So valuable to have all this research in one place for people starting out!
I have been homeschooling for 13 years and began on purpose and with purpose, did all the research (and still do), and still am finding my fit. When I was starting out I felt like I needed to find my "place", but now I just embrace that an eclectic mix of all of the above is what has works for us.
Love how you took us through your journey to fit the right fit. I’ve tried a few versions myself. I was an educator so the first year I got too confident and we made up all of our curriculum. Then I tried school-in-a-box with everything sent to us. Now, because of our schedules, we do a little combo. We like having curriculum and ironically, it’s the same curriculum I used to teach with so I’m familiar with it. But we supplement when it comes to ELA because we can :-) I love how every year can be completely different than the last.
I pulled my kid out of school in 4th grade and thought I was going to homeschool. Over the first year of fails, I ended up Unschooling (like Montessori on steroids). We never used textbooks, programs or guides or testing. Everything was self-directed (of course I did my best to infuse life with opportunities to learn). My kid turned 21 this year and is headed to law school, high honors, top of the class... all the things I did not know were possible without a traditional view of school. While this is not for everyone, it worked for us and my kid continues to impress professors and attorneys alike. Note: Jane Goodall, Riahanna, Charles Dickens, David Bowie, John Glenn, Quinten Tarintino, Mark Twain, Henry Ford, Fredrick Douglas and Billie Eilish and her brother were all unschooled. I only wish I would have unschooled my first born too! Heck, I wish I was unschooled.
Oh wow. Ok, I address unschooling in part 2 but I am seriously baffled. Like did your kids ask to learn Algebra? My mind just has a really hard time comprehending unschooling lol. Maybe it depends on the kid? Mine aren’t exactly the studious type or maybe they would have been if we’d started sooner?
She did not gravitate towards math and to be honest one of the reasons we pulled her from school was trauma and drama over math. That said, she can do basic math no problem. She learned it by doing things, buying things with cash, saving for a much-wanted item and other daily life things for which I did not introduce a calculator. Fortunately, law school only hits one math requirement on the road through a 2-year paralegal degree, a 4-year psy degree and now law school. She was NOT the studious type back then; we just followed her interest. At one point she learned to read and write Japanese!! I was shocked when she meekly asked me for a Genkouyoushi notebook to practice in. I will say unschooling is NOT for everyone. A child who is struggling in traditional school, whether it's neurodivergence or giftedness, might be the best candidate. We hit both of those markers. (side note: Giftedness is asymmetrical abilities, not a child who is an A student or highly competitive like many believe)
Thank you so much for the examples and your candid response. My oldest two seem to be doing well on a more traditional path but unschooling or something less textbook driven might be the switch my youngest needs. We’ll see if my anxiety can handle it 😬 do you have any good resources to point my direction?
I agree that if your two oldest are doing well in a traditional school setting, then it's probably working well for them. I don't know your youngest, but if they are a different learner or have any kind of social or emotional challenges, this might be good option. And a little side note about your anxiety... I don't know how serious it is, but I will tell you my neurodivergent child was super sensitive to my anxiety, and it was creating more anxiety and behaviors for her. If I could go back in time, that is my biggest parenting regret... not getting my own anxiety under control. I realize you may have meant that more as a passing comment, but if you have big parental anxiety... maybe look into some solutions. It has been life changing for me and my family.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts 🧡 I’ll check this out. Oh and yeah anxiety es meant to read more as control freak who needs boxes to tic when it comes to homeschooling 😂
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about this. I spent a lot of time doing the research and to be honest, the decision was nothing short of terrifying because it goes against everything I ever thought I knew about learning. Also, it may not work in some states as they may require testing along the homeschool journey. I'm in Illinois and at the time, they had no criteria for homeschooling...literally none. Which could be both good and bad depending on the parent.
Famous salad made me laugh out loud trying to get my baby to sleep hahah.
Hey if it helps you feel any better I set out to home educate and have still had moments of educating by the seat of my pants.
I’ve read all the books, and read them again. And I think my philosophy (if I had to be pinned down) was always going to be one of amalgamation.
Take what resonates and leave the rest, kinda deal. There’s a lot of good ideas in a lot of places.
I have moments when I doubt but my eldest is turning 14 homeschool her whole life and is so creative, compassionate, smart and very witty, that I feel like the bits and pieces philosophy has to be workin’ somewhat 🤣
So valuable to have all this research in one place for people starting out!
I have been homeschooling for 13 years and began on purpose and with purpose, did all the research (and still do), and still am finding my fit. When I was starting out I felt like I needed to find my "place", but now I just embrace that an eclectic mix of all of the above is what has works for us.
Thanks for reading and commenting. I think most people end up with a mix - sorry that’s a spoiler for part 2 🤫
Love how you took us through your journey to fit the right fit. I’ve tried a few versions myself. I was an educator so the first year I got too confident and we made up all of our curriculum. Then I tried school-in-a-box with everything sent to us. Now, because of our schedules, we do a little combo. We like having curriculum and ironically, it’s the same curriculum I used to teach with so I’m familiar with it. But we supplement when it comes to ELA because we can :-) I love how every year can be completely different than the last.
I pulled my kid out of school in 4th grade and thought I was going to homeschool. Over the first year of fails, I ended up Unschooling (like Montessori on steroids). We never used textbooks, programs or guides or testing. Everything was self-directed (of course I did my best to infuse life with opportunities to learn). My kid turned 21 this year and is headed to law school, high honors, top of the class... all the things I did not know were possible without a traditional view of school. While this is not for everyone, it worked for us and my kid continues to impress professors and attorneys alike. Note: Jane Goodall, Riahanna, Charles Dickens, David Bowie, John Glenn, Quinten Tarintino, Mark Twain, Henry Ford, Fredrick Douglas and Billie Eilish and her brother were all unschooled. I only wish I would have unschooled my first born too! Heck, I wish I was unschooled.
Oh wow. Ok, I address unschooling in part 2 but I am seriously baffled. Like did your kids ask to learn Algebra? My mind just has a really hard time comprehending unschooling lol. Maybe it depends on the kid? Mine aren’t exactly the studious type or maybe they would have been if we’d started sooner?
She did not gravitate towards math and to be honest one of the reasons we pulled her from school was trauma and drama over math. That said, she can do basic math no problem. She learned it by doing things, buying things with cash, saving for a much-wanted item and other daily life things for which I did not introduce a calculator. Fortunately, law school only hits one math requirement on the road through a 2-year paralegal degree, a 4-year psy degree and now law school. She was NOT the studious type back then; we just followed her interest. At one point she learned to read and write Japanese!! I was shocked when she meekly asked me for a Genkouyoushi notebook to practice in. I will say unschooling is NOT for everyone. A child who is struggling in traditional school, whether it's neurodivergence or giftedness, might be the best candidate. We hit both of those markers. (side note: Giftedness is asymmetrical abilities, not a child who is an A student or highly competitive like many believe)
Thank you so much for the examples and your candid response. My oldest two seem to be doing well on a more traditional path but unschooling or something less textbook driven might be the switch my youngest needs. We’ll see if my anxiety can handle it 😬 do you have any good resources to point my direction?
I would start here: https://www.johnholtgws.com/books-by-holt
I agree that if your two oldest are doing well in a traditional school setting, then it's probably working well for them. I don't know your youngest, but if they are a different learner or have any kind of social or emotional challenges, this might be good option. And a little side note about your anxiety... I don't know how serious it is, but I will tell you my neurodivergent child was super sensitive to my anxiety, and it was creating more anxiety and behaviors for her. If I could go back in time, that is my biggest parenting regret... not getting my own anxiety under control. I realize you may have meant that more as a passing comment, but if you have big parental anxiety... maybe look into some solutions. It has been life changing for me and my family.
Thank you so much for all your thoughts 🧡 I’ll check this out. Oh and yeah anxiety es meant to read more as control freak who needs boxes to tic when it comes to homeschooling 😂
I'm happy to answer any questions you might have about this. I spent a lot of time doing the research and to be honest, the decision was nothing short of terrifying because it goes against everything I ever thought I knew about learning. Also, it may not work in some states as they may require testing along the homeschool journey. I'm in Illinois and at the time, they had no criteria for homeschooling...literally none. Which could be both good and bad depending on the parent.
Famous salad made me laugh out loud trying to get my baby to sleep hahah.
Hey if it helps you feel any better I set out to home educate and have still had moments of educating by the seat of my pants.
I’ve read all the books, and read them again. And I think my philosophy (if I had to be pinned down) was always going to be one of amalgamation.
Take what resonates and leave the rest, kinda deal. There’s a lot of good ideas in a lot of places.
I have moments when I doubt but my eldest is turning 14 homeschool her whole life and is so creative, compassionate, smart and very witty, that I feel like the bits and pieces philosophy has to be workin’ somewhat 🤣
I’m excited for part two!
Thanks Demi and sorry about waking the baby 😂
It’s always so encouraging to hear I’m not the only one winging it and kids are still turning out awesome 👏
I don’t want to spoil part 2 but you and I have pretty similar homeschool styles it sounds like.
Thank you so much for reading. It means the world to me.
I was gonna say it sounds like we might be alike but didn’t wanna jump the gun either hahah!!!