After a semester of homeschooling I can now claim Expert Status.
I am now an Expert at asking questions, seeking help and researching till the wee’ hours of the morning. Coffee has become a close friend.
Homeschooling is an adventure, so if you are new then please allow me to gently take your hand and guide you away from the approaching freight train. Don’t be alarmed, it is carrying massive quantities of chocolate-the impact intense, the satisfaction enormous.
If you are a veteran Homeschool Mom, then enjoy the nostalgic memories as you reflect upon your first experiences. It is your strength that keeps the rest of us sane.
Trust me on this one. Many warned me and I thought I heeded the advice; however the decompression time from a private school to homeschooling was longer than I imagined. You need non-academic down time.
Don’t even think about covering academic content the first week of school. Do fun things together. Go on field trips. Getting to know your child is more important than arithmetic. Seek to sincerely understand and a new world will open up. A shared ice cream sundae can bridge many gaps, just don’t forget the sprinkles.
2. Buyers Remorse
You will buy something that you regret. You will buy things that you don’t need for a child you don’t know yet. A flashy game, an over-hyped curriculum. Just return it if you can and move on. If you can’t then let it be a learning experience. That is what I am telling myself to ease the pain.
3. Changing Friends
Homeschooling for the first time is like having your first child. Some friends will change. You will do life differently and everything that you thought you knew will be tossed out of the window. Be OK with this. As you know, life will offer you new opportunities and new experiences.
4. Public Attention
Out in public during school hours? People will stare. They will question your child. Prepare your child by role playing with them how they should respond.
Stranger Who Needs to Know Everything to Child: “Shouldn’t you be in school now?”
Child’s Response: Grocery store- “I’m in school, I’m learning about the socioeconomic factors involved in product placement on a store shelf”. Post Office- “I’m in school, I’m investigating the process chain involved in time inefficiency”.
Uh, perhaps you should not use my examples, but you get the idea. It does make those encounters much more enjoyable.
5. Curriculum
Don’t panic. Your child might be behind in math, but that will change. Allow them to learn at their own pace. Each child learns differently, just embrace the uniqueness of your child. Offer an abundance of ideas to them. Don’t panic if you don’t know microbiology. There are so many resources at your fingertips that it is mindboggling. Take it one amoeba at a time. Breathe.
6. Homeschool Co-op
Investigate them as intensely as you did your decision to homeschool. Know the parents, know the children. If you live in an area that has several, visit them. Don’t assume that the most recommended co-op will meet the needs of your child. Go and see for yourself. Be proactive. It is a bonus if they have crazy dress-up days. Just saying’.
7. Planning
Plan. You will think yourself for it in the morning. Use a notebook, put it online, do whatever it takes to save your sanity. Lay out materials before you go to bed and have an area of the house that displays the day’s agenda. Allowing your child to check off items that they have accomplished is a lesson in itself. I’ve even added things to the list so I could have fun checking it off. Drinking coffee does count as a daily task? Correct?!
8. Housekeeping
Destroy the illusion of a clean house. Accept the fact that books will cover the kitchen table and any open space available. Math manipulatives will be the new legos that you step on first thing in the morning. Even if you do clean every hour on the hour dust bunnies will return with an angry vengeance. Life is happening around you, embrace it.
9. Meals
The days of convenience foods are slowly ebbing away. Oh yeah? You wish! Between activities, schooling and the world at large if would be nice if a magical fairy would fix all your meals. Cleaning the house would be an added bonus. Learn how to cook for later. Hug your crock pot. Become it’s friend. Use it. Planning ahead sounds like a task insurmountable to achieve, but it can be done. Make planning ahead your new convenience food. I know, much easier said than done. I’m still working on this one.
10. Support
Grab someone who had done this for awhile and don’t let go. If they get to the point that they turn their shopping cart the other direction upon your approach, then you can consider a new resource. Just don’t do it alone. Too much has changed in your world. Saying “gee…don’t know about this” or “wow..that’s not working” is actually a sign of high intelligence. If it is not, please do not tell me and let me have my moment. But, seriously, seek others out.
11. Hang in there
There will be days you think you have lost your mind. Days of doubt. Just hang in there for one…. more….. second. Miracles do happen. Your child is making connections at the speed of light. Their brains are not able to vocally demonstrate what they are learning at times, it’s just too fast. Glimpses will be revealed at the dinner table as they pretend that their carrots are the snake attacking Orlando in Shakespeare’s “As you Like It”. They will let everyone know within a one mile radius that their curly fry looks like a crinoid. It’s okay if you have to Google “crinoid”, I did.
Learning will happen, don’t give up and know that you are not alone.
Since I am still on the path of learning, I’d love to hear from you! What would you tell new Homeschooling Moms as they proceed down their paths of high adventure? No tidbit of information is too small!!