When I first started homeschooling over 4 years ago I had NO clue what I was doing.† The post below is something I wrote early on in our homeschooling experience.† I wanted to share.
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A few months ago I decided to homeschool my 2nd grader. This journey has been a strange trip. Like Alice, I feel like we fell into the rabbit hole and have been running around crazy down here ever since.
The choices are endless! What to teach? What curriculum to use? How long each day? Every subject every day? How long for each subject? Do it all before lunch? Take a break every hour? Do I make her sit at the table? In her bedroom? Upside down from the ceiling fan?
Ideas? With the help of what I have quickly discovered are the most creative, intelligent people on earth; homeschool moms; I have lesson plans, books lists, science experiments, plays, math games, lapbooks, notebooks, timelines, nature journals, interactive sites, spelling lists, scavenger huntsÖthe list is endless!
I have discovered I rock at planning and gathering information. My excel spreadsheets have enough ideas, plans, websites to get us through high school! It is the implementation that needs work. But I am getting thereÖ..slowly. As my best friend is so fond of saying, ìThank goodness 2nd grade is a review year!î
I have decided we are not a ìbuy a curriculum and go through it lessonbylessonî kinda girls. SoÖ some days we do only math, with jelly beans. Or just planets using amazing videos on Ted.com, or we build fairy houses. We build ëburrowsí with blankets like prairie dogs. [Of course ours are complete with tea in china cups and cookies!] We may homeschool under a tree on a blanket with a Little House book, or on the stairs. She makes ëinventionsí with Tubers and Zots. She designs a city on Pluto with domes over everything so people can breath. She makes a town out of paper. We try to go an entire day with no electricity or running water like they did during Colonial times. [This is harder than it sounds we quickly found out!]
We are winging it day by day. And I am loving it. It is the best thing I have ever done. And who knowsÖone day, I may even know what I am doing!!! Even Alice eventually made it out!
Karen 2007
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Now over 4 years later, looking back even though I didn’t know ‘how’ exactly I wanted to homeschool, I know that the first year and every year since we have had unbelievable experiences that we would have NEVER had if I had left Kei in Public School.† Homeschooling is the best thing I have ever done.† EVER.
Amazing Field Trips
So for anyone considering this and feeling unsure my advice is: Go for it!† Do it!† It will change your life.† Your relationship with your children will grow and blossom.† It is a marvelous, life changing thing!
Homeschooling Rocks!
Karen
“In the end, the secret to learning is so simple: Think only about whatever you love. Follow it, do it, dream about it…and it will hit you: learning was there all the time, happening by itself.” ~Grace Llewellyn
I really like your blog post. I used to teach (second grade mostly), even taught my own daughter in second grade. In the middle of her third grade year, she finally convinced me to homeschool her (I wasn’t able to teach that year because of a ruptured disc). I guess we were kinda accidental homeschoolers. Anyway, it has worked out for the best for us, too! I don’t miss teaching public school or private school; teaching my own child is the most fun of all.
Joyfully,
Jackie
My Favorite
SpellingSite
Hi there Karen! I think I posted somewhere on your blog, or maybe I read through it and meant to comment but got sidetracked… Anyhow, thanks for commenting on *my* blog! 🙂 I appreciate it. And, looking at your blog again, it sounds like we are *very similar*, not just in terms of the table/spreadsheet but in several other ways.
It looks like you and your daughter have an amazing amount of fun together.
Thanks again for visiting my corner of the internet!
Malea
Oh, this was just beautiful, Karen! I love the energy of your long ago words (but feeling like Right Now words, too). You made me smile and feel so pleased for you, and for me, and all the homeschoolers getting to be on this journey. I love Kei’s photo with the microscope (and her missing teethóadorable!). I love your honest goodness, shining out. It always, always makes me happy to come here.
(And thank you, dear friend, for checking in on me a few days ago. I had been gone so long, and it was lovely to have you pop by to see how I was. Now, if we lived next doorÖ well, just imagine how much smiling would happen then!)
Thanks for sharing Karen…. my relatives still gives me the stares whenever we meet on family occassions but after making them read the blogs I have read and found inspirations from the websites I get my ideas or they say “curriculum” er learning from…. their slowly coming to terms of understanding that homeschooling is not expensive or difficult to begin with.
Blessings to you,
Jeanne
Fantastic post!! Homeschooling is DEFINITELY the best thing we’ve done ever, too 🙂
@Phyllis – I did see it! Wasn’t that fantastic? 🙂
@Theresa – I know your girls weren’t happy in PS, but look at them soar now! And now they can appreciate HSing more. 🙂 I hope we get to meet someday too!
This is wonderful encouragement. Did you see this post? It reminds me of this…
http://www.hiphomeschoolmoms.com/2011/06/a-public-school-teacher-talks-homeschooling/
I just realized the school bus is in the center photo!!!! that is soooo great!!!!
Great post! Thank you for sharing this!
I so wish we had started back then!
I didn’t want to send Allie to third grade. I really wanted to homeschool then. Jason was on board and my parents talked me out of it for TWO YEARS. Allie and I were both MISERABLE for TWO YEARS. I am so glad that I got about the courage to finally homeschool. This was the best year! When I think of all the precious time we missed. Well, I can’t do anything about that…just be grateful that we FINALLY did make this decision and it has lead us to meeting wonderful people like you girls!
I certainly hope we get to meet someday!!!