Last week, we spoke about one common concern parents have that lead them to believe that their homeschooling is not working – their child refusing to learn. This week, I’d like to address another common concern. We homeschoolers tend to get overly ambitious in our plans for the homeschool year. We make a long list of everything we’d like to cover this year. And then we feel overwhelmed. There are too many things on our list for any human parent to be able to fit into their kids’ waking hours. We question our own ability to homeschool and wonder if our kids would be better off in school. Sounds familiar? You are not alone!
You may wonder how other homeschoolers do it and conclude that the successful homeschoolers we know have some kind advantage over us: they have less kids/more kids; bigger house/smaller house; teaching degree/no teaching degree; job from home/job outside the home; grandparents nearby/no grandparents nearby, and so on and so forth. With enough imagination, you can see how each of these factors could be both an advantage and a disadvantage. The truth is, each of us has a unique set of circumstances, some of which can help homeschooling and others that can hinder homeschooling. No situation is ideal, but in vast majority of situations, given a strong desire to homeschool, parents are able to make it work.
How? By a paradigm shift. Instead of approaching education as a set of subjects that must be covered, we can step back and look at the bigger picture: what do we want our children to know and be able to do by the time they are adults? And then we can ask ourselves: what is the best way to get there?
Every homeschooling family homeschools in their own way. However, there are several homeschooling styles that capture what families do to educate their children. If you are feeling overwhelmed, it could be that you haven’t yet found the style that works for your family.
To choose your homeschooling style, you can spend the rest of the day searching the web and reading and watching everything you can find on the subject 😊. We’ve all been there, done that. Or you can take an online quiz that asks you the kind of questions that make you think about your values, your educational philosophy, and how you envision raising your children.
Here are a couple for you to try:
Once you choose a homeschooling style that resonates with you, use it as a basis for determining your curriculum and schedule, without the overwhelm. Or you might just decide to unschool and drop the whole concept of curriculum and schedule altogether 😊. There is no right or wrong here. Do what works for your family, and don’t forget to enjoy and have fun!
For more information on choosing a homeschool style, you can purchase this bundle from Digital Homeschool Convention – currently on sale at 50% off!
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