Half Way Through

We have made it halfway through our first year homeschooling! This has been the most difficult yet rewarding experiences. I have a WHOLE new respect for teachers. I really did not understand all that it takes to develop a lesson plan, execute it, and then recover if that plan doesn't work.

Although this has had its ups and downs, we still feel this was 100% the best choice we could have made. We have learned A LOT and have made some adjustments to how we do things. Here are some of the biggest lessons we have learned thus far:

Be flexible

When we first started, we were doing home school five days a week. We would cover math, science, reading, and social studies each day using worksheets. What we quickly noticed was this sitting at a desk doing worksheets was not her learning style…it was mine. She is a kinesthetic learner. She needs to be doing something to stay engaged.

We ended up kicking the worksheets out and Rod comes up with interesting ways to learn the skill we need to learn for that day.

What does this look like?

Miss Ma’am loves music. Listening, dancing, singing, she’s a creative at heart. So, to practice counting by 10, Rod beat boxes while Anaya counts on beat. Yes, it’s as cute as it sounds.

Homeschool is not school at home

One of our biggest mistakes was trying to replicate school at home. We had PowerPoints, her day was structured by the minute, she sat at a desk. We were recreating an environment that she wasn't thriving in.

Now does that mean we let her run wild? Absolutely not.

I'm still me lol.

There's a routine. She wakes up, she eats breakfast, she washes her face and brushes her teeth, and they start homeschool. But there's room for flexibility

Does she have to sit at a desk? Nope.

Does she have to do worksheets? Nope

Do we HAVE to finish the lesson that day/at that time? Nope

Can she take breaks? Yes

Does she get an opinion on what she learns? Yes

Home school is whatever we need it to be. Sometimes math lessons look like her helping me meal prep and adding and subtracting the eggs while I scramble.

Sometimes reading lessons is her reading song titles while we drive in the car (make sure that playlist is child appropriate. Learn from my mistakes). Sometimes science lessons are trips to the zoo. Home school can be whatever we want it to be because we are the teachers, the principal, and the school district.

Celebrate the wins.

We are constantly wondering if what we're doing enough. Is she learning enough? Is she behind other kids? Is she missing something?

And then she will read a book, or I look up and she's doing math problems on the white board for fun, or she will ASK to do science experiments and we know we're doing okay.

We love her and we will sacrifice whatever needs to be sacrificed to give her the best environment for her to learn and thrive in in a way that is safe and supportive of her. If that means she returns to traditional school later on, then we will do that. But for now, home is her the school's at.