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Some things I wish I had known when I began homeschooling:<\/p>\n
1) Put homeschooling first, for your kids sake<\/strong><\/p>\n When I began homeschooling, I thought that I would somehow just add homeschool to my \u00a0already busy life. It didn\u2019t take long to realize that is impossible. There are only so many hours in the day! I came to the realization that in order to give my children a good education, it would have to be my first concern during \u201cschool hours.\u201d I had to commit to the priority of educating my kids. I had to turn off the phone, avoid interruptions, and focus on my children\u2014a very joyful occupation!<\/p>\n 2) Consider patience as a wonderful virtue homeschooling teaches<\/strong><\/p>\n As a new homeschooler, I was excited and wanted to tell everyone about my happy new discovery! People seemed to respond to the subject of homeschooling by commenting that they didn’t have the patience for it. \u00a0That puzzled me some, as I didn’t suggest that they homeschool, but just wanted to share my own enthusiasm. \u00a0A thought began to form in my head whenever I heard a response of “I don’t have patientce.” \u00a0When would I really learn patience, if not now? \u00a0If I am striving to have a happy family, it seems like a good idea to begin right now. Patience is a skill developed through practice and homeschooling\u2014being with your children daily, gives you lots<\/em> of practice.<\/p>\n 3) Realize you are your child’s best teacher<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s a good idea to abandon too-difficult learning tasks until the child is more ready, avoiding trying both of our patience! \u00a0Organization and preparation will really diffuse a lot of problems. Even with your best effort, sometimes you’ll have a difficult child. \u00a0In that case, \u00a0it really helps me to think: \u201cIf I feel annoyed\u2014 I, who love this child so much, who have his future and well being at heart\u2014 how would a school teacher feel? I have a vested interest, he is better off with me.\u201d<\/p>\n 4) Routine is incredibly helpful because everyone knows what to expect.<\/strong><\/p>\n Get organized.\u00a0We have an opening exercise that begins with a pledge, patriotic song, prayer, fun oral quizzing, and me reading aloud. It feels secure to my children to have school start with the same pattern every day. I don\u2019t try to do every subject every day, nor do I think it is wise to break a child\u2019s concentration by changing subjects every 30 minutes. That is not the way you and I enjoy learning. We would rather pursue our interests uninterrupted until our curiosity is satisfied. If you keep getting interrupted, you begin to wonder if it is worth starting anything interesting.<\/p>\n 5)\u00a0Set some ground rules<\/strong><\/p>\n Some of ours are:<\/p>\n 6) Learning to obey is one of the most important lessons your child will learn in homeschool<\/strong><\/p>\n Obedience is a hard lesson for all of us, and yet an undisciplined person is not as useful to anyone\u2014not himself, others nor God. Learning to be the master of your own self (self-control) begins by learning to obey your parents. Homeschooling, unfortunately and fortunately, compels us to come to grips with the issue: who is in charge? God gave parents the responsibility to train their children, and part of that training is to be obedient to parents. I tend to be overly tender towards my children, as many mothers are, but children learn best when we are consistent in helping them mind us. \u00a0I do think you need to listen and make allowances. Sometimes children are truly tired and need a break or a change of program but repeated choruses of \u201cI don\u2019t want to do my schoolwork\u201d \u00a0can undermine your efforts.<\/p>\n 7) Education comes in many forms<\/strong><\/p>\n Flexibility is so important! We drop everything if there is a sunny day in winter and go hiking by the river instead. There is a lot to be learned from visiting the neighbor horse\u2019s new foal. Working on an Eagle Scout project, a 4-H project, baking or sewing, watching birds make a nest\u2014 are all very valid learning experiences.<\/p>\n 8) Be gentle as your children adjust<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are just coming out of the public school system, expect a detoxification period. Usually kids are pretty burned out by the regimentation and busywork routine of school.\u00a0When I brought my children home, my 5th grader could be turned into tears instantly by the thought of reading. I finally decided to totally forget reading for awhile (for that child) and just read aloud to all the children so he could begin to enjoy reading again. Within a year, he was an avid reader who really couldn\u2019t remember ever hating it.<\/p>\n 9) Slow and steady<\/strong><\/p>\n Choose your activities wisely. You can\u2019t do everything! Field trips can be fun, educational . . . and sometimes overly exhausting. Some homeschool moms seem to try to make up for the lack of public school activities by setting up a dizzying round of choir, soccer, scouts, art, gymnastics, etc. . . . rush, rush, too much time driving here and there.\u00a0We brought them home because we wanted them home and near us. Remember?<\/p>\n One trip that we do deem important is a regular trip to the public library. I ask each child to consider what they want to learn about and make a list. Once in the library, we go to the computer and get the titles and numbers so each child can get their own stack of interesting nonfiction and fiction reading. I think a child could get alot of his education via the library, just following his interests!<\/p>\n 10) Don’t rush into buying lots of curriculum<\/strong><\/p>\n What to buy first? As a new homeschooler I think I made up for lack of confidence with stacks of books. Now, I try to encourage new homeschoolers to begin with the very basic necessities: a journal, Bible, a hymnbook or songbook, a good phonics program, a language arts program and a math program. Basically, that is all you need. There is so much on the market that really can make homeschool easier and more enjoyable but you can also use library books for reading, history, science, health, etc. and buy other things you may want as you have the money. Take care to choose carefully at the library. Not everything at the library\u2019 is worthy of reading!\u00a0As your first year progresses, you will see what is working and be able to buy the things that are best for your children.<\/p>\n Enjoy the journey!<\/em> Homeschooling \u00a0is a wonderful lifestyle!<\/strong> <\/p>\n May I recommend:<\/b><\/p>\n\n
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