One year down!

Last week we completed our required number of instructional days for homeschooling.  We started at the beginning of last summer and took several breaks throughout the year so we're finishing our school year about 2 months ahead of the local schools.  I don't plan on stopping the learning, but I will probably be a bit more relaxed about it for the next couple of months since I don't have to stress over fitting in the required days before the end of the year.  It is a good feeling.

Now that I have one year of homeschooling under my belt, I can reflect on what I've learned.  I've learned a lot- maybe even more than the kids did!

1)   I learned that it's OK to change course and adapt as needed.  I started the year nervous and I decided to buy a boxed curriculum to guide me.  I bought one called BookShark- the secular version of Sonlight, a respected curriculum that's been around for quite a while.  It is a great program that provides a lot of guidance.  Each week it outlined exactly what we should do for each subject- books to read, science experiments to conduct, worksheets to complete.  It made me feel safe and secure.  That was great for exactly 7 weeks.

Then, at week 7 we were supposed to read a book that the kids really didn't like.  I really didn't like it.  So, I picked out another classic children's book to read instead.  This, then, impacted the worksheets and some of the other assignments we were supposed to do, so I changed those.  I also decided that I didn't like the assigned history book, so I picked something else.  The writing assignments were boring to my daughter, so I changed that to something she found more interesting.  Soon, I found I wasn't really following the BookShark program at all.  I was using the subjects and the amount of material to complete each day as a guide, but that was about it.  I kept thinking we'd return to following BookShark eventually, but we never did.

BookShark is a great program and it's perfect for anyone who wants to be told what to do and needs some guidance in homeschooling their kids.  I definitely needed that in the beginning.  Eventually, though, it became too restrictive for us.  One of the huge benefits of homeschooling is the ability to tailor the curriculum to your child's ability and interests.  If you use a boxed curriculum and follow it exactly, you lose that ability to a great extent.

2)  Homeschooling does not need to look like school.  In fact, it's usually better when it doesn't.  Just because it doesn't look like school, doesn't mean it's not educational.  When we first started the year, I thought school days had to look like, well, school.  I set up a classroom in our house with desks, a whiteboard, a map of the world, etc.  Soon, though, we were taking nature hikes and I realized the kids were learning more on those hikes by observing bugs, plants, and animals (and sometimes looking them up on my phone to get more information) than they were learning sitting in our classroom reading a science book.  I even started to see learning taking place while they were playing video games or Minecraft.  My 5 year old son started to learn fractions while playing Pikmin 3 on the Wii U.  My 7 year old daughter greatly improved her spelling, reading, and typing skills playing Minecraft with other kids through GamED Academy.  She also took some courses through GamED where she'd do a weekly learn and then a related build activity.  The build activities helped to really cement what she'd learned.  Minecraft, I discovered, can be a great tool for learning.

3)  The relationship is more important than the lesson.  Or, maybe the relationship is the lesson some days.  What I mean is that sometimes we hit a brick wall.  My kids couldn't sit still, didn't feel like learning what I had planned, or they just struggled to complete an assignment.  At first, I felt like I had to force them to sit still, pay attention, and learn.  After all, in regular school they'd have to do that, wouldn't they?  I quickly learned that I could force them to sort of sit still and be quiet, but you can't really force someone to pay attention or to learn.  Some days, it just wasn't worth the fight.  It wasn't worth hurting our relationship.  Some days it made sense to focus more on our relationship and doing things we enjoyed doing together.  Usually, if I let go of a difficult subject and returned to it in a few hours or the next day, things went much better.  Some days, my kids just weren't in the mood to concentrate on math and that was ok.  Some may disagree and say that, as adults, we have to learn to do onerous work even when we're not in the mood.  I agree.  As adults, however, we do those onerous tasks because we see the ultimate value in doing them (even if that's just that we get to keep our job).  Kids don't have that same type of view of the long-term reward.  It is a lesson they'll learn over time, but elementary age is not the time.  Learning happens much faster and is much more joyful when kids are in the right frame of mind to accomplish it.

4)  I don't want to do this alone.  Maybe I could do this alone, but I can definitely do it better with others.  This year, I've joined several different homeschool groups in the area.  We've participated in group field trips, playdates, and various homeschool classes.  It is more fun for all of us to share these activities.  Next year, I'm going to enroll them in a cottage school one day a week.  A cottage school is a non-accredited school where homeschooled kids can take classes to enrich and supplement what they are doing at home.  So, one day a week my kids will take classes in art, literature, Spanish, and science.  One day a week, I'll have some free time to run errands without kids, go to appointments for myself, etc.  I think they'll enjoy the time with other kids and I'll enjoy a little time alone.

5)  This is a journey.  I don't know exactly where it will lead.  I'm taking it one year and one day at a time.  For now, homeschooling is working for us.  My kids love it, I'm enjoying it.  I had them tested by a friend who teaches in the graduate school of education at a local university and she said they are thriving.  They're both above grade level in reading and math.  It is a good fit for them.  People often ask me how long I'm going to homeschool or if we'll homeschool through high school.  I don't know.  I'm going to take it one year at a time.  If it keeps working for our family, we'll continue.  If it doesn't, we'll explore other options.