| Everyone approaches homeschooling with a | | | | afternoon after a grueling morning was not of |
| different perspective. Some approach it with | | | | value to them. |
| fear and trepidation; others with excitement | | | | |
| and enthusiasm; others feel backed into a | | | | To avoid this one: schedule regular breaks |
| corner with no other options; and still | | | | and take them whether you think you need them |
| others look forward to homeschooling as a way | | | | or not and be sure to spend at least one |
| to invest more into their children. | | | | break enjoying your kids! |
| | | | |
| Examine each point carefully and look | | | | In the end a more relaxed longer day is |
| honestly at yourself and your teaching style. | | | | better than a crammed short day any day! |
| Not every mistake will apply to you-that will | | | | |
| depend on your personality and approach-but | | | | 6.Becoming a Slave to Your Home School |
| all can easily occur without warning! | | | | Curriculum |
| | | | |
| 1.Over Scheduling | | | | Another big mistake I made my first year of |
| | | | homeschooling was to allow my curriculum to |
| I will never forget my first year of | | | | drive me. Even on days when it was obvious |
| homeschooling. My children were involved in | | | | that my kids just weren't getting it, I would |
| art classes, gymnastics, classes at the zoo, | | | | push them to complete the assignments we had |
| science center classes, chorus, piano | | | | determined were appropriate for that day. |
| lessons, physical education classes, and | | | | |
| community sports. On the one day per week | | | | When I finally learned to back off, our |
| that we did not have scheduled events, we | | | | homeschooling became much more effective. On |
| would get together with fellow homeschooling | | | | days when my fifth grader just could not |
| families for field trips, writing classes | | | | quite figure out how to reduce fractions to |
| (which I taught), and/or just for a fun time. | | | | the lowest common denominator, we would take |
| | | | a break and move on to something else. |
| I have never been so frazzled in my life! We | | | | Although in some cases, we did not even |
| would cram in our studies in the morning, | | | | return to math that day, more often than not, |
| then load up the car to head out to our daily | | | | we found that waiting until the evening when |
| routine. | | | | the hustle and bustle of the day was over |
| | | | worked much better! At that time, she could |
| I can't remember who burned out first-the | | | | sit down and breeze through the math concepts |
| kids or me, but I do know we burned out. Soon | | | | that were impossible just a few hours |
| those creative moments of science | | | | earlier. |
| experiments, creative writing fun, and | | | | |
| history projects were a thing of the past and | | | | In some cases, you may need to abandon an |
| we became a slave to our activities schedule. | | | | entire course and try a different approach. |
| | | | Now, don't be too quick to make this |
| The key: limit yourself to one or two | | | | decision-too many of these decisions can be |
| activities at a time and make schooling a | | | | costly. Take the time to really evaluate |
| priority. When you have more time to commit | | | | whether it is the homeschool curriculum or |
| at home, schooling can become much more | | | | your misuse of it that is causing the |
| enjoyable! | | | | struggle. |
| | | | |
| 2.Under Scheduling | | | | Sometimes it just takes a fresh look or |
| | | | slowing down a little to make a course work |
| Over scheduling can be a nightmare, but | | | | better for you. But if you find that |
| under-scheduling can also have its | | | | something just does not work, don't be afraid |
| detriments. Kids need variety and | | | | to set it aside or pass it on to someone |
| opportunities to be with others their own | | | | else. |
| age. There are so many learning opportunities | | | | |
| out there! | | | | On the other hand, don't make the mistake of |
| | | | rushing your children through a study that |
| Find what activities work for your family and | | | | they are passionate about! Take the time to |
| take advantage of them. There are many | | | | allow them to pursue it further. |
| opportunities out there through local | | | | |
| museums, art schools, YMCAs, support groups, | | | | Bottom line: watch and learn from your kids |
| colleges, churches, and historical sites. | | | | and adapt as necessary. Don't become a slave |
| | | | to your home school curriculum. |
| A great idea that worked for us was to get | | | | |
| together with several other homeschooling | | | | 7.Doing it Alone |
| families and plan out a year's worth of field | | | | |
| trips-one per month. We then assigned one to | | | | So many homeschooling Moms try to do it |
| each parent to organize, picked the dates | | | | alone. Once the curriculum decisions have |
| (which we all reserved), and looked forward | | | | been made and the curriculum is in their |
| to our once a month outing. On occasion, we | | | | hands, they begin the process of schooling . |
| would also get together at a local playground | | | | . . on their own. |
| or state park for another day of fun or | | | | |
| learning. | | | | Sometimes pride keeps them from asking for |
| | | | advice when things get tough; sometimes just |
| This smaller network allowed us to support | | | | the overwhelming task of schooling the |
| each other on a more personal basis and to | | | | children makes it difficult to seek out |
| feel free to call on another when we needed | | | | socialization opportunities; sometimes, it is |
| encouragement or ideas. | | | | the misperception that "That is the way it is |
| | | | for homeschoolers." |
| 3.Unrealistic Expectations | | | | |
| | | | This is a huge danger! Irrevocably, Moms who |
| It is so easy to fall into the trap of | | | | try to do it alone become frustrated and very |
| unrealistic expectations. I have met many a | | | | lonely. Do you find yourself keeping the |
| homeschool Mom who was upset because her | | | | telemarketer on the phone as long as you |
| three-year old was not reading yet or because | | | | possibly can? Does your UPS man find it |
| her sixth grade son was not succeeding in | | | | difficult to escape from your front door |
| Algebra I. I have watched as families tackle | | | | after delivering a package? YOU NEED |
| huge projects trying to cram a whole year of | | | | SOCIALIZATION! |
| World History into one quarter and plan a | | | | |
| World History Fair to culminate the | | | | IT is just as important for you as it is for |
| experience. These are the same parents and | | | | your kids. |
| kids who are burned out by Christmas and | | | | |
| struggling to make it through each day! | | | | Socialization for a homeschooling Mom means a |
| | | | sounding board for ideas, advice from those |
| One the other hand, I have also seen families | | | | who have been through it before, friendships |
| who decide to home school with no direction, | | | | that allow us to be ourselves, an easy way to |
| no formal home school curriculum, and no real | | | | share or access information and ideas, a |
| goals in mind. | | | | terrific venue to pass on newly discovered |
| | | | educational events or opportunities . . . all |
| Students will live up to your expectations | | | | absolutely necessary for Moms who are |
| and if none exist, they will quickly adapt | | | | investing so much into their children. |
| and really enjoy themselves for a time. | | | | |
| However, by Halloween, kids long for the | | | | Support groups, homeschool publications, |
| structure of school and parents are thinking | | | | seminars, homeschool conferences, |
| that the ghosts and ghouls knocking on their | | | | memberships, classes . . . all of these are |
| door look much more appealing than their | | | | terrific ways for homeschooling families to |
| bored and antsy children. | | | | socialize with other children and adults. |
| | | | |
| The individualized instruction that | | | | Don't ignore this! This will make or break |
| homeschooling provides opens up the door for | | | | your homeschooling endeavors. |
| students to master concepts much quicker than | | | | |
| in a classroom full of distractions. However, | | | | 8.Super Mom Syndrome |
| it also makes it very easy to coast through | | | | |
| the year without really accomplishing | | | | This was probably the most difficult part of |
| anything. | | | | homeschooling for me. Days when my friends |
| | | | would say, "Walking into your home is like |
| The answer to this struggle is planning. | | | | walking into an Ethan Allen Showroom" were |
| | | | long gone. |
| 4.A Disorganized School Room | | | | |
| | | | Trying to keep those same standards is like |
| There is nothing more frustrating than the | | | | trying to rake leaves into a pile in the |
| inability to put your fingers on what you | | | | middle of a tornado. |
| need when you need it. This is especially | | | | |
| true when you are trying to keep your | | | | Face it: your home will never be the same. |
| children current with their schoolwork. | | | | Your meals will not always be healthy, your |
| | | | errands will not always be run, your bills |
| The inability to find a pencil, a working | | | | may be late, and your bathrooms may not |
| eraser, a textbook or workbook, dictionary, | | | | always sparkle. |
| calculator . . . . you get the picture. These | | | | |
| are all extremely frustrating and when piled | | | | But take a deep breath and remember: |
| up can make for a very difficult start to a | | | | |
| day. | | | | 1. You live in your house all day |
| | | | |
| I recommend you commit an entire day at the | | | | 2. Your kids are in your house all day |
| beginning of the school year to organizing | | | | |
| your home school room. Engage your children | | | | 3. You school in your house |
| in the task-let them decide how to organize | | | | |
| their supplies. | | | | 4. You use your walls as a display for |
| | | | charts, projects, lessons, maps, time lines, |
| Store away your teacher's guides and answer | | | | motivations, and more. |
| keys-preferably in a file drawer so they are | | | | |
| always at your fingertips and organize the | | | | 5. You do not have a large classroom to keep |
| curriculum in a sequence that makes sense. | | | | all of your studies in-books and educational |
| | | | materials will naturally take over your home. |
| The more time you devote ahead of time to | | | | |
| organizing, the less wasted time throughout | | | | 6. You use your desk for more than paying |
| the school year searching for items you know | | | | bills, checking e-mail, and surfing the net. |
| "are around here somewhere!" | | | | |
| | | | If you are going to survive this |
| 5.Avoiding Breaks to Allow for a Shorter Day | | | | homeschooling experience, you must learn to |
| | | | lower your standards! |
| This is a biggie! We all do it-it seems like | | | | |
| such a wonderful thing to tell our kids. | | | | 9.Ignoring the Input of your Children |
| "Hey, if you can just get this all done this | | | | |
| morning, we will have all afternoon with no | | | | It is so easy to get so wrapped up in your |
| school!" Guess what? Across the board, | | | | plans and ideas that you forget to check with |
| homeschooling kids are saying, "We'd rather | | | | your children. This can be especially |
| have a break!" | | | | challenging for Moms who were teachers or who |
| | | | served in a managerial role. Part of the |
| Let me share some personal experiences. I am | | | | beauty of homeschooling is that it can be a |
| ashamed to say, I fell into this one very | | | | two way street. |
| badly my first year of homeschooling. At the | | | | |
| beginning of the school year, I was really | | | | You set up the boundaries, then, allow your |
| good about taking breaks-even heading outside | | | | kids some freedom within those boundaries. |
| with my children to play baseball, catch, | | | | |
| soccer, volleyball, tag . . . you name it. My | | | | Your willingness to bounce ideas off of your |
| favorite time for one of these breaks was | | | | kids and to really consider their input will |
| when one of the kids was struggling, grumpy | | | | mean so much to them . . . and you might be |
| or looking tired, or when I found myself | | | | surprised at what they come up with! |
| overwhelmed with the mess around me. | | | | |
| | | | 10.Fear of the Internet |
| I would announce, "RECESS TIME!" and we would | | | | |
| head outside for a good 20 minutes of fun. It | | | | Let's face it-the Internet can be dangerous! |
| never ceased to amaze me how easy it was to | | | | There is so much out there that we do not |
| get back to a difficult task after a quick | | | | want our children to see and so many people |
| breather. | | | | out there we do not want them to meet! |
| | | | |
| Suddenly, it was essential for my kids to | | | | However, there is also a wealth of |
| finish up their work in the morning so we | | | | information out there that is absolutely |
| could have the afternoon free and breaks | | | | invaluable to any homeschooling program. From |
| became a thing of the past. | | | | educational and interactive games, to live |
| | | | cam pictures of our solar system, the |
| I never realized just how frustrating this | | | | possibilities are endless. |
| must have been for my kids until a recent | | | | |
| homeschool graduate put it on her top ten | | | | And if you know where to go, you can tap into |
| list. Sure enough, my kids hated it! To them | | | | homeschool resources and instruction that |
| the tradeoff was not worth it. A "free" | | | | will never run dry! |