Am I doing enough?

Are they learning enough?

Am I a good enough teacher?

Are we spending enough time schooling every day?

Are they keeping up with their public school counterparts?

Will they be made fun of if they learn something at a different pace or time?

I have seen these questions asked in some of the home school groups that I am in on facebook (I ask them of myself as well). I have also seen some great answers to these questions. One of my favorite responses was: It really depends on your description of home schooling, your idea of how home school works, the personality of you children, and how you teach. That was it, that was the response, but asking yourself those questions will help teach you what those above questions mean to you.

We are new to home schooling, but we are learning so much about ourselves every day along with learning the subjects. Public school is so rigorous and stressful. Why is that? I was in public school all my young life, I have nothing against public school, if a situation arises that I have to put my kids back into the public school system it is not something I would FREAK out about. I want to home school because I want my kids to have both more and less. What does MORE mean…… More useless knowledge forced into their little brains? More studying, working harder to get ahead, to be smarter than the smartest kid in class, to be able to brag that my kid can do something that your kid can’t….NO! 

I want more time for them to be kids. I want them to learn at their pace, to be curious and able to explore what they find interesting, to play, to imagine. I want less stress, less peer influence, less bullying, and I want their days to be less packed. I want MORE and LESS.

So how does that factor in to the questions [am I doing enough, am I enough] that I started asking myself and many others ask themselves as well. In our short time homeschooling I have realized that schooling at home is a lifestyle, not a task. We do not sit down for school for a certain amount of time and them we are done for the day. My mind is constantly looking for ways to engage or teach them something all throughout the day.

Before home school they would sometimes ask a questions and I would graze over an answer, say I don’t know hun, or just be too busy to answer. Their constant questions would sometimes get on my nerves….seriously kid I do not know how hot the sun is, you will learn that in school one day! Now my whole outlook is different. Our lives have changed. Now if they ask a question we look it up.

I feel like our lives are less stressed now and that gives us more time for learning. I don’t feel so rushed everywhere we go. Before when we would go out to dinner it always felt rushed. We need to get back home for homework, bath time, etc. Now we go to dinner and we enjoy it, and then we analyze the receipt. We talk about manners, respect, different job positions at the restaurant. If we leave 15 minutes later than we should have, pushing bedtime back 15 minutes for that particular night- oh well! If they need extra sleep in the morning they can just sleep in.

So far in our short journey I can see a change in the kids for the better. We are learning constantly. When my son asks how hot the sun is I can say “you know what buddy, I don’t know, but let’s look it up!” We found out the other day that it is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. Isn’t that amazing and crazy to think about?! Then I had to explain what a million was, and how to write it, and the learning NEVER STOPS!

So, for the questions that I am NOT so worried about keeping answered anymore:

Am I doing enough? We learn new things every day.

Are they learning enough? I found a grade level list of what should be taught to follow, pre common core, we are ticking things off the grade level list as we go.

Am I a good enough teacher? I know my kids better than anyone else, I know how they learn, I know what makes them happy, why would I even consider someone who doesn’t know my child at all could do a better job than me. I CAN LEARN so I can TEACH them HOW TO LEARN!

Are we spending enough time schooling every day? We sit down school for approximately 2 hours a day. We do Reading, Writing, and Math every day rotating Science, PE, and Sign Language throughout the week. Aside from that 2 hours of sit down we learn all day, we read at random times all day, they learn through play and imagination, and we look up any questions that they are curious to know the answer to.

Are they keeping up with the public school counterparts? As mentioned above I have a grade level guide I am going by now so we will stay pretty much on point for the grade level. BUT I am not strict with it. If my child wants to learn something that is a grade ahead we learn it. If one of them is struggling with something we spend more time on it until they FULLY grasp it.

Will they be made fun of if they learn something at a different pace or time? This I can not answer. As of now, no we have not encountered any backlash, but we are still very early in our home school journey. I would hope not, but we will cross that bridge when we get there.

The main thing we are focusing on is NOT keeping up and comparing ourselves with the Joe Smoe down the road. The kids will learn what they need to learn. We do not/will not take standardized testing until we need to for College preparation. So being vigorous and learning at a faster pace than their minds can grasp is not something we are interested in. I am NOT pushing the kids past their comfort level. I am NOT stressing them out. We are learning. Most importantly we are learning how to LEARN, because that is what it is all about. As they get older they need to have the knowledge and tools to LEARN what they want/need in their lives.

We have changed out lives to to School and Grow. It is a LIFESTYLE and it was a change pretty easy to make.

Can I just take a minute to say how much we are LOVING home school! 

It seems like everyday my 7 year old son tells me he is so happy we do school at home for one reason or another. Today was one of those days, but it was also a day that meant something to me as well. 

We overslept because I forgot to set my alarm, so the kids and I had to all be ready and out of the house in just under an hour. My youngest had a check up with our pediatrician, which just so happens to be an almost hour commute. YUCK (but the doctor is worth it!) 

My 6 and 7 year old helped each other with breakfast and then helped me get necessities gathered (diaper bag, snacks, drinks, etc) while I was rushing myself through my bathroom routine (hair and makeup in under 15 minutes). As we are loading up I tell the kids to grab school work to do in the van on our way...it is a normal occurrence if we are traveling for more than 10 minutes they bring stuff to do. 

On the way to the doctor's office my son reads two books aloud to us (which helps entertain my youngest who I am throwing fruit loops at from the driver seat) and they both accomplish 2 workbook pages. 

In the doctor's office room there is a set of rhyming flash cards- score! We sit in the floor and do those together. When the doctor walks in (have I mentioned that I seriously love our pediatrician) he says "Ahh the home school family that is always learning, with the mom who somehow finds time to do her hair while juggling it all." He then asks the kids how it is going and they both launch in and begin talking over each other to tell him all about how home school is to which he says "you are doing great mom!" Not even gonna lie, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know our pediatrician supports us.

So we move on to a store and then out to lunch. I have the kids read the menu for themselves, choose what they want, and order when the waitress comes. After we are done eating we look through the receipt and add things together. I get the cash out so we can count how much we will need to pay and the kids are so EXCITED to be involved! I had my son get the right amount of money and take it to the counter to pay and get the change. The cashier praised him for being such a little gentleman--which you could see in his eyes just gave him a self confidence boost. ----See right there folks---real life math, a lesson in manners, and it made my kids heart grow! 

On the commute back they both did a couple more workbook pages and watched Word World (letter sounds and word building cartoon), and as soon as we got home they did their journal entry for the day. 

Homeschooling On The Go, Homeschooling in REAL Life, and something happened to each of us today to boost our confidence (Sis picked out a new dress for Easter and was told that she was very beautiful by the store lady). #homeschoolforthewin

We are into our 3rd month of homeschooling and I feel like we are so much more relaxed. We aren't in a constant rush and it is just....awesome (for lack of a better word). If the kids want to know something we look it up. If they want to cook/bake something we do it. We have a list of school things that need accomplished every day, which can be done all at once or throughout the day, and the rest of the time they can just be kids. Play, use their imagination, create, and be FREE from the hustle and bustle.

WE LOVE IT!

My plan for math is not working!! For our first 6 weeks I did review with the kids, reiterating that they new their addition, making simple bar graphs, comparing numbers, and my 7 year old learned some clock reading.

We are 2 weeks in to our second 6 week stint and I had chosen Moby Max. Some of the website can be accessed for free and then there is a fee for things like reports. There is a one month free trial period, which we are still in, to try the entire site. I am NOT impressed with this website for a comprehensive math curriculum resource. First of all it is Common Core aligned. It does NOT explain how to do things. My 7 year old, first grade, took the placement test and did excellent. When it was time to start lessons he did just fine for a couple of days and then it introduced something new and he didn't know what to do, unfortunately neither did I because it is common core! The Kindergarten placement test was a struggle for my 6 year old. When it was time for lessons it was all above her head and I had to sit and explain every problem. She was getting very frustrated.

WHAT DO I TEACH MY KIDS!!

I was searching for a comprehensive list and what my kids should know at each level. I was hoping for NON COMMON CORE because I just do not agree with the things that are being forced on our children.

I came across this GEM buried in some comments under a post talking about how to teach math on a home school facebook group I am a member of. When I found this I literally squealed. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! There is a multitude of learning games, websites, printable worksheets, etc. that can seriously be overwhelming. I wanted a list of what my kids should be learning at the APPROPRIATE age level at a NON COMMON CORE standard. Now that I have this list I can teach them each subject and use websites and worksheets to my/their advantage.

I hope this helps others as well. I printed every grade level list and will be keeping it safely in my home school builder in protective sheets. It is a gold mine of useful information.

Thank you to Nevada Homeschool Network for archiving this pre-common core list by World Book (their current list has changed to be common core aligned unfortunately).

I am a happy Home School Mom right now!