Homeschooling. That word seems to, oddly, bother people. When you tell people that you homeschool your kids, they seem put-off and they all of a sudden think the worst. Now random strangers are concerned about the social life of YOUR child and the education of YOUR child. I went back and forth with deciding to homeschool my daughter or to keep her in public school. I’m here to tell you that it’s not easy, but it’s not difficult.

The beginning

I have only been homeschooling since August, and I have already seen changes in myself and my children. We are given this amazing freedom of being able to educate our children how we see fit. I think that is a beautiful thing. The beginning of our day consists of a flexible routine for my daughter. She eats breakfast and does her hygiene routine and a few morning chores like emptying the dishwasher and cleaning up the table. Then we turn to school. My daughter is in fifth grade, but a little behind, so we start with a Morning Menu. The morning menu consist of simple things that we should just know, like name, address, simple math, repeat things. I put my morning menu in a binder with plastic sheets or laminated. This seems to warm-up her brain and get her focused-on school. I do not put too much pressure on her to start school at a certain time. Like I said before, we have a flexible schedule. Some mornings she’s not ready to start school at 8 a.m. and with that we start around noon. This is the beauty in homeschooling.

The Middle

I use the curriculum “The Good and The Beautiful.” I truly love this curriculum. The lessons are free, and the images are not overwhelmingly colorful for kids. When we start our curriculum, I try to make sure it’s not repetitive for my daughter’s always busy brain. The only thing that is repetitive is the class schedule, so she knows what to expect. Our classes are as follows:

Each one of these classes has something that my daughter enjoys and every Friday we have some sort of Arts and Crafts lesson. I love being in control of my child’s education and she enjoys going at a pace she understands and can keep up with. We start many of our lessons with positive affirmations and making sure our brain is happy before we start any lessons.

The End

We do not actually ever end our homeschooling day; we just end our book lessons. My daughter is still learning even though we are not reading from a book. I teach her how to cook and how to follow step by step instructions with recipes. We use Wednesdays as experience days and we also go to the library on those days. She learns life skills all throughout the day and life skills are just as important.

Socialiazation

I know a bunch of people worry about their child’s socialization when it comes to deciding to homeschool and many decide not to homeschool for this reason. In all honesty, I believe homeschool kids are more social. My daughter goes practically everywhere with me and talks to a variety of people. If I need help with something at the register when grocery shopping, I will send her to go get an attendant for help, so through this she knows how to be forward and ask for help. I also have friends that we make an effort to see so she can play with kids her own age and she can grow her social butterfly wings.

Socialization is so important when you have children, but there is also a negative to this as well. Because you’re not at school every day and are not as involved in your child’s education, bullying can ensue. It does not matter who your child is, bullying is everywhere. My daughter would come home daily saying that a girl made her feel awful, or she would come off the bus crying. There is only so much you can do as a parent when talking to the school. But now that we are homeschooling her, I can control her surroundings and who is involved in her life. She does still do school activities like band and sports, but coaches seem to have a better understanding of what’s acceptable and what is not acceptable.

Don’t Knock it till You Try it

Homeschool is such a rewarding time between parent and child. Soak in every moment, even when it seems horrible. The horrible moment will end, just be proactive with learning and make sure you are completing something every day. It will not only make you feel good, but it will make your child feel accomplished.

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More to Read:

• Amazing New Territory for Moms and Dads
• Mom Guilt on Full Attack
• A Mama Support System and the Amazing Advantages

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