I was a new homeschooler once.

• Trying to manage two of different grades of school
• Trying to keep the baby safe
• Hoping to get dinner on the table at the right time.
• Trying to walk without pain from a  very difficult pregnancy

Voila!

• I stressed
• I worried
• I panicked

A lot actually.

How about you?

• Did you start homeschooling by trying to duplicate a public school classroom at your kitchen table?
• Do you stress about how well your kids would measure against other students their age?
• Do you find yourself so busy teaching school that you have no time to enjoy your family?

9 Secrets of Successful Homeschooling Secrets from Me to You

1. Spend the first 6-12 months to a year organizing your home, working on establishing a daily rhythm, and studying your children.

You may even need to set aside all formal academic learning to allow you and your kids to detox from the public school way of thinking.

2. Go to the library at least once a week and allow your kids to choose books that interest them.

Hand-pick random books for you to read aloud. Watch your kids as they explore and listen to literature. What are they interested in? What makes them excited? What do they find boring?

3. Rely on your husband

He can help you create a vision for your children. Honest.

Don’t waste a second trying to figure out what other people are doing with their kids.

Every child, every family, every dynamic is different. Your best friend may do XYZ with her kids, but that does not mean it will work for yours. Rely on your man. {Learn to say Yes}

4. Keep your husband in the loop about your daily escapades and accept his advice quickly.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that just because he works outside the home all day that he will be unable to see what the kids need.

This piece of humble pie is best eaten early in homeschooling.

photo by Brooke Lark

5. Rather than spending countless hours worrying about this curriculum or that, develop rock star homeschooling goals.

Sample Homeschool Goals:

• Put the highest priority on sharing your faith with your children.

• Ensure the kids know their math facts inside and out. Period. Forget “learning” them, they need to “over-learn” them.

• Inspire a love for literature in your kiddos by exposing them to a steady flow of great books. (I would add daily read-alouds  no matter what their ages). Pick the brains of veteran homeschoolers, librarians, and authors that are in your sphere of influence for suggestions and prioritize a daily reading habit for both you and your kids.

• Focus all learning on meeting the goal of developing excellent written and oral communication skills. Find your children pen pals so they can perfect the friendly letter. 

• Have your kids do “copy work” from the masters and discuss why the sentences, paragraphs, essays, or stories are so great. Learn early that excellence in writing really comes from being well read. Expose them to great literature and practice, tactics, practice.

6. Find opportunities for your kids to stand and share in front of others, whether it is during a family BBQ or performing with the local theater- giving them the skill and confidence to speak in front of others.

Here’s one of my kids. (quality isn’t so great, but if you can get the volume up high enough it’s worth it)

7. View curriculum, tests, quizzes, and state tests as tools and resources to help you customize each of the kids’ education. These things help you teach your kids, but they are NOT required or necessary.

Curriculum is not the substance of their learning. Curriculum is just a tool that you will use to teach them things.

8. Relax.  A Lot.

Let the kids get dirty.   Then let them get dirtier.   Get dirty with them.

• Play in the rain
• Build in the snow
• Chase rainbows
• Cloud watch
• Visit the farm
• Play at the beach
• Collect  leaves
• Examine bugs
• Watch plays
• Attend the theater
• Order an AMAZING subscription box for kids!
• Interview your doctors and dentists
• Locate inspirational guests like missionaries, mechanical engineers, artists, poets, and ace mechanics to share their passions with the kids
• Put a map of the US and the world under glass or plastic on your kitchen table and every single time you read or heard about a place locate it on the map and discuss how close/far it from you.

9. Hide the duct tape.  Especially if you have boys.

I know my children so much more intimately because of homeschooling.

I am forever grateful for the vision my husband was given for our family. I just wish I had relaxed into the journey from the beginning, rather than trying to force the education part.

What your kids need most from you is your love, guidance, and attention.

The fact that you get to be the one that teaches them to read, write, and add is a bonus.