Motherhood

We Are Homeschooling!

Mihaela Echols12 Comments

We are homeschooling! We officially started in June when Jason finished up preschool at his private school. 

I started in January only doing twice a week dipping my feet in the water helping us get in the routine on Jason’s home days. That way I could figure out the kinks of when we started official full-time homeschool. 

This helped a lot the first week, because both boys knew what to expect. 

Our days for school are very simple. We have our morning routine and then they get an hour of free play that gives me time to work on my morning chores and set up anything for school. Then we meet in the playroom and we do our circle time. In that time we are counting, going over our alphabet, going over the calendar, and reading one story. Then we go into the dining area and do the lesson or sometimes we just do the lesson right on the playroom floor. The lesson usually is a game, something I find on Pinterest, a workbook (they do as many pages as they feel), or they use fun materials like a puzzle. I personally love reusable things. So we don’t have a lot of supplies. The school days are only 30 minutes long. The rest of the day is filled with playing, a play date, or going somewhere. So far I have loved the breathing space that homeschooling has allowed. It also has given me the privilege to be on the front lines of their learning. I love seeing them connect and figure things out.

I originally was on the fence with the idea and thought it over for about six months. There was apart of me that was craving flexibility for our family and not a strict structure. We thrive on routine and flow. I didn’t want our calendar to be over filled and miss connecting with my children. I wanted to be in charge of our calendar. At first I was hesitant as we were figuring out how give our extroverted son the much needed time with friends. Peter said he would bring them to Awana giving them consistency throughout the school year. They could do recreational sports, a co-op and of course play dates. We have taken both our skills and combined them. I am more organized and love figuring out creative ways for them to learn something and Peter is also an extrovert and isn’t too tired to go out at night.

We are doing homeschool year around giving them breaks for when we go on trips and for events so we can keep the routine making it more smooth on all of us. That way we don’t have the feeling of starting over. Instead going with the flow of the next step.

This is the beauty of homeschool. We get to do what works for our family. Live a slower paced intentional life where we can grasp the lessons with our children and grow along side them.

12 thoughts on “We Are Homeschooling!”

      • I homeschooled Daniel for 7th & 8th grade, then I did a 9th grade neighbor girl for a quarter and a 5th grade neighbor for a quarter. I was the first uncertified teacher allowed to homeschool with a certified teacher overseeing me, monthly. Daniel wanted public school by 9th grade because he was FINALLY lonely. Otherwise he’d been an unhealthy loner. So I was happy/sad when he went to 9th grade public school. I’d been a teacher’s helper at the Christian school previously. For the first 3 grades, learning has rote aspects to it; they simply must memorize times tables, phonics, etc, but near 4th grade they need to be taught to analyze possibilities and make decisions. I hope you seriously consider Classical Education that includes logic (sorely needed nowadays!) and Latin.

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    • Hi! This is where most moms start! We battle our ability because we over think it. But there’s so many resources out there and styles. It really comes down to core values and what works for your family.

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  3. Hii there! Firstly, Congratulations on starting your homeschooling journey.
    Homeschooling has been a hot topic at our place since 2020 though I’m wanting to take that step I’m suddenly being cautious and not sure if it will work. More than will it work or not, concern is wanting to know how homeschooling works in the long run when kids get to higher grades.

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