I’ve been trying to fine tune my decisions on curriculum for next year. It seems like with everyone I talk to, I find out about something new and different. This school stuff can get so confusing and overwhelming. So, I decided to make a blog entry on the best advice I have and am receiving. This is a work in progress…feel free to add your own ideas.
1. This was one of the first things a homeschooling mom told me when I told her I was going to homeschool and that I was scared. She said, “if you stay home with your children, you have been homeschooling them since the day they were born.”
2. Homeschool does not have to look like a typical public school classroom. If you want to teach your children at a picnic table in the park while snacking on apples then go for it. If you want to teach them while snuggling on the couch, then go for it.
3. Especially, in the beginning, homeschool does not take more than a couple hours of your day. So long and farewell to the 8 hour days in a classroom!
4. You don’t have to spend a fortune to give your children a good education. Research the curriculum and compare to the standards of your state. If you want to spend a good amount of money or not. What matters is that they stay on track. There are many great resources out there that don’t cost a fortune.
5. Make a list of the things you and your spouse want to accomplish with your children’s education. How awesome is this? We get to choose what we find to be the most important and to focus the most on. Of course, we want them to be well rounded and really they need to be. But, if your family loves the arts then have a curriculum that is more art centered, or science centered, or Bible centered.
6. You, mom have fun! This should be such a joyful time for us. We get to be with our children all day. Feeding their minds and preparing them for the future. Recently, I received an email from a friend whose oldest is only 2 and is already getting her curriculum picked out. Her closing line was, When I look at all of what’s available I can’t help but wonder why people would not want to teach their own kids?? It’s fun, and I’m sure rewarding!”Let’s have fun with this! If we have fun then our children are sure to have fun and develope a love for learning as well
