4 In Homeschooling

8 Things Homeschooling Moms Need To Know

When my oldest was entering 3rd grade we pulled our kids out of public school and decided to homeschool. I knew absolutely nothing about it. Thankfully, we live in a community with plenty of homeschoolers and veteran homeschool moms who gave me all kinds of juicy advice, and now I’m here to share them with you. These are 8 essential things that all homeschooling moms need to know, and I know they will bless you on your homeschooling journey.

 

 

8 Things Homeschooling Moms Need to Know

 

  • Relax

You don’t have to keep up with the public school- or anyone else for that matter. Relax, make it fun, and enjoy your time with your kids.

  • You Don’t Have To Do It All

We women are notorious for trying to do it all. It’s okay if your house doesn’t look like a Better Homes and Garden magazine. It’s okay if your kids have cereal for breakfast (and maybe supper sometimes).

You also don’t have to do every single subject everyday. Do the most important subjects and loop through the rest. If you don’t know what looping is, it’s basically a fancy word for making a list and getting through it by the end of a set time period.

  • Get Organized

Start with a homeschool planner and plan out your days, weeks, and whole year. Make a place for everything and put everything in it’s place. This will save you running around trying to find books and supplies when you need them.

  • You Don’t Have to Have That Expensive Curriculum

There’s just something about receiving a box full of curriculum in the mail, opening it up, and pulling out that shiny new curriculum. We all like it, but we don’t need it.

We can do so much with quality living books, copywork, and dictation.

If you have to have your favorite curriculum, you can get it used on many different sites or Facebook groups that sell used homeschool curriculum. There are other ways to save money on curriculum as well.

 

  • You Will Encounter Homeschool Critics

Homeschooling is becoming more accepted as more and more families choose to homeschool, but homeschooling still has a stigma attached to it.

It may come from some random stranger at the grocery store or someone in your family. There are still homeschooling critics out there and you need to know how you’re going to respond to them.

I suggest responding with grace and love and later pray for that person’s heart to be softened.

  • Read to Your Kids

The benefits of reading to your kids are too many to count. One great way to get your read alouds in is to do a morning book basket. This method is as simple as it sounds. Place your favorite books in a basket and spend time reading them first thing in the morning.

  • It Gets Easier

Sometimes homeschooling can be hard, especially when you are a new homeschooler. It gets easier. As time goes on, your family comes to know what to expect, you get a routine that works, and you find out what you need and don’t need.

As with anything, the more we do something the more confidence we gain. Homeschooling is no different.

  • Homeschooling Has Pros and Cons

Homeschooling is great. It has been such a blessing to my family; but as much as we love it, there are also drawbacks.

Some pros of homeschooling…

  • Family time
  • Sibling connections
  • Independence
  • Extra leisure/hobby time for the family
  • Customize your child’s learning
  • Self-paced learning
  • You get to learn right along side your kids
  • Kids learn responsibility
  • Kids learn how to learn
  • Kids learn life skills right along with their book learning
  • Your littles learn so much just by listening in
  • The big kids can teach your littles
  • No school bullies
  • Positive socialization
  • You are the primary influence in your child’s life

Some Cons of Homeschooling…

  • You’re together all the time
  • Sibling squabbling because your together all the time
  • Everyone blames you if your kid can’t spell, read, or do a difficult quadratic equation
  • Do the kids really have to eat three times a day?
  • Laundry. Clothing is overrated right?
  • The house doesn’t clean itself (but this is where the life skills part comes in handy)
  • You learn how very little you learned in school and how you wasted all those years goofing off
  • The littles want to do school with you and not their crummy older sister

 

Of all the things homeschooling moms need to know, the #1 thing to know and remember is that your kids love you unconditionally and they’re very forgiving and resilient. They aren’t going to remember the mistakes you make today. What they will remember is the fun you had and the experiences you experienced together.

Blessings,

Rebecca

 

Hi, I’m Rebecca. I’m a wife to a cowboy, homeschool mom of 4, and faithful yet flawed follower of Christ. I spend my days homeschooling my 4 little ones, helping my husband on the ranch, and blogging at Homeschool on the Ranch. I love encouraging fellow moms in their homeschool journey and helping them to be the woman God has called them to be. Follow me on FacebookPinterestInstagram, and Twitter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Candice
    September 5, 2018 at 9:27 am

    What a great post! This comes at such a wonderful time for me since we just started our 4th week of Kindergarten with our oldest. We did pre-k at home last year, but this year definitely feels more like “ok, we HAVE to do ‘school’ today”. But I do need to relax a bit. Both my husband and I went to public school and he is currently a public school educator, so this is all very new to us! Thanks for the encouragement!

    • Reply
      Rebecca | Homeschool on the Ranch
      September 9, 2018 at 11:58 am

      Hi Candice,
      I’m homeschooling my first kindergartner this year! (Our 2 oldest went to kindergarten at public school) I’m having a hard time getting into the routine with her of “we have to do school”. She has to remind me sometimes! I’m so used to just teaching our older kids.
      I had a hard time breaking from the public school mold and just relaxing with our kids. One thing that encouraged me tremendously was listening to Julie Boggart on YouTube. I think she has a podcast too. She’s amazing at dishing out great homeschool encouragement and telling you to relax. 🙂 Good luck with the kindergarten

  • Reply
    Mommy & Mia Homeschool Chronicles
    September 5, 2018 at 9:32 am

    You touched on a lot of great points. As a homeschooling mom I agree with a lot of what you shared. I appreciate you listing the pros and cons of homeschooling.

  • Reply
    Amanda Bradley
    September 5, 2018 at 8:49 pm

    Wow! Great post! My oldest is 7 and in public school and I honestly don’t know very much about homeschooling. I’m not at a point in my life where I’m considering homeschooling but this post is so encouraging and makes it attainable! So much value for those who do homeschool! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂

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