How To - - -

Homeschooling STARTS When You STOP Caring What Others Think

December 21, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

When I was in homeschool leadership, I was told I dressed up too much. It was like passive aggressive compliments. Caring what they thought, I started dressing like I thought they wanted me to do. What is ironic is that I’m not really a person who cares much about what other people think. However, deep down, I am a person who likes drama free leadership. Looking back, caring what they thought was my part (or so I thought) in keeping our group drama free. But, what I actually learned from my homeschool fashion faux pas was that homeschooling really starts when you stop caring what others think.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m no fashionista for sure.

I am a girl who loves makeup, big jewelry, and clothes that mix and match.

I’ve always loved a chance to not wear my sweat pants as a homeschool mom. Instead of dressing like myself, I dressed to please others and felt frumpy.

At some homeschool events, I tried to paste on a happy smile, but I was miserable when I started wearing things that didn’t really express the kind of person I was.

Letting go of the worry about what other leaders would think as they showed up in sweat pants helped me to see that the way they wanted to look was their choice.

I wasn’t judging them or even being critical of what made them feel good, but at the same time I couldn’t let go of who I was either.

I learned that it wasn’t really about fashion when I showed up for leadership.It was about being myself even in how I homeschooled and not changing because others had a set way of doing things.

When Homeschooling Really Starts

Look at these 3 valuable tips to help you stop caring what others think.

ONE/Know your own teaching heart and style.

This is where I failed.

I knew I loved to teach. Instead of focusing on drawing up what was inside, I cared about things that didn’t really matter.

What is more attractive is knowing exactly the person you are and what you want to teach.

When I took a moment to analyze how the other leaders were showing up at events, I needed to not make it my business.

Showing up in sweats did not made my feel dynamic.

TWO/ It does mean you have to respect others.

A lot of the way some homeschoolers acted in our group wasn’t something I cared for either.

After all the hard work done by leaders, some homeschool moms were determined to not respect a different way of doing things.

What I learned was that not caring about what others think as I honed my teaching style, choose my homeschool approach, and curriculum didn’t mean I couldn’t respect their choices.

I know that as a homeschooler we are pretty opinionated people and I can admit that.

Having my strong opinion about how to homeschool my kids didn’t mean I couldn’t respect another homeschooler’s opinion even if it was different than mine.

THREE/ Talk with a close homeschooling friend who really knows you.

One of the best things I did was to talk to a close homeschooling friend who knows me inside out.

When I was struggling in my leadership group with dressing in a way that didn’t make me feel good inside, it was because deep down I don’t like drama in a group.

Talking to a friend who helped me to see that I can’t control what others think, helped me to focus on not worrying about what if drama occurs.

It bothered me too because when I get dressed up it’s part of what makes me feel good down inside.

My closest homeschooling friend helped me to appreciate that it’s also unhealthy to not be who I am and what makes me light up.

I love sweats and putting my hair up, but a lot of times those are moments (to me) that are for private. I don’t go out in public looking like that.

My homeschooling style is similar.

We have a certain routine or formality that runs our day because it makes our homeschooling dynamic.

I did have a homeschool room when the kids were little and set it up a lot like a school room. We loved going in our room each day and I loved how organized it was.

Also, in the privacy of our home we wear our pjs and sweats too. Just like we have a very relaxed and informal learning time each day.For many years now I dress to make me happy as I attend or lead homeschool events. The same way I run my homeschool. And just like when I got sidetracked in my leadership roles and dressed in a frumpy way that didn’t please, I’ve made the same mistakes when homeschooling.

I’ve chosen curriculum that I’ve had to dump because it didn’t fit our homeschooling lifestyle. It’s so easy to forget who you are in the world of homeschooling.

I won’t ever let it happen again.

Have you made some of the same mistakes?

I think you’ll also like these tips!

Hugs and love ya,

The Dos & Don’ts When You Hit A Learning Plateau in Homeschooling

December 10, 2017 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The stages of learning can be like the ocean. It can be churning and grinding and you can ride high on the swells and then it can dip down low and almost be motionless.

When You Hit A Learning Plateau in Homeschooling

Everybody at one time or another rides those waves of learning. Surviving the wild ride though can be quite another thing.

Also, it can be hard to know if the rest of your children are on target because you may only have the experience of your oldest child, which may not have struggled much with any subjects.

If you plow ahead with the curriculum like something is wrong with your child instead of the curriculum or the skill that is being taught, then you might be banging your head against a wall.

Believe me, I have done it and not only does it zap you of energy, but tears normally follow.

Here are some things that have worked not only for my boys, but also for others that I have helped.

Are You Making these Mistakes When You Hit a Homeschool Learning Plateau? The stages of learning can be like the ocean. It can be churning and grinding and you can ride high on the swells and then it can dip down low and almost be motionless. Click here to grab some tried and true tips!

4 Short Cuts to Overcoming Learning Plateaus in Homeschooling

Do stop. You may think that this is easy to do, but not when you feel like your kids are already behind. The reason to stop is to re-evaluate so that you can make progress. It’s hard to remember, but stay honed in on the goal that you want your children to learn instead of completing assigned work.
Do communicate with your child. Don’t try to figure this out by yourself. If your child can talk and explain his feelings, then he should be able to tell you how he feels. No, you are not looking for him to figure out the problem, that is your job. Let him express how this skill or subject makes him feel. From the youngest child to the teen, all they want is to know we are listening. Listen not just with your ears, but with your heart. Listen for key words that tell you if he is frustrated. If he is, this could mean that he is not developmental ready for the material. Too, this may give you a clue that it may be that nasty old word: rebellion. Your child may not be hitting a learning plateau at all, but might be heading toward being a learning rebel. More times than not though, my experience has been that it is a learning plateau.
Do take advantage of free online tests or consultations. Children just need time at certain stages in their life and learning to marinate a little longer with subjects. So going back over what they know does not make them get behind, but actually they become masters of learning. For example, when teaching a child how to read, don’t move them on to the next level book if they struggle with each page at the current level. Move them down a notch to a book they have mastered and it will boost confidence, instill a love for reading, and give them a real can do attitude. Too, it allows them to stay at that skill level until they are ready for the next skill. Also, most homeschool friendly companies are very parent friendly and they know best how their curriculum should be used. Call them and convey your concerns. Give them a chance to give you a tip or two.

Vary the routine or approach. This seems to be the biggest hurdle to overcoming a learning plateau. One year, Mr. Awesome was struggling with grammar and vocabulary. I realized that he wasn’t understanding it when reading on his own. Even though we discussed it orally, he didn’t get it when he did the practice problems. It was hard to determine if we were on target or if he needed to go down a level. I started doing the whole lesson orally and he got past the plateau. At that time, he learned better by still interacting with me. We were able to go ahead with it, but I had to change what I was doing because he understood it better by using his auditory skills and hands-on index cards. I made it fun by using index cards to stick all over him to help him remember words. We took what could have been something we both were frustrated with and turned it into fun and something memorable. I value the look on his face and the fun he has had because that is what has spurred us on now into his high school years.
Don’t compare children. And, I don’t mean just within your family.That is something as home educators we almost never try to do in our own home, but then we look at other families’ children and try to go there. It never works. For example, I have seen some kids who are very knowledgeable on rocks, or caves, or dinosaurs, but then another child who hardly mentions the words in their school. What are we to surmise? That one child is ahead and the other child is behind. A huge No! Homeschoolers are as unique as each of your children and the truth of it is that many homeschoolers can go through their whole journey and never do an in depth study of rocks, caves or dinosaurs. Children do not need to learn the same in depth level on each subject. This is a true gem in homeschooling because we don’t produce miniature robots of each other. Find out what you want YOUR child to know from this skill or subject and move on or stay on it.

If you have to stay on a skill or level or even return weeks or months later to it, count your blessings that you have the freedom to do so.

Like the ocean, learning has an ebb and flow and you will not always be moving forward.

Sometimes you just have to float gently along and take in the sites. When you do, try to remember that floating along is still forward movement, even in baby steps. That is progress.

Have you hit a learning plateau yet? What do you do?

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Online Homeschool Curriculum (Psst! Don’t Miss Black Friday!)

November 21, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

I’m PROUD to partner with Time4Learning. However, Time4Learning did not pay for this post. All opinions of any curriculum are always mine, but I wanted you to know that I’m proud to have Time4Learning as a sponsor.

In the past 10 years, it seems like online homeschool curriculum has popped up and taken over the homeschool market.

We’ve never had so many choices in choosing online homeschool curriculum as we do now.

When I chose to use Time4Learning, I had a lens through which I chose online curriculum and it worked.

ONLINE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM THAT ROCKS

Sharing 3 ways to choose the best online homeschool curriculum, I want you to look past all the blinking beacons on websites and look at these tried and true tips.

One/ Flexibility. Don’t underestimate the value of it.

One of the reasons I started homeschooling was to decide when and how my kids would learn.

During my homeschool journey, I’ve experienced many exhilarating planned adventures like living overseas in South America and trekking the Amazon Rain Forest and many unplanned sad and stressful times like time spent in the ICU as my husband recovered.

I needed laid out lesson plans and I needed a variety of grade levels to choose from. It’s why I chose Time4Learning.

I don’t want to have to check in with a teacher like an online school.

I simply did not need the stress of answering to the schedule of another person.

Second/ Curriculum on the go.

Until I moved overseas, I didn’t appreciate the value of curriculum on the go.

When I learned that we could take only two suitcases each for our move overseas, I almost passed out.

My shoes (ha) wouldn’t fit in two suitcases let alone our homeschooling books.

Oh sure. We could have paid thousands of dollars to ship my physical curriculum or I could look for a PreK to 12th grade curriculum to cover multiple grades. That’s another reason I love Time4Learning.

You simply sign up and sign in each day and follow a routine set up for you.

**Third/ Know the difference between choosing online curriculum and an online school.**

When you first start homeschooling, you may think you want an online school.

Soon, you realize that it’s just public school at home. Look at my tips The Great Homeschool Hoax – Public School At Home.

You move to another phase of your journey, the one you stay at longer and learn then what you really need is curriculum help and not an online school.

For me, what I really wanted was NOT another school telling me what to do, but homeschool curriculum laid out in an easy way for me to use.

That is one BIG reason I love, love Time4Learning. It’s not a school but curriculum.

It’s not like those online schools designed to stress you out because they want your kids to test, meet with you in a parent/teacher conference, and dictate what my kids should learn.

I’ll decide if I need that for my kids since I’m the one with them each day.

There are many online schools, but not many all online homeschool curriculum providers for Prek to 12th grade that have been around for a long time and understand homeschoolers. Because Time4Learning is not public school at home, it’s not offered to public schools.

It’s just what it says, online homeschool curriculum that does not bring public school to home just because you chose online homeschool curriculum, but supports you when you need help.

You’ll love how easy Time4Learning makes it for you to teach and guess what?

You can try them out because for Black Friday they have a super nifty deal. It’s a BOGO. Buy one month, get the 2nd free!

HURRY- BOGO November 24 to 27 or Mark Your Calendar

Have you tried Time4Learning? What do you like best about online homeschool curriculum?

Also, look at these other super helpful tips.

Hugs and love ya,

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

November 12, 2017 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

By the time you reach the high school years, you have some general ideas of how to plan them. Check out my how to homeschool high school page for awesome tips.

Today, in sharing homeschooling high school, I’m giving you a few detailed pointers for curriculum, credits, and courses to steer you in the right direction.

Homeschooling High School: Curriculum, Credits, and Courses

First, look at 3 things I wished I would’ve known before I started.

ONE/ In the beginning, it’s not necessary to plan all four years.

It’s just not necessary because a lot will change. Your teen will mature and may change the direction of his education or career as he approaches adulthood. Give him some wiggle room.

Have a plan so you can give your teen goals, but analyze each year. Having a framework of courses is much better.

HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM AND COURSES

I appreciated reading How to Homeschool 9th and 10th Grades: Simple Steps for Starting Strong to help me stay focused on the start of high school.

Home Learning Year by Year: How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School was a book I read early on.

After reading it, I designed a framework and understood that the three Rs are the foundation of any well-laid out high school course.

Look where I share the nitty gritty of that here in my post Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 1 and Homeschool High School The Must Cover Subjects Part 2.

Two/ Also, I wished I would have used middle school to help my first high school teen explore more subjects he wanted to.

With my second high school son, I was prepared to let him explore more elective type courses in middle school and getting some of the basic math out of the way.

Middle school gives a budding teen time to explore subjects he is interested in. Take advantage of this time to have some fun.

THREE/ Additionally, I didn’t learn until later was to explore more career options and not just focus on academics. After all, your kid is not attending college for life. It’s preparation for life and a career. (well hopefully).

Careers matter and high school is the time to explore careers.

Reading Career Exploration: for homeschool high school students and What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens, Third Edition: Discover Yourself, Design Your Future, and Plan for Your Dream Job are two books that are real helpful for your teen.

EXPLORING HIGH SCHOOL COURSES

Something else I didn’t appreciate with my first high school teen is the power to be flexible with courses and course descriptions.

I couldn’t think past simply putting English, Math or Science on my first transcript.

Looking back, I know when preparing transcripts that you want to follow some traditional guidelines and keep general course names on the transcript. So those general descriptions were correct.

However, I need to describe the courses specifically.

Just to illustrate, I put Performing Arts on my first two boys’ transcript.

My older two boys took ballroom dancing, but Performing Arts is the general description to put on the transcript.

I had to come up with a description of ballroom dancing and I started by looking first at the website where my boys took lessons to give me an idea of how to word what they learned.

I put this:

This beginner course is an introduction to the fundamentals of basic dance. In each dance class, students will be expected to participate in warm-ups and learn the techniques of the Waltz and other traditional dances like the Mambo, Salsa and Swing. Along with learning choreography and dance history, this course culminates in a Spring concert performance.

It wasn’t bad for my first description, but like anything that is a first, it wasn’t exactly comprehensive or correct in a sense.

Since then, I learned that I needed to add my grading scale, what books we used, and how I was going to assign credit.

It’s harder to go back and add these things later, but not impossible.

The bottom line is to keep the course name on the transcript general and make your course descriptive detailed on a separate page to produce it if needed.

EASILY WRITING COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Arranging wording to describe your teen course takes practice, but look at these places to help you.

An obvious place to is the website where you purchased the curriculum and I find the descriptions super helpful in my course descriptions.
In addition, also look at high school course names and descriptions on public school websites. I look for course descriptions similar to the courses that my sons will be doing. This usually gives me some wording
Another place I’ve found descriptions in a nutshell is on Amazon. Amazon is great for giving book descriptions and with a few tweaks of adding how I assign credits and grades, a book description can easily turn course description.
Too, when I didn’t feel like I got a good overview of a course because some descriptions lacked, I would glance at the table of contents to help me word the description of the course.

HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT CONUNDRUM

It can be overwhelming for even the most organized teen and parent when understanding credits, but I like to keep things simple.

It’s been my experience that some families assign a 30 minute class the equal of a 45 minute class because of the intensity of homeschooling and give the student one credit for a rigorous course like literature or math.

You decide how to gauge your credits and the work ethic of your student.

In addition, you decide to give credit if a curriculum is 70% or 80% complete. Some homeschoolers give credit if it’s 80% complete, others less.

Look at my detailed post here for Homeschool High School–How to Log Hours for High School. It gives a detailed explanation for credits.

Also, I have free forms and show you how to expand the use of a transcript here at my detailed post Homeschool High School Transcripts – Anything But Typical.

You and I know that there is no one right to plan high school. But breaking high school down into manageable chunks keeps the process from being overwhelming.

Begin with a framework of the three Rs in high school, fold in accurate course descriptions as you can, be flexible, keep reading about how to grade and assign credit.

Before you know it, you’ll be a pro for your child – which is what really matters.

You will also love my other tips I have for homeschooling high school below:

Homeschooling High School Curriculum, Credits, and Courses @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus. In sharing homeschooling high school, I'm giving you a few detailed pointers for curriculum, credits, and courses to steer you in the right direction. Click here to grab these super detailed helpful pointers!

Homeschooling High School Curriculum, Credits, and Courses @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Hugs and love ya. You got this!

Homeschooling Stubborn Teens: Not for the Faint of Heart

November 8, 2017 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

While homeschooling through the years we confront with dogged determination many scenarios which makes us weak at the knees or makes our heart skip a beat. But, nothing comes even close to the enemy in our own midst – our sweet child turned stubborn, unmotivated, and seemingly lazy teen. Homeschooling stubborn teens is not for the faint of heart.

I’ve learned that although it’s easier to blame my teens for everything that went wrong, I too had to learn how to parent differently. As each of my sons reached the teen years, I’ve had to become more resourceful and creative in how I homeschool them.

Avoiding drama in your house is not all together impossible, but you can curb it and cope with it by learning from my mistakes.

3 PARENTING TECHNIQUES FOR HOMESCHOOLING STUBBORN TEENS

Whether your teen has been homeschooled from the beginning, came willing to homeschool after many years in public school or had no choice, he wants choices now.

One/ Focus on the teen, not the school.

However, before you can get to choices, the number one mistake made by many homeschooling families is to focus on homeschool. Yep, wrong focus right now.

The teacher in us is ready to go, but the mom in us should lead right now. Problems, whether academic or developmental, signal something is wrong.

Although a teen can now vocalize that he hates math or writing and is seen as unmotivated, that’s only the result of what is going on inside.

Before assuming it’s a lack of motivation, step back, and deschool. You can’t move forward until you and your teen are both ready.

Coming into adulthood takes a toll daily on your teen and he needs you now more than ever.

Two/ Deschool now before it’s too late.

Look at ways you can step back, deschool, and focus. Move forward by stepping back instead of butting heads:

If he hates math, ask him which subjects he does like. Use that knowledge to plan a routine. For example, get the worst subjects out of the way at his peak time and in a place he chooses. Explain to him that he can make those choices, however, if he is not doing his math because he decided to lie down on his bed, then it’ll have to change. I had one son that just because he could sit on his bed, he was in the right mindset to do math which was a subject he hated. He did well and eventually later in high school, he moved to the table. Give him some choice. BUT, first take time to not do school while you question him (few questions in the beginning) about subjects he likes and doesn’t like. Help him to make a routine for the day he loves while satisfying your requirements.
Next, do something he wants to do. For us, it was skateboarding, bicycling and watching movies. I told my teens to not do school for a few days while they played. My teens praised me as the best homeschooling mom ever (ha, but I had a motive). Like all smart moms who want their sons to do well in academics, I knew that they had to see first that I was reasonable. After they played for a few days and I could see it winding down, I discussed with each one how to work in what they liked doing while balancing their academic load. It worked. They knew I was reasonable, but had expectations. Including them in the discussion gave them the control they wanted.
Focus on when the rebellion occurs. For example, I knew our problem was an over scheduling problem with one of my teens. The rest of the day he was pretty compliant barring a few bad moods. Over all, the sulking and back talking happened only during school. Stepping back and allowing my teen to rest gave me time to understand how many credits I wanted for middle or high school teen. I reworked his schedule. However, if your teen is complaining pretty much the whole day, then it’s a parenting or rebellious issue and homeschooling is getting a bum rap.

Three/ Over ambitious homeschooling can backfire.

It’s easy to say when your child is five or six years old what he will and will not do as a teen, but it’s quite a different thing scheduling for him at 15 or 16 years old.

While it may be true that a teen doesn’t have to love learning because work places or colleges don’t care if he does, it never worked when I told them that.

I’ve never made progress with my sons when I vented and I normally had nothing helpful to say when I lost it.

Pushing my sons to do college courses early while in high school, having them take jobs too early, and do heavier maths because they were hardworking could’ve backfired.

Stepping back to reaffirm that heart schooling was just as important as academics helped me to solidify the fact that homeschooling is a lifestyle. I want my sons to homeschool their sons because I believe it’s the best way to teach a child.

HOMESCHOOLING TEENS WITH THE FUTURE IN MIND

Homeschooling with a future generation in mind helped me realize that I wholeheartedly believe learning is a privilege.

Curbing my desire to sock it to my boys with their academic load while being teens helped us to not only lap up the precious teen years, but love every minute of it.

Sometimes the solution to a problem was to just stop. And remembering each teen is different helped me to see problems from each kid’s perspective. Can you relate?

What kind of problems are you trying to overcome with your teen?

When your teens are grown and look back at how you didn’t give up on them, all of the hard times will be memories. You’ll only see the beautiful man or woman thanking you. Your knees will then be weak for another reason – overwhelming happy emotion.

Also, you’ll find these other articles super helpful. Don’t give up now. You’re almost there.

Hugs and love ya,

How To - - -

Homeschooling STARTS When You STOP Caring What Others Think

When Homeschooling Really Starts

The Dos & Don’ts When You Hit A Learning Plateau in Homeschooling

When You Hit A Learning Plateau in Homeschooling

4 Short Cuts to Overcoming Learning Plateaus in Homeschooling

3 Ways to Choose the BEST Online Homeschool Curriculum (Psst! Don’t Miss Black Friday!)

ONLINE HOMESCHOOL CURRICULUM THAT ROCKS