Homeschooling is a journey. A long race, not a sprint. When I am sometimes tempted to look too closely at the failure of a lesson or day (or week!) and blow it completely out of proportion compared to the overall success of the rest of our homeschooling journey, I remind myself of these seven keys to homeschool success.
1. Be a flexible homeschooler
Choosing homeschool curriculum can cause a lot of stress. You’ll buy the wrong stuff and waste money. Ditch it and move on.
Your child won’t be thrilled with something you have planned. Respect her as a person. The relationship is more important than the child doing something you think is really cool. Change the plan and move on.
Life will get in the way. Adjust and keep going.
2. Know your own child
It really doesn’t matter what another mom does with her child.
Your child needs you.
Your child has her own set of learning needs, goals, strengths and weaknesses.
Know what your child needs and figure out how to do it best for her.
3. Know yourself and take care of yourself
No homeschool mom does it all, no matter how great her life looks from the outside. You are going to feel inadequate for the task ahead of you.
Know who you are, what you need, what you can’t deal with, and organize life accordingly.
Put on your own mask first. Take care of yourself so you can take care of your child.
4. Learn from others
Don’t reinvent the wheel.
Learn from homeschoolers who are further along the journey and listen to what they did well and what they would do differently. The Big Book of Homeschool Ideas is one such resource for doing this.
If you sense some truth in it for you and your child, take notes.
And when you hear the negative stories of where it turned out poorly, take notes even more carefully.
5. Stay off social media that doesn’t truly enrich your life
If Pinterest makes you feel inadequate, delete your account.
If Facebook is a time and energy suck, delete your account.
If Twitter is causing you to fritter your life away in 140 character segments, delete it.
If Instagram makes you envious, delete it.
If social media isn’t adding true value to your personal life, homeschooling life and family life, ditch it.
6. Don’t compare
Don’t compare your child to others.
Don’t compare your home to others
Don’t compare your marriage to others.
Don’t compare your finances to others.
Don’t compare your spiritual life to others.
Do the best with what you have and choose to be content. Comparing will only make you want to throw in the towel.
7. Trust God in the process
Pray. A lot.
Never ever forget that God is more interested in the well-being of your child than you are.
Trust that God is guiding you and leading you as you seek Him.
Hi,
I have been praying for an answer to a question I have had since my child was born. Should I send him to public school? I am a public school teacher and am aware of what is happening in the schools. My son is two and 3/4 years old. He knows all of the letters in the alphabet, all of the colors, numbers 1-10 (working on 11-20), can write a few letters, cuts well, draw impressively well and with a lot of detail, is excellent with puzzles and figuring out patterns, and can read a good 20+ words. He is very good with technology (iPad, cells, etc.) I want to start a small private school where I could teach him and other children his age in a more creative way as well as other subjects besides math, reading, and writing! He is such a curious child…always asking or figuring out how things work and why. But the main reason why I want to start a private school is so that my son and other children are able to learn about God. I want him to learn all of the stories in the bible and understand that without God, nothing would be possible. Perhaps dreaming about opening up a private school is a just a dream, and homeschooling might just be the only option. But thank you so much for your advice. I stumbled across it and read it immediately.
Respectfully,
Chaniquis
Perfect post! Thank you 🙂