We have just finished our third month of homeschooling and are moving into the fourth. The time has flown by! We have our good days and bad, but overall, I would say that homeschooling has been a success for us.
One of the biggest challenges we have faced when it comes to homeschooling might just be the teacher! I’ve found that it is often hard to keep to the schedule we have set for ourselves when it comes to school. A phone call from a friend inviting us to the park is all too tempting, or an unwilling student can make this teacher not want to even bother will schooling for that day. It is all too easy to say, “well, since we are homeschooling, we can do it later in the day or tomorrow” or whatever other excuse I can think of. Thankfully, we have not had many of those days because I know if I give in once, it will soon turn into twice, thrice, and so on. Homeschooling has definitely been a blessing for us, but it has not given us the strict schedule I thought it would.
We have also been fortunate enough to be apart of New Song Christian Academy, which is a supplemental school for homeschooling families. I have taken on the responsibility to teach 1st grade there, and my son attends K5 there. We go on Tuesdays and Thursdays and spend the day learning mostly Spanish, science, and history. We also include some art activities, as well as reviewing math and language arts skills already being taught at home. This has served us well as we get some time away from each other, and my son gets some classroom experience as well.
As for now, we are not sure about the future. Will we choose to homeschool again next year? I’m not sure I can answer that question just yet. But what I can tell you is that it is a delight to hear my son read a sentence or sound out a new word and know that I am the one who has guided him through this learning process. I am seeing the fruit!
Need More Ideas? Many homeschoolers have enjoyed our Bible coloring pages. You can also read some tips for effective teaching.