Hey, I’m Sarah – I was homeschooled K-12. I graduated on time, am social and do not wear a bonnet.
I did not have the most incredible homeschool experience, BUT I absolutely love homeschooling my kids.
On a regular basis, someone is asking me questions about homeschooling – and I love it! I decided it’d be helpful to have one space where I could point people. My heart is to empower people when they consider homeschooling for their family. Most importantly, I want to take out the intimidation. Debunk the stereotypes. There is not one way to homeschool. You can mold and shape it to suit your family’s needs and each individual child’s. It’s a beautiful gift that I will forever stand behind.
Like I said, I was homeschooled K-12th and that gives me a strong platform to dispel most stereotypes placed on homeschoolers – things like “Homeschooled kids don’t turn out ‘normal.’”
“Homeschoolers don’t graduate on time.”
“Homeschoolers are anti-social.”
Etc.
For reference, I was homeschooled in the late-90s-2000s. My mom truly did the best she could with what was available to her at the time. Respectfully, I homeschool differently but I also have more resources, access to information and can pull from my own and other’s experience. So when I make comments, please hear my heart and know I hold no grudges against my homeschooled upbringing – nothing is perfect.
Here are some of the most asked questions I get about homeschooling. But please reach out to me if you have other questions.
How do I start homeschooling?
Just start. Research your state for any laws on registering as a homeschool family (not all states require this) or if you are required to have a cover school.
Your Style / Mom Resources
There are multiple styles of homeschooling (classical, monastori, woldaf, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, etc.) and it’s important to figure out what style best fits you AND your kids.
If you don’t love homeschooling, neither will your kids.
Another way to help you choose your style is consider what your priorities are or what kind of education you want your kids to have. For example, after researching all the styles, I decided I most aligned with Charlotte Mason because my top priorities for my kids is God, literature and nature – all of which are important to the Charlotte Mason style. This allowed me to narrow down the curriculum so my choices weren’t so mind boggling.
Wild+Free by Ainsley Arment is a wonderful resource to get an overview of each homeschool style.
Don’t stress over this! Start with one and change, modify, edit or switch as needed.
*I was raised classically and it was not the best fit for my learning style. I knew I wouldn’t enjoy teaching that way nor would my children like it (because I know my kids).
Over the years, these books have been foundational, encouraging and inspiring. I cannot recommend them enough!
Curriculum
There is a lot of options out there, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Like I said above, if you can narrow down your style, this will help with finding curriculum. We personally use The Good and the Beautiful. When my oldest was entering PreSchool, I did some research and found The Good and the Beautiful and I have never looked back. It is the best fit for our family.
I liked that there wasn’t a parent guide, everything I needed to know was a quick read in the kid’s workbook. Prep was little to none and I liked what I saw all through high school.
*Growing up, curriculum changed regularly and it was hard and did not serve me well. I made it a priority to pick a curriculum I thought would be long-lasting for my children (which is why I looked at the curriculum through High School even though I was needing Preschool).
Bottom line – DO RESEARCH and get insight from other people.
Change if needed but try to avoid switching too often.
Adding Bible
We start our learning with Bible by following my Bible Study. I’m currently working through Daily Grace’s “Behold” series where we read one chapter of the New Testament. I have the study guide too so after reading the chapter, I read the devotional and then ask the kids the questions in the workbook, writing down my answers while they answer on their own.
My encouragement is to use a study or do something that helps your children love the Word.
Rhythms
This has flowed as my seasons have. My rhythms are not the same as they were when I just had a preschooler or when I only had two kiddos to educate or when we added a newborn. My recommendation is to be inspired by people. Some of my favorite rhythms are ones I’ve absorbed from others.
Practically, we go to the library usually once a week, sometimes once every other if our schedule is too booked.
We run a Forest School which runs in 6-week units seasonally.
Playdates are on our calendar at least once a week which can be at a park or at a friend’s house (if it’s not at ours). If all your friends go to public school, just play in the afternoons when they get home 😉
How Long Does Homeschooling Take?
Not nearly as long as public school 😉
Jessica Parnell, the CEO of Edovate Learning Corp and homeschooling program Bridgeway Academy said, “We did a study back in 2010 with a research group of a little over 1200 teachers who tracked for three months the time they spend in the classroom teaching new material, and the average was seven minutes in a class period,” Parnell said. “There’s a lot of time when teachers are settling the class down, collecting homework, reviewing homework, dealing with disruptions. So a lot of time at school is not necessarily wasted time, but certainly not teaching time.”
Here’s a general minimum – maximum:
PreK || 20-60minutes
K || 30-90minutes
1-2 || 45-90minutes
3-5 || 1-2hours
6-8 || 1.5-3hours
9-12 || 3-4.5hours
Just imagine how much more you can do with your kids in a day when “school” only takes this much from you.
The best part of homeschooling is the FREEDOM to do what is best for YOUR kids and YOUR family! We can let our children learn things at their own pace, without the constant stress of “keeping up” with the unreasonable standards of the public school system.
What About Socialization?
Take them places, and they’ll be social. Talk them through situations. Go to the park, trampoline place, library, etc. (they’ll find other kids) and grocery stores. I find it an asset that my children are not exclusively with kids their own age all day because it forces them to cater to a span of ages. My kids are just as great with infants as they are with kids their own age. They can carry a conversation with adults (often initiating them ;P ) but can invite a child at the park to join their game. Even if your kiddo is an only child, I wouldn’t stress about socialization.
Teaching Multiple Ages
Channel those Little House on the Prarie vibes with the one schoolhouse. You can either hop between kiddos, have the older ones help the younger ones or (if your kids are older) get them started and then be more present for the ages that need more help.
Can I work full time?
I mean, you can. But there are a lot of variables.
+What do you do for work?
+Can they go to work with you?
+Do you have childcare while you’re working?
+If you work from home, can your kids be there?
+Are you good doing the bookwork in the evening?
So – yes, you can! You just morph it to work best for you and your family’s schedule.
”I’m not smart enough.” “I’m not an educator.”
And other reasons we say we can’t…
ME EITHER!!!! I never was “book-smart.” I have no degree in anything educational.
I read books I found interesting about homeschooling. I asked questions. I found social media accounts. I made friends. Tried things out. Adjusted. Created new rhythms. Pivoted. Grew.
Stop saying all the reasons why you “can’t” and dream of all the things it could be. YOU CAN DO THIS!
I hope this encouraged you! I fully believe you can make homeschool work for you and whatever season your family is in right now. Be inspired. Create the life you dream of.