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The Great Homeschool Hoax – Public School At Home?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Like a lot of new homeschoolers, I too just copied the public school system in everything from keeping a similar schedule, to curriculum selection, and even testing my first child, Mr. Senior 2013.

Public School at Home

You see, I was doing public school at home.

I hadn’t embraced the freedom that homeschooling offered. I was afraid.

I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to lesson plan, to teach all of my children at one time, that my children were going to be behind, that I needed testing for grade placement, that my kids need other children their age and that I would totally fail them as an educator.

The Great Homeschool Hoax – Public School At Home. Understanding the two COMPLETELY different approaches is key by Tina Robertson

Did I mention I even had feelings of guilt questioning myself if I was a good mother?

Why do we do that as moms?

I agree that today is so much more easier to homeschool because of all the resources available to us.

However, in one particular way homeschooling was easier way back when because homeschoolers then grasped the full meaning of homeschooling.

About 10 years or so ago, public school at home providers popped up and became popular.

The meaning of homeschooling has become obscured because these companies tout that they support homeschooling. They may or may not.

Can You Really Have One Foot in Homeschool and One in Public School?

Until you let go of the public school at home mentality which models everything after the public school and where you are only assisting your children at home while somebody else teaches them, you will never embrace the freedom homeschooling offers.

Public School at Home Characteristics

  • biggest difference – government controlled
  • normally offered online
  • have testing required
  • have parent and teacher conferences
  • maintain a public school schedule
  • curriculum is put together by educational consultants even though public school at home touts that you as the parent choose readers or have some choice. You may or may not.
  • can be accredited
  • tout they are free because they are public school and public school is free
  • have a teacher assigned to your child
  • a curriculum is one grade level straight across the board a/k/a boxed curriculum or one size fits all.
  • mostly uses textbooks. Some online school use only textbooks while others throw in a few classical readers.
  • schedule is set up to complete on their timetable. Though many programs offer flexibility because they are government controlled, schedules have to be maintained.

If this sounds like the arrangement you just left, then why would you want to repeat it at home?

Homeschool Characteristics

  • biggest difference – parent controlled
  • you can choose all online curriculum, part physical books or mix and match
  • testing becomes the right of the parent who knows the child best and understands that a test is nothing more than a tool
  • conferences are not needed because as the tutor of your children you know what they’re learning. Even if you just begin to homeschool, it doesn’t take long for you to know exactly which subjects your child excels in and which subjects he will need support for.
  • your schedule is adopted based on your family’s needs and not based on an outdated school schedule, which was set up based on a society that was much more agricultural than our society is today.  If schooling year round suits your family, you simply begin and don’t need approval by a governmental agency.
  • curriculum is put together by a parent because she knows the child the best. If the curriculum is not working, it can be changed on a dime. Being in control doesn’t mean you can’t use something laid out by another company, but then that is your choice.
  • accreditation is no longer a term which homeschoolers fear because they know it doesn’t have anything to do with the value of an education. Be sure to read my article, Accreditation – Removing the Shroud of Mystery.
  • homeschoolers know that public school at home is not free. It may be cost-free, but given up freedom like control, having stressful deadlines for testing and parent teacher conferences cost.  Many homeschool educuators give up well-paying jobs because their desire to stay home with their kids is greater than their desire to pursue a career they may even be passionate about.  They know that homeschooling for excellence doesn’t always mean having the most expensive curriculum though they are willing to sacrifice other things if a pricier curriculum is better. Be sure to read my article, Is Homeschooling Expensive? Check out this Essential Guide in How to Homeschool Well on a Budget.
  • children are tutored one-to-one by their parents. Reports show that parents play a major role in their child having above normal intelligence when tutored.
  • the parent stays in control of whether they should purchase a grade level in a box or mix and match grade levels adjusted to the child’s natural abilities.
  • homeschool families don’t have to settle for a few well placed classical or living books placed into a curriculum, but can choose living books consistently.
  • the homeschool schedule is completely flexible to adjust to the needs of the family each year.

There is not anything that the public school at home approaches offers that an informed and hardworking educator at home can’t overcome.

If it’s structure you crave, then choose a laid out program where you are not having constant interference from an outside source.

If you need a more budget friendly curriculum be sure to check out my post Digital Homeschool Curriculum – Big Ol’ List.

Pursuing sports, music, art or any other extra curricular involvement is done easier when you set up your schedule to fit your children’s passion.

Being in control of my children’s education is one of the most satisfying and fulfilling jobs as a mother and parent I ever could have.

We were never promised it would be easy in raising our children, but they are blessings.

What we are assured of is that we will be provided with what we need to aim our children at their targets.

I have been blessed over and over many times, but not without some tears shed, lots of elbow grease, lots of prayers and a dogged determination to stick to what is best for my family. You can too!

Don’t forget so easily what many homeschoolers who homeschooled in the past knew, which is that homeschooling is a precious and extraordinary way of education that doesn’t mix with any other approach.

Look at some of these other resources that will help you to stick to the homeschooling approach.

Hugs and love ya,

The Great Homeschool Hoax - Public School at Home @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Top 10 Tips For New Homeschoolers – When You Don’t Know Where to Begin . . . Part 2

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

As if expressing your fears is not enough to make you want to turn and run from homeschooling, feelings of being overwhelmed can dominate each day.

In Top 10 Tips For New Homeschoolers – Curriculum, curriculum, curriculum – Isn’t that how to begin homeschooling? Part 1, I shared 5 homeschool tips and tools for the panic stricken.

Top 10 Tips for New Homeschoolers Part 2 @ Tinas Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Today I will be sharing 5 more tips.

From Panic Stricken to Empowered Educator

6. Long & Short Term Goals Equals Grounded Homeschooling.

Not just visualizing in your mind, but writing down what your goals are or what brought you to homeschooling jolts you back to reality not IF, but when homeschooling gets tough.

It is easy to forget what is so vivid now in your mind about what you want to change when you start to experience problems in your homeschool.

The very foundation of your homeschool journey will be determined by clear goals.

Keeping the end goal in mind by writing them down now will ensure you that you will not swerve.

Sure, you will make mistakes, but that is part of the adventure. However, you will always come back to your goals to stay grounded in homeschooling.

Pen your goals, draw your goals, record your goals – Goals are the foundation of our journey!

7. Your Family’s Rhythm is Unique.

I have seen and shared lots of homeschool schedules over the years.

The problem with following other people’s schedule, even seasoned veterans is that you don’t lead their life.

You need to determine your family’s rhythm first.

This takes some time because homeschooling is new. You may have a young household and 10:00 a.m. may be a more realistic time to start school when the baby is down for his first nap time.

You may have an older household where the children are somewhat independent, then you need to get started earlier like 9:00 a.m.

Every homeschool household is at different stages in homeschooling and has different ages, but don’t get me wrong there are some across the board tips for finding your family’s rhythm and turning that into a schedule.

Here are just two basic tips.

  • Homeschool has to be the first in your day.

A simple research on this subject will show that a majority of children learn better when school is first in their day.

You notice I didn’t mention the time for what is “first” in your day.

Each of us will have to determine that, but it is safe to say that it is not after they are exhausted from a full day of activity.

  • Consistency Over Abrupt Stop/Start.

Key to making the homeschool lifestyle and schedule feel part of our everyday is consistency.

Planning too much, answering the phone in the middle of teaching a lesson (not an important one anyway) and willy-nilly scheduling can create a resistant learner faster than us understanding what that means.

Taking time to understand the natural flow of your family now will help you to minimize any potential scheduling distress.

8. Understand what is NOT Homeschooling.

Many times you will hear seasoned veterans talk about the difference between homeschooling and schooling at home.

I too wondered when I started homeschooling if such a choice of words was enough to be concerned about.

I can tell you now that fully grasping the meaning behind them would have saved me some tears shed in my first year.

Schooling at home means that you have only changed the geography of where your children are learning at now.

You have duplicated the public school method of teaching at home. Your home may look like a mini version of public school. I agree it is probably cuter, but have you taken time to learn about delight-directed learning?

Read What is REAL Homeschooling? Homebound, Co-op or Public School at Home .

Homeschooling is about choosing a method of instruction that works for our family. When the only method we know is what is taught in the public school and we haven’t take time to research other homeschool methods we could be setting our self up for a homeschool crash and burn.

There are reasons prestigious colleges actively pursue homeschoolers and there are reasons why homeschoolers are in the news for being high achievers.

It certainly is not for staying in sync with the public school curriculum and schedule built for the masses.

9. Curriculum is a Tool – It won’t Love You Back.

I get plain giddy when I talk about the subject of curriculum because I absolutely loving poring over the catalogs or putting my hands on it at a homeschool convention.

After I buy it, I sit over in the corner someplace out of my sons’ view so they can’t see as I inhale all the fresh smelling pages. It is a sickness I tell you, but you too will be joining us soon.

Though choosing curriculum each year end ups being more entertaining now, it certainly is quite overwhelming for any new homeschooler.

Choosing curriculum is an equal opportunity offender. Whether you have a public school teacher background or if you are like me with no prior teaching experience, having a few pointers will help you to be selective when first choosing it.

  • Curriculum does not teach anything.

You are the teacher now and that means you decide whether it is working for your children or not.

  • Your children are each different so that means you could possibly be using a different program for each of your children.

This is not meant to over whelm you, but it is about making smarter choices.

  • There is a difference between completing a curriculum and finishing it by using it to fit your purposes.

Completing a curriculum means having your child do every lesson plan and the other way you do every lesson plan that fits your child regardless if you finish the curriculum or not.

Simply put, curriculum does not hold some curative value.

Though using the right curriculum can help you to heal a child’s prior distaste about education and create a yearning for learning, your love and your finesse in wielding curriculum to help your children is of way more value. This too takes time to learn.

10. Relax – Easier said than Done.

As organized and prepared as I thought I was when I came to homeschooling, I wish I would have listened more when the few seasoned veteran homeschoolers I knew told me to relax and savor some of the journey.

The poor first born child seems to take the brunt of our over achieving learning because we feel that we have to prove to our family and of course to our self that we are doing this right.

Relax, find humor in all the things you will mess up and take comfort from the fact that unlike public school, you can change on a moment’s notice anything that is not working. You ARE the teacher now.

Adjusting expectations to survival mode the first year is much more realistic. Forgive yourself for what you cannot accomplish the first year while experiencing on the job training.

Just like parenting, homeschooling is accepting what you can accomplish to a point and then that progress and experience inspires you to work on being the best parent you can be to your child.

You can do it!

Also, be sure to go through my 31 Day Free Homeschool Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers and Homeschool Boot Camp Resources.

Hugs and love ya,

Tina-2015-Signature

 

Homeschooling A Trial Run?

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

No matter what our knowledge of the homeschool world is when we begin, the thought of giving homeschooling a trial run crosses our mind during our journey.

I had a younger sister who was homeschooled and I knew quite a bit about the homeschooling world then, but I still thought I should be prepared to send my first son back to public school.


Homeschool Trials – A Sign of Weakness?

What if my son missed out on opportunities that only the public school could offer?

What if the public school teacher was more prepared than myself on a particular subject?

What would I do if we got to high school and I didn’t have a science lab?

What field trips would he miss out on?

What I have learned is that we can’t lead our lives, teach our children or fully enjoy the benefits of homeschooling based on “what ifs”.
We will either be insane, live in a state of constant panic and fear or we can choose now to intentionally homeschool.

Now, when I think about homeschooling being a trial run it’s like saying: “I’ll give my newborn a year. Because if I don’t have a great year, we’ll we just can’t keep him.”

That may sound like a way out there analogy but homeschooling half-heartedly was paralyzing and insane.

I think about all the preparation I made for nine months when I had my first born.


I thought everything would go perfect, along with our perfect crib, perfect schedule and perfect baby because well — I planned, right?

If I had judged my whole parenthood by the first year with my oldest son, I wouldn’t have had any more kids because very few of my expectations were met.

It was not rock-a-bye-baby with my first son.

The sleepless nights, constant calls to the doctor and worrying, the nights up pacing, rocking, digging for information to understand him was met by lots of hard work and on the job training.  It was much more time than I even imagined.

Homeschooling is very similar.

I homeschool to enjoy the freedom, to have better standards, to give more time, to tailor the curriculum, to give my children a better future, to give my sons a better foot hold in life, to build Godly character, to foster sibling relationships, to build a relationship with God, to capture my child’s heart, to make learning a delight for the child and on and on.

Homeschooling A Trial Run @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

I was not giving that up.

Along the way, I figured out this would not happen if I kept looking back instead of looking forward.

After my momentary lapse of fear when I put my son back in school for less than a year and took him back out, I realized that ruling out public school as an option from the beginning was the only way I could whole heartedly homeschool.

Too, though in the beginning my fears were more about not being able to meet my sons’ academic needs, the turns and twists of life have proven more challenging than meeting the academic ones.

Extended sicknesses by family members, deaths in our extended family, change of employment, financial ups and downs, pregnancy, and moving have been challenges that have you second guessing your journey.

Breaking all ties with public school was the best thing I did for our family. Why?

Because meeting the challenges of life was done best without interference with the public school schedule.

Public school may seem like a blessed relief in the beginning, but relief can quickly turn to restraint after the initial phase has passed.

Year-end testing, homework in the evenings and giving up control of what your children will be learning and when, were not things that I wanted to add to an already stressful time.

I weathered all the personal challenges I mentioned above and my homeschool conviction was stronger because of it.

At the time when I was making trips back and forth to the ICU in the hospital to care for my husband, laying on the couch because I was so nauseated each day of my pregnancy that I couldn’t hardly move to take care of my other children and driving hours and hours back and forth from my house to my mother’s house to care for my very sick mother, I felt my sons were going to be so behind in their academics that public school would be a relief.

Academics – Perk of Homeschooling?

Tears followed and the feeling of defeat loomed.
What I have come to treasure, value and hold on to is that out of every one of life’s challenges, we raced ahead, caught up and even moved ahead at certain times.
Along through the years, I taught my sons about compassion, nurturing older ones and the value of precious life. What a blessing!

Here are my answers now to the above questions:

If I sent my children back to public school, it would be giving them less as I can offer more even when the road blocks of life happen.

Yes, I have gaps in my education and will make mistakes. Through the years, I have seen plenty of mistakes in textbooks though.

Many professionals will know more on subjects than me, but I am the parent I don’t have to know the subjects, my children do.

I can hire private tutors, use DVDs, have my sons take on line classes and use co-ops and not to mention learn right along with my kids and I did.

We still don’t have a science lab.

We have something better, a fully stocked kitchen that is the perfect science lab.

Field trips are not taken once a year or a few times in the early years and then almost non-existent in the older grades, which is the norm in public school.

I did better. We have taken monthly field trips for every year and the field trips are some of my boys best learning moments. The tales we have to tell you now.

I don’t view myself as a particularly courageous or brave person, but through each hurdle, I was fortified, fueled and empowered for the next challenge and unswerving in my determination to stick to homeschooling.

Keep looking forward to your end goals and don’t measure your whole homeschooling career in front of you by one or two years. It is worth every effort and sacrifice.

What about you? Have you chosen to intentionally homeschool NOW?

Don’t give in thinking the other path is easier, check out these posts:

Hugs and love ya,

Cultivating the Desire to Homeschool

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

You’ve probably come across the type before. Those homeschoolers that knew always that they were going to homeschool and they knew before their first child was conceived.

However, if you are one of those that just fell into homeschooling or came to it kicking and screaming, then cultivating the desire to homeschool has probably been a learned art for you.

Whether you always had the desire to homeschool or hopped on board later, we all need to rekindle and cultivate the desire to homeschool so we can foster our growth.

Let’s just face it too, the world we live in today doesn’t engender finding tranquil moments in our day to ponder our desire to homeschool and fill up our reserve.

On the other hand, each day that we homeschool can empty us of our eagerness to keep on homeschooling.

It’s essential to maintaining the pace of homeschooling to tap into homeschool resources that will stir you to action and to avoid certain mind-sets.

Avoid the Weight of Burdensome Negativity.  Sometimes we are our own worst enemies because we have a set standard unreachably high for either us or our children.

For example, do you need to adjust the time that you begin school so that you have time to get more house chores done, or just to soak up more time in the morning to wake up?

Between me and you, I had several days early in my journey where I missed taking a shower and skipped breakfast because my schedule said it was time to start. Why do we do that to ourselves?

I never did get any homeschooling mom of the year trophy award either.

What I did learn was that day in and day out schooling at a grueling pace only sets a homeschooler up for burn out.

The end of the journey is all that matters. Mr. Senior 2013 remembers more about the quiet moments we had at home together doing simple things like reading aloud and playing board games than he did large homeschool projects where we were all stressed out.

Maybe you feel your child is not progressing as fast some other homeschool children that you know.

Could your child be at a learning plateau or is he getting enough rest and exercise?  Look at The Dos and Don’ts When You Hit A Learning Plateau in Homeschooling.

Change Your Homeschool Approach.  I changed my homeschool approach three times until I found one that suited my children and my teaching style.

When we are fighting a switch to a new homeschool approach, it can have devastating effects on our desire to continue homeschooling.

Look at Stop Switching Your Curriculum, Switch Your Course of Study.  I use to think if only I can change my teaching methods at the end of the year that it would be less stressful.

What I finally realized was that like a parched and sun scorched plant that is drying up and shriveling, my children’s love of learning was the same way.

I needed to take quick action to inject a love of learning by changing either my approach, curriculum or schedule.

Just Can’t Avoid it – You Need Other Homeschoolers. Before I formed our co-op and field trip group, I use to think I was too busy to be meeting with other homeschoolers.  Ask me now about how I feel and I cringe about my thinking then because homeschooling and meeting with other homeschoolers are inextricably linked to homeschooling staying power.

When you are tired with several small children, it’s hard to see how fellowship with people you barely know will help you. It just seems like one more energy zapping exercise.

And to make matters worse, if your personality is like mine where you are perfectly happy with just your inner circle of friends, it can be hard to overcome the thinking that you are just fine.

But what I have learned is that the homeschooling spirit is contagious when you have a crowd around.  Instead of draining your time of one more lack luster thing to do, interacting and sharing tips, techniques, and venting about the the ups and downs of homeschooling with other homeschooling families bolsters our desire to keep on homeschooling.

Not only are we encouraged to keep on homeschooling, but we meet other families who have similar circumstances as our own.

Some of the most significant homeschooling changes that I have had the conviction to do came directly after mingling with experienced homeschool moms.

Stoke the embers of homeschooling by fueling the desire to homeschool through being consistent each day and being quick to take advantage of opportunities to be encouraged by other homeschoolers.

The end will be here before you know it.

Hugs and love ya,

Signature T

To go from exhausted to exhilarated, look at these posts:

The 3 R’s for Homeschoolers. Part 3

5 Ideas to Kick-Start Your New Homeschool Year By Including Others

Easy Ways to Break Out of a Homeschool Rut

Have You Learned the Secret to Homeschool Joy?

Look at some of these homeschooling books that will stir you to action!

5 Signs That You Need to Switch Your Homeschool Approach

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Sharing 5 signs that you need to switch your homeschool approach, maybe I will spare you my same stubbornness struggle.

5 Signs to Switch Your Homeschool Approach

Switching from a strictly classical approach to a more unit study approach with an eclectic twist was not easy for me. However, there were tell-tale signs.

Unless you have a public school teacher background (I did not) when you first started homeschooling, you probably were unaware of a homeschool approach. I wasn’t even able to define the term.

First, being able to define a homeschool approach helps to sort through what will work for your family and what will not.

5 Signs That You Need to Switch Your Homeschool Approach
A simple definition for homeschool approach would be the techniques, style, manner, and beliefs as to how you will educate your child.

1.You now understand that you may have chosen your current homeschool approach by default not choice.

Being able to understand and articulate that simple, but powerful definition of a homeschool approach was my first prompt in realizing now that I had homeschooled a few years, I needed to research more carefully the best way to teach my children.

When I started homeschooling I almost felt like I chose a homeschool approach by what I call default.  Classical approach was the homeschool approach my brain was drawn to; it made sense to me.  By default because I was the teacher, I chose that homeschool approach for my children.

2. Regardless of your teaching preference, your children learn better with another style.

My second sign was that although the classical approach worked most of the time for my oldest son, my middle son learned best by more hands-on activities.  I truly was not going to leave any child behind.

3. When you’re losing your homeschool joy because you want something to be successful.

The next sign was one that was real important to me and that was that all of us, including myself, were losing the joy of learning.

Although the definition of homeschool approach in its simplest form means your individual style of teaching, it has to be something you enjoy doing each day too.

Losing a bit of my joy in teaching, I knew the classical approach wasn’t exactly a perfect fit for my teaching style.

Constant moans when we got ready to homeschool played a part too.

You know they weren’t the normal I-am-not-in-a-mood-today-for-school moans, but major moans. The I hate to read now were words spoken in my house. 

My heart was heavy because my push and my drive for a heavy language arts focus was stealing our joy.

Although I can’t all together blame the classical approach because I could have added balance, it certainly started feeling like a noose around my neck.

I could easily move past not having such a great day teaching, but young children don’t have the same ability to reason that sometimes things are temporary.

4. Your day is getting longer and longer because you’ve been focused on following the curriculum instead of the lead of your children.

Another negative sign was that I started making our days go longer and longer, which is beyond anything that I preach tout for teaching kids in the younger years

5. Knowing that when we added in something else other than what our curriculum called for, my kids were more engaged. In our case, it was hand-on activities.

Also, we were finding delight when we took time out of our reading and writing.

For instance, we added a volcano activity, outside geography hunt in the yard or made a themed history meal. They were indicators that we needed more hands-on activities.

Careful Stubborn teacher that I was, it still took me another two years before I changed.

Also, I knew that I had to adopt a homeschool approach that fit my whole family and not just suited me as the teacher.

The good thing about homeschool definitions that you adopt is that they can be expanded.

Now, my expanded definition of homeschool approach would be this:

A homeschool approach would be the techniques, style, manner, and beliefs as to how you will educate your child AND it is the way a teacher nurtures a love of learning recognizing and accepting how a child learns best.

You’ll also love these other tips:

5 Signs That You Need to Switch Your Homeschool Approach

Do you have any of these symptoms signs?

5 Signs That You Need To Switch Your Homeschool Approach @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

Hugs and love ya,