Mistake 1
When we first pulled Ethan out of school, I jumped in full force. We were not going to miss a moment. I went to Costco and bought all the different workbooks and he was going to be doing school the same amount of time that he was doing when we was in school. This was a HUGE mistake. I didn’t know about de-schooling. De-schooling? What’s that you ask? De-schooling is an adjustment period when a child learns what it means to be a homeschooler. That the learning is going to look different. I was also trying to make school at home. I didn’t understand the joy of homeschool. That our day could look how I wanted it to look, that we didn’t have to follow any rules except the ones I made. I understand that there might be some concern about your student thinking homeschool is just play time. So what are some things that you can do during this period of de-schooling? Lots of reading together, lots of games, explore nature together, get to know your child(ren) and how they learn.
Mistake 2
The next mistake I made was not learning about the different types of homeschool styles. I asked one of my friends what she was using and since she seemed to be very successful with homeschooling her children then what she was using had to be the best thing right? Nope, it was the best thing for HER family. That didn’t mean it was going to be the best thing for my family. I found a blog written by an eclectic homeschooler that has a few different quizzes that I found so helpful. One is about what type of learner your student is, and the other is what homeschool philosophy you line up with the most. They are linked https://happilyaharmon.com/Philosophies Quiz and https://happilyaharmon.com/Learning Style.
What else did I learn?
So after de-schooling and learning what type of homeschooler we are, what else have I learned? That my family doesn’t fit into one single box. I love aspects of many different philosophies and try and incorporate them into our day. I am always evaluating and reevaluating what is working and what needs to be changed. Things that work for one kid don’t necessarily work for the other, and I need to be able to adjust and find what helps each kid to be their very best.
What are some of the things you have learned on your homeschool journey?
Wow, what a journey, these are good to know!!
I am so happy that you found them helpful! Homeschooling is such a fun journey.
I am so proud of people who homeschool their kids. I tried, and I couldn’t do it. It was way too stressful for me.
We didn’t do the de-schooling either; maybe that was why it was so hard for my children. They had to go right to distance learning, and that was so hard for them.
I agree with what you said about each family is different; what works for other families doesn’t necessarily work for you. I learned that the hard way 😂.
Best of luck with homeschooling! I’m proud of you 👏🏼
I think everyone that has been pandemic schooling needs an award of some type. All the changes all at once must have been so hard. Please know that pandemic schooling and distance learning is very different than true homeschooling where you as parent and teacher get to dictate all the things. I’m proud of you for knowing exactly what is right for your family!
This caught my eye because I’m considering homeschooling! Thank you for sharing ! It does seem like some get the swing of things fast , others it takes adjusting , hopefully we all get to our goal !
Yay for homeschooling! Just remember to take your time and to enjoy the journey. Learn along side your kids, it makes life so much fun.
I pulled my son part way through 6th grade and did basically what you did. I forgot to let him deschool some and we ended up doing that just a little later! It’s important for sure. I also learned about styles and scope and sequence and all those things!
I would love to hear more about homeschooling a middle schooler. That has to be an interesting journey.
In my country we have no homeschooling. Every child just has to go to school. The only thing that has changed is that during the pandemic most of the classes have turned to be e-classes. Though, I’m proud if your try!
Wow! No option to homeschool, that must be interesting. How has e-classes been? I know many families here that have done them but are very happy that schools have opened back up.
In our journey, I learned that homeschool looks different for different families. My original idea of homeschool is not the way we do it ourselves. We had to find what worked for our family as I still work from home at times and have varied ages of children. I have loved interacting with my children with more hands on with their learning so that has been rewarding. There are challenging days, but it is worth it.
What is homeschool like for you? What did you think it would be like? I think have a large age range for kids makes it interesting for sure.
People who homeschool are so much more patient than I am. We have been forced into almost a year of e-learning by our district. It has been torture. You are doing awesome!
I feel so bad for those of you who have been having to do e-learning. Pandemicschooling is nothing like homeschooling. You are doing amazing by having done e-learning for the past year, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would not be able to do it!