Preparing to Homeschool …where to start
In an earlier post, I shared how we started homeschooling. Over the years, I have been very glad for how easy that decision and the process of starting ended up being for us.
However, reality is, life circumstances can cause a person to consider homeschooling (or even have to homeschool) and this usually happens in a time crunch. One word comes to mind…Overwhelming.
Where does one start? How do you choose a curriculum? So many curriculums look so good? How do I know which one my kid/s will like? How can I figure out what curriculum is easiest for me to teach?
Folks, these are common, common questions we all ask when approaching homeschooling. Unless some other homeschooling person is literally walking you step by step through what they did…and your kids are identical to their kids…oh, and of course, you as a human are identical to them… (hopefully you hear the lack of reality that this would happen on all these levels)… You, yes you, are going to have to be the one to make your best decision at the time and then learn from that decision (both pros and cons) along the way…in order to prepare to make the next decision the next time.
It is actually like a lot of decisions we make every day in life. However, I think we feel more pressure because of what we feel presented from other schooling environments. For me, as a former teacher in a public school setting, I actually had to undo my years of teaching from my head when I began homeschooling. And I can honestly say that it took until our oldest was in 4th or 5th grade that I could more easily look outside the school building box that I had both taught in and been a student of myself for years. But…it can be done. And, it needs to be done. Homeschooling (i.e. teaching a child to learn) is simply that…Teaching a child to learn. (Bonus…you’ll learn a lot along the way, too.)
So…let’s jump in to what I feel are some important things to ask and consider.
First of all…Why are you homeschooling? It might be obvious. But write it down somewhere. You’ll need to be reminded of this along the way (especially on the days when your child states they don’t feel like learning or don’t like what you took hours to think through and prepare.)
Secondly…What do you hope to accomplish through homeschooling? Again, write it down. This is like a road map question so you can evaluate along the way whether you are accomplishing what you hoped to accomplish.
Next…How do I picture (a day of) homeschooling? I can almost hear you laugh out loud. Chaos? Unorganized? Failure? J When I think of this question, the first image that comes to my mind is a laid back learning environment where you take interest in whatever is around you, and expand on that as a learning topic that you can incorporate all kinds of things into (math, science, writing, history, art, etc.) However, I have never done that. Why not? probably because I didn’t ask this question early enough. (Later, I’ll touch more on what our day looks like and why. )
And, finally…Resources…Is there someone nearby that has done this homeschooling thing for a year or two or twenty that I can physically talk to in person and get guidance from? From just simple conversations all the way to intentional conversations, I have found great help and insight from others who have experienced or already gone through what I am encountering. Imagine that? Someone else who has been where you now are can actually be a source of guidance for you now. It happens all the time in so many daily things. However, it is just as important, if not more important in this area of homeschooling. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a person nearby, thanks to the world wide web, there are LOTS of resources if you just have some time to look, read, and absorb other’s experiences. Be encouraged, you are not alone.
So, where do we start???
Well…many would say curriculum is pretty essential. And I would agree. However, one thing that might help first is if you can identify your kids’ interests (do you have artists, engineers, farmers, historians, scientists, writers, high level learners, low level learners, etc) and how your kids tend to learn things (active learners, book learners, video/visual presentation etc).
If you can identify one or both of these, you are going to find it helpful when choosing curriculum. Why? Well, there are two ways you can buy curriculum. You can buy a pre-packaged set for your student’s grade level (comes with everything you need from student books, teacher editions, answer keys, test books, supplemental learning items, etc.) or you can piece together your curriculum. But, if you know your child’s interests, you can also look for curriculum that is a history focus, science focus, art focus, etc. This allows you to teach through the lens of something your child is already interested in on a daily basis.
I started by using a more pre-packaged set that was history based where most things (like reading materials, art, writing assignments, etc) supplemented the history lesson. With two boys (who like to play army in the backyard), this was an effective fit because they were actually interested in reading and more willing to write about something they found interesting in history. Now, disclaimer…again…there is nothing about homeschooling that is a guarantee. I have found (and if you have read enough of my posts) that most of it is trial and error with a few lucky guesses along the way. Honestly, there is so much good curriculum available out there that I almost would be willing to have more kids just so I could try some other curriculum options that look so fun.