One Year of Homeschooling (An Honest Assessment)
We are about to finish our first year of homeschooling and I wanted to share an honest assessment for anyone who may be considering this path for their child. And to those who are currently in the throes of your own homeschool journey, I hope you find solace in knowing no one is doing it perfectly and there’s grace to fumble around until we land on what works.
In full transparency, it took the entirety of the fall semester and then some for me to be convinced we were making the right decision for Cyrus. (If you haven’t already, you can read about why we chose to homeschool in the first place here.) I had spent so many hours on Pinterest and Instagram, watching other families’ homeschool rhythms play out like poetry while mine felt more like an awkward marching band that couldn’t seem to find or keep the beat. I fought for rhythms I was sure would add harmony and value to our home, only to have the realization that it isn’t a one size fits all. (And while tea time and poetry recitation is a lovely concept, it just doesn’t fit the mold of our lifestyle with two wild little boys.)
I’m sure next year will look quite different for us, but in the meantime here are some things I hope to carry with us along with a few new things I hope to try next year.
What’s Going Well:
Morning Basket — We begin our day either on a blanket in the loft or outside if the weather is nice. We begin with me reading aloud a couple of chapters of a chapter book (We are LOVING the Magic Treehouse Series), Dinosaurs of Eden (or some kind of Bible-based book) and a daily prayer of thanks. It’s simple and he generally is engaged the entire time.
Weekly Outings —It varies which day each week, but we make it a point to get out often. We take regular library trips and outings to the park, nature trails, etc. Cyrus isn’t involved in very many extracurriculars this year because we didn’t want to overwhelm our schedule, so getting out is important.
Unit Studies— I personally LOVE coming up with unit studies and corresponding activities. The problem is, I planned out the entire year of themed activities, only to complete the first one because Cyrus loves to go with the flow and come up with new topics on the fly. So I’ve had to become super adaptable with my plans. Regardless, we both love incorporating art, science, nature and geography in very hands on ways with various topics. (Think insect study—drawing and labeling anatomy, checking out fun bug books at the library, and getting in the backyard with a magnifying glass and a nature journal.)
Co-op — I didn’t sign C up for a co-op in the fall and seriously regretted it come November. Thankfully I was able to find one for the spring semester and we both really enjoyed it. The classes he takes are all extracurricular, so it doesn’t interfere with our home curriculum, but both him and River have already built friendships from this semester and can’t wait to go back next year.
Free Time— Being a mom is hard enough without the task of being your child’s sole instructor. For both of our sanity’s sake, we take lots of breaks and sometimes we don’t finish our curriculum. We begin each morning with free time after breakfast and before morning basket. This gives me time to get organized and Cyrus time to draw or play first thing. We will usually spend about 20 minutes on each subject/activity and I’ll set a timer for 5-10 minute breaks between each one. With this rhythm, we are typically finished by lunchtime and he has the rest of the day to play.
Loop scheduling and timers — I had a sweet fellow co-op mom of older kids encourage me not to stress out for feeling behind in our curriculum. The idea of loop scheduling is if we didn’t get to the subject today, it rolls over to tomorrow. This year, we did school M-W with co-op on Thursdays and didn’t make it all the way through our Math and Language Arts curriculum. But it was what we were able to do with another toddler in the house who is only in pre-k two days a week. So I’m working hard to be ok with where we are. We go at our own pace and there is no timeline for him to learn everything.
What I’d like to try:
Bible journaling— We tried to incorporate a thankful journal this year, but Cyrus just wasn’t ready academically. I am hoping to have more success in the fall as his reading/writing strengthens.
Friday Home ec—We don’t do school on Fridays because it is my day to do laundry, clean, and prep for the Sabbath/weekend. But I’d love to bring the boys into these activities (chores, baking, learning practical skills like tying shoes and riding a bike.)
Song Memorization— (verses, numbers, etc.) Learning through songs to make hard to remember things a fun part of a daily routine.
Drop-off Extra Curricular — finding the right balance is so much trial and error. It seems we are either living in the car driving or sitting at home wishing Cyrus had more socialization. Cyrus is currently in Cub Scouts, Wednesday night kids’ church, co-op, and a part of a life group with lots of other kids. Last fall he did a semester at an exotic farm and I would love to have one more thing like that for him next year.
Overview—
Take time to pinpoint your child’s learning style, what works and what doesn’t. Year one will be a lot of fumbling and adding/taking away. That’s totally fine. Give yourself grace to fumble a bit. A good rhythm takes time and trial and error. Don’t worry about whether or not you are keeping up with everyone else. Go at a pace that feels comfortable and sustainable.
When starting out, ask what you can bring to the table and what your child enjoys. Start there. We both love art. So we incorporate art activities into a lot of what we do. I don’t have a lot of prep time so we use curriculum that’s pick up and go. We both love nature, so I keep everything in a basket and I have a quilt in the back of my car so we can do school anywhere.
Things I tried that I wish worked but just didn’t stick— a thankful journal, daily poetry, weekly letter writing and game schooling. These are all great things, but didn’t suit us in this season. I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting the swing of things and I’m excited for what next year will bring!
