We have homeschooled from the beginning, but it wasn’t always my plan.
What Led Us to Homeschool
Our oldest was three years old, and suddenly the future education of our children was heavy on my mind. I had never given it much thought; I didn’t realize I even needed to. I assumed they would just go to kindergarten when they were five, and progress through public school like everyone else. Like I did.
But instead, I felt a clear prompting (or several) to look into homeschooling. Homeschooling? It felt completely out of the blue, but I started researching. And at first, all I saw were the Pinterest-perfect homeschool moms who are perfectly organized while homeschooling eight children and running a successful business. They were regularly doing detailed unit studies with their kids and sometimes writing their own curriculum. And I thought–well, that was a fun little research project, but I’m out. There was no way I could do that. Nope.
But of course, the prompting to research homeschooling didn’t go away. Instead I felt, “keep learning.”
So, somewhat reluctantly, I continued learning. And what I learned changed my life.
3 Things I’ve Learned About Homeschooling
1. So many options and possibilities. The first thing I learned as I continued researching was that there are many different ways to homeschool. So many different methods and philosophies and curriculums, and unlimited possible combinations of them all. There are probably as many different ways to homeschool as there are children homeschooled, because it can truly be tailored to each individual and family.
At first, all the different options were overwhelming to me. How would I ever know which was right for us? But as I continued learning about them, I discovered which ones resonated with me and which ones didn’t. I was delighted and inspired to realize that learning could be simple and joyful and beautiful! It didn’t have to look like sitting in desks all day and being spoon-fed facts and information. It actually gave me a feeling of freedom to realize that homeschooling could look however we needed it to. And that leads to the second thing I learned.
2. We can change and adapt as needed. We have homeschooled for almost 7 years thus far, and no two school years have looked exactly the same. As I have learned more, I have tried new and different things. As the ages and needs of my children have changed, we have adapted as needed. We have followed different approaches and philosophies, tried different curriculums, and experimented with different schedules and setups. We have explored unschooling, game schooling, project-based learning, the Good and the Beautiful, the Well-Educated Heart, lots of time in nature, lots of living books, Charlotte Mason, American Heritage Worldwide (family school online), and more.
3. Formal learning doesn’t have to take all day. I remember reading an article that broke down how the hours are spent in a public school day. I was surprised to learn that only 1.5-2 hours were dedicated to learning new material each day! A lot of the time in public school is spent organizing large classes of children, moving from one place or activity to another, reviewing and drilling past lessons, and dealing with behavior issues. At home, much of this is at least reduced. Teaching a few children—as opposed to 30—naturally simplifies things. And when children are taught as individuals, at the level they are ready for, there is less need for review as well (although repetition is a great way to learn something new, this tool can be utilized in ways that don’t require lots of time every day).
Depending on children’s ages, formal learning time may only need to take 1-3 hours a day. And the great thing about that is that we are left with hours each week for other good and important hands-on things that also help kids learn and grow into capable, responsible, happy adults—homemaking tasks (cooking, cleaning, etc.), handling money (earning, budgeting, spending, etc.), entrepreneurial pursuits, creative play, time in nature, pet care, time with family and homeschool friends (we do field trips, co-ops, etc.). There is more time for kids to learn in the real world, by actively participating in it rather than just theorizing about it.
My favorite part about having more time in our day is actually being able to prioritize gospel instruction and discussion in our home, which is something that is often given less time than we (parents) would like. When kids are gone all day at school, and then often rush off to extracurricular activities, family time and gospel learning in the home tend to suffer. As homeschoolers, not only do we have a little extra time in the day for gospel study, but we are even able to make our secular learning gospel-centered. This topic is dear to my heart, so I plan to write a separate post about it.
My family and I would have missed out on so much if I had chosen to ignore those promptings to learn about and consider homeschooling. The Lord knows I need ample time sometimes to understand and choose to follow the path He has laid out for me (and I’m so grateful for His patience!). The incredible growth that is possible for us often requires us to step into unfamiliar territory and do uncomfortable things. If you too are feeling led to consider homeschooling, I encourage you to simply start learning all you can. And if I can answer any questions for you, I would be happy to. Feel free to send me an email. 😊
