“Hey Erica, how do you homeschool? Where do you go, how do you know what to teach? I mean, how does this work? DO you have to submit something to someone?”
It depends, like always but, it’s not a big deal. Really. Well, not in the U.S. For obvious reasons, people have begun to ask these types of questions.
Below, is a list of things to consider to get you started.
- Look up your state’s curriculum requirements. Start by simply typing words like, “Requirements for homeschool in the state of Arizona,” into your web browser. Sometimes, this will help you to find a place to start, online.
- Look up your state’s requirements for transitioning from public/private school to homeschool.
- Search for homeschool groups and organizations in your area. This is good for a lot of reasons like, information, social events for the kids and even legal representation.
- Search for learning/teacher/homeschool stores. A lot of times, the people who work at these places are full of helpful connections and information. Even if you never make a purchase, use these stores for making CONNECTIONS! The Homeschool Store in my area is run by a lady who homeschooled her children and she offers free consultations. By speaking with people, you can easily assess who is very familiar with laws in your area. This can help to ease you into homeschooling your children.
- Keep in mind, that in some states, the parents choose the bulk of the lessons within the curriculum. For some states, this is how private schools are run. So, try not to be surprised if the answer to a lot of your curriculum questions is, “it’s up to you.” It’s ok. You will get the hang of it once you start making some choices about what your child learns. This is actually a good thing.
- Let me just get this out of the way…You are smart enough! I know this may seem intimidating to parents who struggled in school. Work on letting go of that. You will have what you need as you go.
- Enlist the help of your friends, family and neighbors. No one person teaches kids, for 12 years, in public schools. Truly, I don’t think only 1 person teaches homeschool kids either, for all of those years. Parents and guardians who homeschool are masters at finding resources and people who can help. They have had the practice.
- There are a LOT of resources and people who can help. Get online, look up tubes of videos, go to a library, find a kid in college to tutor your kid, find homeschool parents through all of the social media and ask if any of them teach classes in a particular subject or trade. Yes! Parents even teach their trades!
- How much did you learn in school (as in you can recall what was taught)? What if you had had more one on one time with someone who cared enough to sit with you to teach you something?
- Search for “baby” books in particular subjects. You may be surprised by what you find. I appreciate these books for their simplicity.
- Look up (online, for now) programs at museums, colleges, universities or, the individual colleges within a university for helping to teach various subjects.
- Be ok with your routine looking nothing like a ‘school/work” environment. My boys are still lion cubs who both roar and purr. Bite and snuggle. Desks are not suited for wild animal kids. People used to ask, “Do you have like a classroom in your home?” No. Tried it. No. We don’t even have a set schedule. That really isn’t suited for every kid although, we adults try to do that with our kids, sometimes. So, what does it look like? We do math on the living room couch or in my room. The dining room table is the science laboratory unless, we are practicing the basics to rocket model making (there are videos and kits and family members with more experience). Gardening can also teach science. The kitchen is also a great lab for learning the properties of water or, lessons on density or, chemical reactions when cooking or baking. The home itself is and always has been a classroom. Homeschooling is simply being intentional about it.
- High energy kids can definitely benefit from being homeschooled so long as the adults can be flexible with the routines. Obviously, patience helps, a lot as well. Anyway, my high energy boys have helped me to stay fit by just incorporating physical education into our week. If I see that they can’t focus well or, are just not into what we are doing, we take a break and go outside. We ride bikes, go swimming, or walk around a park. I could guess how my boys would have been labeled in a public school. At home, I can work with them by meeting them where they are at, developmentally. That’s the trick, meeting our kids where they are rather than, to assume they can meet us where we insist they should be…Teaching my boys lets me teach them how to handle their energy instead of labeling it as a problem. This has also been true for conflict resolution (involving communication, listening, knowing when to get help, and deep breathing exercises) and for other practices to do with processing information.
- Feeling anxiety over the thought of homeschooling but, you can’t let it go? Take the first few baby steps. Learn about your state’s requirements, talk with/ email/ call a homeschool store in your state (states have different homeschool laws) or, with people in homeschool groups you find online. Say, “Hi my name is____. I want to start homeschooling my child. Can I speak with you about how to get started for this year?” “Do you have any tips or suggestions?” The most difficult part can be to just get started. Make a decision about what you want to do, jump in with both feet. Don’t stay in the land of indecision.
- One of the most important things to making this successful, is to involve your kids in the process. Check in with them, hear them out, and work together to make the most of this experience. Kids should be practicing how to be involved, how to make decisions about their day. They should also be given the space to figure how to learn rather than to be told that there is only one way to learn subjects like math. We don’t all process information the same way but, we don’t always have the space to figure out how we actually can process information. Kids need to know that their opinions, feelings, and ideas count too. That is one way they become empowered adults.
- With homeschooled kids, I don’t think restrictions on socializing should be used as leverage for getting them to do chores or whatever the struggle may involve. In other words, I don’t take away their time with family, friends or, other opportunities to be around people. The lion cub boys need it like they need food. They also learn a lot by their interactions with actual humans. Socializing is so important. People crave human interaction. Kids need it just like most of us. Plus, it can be important for giving each other space or just good overall mental health. Socializing, being around other kids – I don’t touch that time. That is important for them even if they are mainly calling someone or, on a video chat, for now during this global event.
- It’s not true that only lazy parents homeschool. I know that used to be the belief…only ignorant, lazy people keep their kids from public school. Get to know some parents who homeschool. You’ll quickly learn what kinds of people homeschool.
- If you must buy all of the material brand new, expect to pay a lot. In the long run, you can avoid going broke buy looking for pre-owned material. Truly what does it matter, anyway. When I was in school, I remember having textbooks issued from school that were almost never new (but when they were, I loved the new book smell.) Look on ebay, look up used book stores, look online, ask around, and a lot of homeschool stores also buy and sell pre-owned stuff. Once you get into the habit of looking, you will know where to go, in your area. Plus, reusing means recycling. Just say no to making Earth a landfill. LOL. Ok, moving on.
- Keeping a calender book helps to remember the material you’ve been over and how long it’s been since a review of material.
- It is okay to have mental health days. Take days off. The boys have homeschool lessons all year long. We absolutely take days off. Otherwise, it would be too much. The point is to not make work robots. The point is to learn, rest and to help them learn and to maintain being master’s of their own lives. Period.
- There are many approaches on teaching kids. You can look up words like “types of homeschooling methods” “traditional homeschool” “unschooling” or, teaching methods. Some parents have rigid routines because it actually works for their family. Some parents use very relaxed methods in which the kids call the shots. In our home, we are somewhere in the middle. The boys have always been homeschooled so, they are accustomed to a very casual environment for learning. They know mom is going to go over material in the form of books and worksheets, at some point. Sometimes there are plans to go somewhere. However, our days usually do start early but, slower. We sit and eat and get dressed most days, before everything starts. Trust that you will find the right rhythm for your group.
- There are college scholarships for homeschooled kids. If you are worried that somehow your kid will lose out on higher ed…that has not been true. Actually, homeschool kids usually do very well in higher ed. If you look, you can find the research on it. If you really think about it, kids who are homeschooled do a lot of independent work…which is what college is…a lot of independent work. And yes, there are scholarships for homeschooled kids too.
- How can a homeschool kid get into college? Pretty much the same way most kids do. The truth is, you need to start getting versed with your states requirements. And yes, your kids will have the same options as any other kid.
- Lastly, remember that homeschooling doesn’t have to look like your memories of desks and raising hands. Homeschooling is probably going to look very different than the stereotype you may have in your head of proper education. This is how homeschooling started…to have a different option for kids.
I hope this helps. If you have questions, I’m here but, you’re definitely in good company and there are people all over this country that can help. Just look and, reach out.