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homeschooljoy

7 Homeschool Lies I Want to Tell My Younger Self

October 11, 2016 | 9 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Seven homeschoool lies I want to tell my younger self remind me of how homeschooling is not always easy.

Homeschool Lies

7 Homeschool Lies I Want to Tell My Younger Self. Why do we do that? Grab some super helpful, not shallow tips @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Having the courage to chase away secret homeschool fears is not easy to do when you’re a new homeschooler.

You’re worried about doing everything right; I was no different when I was new to homeschooling.

Fear was one of the biggest obstacles to overcoming homeschooling. If I could turn back time, I would share these 7 homeschool lies to my younger self.

When the Biggest Obstacle to Overcoming Homeschooling is YOU

ONE/ “Tina, don’t fall for it a bit. Your three year old won’t be behind by the time you get to high school.”

Focusing less on what if my children are going to get behind instead of delighting where they were at would have helped me to teach and savor the here and now moment.

TWO/ “Tina, girl, you know you love Star Wars, so remember what Yoda said. There is no try. Do or do not.”

Even coming from a family where my mom homeschooled my youngest sister, I wished my thinking was less of I’m going to try it for a year and more of what an important life changing decision my family had made.

If I had viewed beginning to homeschool like my commitment to having a child, being a new mom, having a new marriage or making big move to a place where you can’t go back, I would have stressed less.

Realizing more time should have been spent on making homeschool a lifestyle change would have been a better use of my time.

THREE/ “Tina, why didn’t you let the boys watch TV more even when school was finished?”

Instead of focusing on extreme rules for our house like not having a tv and no video games, I should have worked more on finding a balance instead of creating extreme schedules for my little kids.

Realizing that some homeschoolers don’t have a tv in their home by choice is good for their family but not ours.

My family likes tv, video games, and techie play things. A balance would have been so much better for us.

FOUR/ “Why didn’t you go out during school hours, Tina? What were you afraid of?

I wished I would have changed my school schedule earlier than I did instead of thinking that during the day I couldn’t go out because it was school hours.

Little did I know that even though I lived in Bodunk, U.S.A., homeschoolers are oozing by the thousands.

Most people have heard of it before. I was the new one, not homeschooling.

FIVE/ “Girl, you’re stressing way too much by prepping Mr. Senior 2013 for visits by grandma. Why do you feel the need to prove to others that you are exactly what your sons need when it comes to teaching them?”

I wished I would have worried less about proving my homeschool success to my in-laws, outlaws, and any other family relationship that I may not have wanted to claim kinship to and focused more on the how-tos of teaching.

SIX/ “Leave the house Tina. It’s okay. Learning is not just taking place within the four walls of your school room. You can actually skip lessons plans. Throw them away if you need to.”

Understanding that field trips, homeschool conventions and open houses are not always in my back yard or even my side of the county, I would have attended more conventions, open houses and gatherings for homeschoolers.

SEVEN/ “Don’t worry about all that homeschool curriculum you’re buying. You’ll be an expert before you know it and if you need it while you’re learning how to teach, then use it. Don’t worry when other people tell you that you won’t use all that curriculum.”

I wished I would have found this quote about the piles of curriculum I had bought and may not get to in a lifetime by Sally Clarkson out of her book Educating the WholeHearted Child, “It is nearly a rite of passage for new homeschooling families to buy curricula that ends up gathering dust on the shelf. Usually, it turns out to require more preparation and involvement than they are willing to invest, or it doesn’t fit their lifestyle. It becomes an investment in experience.What we all learn, though, is that any curriculum is only a tool — it doesn’t really “teach” anything. The attitude and commitment of the teacher is far more important than the tool. So if it doesn’t work, don’t worry. Put your unused used curriculum on the table with everyone else’s and buy real books next time. You’re experienced now.“

Beginning to homeschool doesn’t mean you have to give up the educational tools you learned in public school.

Through the years Tina, I’ve learned that changing my expectations opens the way for a whole new way to learn and that is powerful! THAT is how you grow.

Homeschool fearlessly Tina and rock on!

(Psst, from my struggle I wrote a book for YOU)

Also, Tina look over these posts and gently remind yourself today:

  •  From Struggling Homeschooler to Empowered Educator 
  •  31 Day Free Homeschool Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers 
  • How to Cope Successfully With Homeschool Mental Stress
  • First Time Homeschool Mom: Am I Doing This Right?
  • 65 Best Teaching Tips for Embracing Homeschooling Multiple Ages and Ideas You Wished You Knew Earlier
  • Is Homeschooling Right for Your Family? Hear From the Kids!
  • How to Mesh Your Personality With Homeschooling When They Collide
  • How To Start Homeschooling the Easy No Stress Way (Maybe)
  • What to Expect When You Expect to Homeschool (25 Silliest Questions Ever)

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

9 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Homeschool Simply, Homeschooling Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschooljoy, new homeschool year, new homeschooler, newbeehomeschooler, newhomeschoolyear

The Problem Choosing Between Homeschool Mom and Homeschool Teacher

April 17, 2016 | 8 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

The Problem Choosing Between Homeschool Mom and Homeschool Teacher @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Do we really need to choose between homeschool mom or homeschool teacher? Do our kids benefit when we separate the two roles?

My first few years of homeschooling, I hardly recognized myself.

Sounding more like a drill sergeant when we started our day than a caring loving educator, whose first concern should be the emotional well-being of my children, something had to change.

I didn’t like myself and my kids for sure didn’t like me. Like any new or seasoned homeschool educator, I too was concerned that my kids wouldn’t learn how to develop study skills, self-motivation and an intrinsic love of learning. It’s flat out hard to find a balance. More on that in a minute.

Fast forward to now after graduating two of my sons, I learned that I didn’t need to separate the two roles.

Instead of using energy draining formal teacher tactics, my focus should have been on valuing the many future opportunities that I was going to have of bringing meaning to learning and naturally teaching my boys.

Unlocking the Natural Teacher Within You

Learning to unlock the natural teacher within you is more about appreciating that you shouldn’t choose between homeschool mom and homeschool teacher, but it’s a fuse of the two.

First, it’s important to remember when you homeschool that mom is your first calling.

When you have a child, you know the role of mom is important because the emotional stability, health, safety, personality, spiritual and educational well-being of your child is a serious responsibility.

What I am saying is that I learned educating my child was just another facet of motherhood and not something separate from it.

Furthermore, like me, you are probably the first person, who taught your baby his first word and he started to learn his mother tongue. All the pieces started to fall into place as I pondered what I had done right up to the age before “formal” schooling.

Realizing that I had to leave behind the public school mentality, I didn’t have to learn how to be a teacher. To successfully homeschool, I needed to learn how to be the best mother I could be.

That huge revelation brought homeschooling into something that not only could I achieve successfully, but to treasure, love passionately and stick to because it is as natural as mothering. 

When the switch flipped to a new thinking, my focus was on teaching my sons all those things I worried about like any other homeschool mom.

Letting Every Day Life Teach Meaningful Lessons

Energy could now be focused on identifying my son’s weakness.

For example, when I was teaching my sons to write, a homeschool room was a must-have for us. I didn’t have to be concerned with a seasoned homeschool mom tell me when I started homeschooling that I would never use a homeschool room. We did and it proved exactly perfect for my family. Look at my article, Dedicated Homeschool Room or Dining Room Homeschooler.

I trusted my mother instinct, not my teacher instinct. Too, workbooks and books are only part of learning and rigorous standards are important to me and I know too for other homeschoolers.

But we have a huge advantage when we learn outside of four walls and that is we allow every day life to teach our children meaningful lessons. They do happen.

Taking homeschool co-op classes outside of the home and taking instruction from another teacher gave my boys a sense of working with others. Again, as a mother I am concerned with my sons’ lasting happiness. That means I want them to learn to accept others and learn how to communicate with them.

Did I mention they learned to take notes and manage deadlines, which are valuable study skills that I wanted my boys to learn?

Do We Really Need to Prove our Homeschool Worthiness?

All of this and more happened because naturally as we lived life, I seized moments to teach them.

Yes, I think as homeschool moms we tend to try to over achieve and feel we may have to turn every moment into something learning because we may feel the weight of our lifestyle choice hanging around us.

Shedding that let-me-prove-it-to-you mindset allows you to homeschool more freely without feeling you have to prove something to friends and to the world. Can you relate? Look at my article, Homeschooling for the Love of Learning – Does It Really Work.

Learning that things happen in life, which give me perfect teaching moments has made homeschooling natural without worrying which hat I am wearing.

Too, not choosing between two hats, but as the person that knows my sons the best, I know when it’s time to be mom and when it’s time to be teacher. Being a home educator is just another role as mom.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

8 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Homeschool Simply Tagged With: homeschool, homeschool challenges, homeschoolchallenges, homeschooljoy, new homeschooler

3 Reasons Why You Should Be Reading Homeschool Magazines

March 9, 2016 | 4 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

3 Reasons Why You Should Be Reading Homeschool Magazines @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

The homeschool community is tight-knit. Geographical boundaries or cultural differences are transcended when a family mentions they are homeschoolers. For many years, homeschool magazines have played a huge role in helping homeschooling families stick together.

Is Homeschooling Your Hobby?

Today, in sharing 3 reasons why you should be reading homeschool magazines, I want to share about not only why I love homeschool magazines, but why I specifically love Homeschooling Today.

Homeschooling journeys are time specific, but not so with homeschool magazines.

If you have homeschooled for a while and graduated a kid or two like I have, you know how precious short the time is to homeschool and to share personal experiences of your journey through blogs.

Homeschooling magazines don’t necessarily have a short life (that is unless we support them) span. This is a good thing because if you are new, you are encouraged from experiences of the past and are informed about trends of the future.

For example, one year at a booth Kelley and I had, we got to visit with Debbie Strayer, who was one of the original founders of Homeschooling Today and my heart was moved by her passion and love for homeschooling.

We shared some chit chat, but more than that she was willing to share so openly about what kept her going through her homeschool journey for many years.

Sadly, she is gone now, but her daughter keeps the homeschool passion alive through the pages of that magazine.  So the homeschooling community moves forward strong as ever as our ideals are passed down to the next generation.

Do not miss precious nuggets of wisdom shared in that magazine from many seasoned homeschoolers from times past. A homeschool magazine, like Homeschooling Today, gives you roots.

Ready to Use Lessons. Love it!

Another perk of Homeschooling Today that I love is that they have ready made lessons.

Ready made lessons in Homeschooling Today @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

In the above picture is one ready made lesson you’ll love that just came out in their current magazine.

The lesson is built around beautiful literature and the book in this lesson is about Abe Lincoln. Not only is a book mentioned, but hands-on activities and ideas are given so that you can use them instantly with your kids.

I love the teaching support I have received from them throughout the years. You’ll pine over this section.

Not time specific, but subject specific.

I know you would get hot under the collar if somebody told you that homeschooling is a hobby. It happened to me back when the kids were little and I was shocked and speechless.

Yes, I know hard to imagine me without a word to say, but I realized that a lot of people just don’t understand that homeschooling is a lifestyle.

And because homeschooling is a lifestyle choice, we need help on specific subjects and concerns that might come up in our journey.

Whether we are teaching multiple ages, special needs children or need help on organization, Homeschooling Today gets very specific on teaching tips.

Encouraging and timely articles in Homeschooling Today @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Not all homeschool bloggers can host more experienced homeschoolers or even professionals on their blog, so we need homeschooling magazines, which continue to share very subject specific content.

Get a glimpse of Homeschooling Today by reading some of the up to date articles on their blog.

So not only purchase magazines for your children, but grab some help for yourself too.

I am unabashedly proud to say that homeschool magazines, like Homeschooling Today, not only make me feel like I am part of the global homeschooling community, but revive my homeschooling spirit when I feel it slumping.

Those are just three very short reasons why I love homeschool magazines.

Have you seen Homeschooling Today? You’ll love getting yours in the mail too. (uhmm yes I still love print magazines)

Hugs and love ya,

Tina Signature 2015c

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

 

4 CommentsFiled Under: Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Begin Homeschooling, Gauge Homeschool Progress, Hands-On Activities, History Resources, Homeschool Hotties & Faves Tagged With: essentialstohomeschooling, homeschool, homeschool favorites, homeschool subjects, homeschooljoy

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps (Want to Join Me?)

January 26, 2016 | 12 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps. Facing a homeschool crisis tirelessly.

Stress, finances, fatigue and every day life are tough enough to deal with. Add in homeschooling, mix it all around and it can be the perfect quitter’s recipe. Look at my article, What I Gave Up to Homeschool (and what I got in return).

Though I didn’t appreciate when it was happening, (hard to do that when stressed) my first time of stress was also the first test of my homeschool values.

Homeschool Quitters, Dropouts and Wimps

So today, I want to come from a delicate spot and that is my heart.

And you know I try to steer clear from too much over the top drama here when I share with you.

But tears, emotion and drama are the very things needed when you face a homeschool crisis. Look at my article, Go Ahead and Make a Mistake: Homeschool Without Fear.

Before you decide to quit homeschooling, look at two things I learned when several times throughout my homeschooling, I have felt like dropping out.

1. Time to dig deep NOW for your values.

Each family begins homeschooling for various reasons. You have them too.

Whether your reasons are faith based, not schooling for religious reasons at all or schooling for a mix of both Biblical values and academic excellence, they are still dear to you.

At the beginning of homeschooling the reasons are vibrant and so in-your-face. The longer you homeschool, the more grit it calls for because the reasons seem to fade away.

That is the point. They seem to fade away, when in fact probably nothing much has changed.

My first test I remember clearly because I quit. I felt like I wasn’t teaching Mr. Senior 2013 how to read well, I felt weak and caved.

How to Go from Fantasy to Reality?

I sent him to public school for part of Kindergarten.

Half a year later and some standardized testing (because I didn’t trust myself), I learned that he was far ahead of the other kids.

I didn’t value the reasons that brought me to homeschooling. Instead of standing solid at the first test of my values, I dropped out.

However, dropping out is not necessarily permanent in homeschool. I brought Mr. Senior 2013 back home after a short time in public school and he never returned.

Did you notice the mistake? I can clearly articulate it now.

Instead of viewing my family values and reasons for homeschooling as priceless and a treasure, I skipped over the need to cement them in my heart.

I dismissed them every so slightly (okay maybe more liked dropped like a bad habit) and focused only on the academic part of homeschooling. (important for sure)

Instead of understanding that academics is only one reason I was homeschooling, I got off balance.

Nothing really had changed.

I still wanted to be the one there for my sons first time to walk, to read, to learn to write, to share in his love for learning all the way until he graduated.

The Mr. and I wanted to be the ones to influence the spiritual man in each son. That’s not going to happen when they are away from us.

2. Where do you spend your time? Do you have public school or homeschool friends?

The next stressful time in my life was when my sweet sister had to spend a good amount of time in ICU after a huge scare from her not breathing. How would I continue to homeschool?

She not only needed me, but she had two kids also that needed care.

Was this the time to send my kids to public school so that I could take care of her long term?

You know, looking back some things you think about just don’t make sense. Of course, at the time with a tremendous amount of stress, any reasoning seems justified.

And no, life was not done with me yet.

Next, came my husband’s heart attack where he almost lost his life. And it’s easy to think we’re too young to have this happen and especially while I have three kids at home, but then this life is not about being fair.

Was this the time, now that Mr. Senior 2013 was in high school that I should send him to public school and quit homeschooling and focus on my husband in ICU?

From trials comes life lessons.

By this time, I was part of an active homeschool community and had many homeschool friends.

Beyond the Basics of Homeschooling?

How did this affect my determination to homeschool through trials?

It made ALL the difference between quitting and successfully meeting these challenges.

Looked at what I learned.

  • Because I embraced a homeschooling lifestyle, I was no longer looking for ways to quit, but for ways to stick to our homeschooling life style through trials.
  • Instead of using the circumstance of taking care of my sister and her family as an excuse to give up, I used it as a way to teach my sons about how to care for other people. We made many trips to the long term care facility, many meals and many trips to see her. Look at what I wrote: All of our children met the challenge of being more independent and helping each other out. They ARE LIVING in the real world and dealing with life as it comes along. My niece who is just 16, same age as my son, ran their family owned business. She answered the phone, dealt with customers and filled orders. She has gone to “work” each day for 26 days in a row, not missing one day of being there from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mmmm, do you think she has a good grasp of being out on her own now? We are so proud of her and my son. My son ran my house and homeschooled my youngest son, cooked their lunch, cleaned the house and washed clothes. He bought groceries and went right on with the household. All of the children went right on with their routine they learned while homeschooling as I have spent many long days in the hospital by my sister’s side. My homeschooling friends, like family now were valuable in their love, support and suggestions.
  • When my husband had his heart attack, Mr. Senior 2013 (though still in high school) had to work for a month in our business. This too didn’t involve behind the scenes work, but he went with an installation crew to customer’s homes to install products. He didn’t want to give up our homeschooling lifestyle. And the flexibility in our schedule to slow down and care for my husband would not have been an option if he was in public school. My homeschool friends were the ones that reminded me to take care of what was important now and that homeschooling would wait.

See, I tried in the beginning to keep “friends” from public school, but it gets tough the longer you homeschool because of differences.

We don’t spend much time with public school friends now. Not because we are being snobbish, but because we are looking for ways to stick to our goals.

Friends can make you falter or give you fortitude when life happens.

Homeschooling in real life looks very different from whats planned on paper.

From this I want to encourage each of you to take hold of the homeschooling lifestyle.

Don’t be so easily swayed to let go of something that is precious.

Through struggle comes change and conviction and a fortitude that this IS the best education we can give our children.

We empower our kids to move along with their lives when we are not around to be there prodding them and that cannot be taught in public school or through curriculum.

Also, look at 10 Books That Boost Your Homeschool Zen (When It May Be Sagging).

Hugs and love ya,

Don’t forget to follow BOTH of my Pinterest accounts for more AWESOME pins.

Visit Tina Robertson’s profile on Pinterest.


Visit Tinas Dynamic Homeschool ‘s profile on Pinterest.

12 CommentsFiled Under: Avoid the Homeschool Blues, Be an Exceptional Homeschool Teacher, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To Tagged With: homeschool challenges, homeschool crisis, homeschooljoy

Finding Joy In Homeschooling When You are Not Really Feeling It

April 9, 2015 | 2 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Finding joy in homeschooling when you are not really feeling it is not easy when you don’t know the secret to keeping to it.

First, it really is important to think of the blessings we have received and progress we have made to this point. We need to be thankful for them.

Finding Joy In Homeschooling When You Are Not Really Feeling It @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Discontentment is about not appreciating the progress you and your children have made so far.
The overwhelming pressure to keep pushing our children and our self to maxed out limits triggers discontentment.

Fault finding and complaining are close allies of discontentment. Discontentment can rob you of homeschooling joy.
Because we are imperfect we will always have feelings of being inadequate.

Too, we are not immune to this world’s constant bombardment of thinking that more academics and beginning at a very early age equates to homeschooling success. <

Miserable or Merciful Homeschool Mom

Second, as moms if we constantly fault find with our children and keep switching curriculum in the hopes of finding something better, we rob our children of valuable time that could be spent together.

The most rounded out, happy and contented successful homeschooling families have all shared a common thread.

The environment the child learns in and the attitude of joy that was maintained by the whole family was of far more importance than being overly concerned about national test levels.

True, it’s not easy to feel joyful if we are sick, have fallen behind in our goals, have a household of young demanding children, or have very little support from our husbands as far as homeschooling.

However, focusing on the things we do have, can do and the progress made so far are all incentives to fueling up my homeschooling tank again.

Do You Value the High Cost of Homeschooling?

Do you view it as a privilege to homeschool?
When it’s viewed that way we never take it for granted. If joy is missing in your homeschool day, have you spent time reflecting on the positive?

Savor the progress you made this year. Progress is measured in tiny baby steps. If it’s moving forward at a crawl, it’s still progress.

Contentment is of great value in your journey. Do not compare your progress to others.

Journal or record the progress however tiny it was this year.

The secret of joyfully homeschooling for one year, five or even ten years is sweet contentment.

What about you? Have you found the secret to staying the course?

Also, look at 7 Homeschool Lies I Want to Tell My Younger Self, What I Gave Up to Homeschool (and what I got in return), and 6 Things I Won’t Regret After Homeschooling 16+ Years.

Hugs and you know I love ya,

Signature T

Linking up @ these awesome places:

2 CommentsFiled Under: Homeschool Simply, Homeschool When Nobody Wants To Tagged With: homeschooljoy

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