Category: Home Schooling Journey

Why I Took My Homeschooled Daughter to Visit a Public School

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So I had a total freak-out about a week ago and convinced myself I needed to send V to public school.

Seriously.

It all began when my workload with Cohesive Home started getting out of control. Then school was back in session at the university, and I began teaching four sections of humanities online. And all the while I was feeling rundown, and quite frankly, completely out of sorts. Cranky and tired. If you’re a parent, you get it (please tell me you get it!)

We weren’t homeschooling in the way that I envisioned. We also weren’t homeschooling the way others in my Instagram feed were doing it. You know what I’m talking about: circle time with carefully curated classics (ever so slightly watered down for the kindergarten set), inspiring art projects that would make a college level art student weep, engaging science experiments using nothing but baking soda, household products, and the kitchen table.

I convinced myself that 1) I was doing it ALL wrong and 2) my daughter would be happier in public school.

Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do I feel the need to compare everything I do to people that I don’t actually know?

Melissa, my Cohesive Home partner and BFF, tried to talk me off the ledge. But it didn’t work.

We went to visit the local elementary, which is perfectly nice and a very good school. V had a tummyache the whole time, and I was incredibly nervous and like “WTF are we doing!?”

So I saw Bad Moms with some of my fellow homeschooling mama friends, and they helped me get my head on straight over crappy burgers at a diner afterwards.

They encouraged me to quit worrying about what every other parent is doing and focus on what’s working for us.

You know, not to brag, but V is close to reading. She’s writing words on her own. She knows how to add and subtract, understands skip counting, and is fascinated by and gets the water cycle. And she’s only five. Five!

Just this morning she asked about why the days are getting shorter and colder, and Kirk gave her a demonstration of the earth spinning and rotating with a globe and a flashlight.

She created a “replica” of the stage in Sound of Music while listening to the soundtrack and acting out the scenes before breakfast, measured and made a french press of coffee, and helped serve breakfast.

My guess is that we’re all going to be okay. Homeschooling is difficult, but we can make it more complicated than it needs to be. And I’m going to quit being so hard on myself.

So for now, she won’t be going to public school. And we’re going to live out what we value: slow days full of educational opportunities, plenty of good books read aloud, and yes, some traditional learning at the table.

Who’s with me?

 

by thestreamlinedlife

Our 2016 Homeschool Plans

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This is technically our first year homeschooling (although I played with it last year) as my daughter is now kindergarten age. We sent her to a Montessori preschool at age 3, and it was simply too much. Love the methodology, but not the 4 days/week program.

When we moved to Indiana, I decided to keep her home and reclaim simple childhood. You know, lots of play, fairy tales and make-believe, and open-ended toys and games. Lots of time in nature and storytime at the library helped to reset my girl.

This year we have a loose plan as I am more and more convinced that formal academics are not needed until age 6-7 (as is customary in other countries), although I recognize some children are simply ready for it sooner. Realizing what my daughter needs and meeting her where she is has all been part of this journey.wp-1472054423594.jpg

My dear friend Melissa gave me her kindergarten Oak Meadow curriculum, which is Waldorf based and intentionally slow-paced. We’ll combine that with Math Lessons for a Living Education Level 1 and my other sweet friend Calli’s nature study program based on Nature Anatomy. We’re also going to slowly make our way through Jessie Wise’s The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading, but I’m not pushing it.

So much of our philosophy on homeschooling intertwines with our desire to keep our home and lifestyle simple. In the past I would have been eager to jump into serious academics straightaway. But as I’ve adjusted to a minimalist lifestyle, I’ve realized that there is beauty and wisdom in slowing down and enjoying the present moment. Rushing childhood shouldn’t be the goal, but meeting the child’s learning needs–whatever they may be–is.

by thestreamlinedlife