st yr is the hardest, trying to figure out what works for your family. I think we are a lot closer to having things work out (although we are in the process of adopting 3 more kids, so I’m sure it will not go as smoothly as I hope this yr either LOL).
Not sure I exactly answered your question but just want to encourage you to try and remember to let God lead each day, start and end with prayer together if you can, the rest is just blessings from Him. If you can teach your kids about loving God, the rest won’t seem so important, yet will fall into place. At least that has been our experience.
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What do you wish you would have differently when you first started homeschooling? I would have trusted the Lord to lead us in choosing what they needed to learn over set curriculum and oversight from Christian liberty academy. But they did give me the confidence to believe I could do this and that I could pick and choose what they needed as well as they could. What do you regret?I wish I would have never sent them to school to begin with and kept them in my care from the beginning. I put off using Saxon Math because I wanted everything to be Christ centered, and nothing teaches Math concepts like saxon! What is your fondest memory of homeschooling your child(ren)? The spontaneous conversations that hapen in the midst of book work. All the moments that would have gotten them sent to the Principal because they were talking in class became moments of deep growth and wonder. Mostly when they finally left our home for their own, I was so grateful to have memories of fungi and snake disection but above all I knew their hearts and who they were deep inside. It is the love that makes it all worth while.
If you would email me Heather, I would love to mail you a book.
Just remember that God gave these precious children to you because you and your husband possess everything they require to be the man and women of God He wants them to be. Your love of writing, his love of science….God knows what they need so He gave them to you. Trust Him!
because of Jesus, Bobbie
Bobbies last blog post..Show and Tell with Canadagirl and Liz Curtis Higgs
Oh this is important too, what works for one child may not work with another…If it isn’t working switch to something else. Borrow when you can swap if you need to experiment or click on google for just about anything. Frustration is not a gift of the Spirit so do not nurture it….Know your child’s learning style, visual, audio, etc. do not box yourself in, or them.
Because of Jesus, Bobbie
Bobbies last blog post..Show and Tell with Canadagirl and Liz Curtis Higgs
I would have bought the industrial sized bottle of Excedrin. :)
I’ll be seeing you at convention next May, right??
Fiddledeedees last blog post..Used Curriculum Sites
I have 4 daughters and have always homeschooled (the olderst is starting 5th grade next week). I have loved reading all the posts - good stuff!
I have to reiterate what Kim from MI (the 2nd post) said - ask yourself why you homeschool and form your priorities around that (although she put it better than I can). One year, my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and my neice was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the cervix (she had a 1 month old baby at the time). That was so tough, and we didn’t get much “school work” done that year. My neice was miraculously healed and is still doing great. My dad received complete healing by going home to heaven.
We were able to get to the academics later - but that year my girls learned a lot more important things.
I don’t know if you’ve ever read Fiddledeedee’s blog, but she’s a big-time homeschooler, has great advice and also lives in Florida
H Heather,
I’m a reader through bloglines, but don’t comment often. But I just had to click and read what every one else wrote in answer to your questions. They were all sooo inspiring.
What do I wish I had done differently? Waiting until the internet was invented. Gosh that would have made my life simpler! But I don’t think I ever would have started, I’d be too busy reading all the great advice.
What do I regret?
That I didn’t write the book, And Then I had Kids. It all seemed so easy when homeschooling was just a concept in my head. And then I had kids and started homeschooling and reality set in. On a serious note, I don’t think I would have compared myself as much to what others were doing.
My fondest memory of homeschooling?
My son had visited the Michigan capital. He wrote a letter of thanks to your state senator for the tour. In the letter he said, “now that I’ve come to see your house, will you come visit mine?” A few weeks later, I got a call from the Senator’s secretary accepting the invitation! We schedule for a few weeks down the road. But do to a strange and terrible twist of events, our other son landed in the hospital for a week and we had a kitchen remodeling disaster to add to the mix. The house looked awful, but it was too late to cancel. I thought about renting a house and pretending we were the “perfect” homeschool family, but I’m too honest. So he came. We had a great time. All the children loved it.
Great questions.
I’m praying for you all as you begin your new year.
Spunkys last blog post..What are living books?
Enjoy cooking and especially baking with your children. While it is a fun way to teach and learn about measurements, fractions, following directions, it is also nurturing and full of memories. Learning fractions conincides with the sweetness of a muffin….Measuring items into a yummy trail mix give you a chance to teach about nutrients, and savor feeding little bites to each other.
Heather, I believe homeschooling for you and yours is about creating fabulous memories.
You might teach digital photography as a way to tell a story…it helps children express themselves and lets us grown ups see from their amazing point of view.
Just my thoughts…peace and blessings…
Annamaria
eep! It’s late…or early…forgive my mistakes! I REALLY can spell a few words.
Just remembered…I read my daughter “Great Expectations” as a bedtime story, just for the fun of it. Made her life much easier when 9th grade english came along. And, she learned about “anonymous benefactors.” Now, as an adult, when she wants to help someone (donate a coat, leave a bag of groceries on a porch), she includes a note that says “You are receiving this because God loves you and wants you, as his special child, to have what you need. From your anonymous benefactor.”
I’m so proud of her!