As we wrap up another year of homeschool, I drag out our First Homeschool Year scrapbook and blow off the dust and a flood of memories and feelings rush over me.
Memories of teaching my 1st grader how to read compound words and teaching my 3rd grader multiplication and cursive. I remember all the fun science projects we did over the solar system and learning ancient history from Story of the World.
I also remember the feelings. The feelings of inadequacy and doubts of my ability to teach these tiny humans all they need to know to make it in the real world after high school.
The need to rush and keep up with the public school system because heaven help us if they get behind them. I remember the pressure I felt to socialize my kids so they wouldn’t be perceived as “weird homeschool kids”.
I mostly remember the feelings of… worry, that’s the only way I can describe it. Worry of what other people think of my family for being homeschoolers.
I want to share with you how my homeschool experience has changed from year one as a little piece of advice for new homeschoolers. All the experience that has come with it has brought blessing upon blessing to our little family and it will your family, too.
Read: How to Start Homeschooling: The Complete Guide for Beginning Homeschoolers
Read 3 Reasons Why We Chose to Homeschool.
Advice for New Homeschoolers
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You Won’t Always Feel the Need to Keep Up…
The need to keep up with public school our 1st year consumed every plan I had for us. I worried that if I ever had to send the kids back to school they would be behind or that they would be compared to other public school kids and be found lacking.
There was also a need to keep up with other homeschoolers. We homeschool moms all like to talk homeschool. Compare curriculums, talk about what’s working and isn’t working, share what books our kids have been reading. This can sometimes make a homeschool mom feel inadequate.
Read: 10 Ways to Ditch Homeschool Stress
I’ll admit, sometimes I still feel it. Especially when I realize my son is still struggling memorizing his multiplication tables (by the way, that is my fault not his, for not enforcing drills, he’s actually really smart.)
I have to remind myself that education isn’t something that happens in a set time period. It’s something that is built upon day after day, year after year.
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You Will Get More Confident…
When I first started I knew I was messing up my kids whole life. They were never going to get over all of my mistakes. I’ve had these years to see that those mistakes are not defining who they are. I’m seeing progress and character development and my husband and I have been the ones to instill it in them.
I now know just because I don’t have a teaching degree doesn’t mean I’m not qualified to teach my kids. I love them more than anyone and want what’s best for them. I feel like that gives me more qualification than anything.
Read: 5 Things Every Homeschool Mama Needs
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You Don’t Have To Do Every Subject Everyday…
When I first started, I was wearing us all out trying to do it all. Math, phonics, spelling, language, history, science, reading, copy work. On and on, the list never ended.
I eventually tried history and science two days a week. It worked great. So, we tried spelling two days a week. It worked even better.
The middle of this year I decided to ditch spelling altogether and just use copy work. I even decided to use copy work to teach the mechanics of writing. It changed my life, I’m here to tell ya! Totally simplified our day. The only subject we now do everyday is math.
Read: My Huge List of Homeschool Curriculum Reviews
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Read More, Do Less…
Reading has been proven to expand vocabulary, improve writing skills, increase knowledge, and on and on and on. There’s no end to the benefits of reading. In a one quality, living book you can get most, if not all, your subjects in.
If there are days when all we get done is our morning basket time, I feel comfortable in calling it a day and being done.
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5. I’m Not Ashamed To Say We’re Homeschoolers…
This one has everything to do with me and not you, I’m sure. When I was a kid every homeschooler I knew was, I’m going to just say it… weird… different… unsociable. Homeschooling still has a little bit of a stigma attached to it. That stigma isn’t as strong as it used to be, but to some people it’s still there.
“Weird Homeschoolers”. I was one of those people. It was one of the major issues that initially held me back from homeschooling my kids in the first place.
Yep, I didn’t want to be thought of as a weird, unsocialized, homeschooling mom and didn’t want my kids to be either. The longer I do this, the more homeschooling families I meet that are great, “normal” families.
Most people we meet are very encouraging. I can’t tell you how many public school teachers I’ve talked to that has told me, “If I could do it all over again, I would have homeschooled my kids.” If that’s not a testimony to the homeschool community, I don’t know what is.
Read: Responding to Homeschool Critics in Your Family
Keep it up Mama
I wanted to share this with you to show you that we all have feelings of inadequacy from time to time. I still feel all of these feelings. Maybe not so fervently as I did. I hope this little piece of advice for new homeschoolers was helpful and encouraging.
As your life changes, so will your homeschool. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Your doing what you are called to do. Here is a list of the benefits of homeschooling for a little more encouragement. I expect the more years we get under our belt, the more these feelings will fade and we will learn to just enjoy and savor our years left with our kids.