Only you can make the decision that is best for your family. But for those considering starting homeschool, here are some of the most frequently asked questions:
Is It Expensive to Homeschool?
Short answer: no
With homeschool, you can make it as cheap or as expensive as you want. If you purchase multiple expensive, brand new curriculums, then yes it will be more expensive. But I know so many families that homeschool wonderfully with just a library card and a zeal for learning.
Common expenses: art supplies, pencils, paper, printer ink, museum memberships, field trips, etc.
What Does a Typical Day of Homeschool Look Like?
It can be whatever you choose it to be. I have seen families who have no structure/ schedule, and other families that start with morning announcements and the pledge at 8 am.
For our family, I loosely follow this schedule:
7:00- Get up, morning routine, make breakfast
8:00- Tidy up, do chores, play outside, devotional
9:00- Start school, always math and writing first, because I think those are especially important
10:00- Recess, I get some cleaning and school prep done
10:30- Reading
11:00- Work on fun unit project
12:00- Lunch, tidy up from lunch
1:00- Baby down for nap, Ryan does hour of "intense interest" learning without me. Usually chess. I get a break
2:00- Finish up any school work we have left for the day
3:00- We are done for the day of school time
That comes out to roughly 3 and a half hours of school, plus his hour of intense interest learning. But really, school happens all the time. It is a common sight for us to see Ryan curled up with a book any hour of the day or night. And if we need to take a day off and just go catch bugs, we do that. If a family has teenagers and want to do schooling later in the day because of their sleep schedules, they can!
What curriculum should I use?
There are so many great curriculums out there, there is no set answer. Many families like Saxon, many families like the Good and Beautiful, many like A Beka. There are tons of others too.
My recommendation is to go to a teacher/ homeschool store if you have one near you, and browse. I went in sure I would purchase a Saxon math workbook, but left with A Beka, and I have been very happy with that. (We only use a purchased curriculum for math. Everything else we design around our monthly unit)
There are also amazing resources on the Teachers Pay Teachers website, at Mardel, and at most school/ craft stores around. Just look around and see what you are excited to teach about!
Is It Hard to Homeschool?
Some days. Some days I want to punt my naughty kid onto the bus and skip inside to have 8 hours of quiet and fewer demands on my time. And I am sure he will end up a leader of a prison chain gang and blame me for his lack of education. (not really, but sometimes I wonder!)
And then some days we have the best time learning something new together, read books all day, or explore NASA together and he hugs me and says that homeschooling is so much more fun than regular school, and I see his progress, and he dazzles the cashiers at the store by calculating change faster than the computer.
My advice: Make a paper and stick it somewhere visible that lists your reasons for homeschool. Remind yourself daily of it. Are you doing this out of fear, or out of love?
Meaning- Are you doing this because you are afraid your kid will get coronavirus, or because you don't like what the schools teach, OR are you doing this because you genuinely love your child, want to spend more high-quality time together, instill family values and a love of learning in them?
How do I Legally Homeschool?
Short answer: It depends on what state you live in.
In Texas, we have to turn in a paper basically saying that we have at least a high school education, will teach our kids math, grammer, reading, writing, and good citizenship, and that is it. Texas has the loosest laws.
Other states have more stringent rules. Filing paperwork to register as a private school, taking attendence and minutes of instruction, reviewing lesson plans... SO- do an online search to find a homeschool group near you, and ask!
And keep your eyes open in the community! Once I started looking, it seemed like homeschool families were just popping out of the ground everywhere! Ask them! Most homeschool parents LOVE talking about homeschool
Does My Child Need to Take the Annual High-Stakes Testing?
NOPE! At least not in Texas. Having not lived in other states while homeschooling, I couldn't tell for other places. But that is one of the major perks- my kid isn't sweating and nervous about a test that the school uses for funding.
In fact, one of the deciding factors for me to homeschool my son was that when I mentioned to the district GT administration that I was considering homeschooling, they told me to please not homeschool because the schools needed my son's test scores.
Wow, nope, not happening pal.
Also, I don't test Ryan on almost anything. A test is to show how much you know, right? If I see that daily, why bother stressing out him or myself?
What About Socialization?
I just have to laugh every time I get this question. Homeschool doesn't mean solitary confinement. My son is very social and has more friends, invites people over more often, and is invited more places now than in school.
He talks well with adults and kids, because we go out and that is encouraged! He gets much more practice talking to people and using social skills than he did in school when he was constantly told to STOP TALKING and sit down, and don't play tag at recess, that is a liability.
Also, remind me how schools will be promoting socialization while social distancing with plastic between people or else in virtual classrooms?
How Do You Make Sure You Are Covering Everything?
You won't cover everything! But guess what- neither does public school. And the beautiful thing about homeschool is that if I realize I forgot to teach poetry, or improper fraction conversion, or The Trail of Tears, then I can just go and teach that next. Easy!
But even more importantly, if you have taught your child how to learn, and to love learning, they will not only be able to learn anything themselves, but will actively seek out knowledge.
What Do You Like Best About Homeschool?
The freedom to learn whatever we want whenever we want! My little guy and I have so much fun learning about anything and everything. The world is fascinating, and I don't want him to learn about it second hand through a pack of worksheets designed to keep him busy.
I want him to ask all the questions! I want him to be an active participant in his education! And guess what- I really like spending time with him! Homeschooling is a blast!
