Questions I receive about Homeschooling.
So in recent weeks I have been asked this question, and a few others as well, but the question I am asked the most, "How do you homeschool?" Some of the other questions I get are; are you qualified? Do you have a set curriculum? How do you handle all that? How long do you homeschool every day?
So After a few days of pondering and thinking over how best to write this blog, I am sitting here at my desk, and I am going to answer some of the other questions first before I write on how I homeschool, because that could take awhile.
1.) Are you qualified? Nope, but I do feel I am justified.
I don't have a licence to teach and I didn't go to college to be a teacher. I don't have the pressure that teachers have to make sure the parent is happy, because I am the parent. Parent /teacher interviews are quite intriguing and most amusing. I look at my self on my FaceTime camera, and give the interview.
Ok, so in all seriousness, I may not have the education that a teacher has, but todays curriculum that you can buy for homeschooling, has guidelines, and instructions for teaching. Common sense tells me what is working and what is not. I love to teach, I truly enjoy being creative. I don't have to attend college to get creative to teach my kids. I see them every day, and get to know their weakness's and strengths as well as my own. I want my child to succeed more than any teacher out there, so I think that puts me in a place of wanting success for our homeschool.
2.) Do you follow a set curriculum? No. In Canada there are no set guidelines for sure on what curriculum you want to use in your homeschool. Mainly because the reasons people home school vary across the board, health issues, bullying, religion, and so you have a lot more freedom to what curriculum you want to use. Now, back to the last question above, I want my child to succeed. So I really try to find a curriculum that works for my girls and myself. Ontario, is fairly relaxed about curriculum, and you have lots of flexibility in choosing what you want to use. I keep in touch, with the school that my daughter previously attended to see what her grade is up to every week, and we try to keep up with that level or exceed it, and some days I know we are probably behind it, but that's ok, because we can work at the pace we need to, until we master subjects. Currently we do many subjects for all kinds of curriculum, I will write more on that in Part 2 of this blog.
3.) How do I handle it all? Well I will be honest, some days I don't...I currently have mount everest of laundry waiting to be folded, during a 2 week sickness, I got behind...and well...we have clean clothes we are just digging through laundry baskets to find what we need for the day. Some days, with lack of sleep, and winter blues, its not easy. Some days its coffee to the rescue, Some days I do wear that " I am tough" mask, and other days, like today for example, go so smoothly that you can't believe that you could feel like this. Kids did school with no complaint, they got to get outside in the first snow fall of the year, and my house, felt at peace for the most part, and it all seems worth it. Someone once told me when you homeschool, the bad days SUCK, I mean really suck, but the good days are SO AWESOME, and worth all the heart ache of the bad days for those good ones. I didn't believe it, till I started homeschooling. The good days, give you strength to keep on going, and you find your wits, and you keep trucking. One day at a time. I also am doing year to year, and if the time comes where we need to send our kids back, I will be ok with that too. It takes some serious organization to keep everything moving, but I will write more on that in a moment, but the main reason I can handle it, is because I feel called to homeschool. The struggle that my heart felt when we were deciding to pull our daughter out, was so hard. I knew that friends were her world, but school was not, even now you ask Lady Tor Tor what she misses, and it is not school, but friends. I want for her to find a love of learning. This girl has AMAZED me this year, she is constantly creating, and building, and drawing, and dreaming, singing and dancing. She is getting good a reading and writing and also at math. Miss Emi-lou, started writing her name this week on her own, with out and example in front of her. Lady A knows most of her colours and counts to 13, at 2. I am proud of what they are accomplishing. Despite my doubts and there are still plenty that this is what is best, we are gaining ground and picking up speed. I doubted God's plan for me, to homeschool. It comes with giving up a lot of personal freedoms. I get bogged down some days in routine, and math facts. But I to am learning, how to be a better mom, a better house wife....still working on the laundry things....but that will never be a strong suit for me.
4.)How much time to do homeschool in a day? I Homeschool my oldest two, age 7 and almost 4( 52 days till her birthday) and the youngest 2 are along for the ride. Lady A likes to sit at her desk and colour or do "school work". The time we spend at school varies on a good day....2 hours, on a day where schooling is not going so well we could even drag it out most of the day. But when your teaching is one on one, more then 20 mins a subject can get to be a little much for a homeschooling student. School work is more intense in the fact that they are doing it with mom, or dad sometimes, they don't have to wait up for other class members and if they understand something we fly through it, and move on to the next thing. Some days Miss Tor Tor wants to do more school, then we run with it, other days if she is feeling really tired or sick we do the basic 4 R's and call it a day.
I have a guideline schedule that we use, and helps us keep on track and get what we need to done for our weeks. I will share more in Part 2 as well.
Check out the next Blog Post to see what we are using and our schedule. :)
Blessings
Mommy AK
So After a few days of pondering and thinking over how best to write this blog, I am sitting here at my desk, and I am going to answer some of the other questions first before I write on how I homeschool, because that could take awhile.
1.) Are you qualified? Nope, but I do feel I am justified.
I don't have a licence to teach and I didn't go to college to be a teacher. I don't have the pressure that teachers have to make sure the parent is happy, because I am the parent. Parent /teacher interviews are quite intriguing and most amusing. I look at my self on my FaceTime camera, and give the interview.
Ok, so in all seriousness, I may not have the education that a teacher has, but todays curriculum that you can buy for homeschooling, has guidelines, and instructions for teaching. Common sense tells me what is working and what is not. I love to teach, I truly enjoy being creative. I don't have to attend college to get creative to teach my kids. I see them every day, and get to know their weakness's and strengths as well as my own. I want my child to succeed more than any teacher out there, so I think that puts me in a place of wanting success for our homeschool.
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| Doing school work while camping in September |
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| First snow fall of the year |
4.)How much time to do homeschool in a day? I Homeschool my oldest two, age 7 and almost 4( 52 days till her birthday) and the youngest 2 are along for the ride. Lady A likes to sit at her desk and colour or do "school work". The time we spend at school varies on a good day....2 hours, on a day where schooling is not going so well we could even drag it out most of the day. But when your teaching is one on one, more then 20 mins a subject can get to be a little much for a homeschooling student. School work is more intense in the fact that they are doing it with mom, or dad sometimes, they don't have to wait up for other class members and if they understand something we fly through it, and move on to the next thing. Some days Miss Tor Tor wants to do more school, then we run with it, other days if she is feeling really tired or sick we do the basic 4 R's and call it a day.
I have a guideline schedule that we use, and helps us keep on track and get what we need to done for our weeks. I will share more in Part 2 as well.
Check out the next Blog Post to see what we are using and our schedule. :)
Blessings
Mommy AK
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