Today is day 1: Learn the Lingo of the homeschool world in the free 31 Day Free Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers.
Congratulations on your new beginnings as a new homeschooler. It’s an exciting journey for sure. I wrote this series well over 9 years ago.
Not only am I updating this free first time homeschoolers series, but I’m sharing some of the best ever homeschool resources.
For day one, I’ll be sharing why it’s important to start with how to find the information you need.
Many new homeschoolers begin their journey thinking the public school world and our homeschool world are similar.
They are not. You’ll need to know how to navigate the homeschool world.
And that begins with knowing new terms to you but that we speak everyday in the homeschooling world.
First, I want to share a story with you which will help you to appreciate that you have to have some skin in the game.
New to Homeschool
Have you ever heard the butterfly story? The short version is that a little boy runs to tenderly cut open a cocoon to help the struggling butterfly emerge.
Even though he had good intentions to assist the butterfly, the butterfly’s fragile wings never expanded.
The butterfly just walked around with a swollen body, shriveled wings and never did learn to fly.
Struggling was part of the empowerment and essential to the development of the butterfly.
As a seasoned veteran, I want to make your beginning less difficult with this 31 day free new homeschooler boot camp.
However, just like the beautiful butterfly which emerges from a struggle, your struggling with various homeschool issues will empower you.
Most people don’t want to hear that, but if you think about your parenting journey it’s similar to that. We do as much as we can to prepare for our first child.
However, nothing compares to the personal experience of raising a family.
As you emerge and face each issue, I want the topics in this series to be a soft place for you to land when you become overwhelmed.
The best way for me to do that is start from the beginning on what I feel you need to know.
Based on my many years of personally helping new homeschoolers and conducting workshops through my new bee program.
Who is Tina Robertson
But before you can appreciate how I can help you here are are a few things about me. Sure, this free new homeschooler boot camp is all about you.
However, you need to know that I’m not new to the homeschool world.
Too, I have 3 homeschooled grads. So I’m well past having my oldest kid being 10 years old.
But the best part is that what I have for you works.
Also, look at a few other things about me.
- I am the author of the book Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers: When You Don’t Know Where to Begin
And I have a detailed self-paced online homeschool Kickstarter course. It is a detailed comprehensive course for first time homeschoolers.
That is enough about me.
This new homeschoolers free boot camp is about you. I’ve not only been helping new homeschoolers in person, but here at my site for years.
Let’s dive in because I know that your questions in the beginning focus mainly on one topic and that is choosing curriculum.
Having curriculum is viewed as the hallmark of homeschooling.
And I have much to tell you on how to select it.
However, I would be doing you a great disservice if I jumped right to that topic without building in you an appreciation of the homeschooling world.
You can’t come to appreciate all the facets of the homeschooling world if you cannot communicate with us and talk the talk.
Key to extracting answers to your questions during your journey is to use and know homeschool lingo.
So, I have a gift for you. It is a printable glossary of homeschool terms.
This will get you well on your way to minimizing the struggle and maximizing your time.
Be sure to grab the download of homeschool terms you will be hearing now and from on. They will help you get on the road to homeschooling and stay on it.
Tina, We’ve just adopted a 9 year old boy from Ethiopia. He’s never had formal education. He learned the alphabet, some letter sounds and color words at the transition home. I am homeschooling him beginning in August. I need to start at Kindergarten level but the graphics in the curriculum I’ve seen is, of course, geared to 5 year olds. Do you have suggestions for finding curriculum that would be suitable for him? Also, where can I find a list of objectives for K-3rd grade so I know what to work on? I have a few home schooling friends but none with children who have limited English and did not begin school at 4 or 5 years old. Any advice? This is my first adventure with homeschooling.
Hi Tobi.
Yes, just breath :o) It is okay and actually may be more enjoyable because he is not young, he has more patience and probably eager to learn.
First, look here on my blog at this page where I list a scope and sequence to give you an idea. Grab some ideas, but don’t start off stressed.
http://tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/about-dynamic-2-moms-free-lapbooks/7-step-curriculum-planner/step-3-choose-goalsobjectives/
However, any well laid out program will do the same so you can free your mind of objectives.
Two curriculum come to mind right off bat with your circumstances that I like. They are not babyish and you can combine them too. Also, one more thing, do you really want him to miss out on any childhood favorites? I wouldn’t. Even at that age, children love them.
So balance younger readers or easy books to learn to read with literature for older kids that you read to him.
I would look at All About Reading that use a multisensory approach AND combine with activities and hands-on unit study ideas from Five in a Row. Make if fun, but use some stuff laid out..
Look at those two and remember, it doesn’t have to be “one or the other” but use parts of different ones. All About Reading will lay it out for you and help you along and I feel you can enrich it with Five in a Row.