When You Want to Quit Homeschooling (Part 5 of 5)

/
When You Want to Quit Homeschooling (Part 5 of 5)

In part 5, we wind up this series ask the big question that brought you here:

SHOULD I quit homeschooling?

I’m going to be brave. I’m going to say the thing that feels almost forbidden in the homeschool community. There’s one option we’ve yet to address in this series, so I want to say it here:

You can stop homeschooling.

There! I said it! You can put your children into public or private school—or whatever suits your family’s needs best during this season (however long that may be). The Homeschool Police will not come and arrest you. (I’m pretty confident they don’t actually exist!)

Read More

When You Want to Quit Homeschooling (Part 4 of 5)

/
When You Want to Quit Homeschooling (Part 4 of 5)

Here we are! We are almost finished! This has been a long series, but rightfully so. The idea of drastically altering how you approach education for your children is no small matter. We are now on the final "question" of this series, question 3. There are worksheets (FREE) in the Practical Joy Resource library to add significant depth to this exploration. You definitely, definitely want those. Grab the workbook from the Resource Library here. 

Question 3: Should I just take a break from homeschooling? Will that fix whatever the problem is? 

I want to explore a few different aspects of this question, but I want to assert up front that there is not a right or wrong answer. As has been the case in every portion of this series, what's right for YOU and your family, your season, your child, will not be the right answer for everyone else. This is a journey of finding YOUR place in homeschooling and being certain that it truly is best for everyone involved. 

Read More

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Math-U-See {Even through High School!}

/
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Math-U-See {Even through High School!}

I’m so excited to share this review with you! This is the ONE curriculum that I have never once been tempted to stop using! I tend to get my head turned by shiny, new homeschool curriculum. It’s so much fun to try new things, and there are always new products coming out that I can’t wait to check out. But not when it comes to math.

When I first started homeschooling, one of my mentors gave me some great advice. I was sharing with her how I worried that I wouldn’t be able to give my kids a strong math education because I had struggled so much with math in school. Her advice was to find a program that had a good reputation, that suited my teaching style, and that my kids didn’t hate, and then stick with it all the way through. Her reasoning was that the best way to avoid gaps in math knowledge is to use one program from beginning to end...

Read More

How to Homeschool Preschool {with no regrets!}

/
How to Homeschool Preschool {with no regrets!}

There's nothing as delightful (and challenging!) as educating our little ones at home. Some of us homeschool preschool and intend to be "long haul" homeschoolers. Others may plan to send their child to school later, but want to make the most of their days with their sweet babes. As a Mama of four with two toddlers underfoot, I've had some experience in preschool and "toddler school." I've made many mistakes, but I've also learned some valuable lessons that help me approach educating my two little ones with a "no regrets" mentality.

Here are five tips to approach those early years that you won't regret!

Read More

How I Taught My Profoundly Dyslexic Daughter to Read {on Grade Level}- FREE Worksheet Available

/
How I Taught My Profoundly Dyslexic Daughter to Read {on Grade Level}- FREE Worksheet Available

here's little that strikes more fear into a homeschool mom's heart than the idea of teaching her child to read. It seems that every aspect of their child's future success is hinged upon this necessary, often ominous, skill. I know some homeschool parents that send their children to school for kindergarten and first grade, just to skip the stress of it! So, for a new homeschool mom to be greeted with a child whom she is doing everything "by the book" for and nothing seems to be sticking... well, it honestly feels like their deepest fears of inadequacy are coming to fruition.

You can feel like you must be the biggest homeschool failure in the world when you've been working diligently to teach your child phonics for over a year, and they still know less than a handful of sounds. You can be certain you've ruined your child's future when they are 7, and despite working to identify letter NAMES since they were 4, they still visibly struggle to name each letter. You can feel like pulling your hair out when your child sounds out CCCCC-AAAAAA-TTTTTT on one page, then sees it again 8 more times in the SAME book (seconds apart) and STILL has to sound it out like she's never seen the word in her life every single time. You can get seriously ready to quit homeschooling altogether (I certainly know this).

Read More

3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 3}

/
3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 3}

In part 1 and part 2 of this series (definitely go back and read those first if you haven't) we tackled the big question of evaluating our REASON for homeschooling in the first place and then used some worksheets to curate a homeschool vision. 

Our big question # 2 is this: Are you being REALISTIC with your expectations for homeschooling based on your personality, the abilities of your child, the availability of your husband, and the number of hours in the day? In other words, are your expectations appropriate or even reasonable?

Hear me first on this, mama: When you homeschool, you are NOT a "stay at home mom". You are a work from home mom. You are a TEACHER who works at home- degree or not. You are wholly responsible for your child's education (which is BOTH terrifying and a huge honor.) 

Read More

3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 2}

/
3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 2}

{This is part 2 of a 5 post series, so if you're just finding this, hop back over here to read the introduction to this challenging topic.}

If you're reading this (and I hope you read part 1 first), it's probably because you're a homeschooling mom who is COMPLETELY burned out. You can no longer see the purpose in why you are doing this. You can no longer see the value in working SO hard, when other people don't- and they're kids turn out ok... right? I mean, YOU probably weren't homeschooled, and you turned out just awesome! So WHY do something that's just so stinking hard that leaves you questioning your sanity and constantly fretting over your child's future and your relationship with your child?  

So, let's gain some perspective first before you call it quits completely and have the kids waiting on the bus on Monday!

Read More

3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 1}

/
3 Questions to Ask When You Want to Quit Homeschooling {Part 1}

Anyone who has ever homeschooled for more than a day knows it, and anyone who has only a few semesters under her belt can testify: quitting can be a nagging desire in certain seasons. We can feel doubtful, overwhelmed, incompetent, and stretched to a breaking point. We can worry that we are ruining our children's futures or damaging our relationships. 

This 5 part series is for those who are having more difficult days than they'd like and are considering throwing in the towel. Why 5 parts? Because it's that big of a deal. 

How do I know? I've been there. I've quit.

Read More

2013-2014 Curriculum Picks + Schedule {1st + 4th Grades}

/
2013-2014 Curriculum Picks + Schedule {1st + 4th Grades}

Welcome to a brief overview of our curriculum picks for 1st and 4th grade! Plus a little look into our overall day and planned schedule for 2013-2014. 

After the minor setback of having Kali wake up with a fever this morning, we were off to a decent start. I didn't take any "first day of school" pictures this morning with her feeling so poorly, but I took a few snapshots of our day...

Read More

A Day in the Life {A Valentine's Homeschool Day}

/
A Day in the Life {A Valentine's Homeschool Day}

I stayed up WAY too late last night playing with my camera my hubby got me for my birthday... trying to brave the world of manual mode. I found some great little cheat sheets online. So today I became hardcore mom-parrazi and had a camera stuck in my children's face from morning to night. 

A couple of "points" I'd like to make... YES, my children do brush their hair lol. They showered and jumped right into hard-core crafting so they never combed it. YES, that's a halloween costume she is wearing (Vampira). Yes, I do dust my furniture despite what appears in these photographs. And YES my daughter taught herself how to knit today via a YouTube video (and yes, I unabashedly bragged on her!)

Read More