Choosing how to start homeschooling can be easy or like me you may have to have a second chance to get it right. Also, you’ll love tips on my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter.
Your whys that inspired you to start homeschooling are significant.
My mother homeschooled my youngest sister and you’d think I should have learned from her grit. I did – that is until it came time to actually start.
My second chance came over 20+ years ago and after I pulled out my first homeschooled son in Kindergarten, I came away determined to make homeschooling work this time.
Although tears were streaming down my cheeks, I was in fear of messing up my first kid and my younger kids for life.
Turn 3 Homeschool Wrongs to Wins
I knew that having a second chance meant I could try things differently or repeat what I did wrong. Why do we keep repeating what is not working? (no need to answer that)
Look at these three homeschool wrongs you can win your first or second year IF you don’t do what I did:
ONE/
Wrong: I focused first on curriculum. Right: I needed techniques to conquer fear or at least manage it.
As much as I wanted fairy dust of seasoned homeschooling tips to shower down on me, the truth of it is I had to take time to read about homeschooling. I couldn’t just trust that it was the best decision ever for my mom.
I had to OWN it. I had to make it the BEST decision ever for MY family. I took a few months to start reading a whole list of homeschooling how-to books.
TWO/
Wrong: I focused first on friends or socialization for my kid. Right: Finding a support system for myself is the start point.
Another huge mistake was thinking I had to immediately find opportunities for my son to socialize. That has always been important to me.
What I didn’t fully appreciate was that I had my whole homeschool journey to meet my son’s needs. It didn’t have to be done all in the first year.
I needed to focus first on finding a support system for myself so that I could understand how the homeschool world works.
It reminds me of those demonstration you can still see sometimes right after you board a plane. They explain how to put the oxygen mask on yourself FIRST, then assist your kid.
Homeschool For Beginners
Homeschooling is the same way. We have the order reversed by focusing on our kids’ needs instead of the needs of the new homeschool educator.
THIRD/
Wrong: I focused first on homeschooling. Right: Understand what is deschooling, how to do it, and when to do it.
Buying curriculum, setting up a room that looked somewhat school-ish, and doing a workbook is what most new homeschoolers view as homeschooling.
What I learned was that we don’t have to sat at a desk with our nose in a book every day of the week. Deschooling is not just for new homeschoolers whose kids may have never been to public school, but it’s for the parents too.
We can bring our public school-ish ways home and try to mimic a system that we left and wasn’t working for us. We need to know how to step back from that mindset and dig deep to find our why to starting homeschooling.
After homeschooling over 20+ years and because I struggle so in the beginning, I wrote a program for new homeschoolers. Not only did I write a program, I led a workshop with newbees for years in Texas.
My online self-paced Kick Starter for s a two-pher for you. You not only get my personal experience with three homeschooled grads, but you get my experience in helping hundreds of new homeschoolers successfully navigate the homeschool waters.
The Homeschool KickStarter Taking First-Time Homeschoolers from Fear to Freedom is a 6 to 8 week online course where you view video workshops at your leisure while you receive personal coaching from me via a private facebook group. I know you’ll benefit from taking time first for the new homeschool educator.
You’ll love these other tips to help you stay the homeschool course:
- Deschooling: Step One for the New Homeschooler (the Definitions, the Dangers, and the Delight)
- Video: Are You Doomed If You Don’t Deschool
- 5 Top Mistakes of New or Struggling Homeschoolers
- 8 Colossal Pitfalls of Homeschooling in the WHAT IF World
- Top 5 Approaches New Homeschoolers Need to Know
- Why Buying Curriculum Won’t Make You a Homeschooler (But What Will)
- Video: What I Didn’t Learn From My Homeschooling Mom But Should Have
Hugs and love ya,