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Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

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

It’s not easy transitioning from public school to homeschool. Also, look at my page The Dynamics of How to Homeschool Easily and Smarter for more tips and resources.

Afraid of messing up their child for life, new homeschoolers feel that having a strict schedule and having school from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. is the road to homeschooling success. 

Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

New homeschoolers transitioning from a public school mindset to a relaxed homeschooling lifestyle have a hard time wrapping their minds around the concept of relaxed homeschooling.

I admit I was one of those homeschoolers. Relaxed was one shade off from lazy. I was quite judgmental. It was ugly and I admit it!

Unless I kept my boys busy with a schedule every part of their learning day, we would not be meeting my standards for success so I thought.

From Relaxed to Rejuvenated Homeschooling

First, look at some of these books about homeschooling.

5 BEST How to Homeschool Books

I've rounded up some of the best books to help you get started homeschooling.

Homeschooling for New Homeschoolers: When You Don't Know Where to Begin

Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is a real eye-opener on homeschooling. It will alleviate a lot of the anxieties about getting started homeschooling. Reading each chapter’s highlights will give you encouragement, knowledge, guidance, and peace of mind to homeschool with confidence. The best part is that you’ll be educating the person who loves your kids the most in this world--YOU! Armed with the knowledge to make better choices in curriculum will empower you to continue the path of home education. Unlike many books based on one family’s experience, Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers is also based on Tina’s many years of mentoring hundreds and hundreds of new homeschoolers at live workshops. When you don’t know where to begin Homeschooling 31 Day Boot Camp for New Homeschoolers equips you to successfully homeschool your children.

The Unhurried Homeschooler

Homeschooling is a wonderful, worthwhile pursuit, but many homeschool parents struggle with feelings of burnout and frustration. If you have ever felt this way, you’re not alone! Most of us need to be reminded of the “why” of homeschooling from time to time—but "The Unhurried homeschooler" takes parents a step further and lifts the unnecessary burdens that many parents place on themselves.

Teaching from Rest: A Homeschooler's Guide to Unshakable Peace

Those who have made the decision to homeschool their children have done so out of great love for their children and a desire to provide them an excellent education in the context of a warm, enriching home.

The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life

Parents who are deeply invested in their children's education can be hard on themselves and their kids. When exhausted parents are living the day-to-day grind, it can seem impossible to muster enough energy to make learning fun or interesting. How do parents nurture a love of learning amid childhood chaos, parental self-doubt, the flu, and state academic standards?

Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom

Education has become synonymous with schooling, but it doesn’t have to be. As schooling becomes increasingly standardized and test driven, occupying more of childhood than ever before, parents and educators are questioning the role of schooling in society. Many are now exploring and creating alternatives.

It can take years to embody the definition of relaxed homeschooling.

Some homeschoolers even confuse relaxed with unschooling. Because they may want to follow more structure, they’re hesitant about adopting relaxed homeschooling.

Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

Don’t wait years and miss out on adding the vital element of relaxation to your day.

Take a look at some of these points that will help to hone the definition of relaxed homeschooling.

Relaxed homeschooling works with every approach.

Relaxed homeschooling is not an approach, but it is a lifestyle.

This means that you don’t have to give up your homeschooling approach, but it does mean that whatever homeschool approach you follow, it needs to be examined.

For example, determine how you can make your approach more relaxed and less rigid.

Transitioning from a Public School Mindset

If you follow a unit study approach, can you make it more relaxed by doing math all together one day?

Normally, math is not a subject that can be done with multiple ages, but you want to find a way to step back. Relaxed means to rejuvenate your day. Choose one day and read a living math book to all your children.

Instead of focusing on the math worksheet you missed for the day, focus on the feeling that math becomes a subject that a child can love instead of dread.

If you follow the classical method of homeschooling, can your language arts one day be about each child narrating back a story he loves?

Transitioning from a Public School Mind-Set to a Relaxed Homeschooling Lifestyle @ Tina's Dynamic Homeschool Plus

Forget the physical act of writing one day and encourage your children to use their vocabulary building skills by using new vocabulary in an oral story telling setting.

If you follow the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, can music involvement for the day be a physical act of interpretation like dancing?

Some of this will obviously depend on the ages of your children. Anytime kids can act out something to be learned, it was more memorable and captivating.

Define what is education for your family.

One of the first things you want to do when starting is to define what is education for your family. Does it include art, living books, textbooks, hands-on learning, life skills or all of them?

Beyond thinking about worksheets, most new homeschoolers don’t give pause for even a moment to look clearly beyond the present to the future.

The importance of this cannot be stressed enough.

Learning should not be just about filling a child’s head with knowledge, but it should be a part of living that is delightful and pursued lifelong. It’s about equipping a child for adulthood.

How will your family do that in a relaxed atmosphere?

Look beyond how things are presently done either in public school or in your present homeschooling journey to see what YOU want to change to make it better for your children.

Jump headfirst into understanding your child’s learning style.

No matter how much I talked to one homeschool mom whose present homeschooling approach was not working with her son, she was not going to change.

Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

She was just sure there was something wrong with her child.

There was — he didn’t learn how she thought he should. Really, the problem was her.

Tears and fighting followed and she made her homeschooling journey one miserable day after the other because she refused to change her teaching style.

Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

When our child’s learning style doesn’t mesh with our predetermined way of teaching, are we willing to change our teaching style?

How to Kill Boring Homeschooling Days

Relaxed homeschooling means to change the way we think homeschooling should be and make it fit our child.

I had one son who loved textbooks and workbooks because some subjects he preferred to learn that way.

I have another son who cried in agony when he glanced at a textbook.

Transitioning from Public School to Homeschool For a Relaxed Lifestyle

Should I think that I had less rigorous standards with my second son because I added in living books and more hands-on? Was that just fun or was it relaxed for him?

Brow beating our children to make them accept our teaching style instead of accepting them as they come, pre-wired to learn in a certain way, never worked.

Finding what is best for your child is relaxed homeschooling.

Relaxed homeschooling means that we accept when changes have to be made in our homeschooling.

Changing our homeschool approach and giving up curriculum when it’s not obviously working for our family while not stressing out over the price we paid for it are signs that we have softened in our homeschool journey.

Can you think of other ways where you can introduce a more relaxed attitude into your every day?

More Transitioning From Public School to Homeschool Tips

Top 5 Homeschool Approaches New Homeschoolers Need to Know

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

After deschooling, a new homeschooler’s first step is to get a basic grasp of the top 5 homeschool approaches.

Having a basic grasp of the top 5 approaches new homeschoolers can conquer overwhelm and tame the curriculum beast.

First, understand these two basic clarifications to dispel misunderstandings about our lifestyle.

  • Deschooling is a process, not a homeschool approach. It’s the process ALL new homeschoolers or homeschoolers should do initially or from time to time if they struggle. See my link below.
  • Unschooling IS a homeschool approach. While we’re ALL homeschooling were NOT all unschooling. Big difference.

A colossal mistake is to focus first on curriculum instead of a homeschool approach. Too, taking time to read this article all the way through will put you ahead miles.

What is a Homeschool Approach

Top 5 Approaches New Homeschoolers Need to Know

Also, before jumping into homeschool approaches, you need to understand the curative power of how to tap into your teaching style and your child’s learning style. They may not be the same and from the start you may unintentionally cause problems.

Simply put, a homeschool approach or homeschool style is an educational philosophy which is implemented or followed through by using curriculum as a tool.

Besides, there are no right or wrong, better or worse, or smarter or dumber approaches. I’ve seen success stories and failures with each approach.

An approach is a method, goals, and values that are important to you. Part of deciding a homeschool approach is to determine what are your families priorities. That is why there is no right or wrong, just what is best for your family. An approach is how you will implement what you want your children to learn.

Secret Revealed: Homeschool Approaches Essentials

For example, on a history topic, a Charlotte Mason homeschooler will look for a living book on the topic while a Classical homeschooler may look for a book from the great minds of the past.

That is just one simple example.

Whether you intentionally or unintentionally chose it, EVERYONE has a homeschool approach when they begin.

It’s better to pick it for your family’s needs. So, don’t jump in and choose curriculum that is fitted for a homeschool approach that is opposite of your child’s learning style.

There are a few things for you to know so that you make an informed choice.

Next, look at my video on YouTube How To Easily Choose and Distinguish between Homeschool Educational Approaches.

Additionally, understanding these 6 fundamental points will help you to increase the odds of success. Below are the first three points.

  1. Did you know that just about ALL curriculum falls into one or more of the homeschool approaches? By narrowing down to an approach that fits your family’s values and your children’s needs you have tamed the curriculum hunt. Reduce overwhelm by choosing the method FIRST.
  2. It’s NOT necessary to know EVERY approach just like it’s not necessary to understand EVERY ingredient in a homemade dish. The most used ingredients are key to understanding the big picture. Homeschool styles or approaches are similar. You don’t need to know EVERY single one, but only the most popular one. Some styles are not as popular. Not that they are unimportant, but the top 5 homeschool approaches are what a majority of homeschoolers use. As you’re more experienced, you can delve into the others.
  3. There is NO need to choose only one. If you see that one or two follow your goals, then pick and choose the teaching points and combine them. It’s called eclectic. Eclectic is not really an approach, but a type of homeschooler.

And then look at the next three points.

Best Homeschooling Approaches

  1. With that being said, DO choose one that fits MOSTLY with your goals because it cuts down on frustration. By having one that is your dominant one, you can find curriculum that fits it first and then delve into curriculum that fits other approaches that comes in second. It REALLY reduces teaching fatigue to have one major approach that you can rely on.
  2. You can change on a dime if one is not working. There is no harm done. Maybe you’ve not accomplished what you’ve set out to do because you chose a homeschool approach that doesn’t really embrace how your child learns. He probably has still retained some of the information. Just switch approaches, chalk it up to being inexperienced, and move on.
  3. One more HUGE point to remember and that is NOT every homeschool approach has a plethora of planned out curriculum to choose from. There are more choices now than used to be, but remember you’re following an APPROACH and using curriculum as tools. Bottom line: An exceptional teacher will be able to use what she has to tweak to fit her students. Yes, it may take a bit more work, but it can be done. Be sure to see my post at the bottom where I used a textbook to do our unit study.

Moreover, here are some of the most popular homeschool styles and I’ve listed a few curriculum suggestions as examples of each.

5 Homeschool Approaches

Traditional Textbook Homeschool Approach

Characteristics

  • textboook driven
  • worksheets
  • test driven
  • follows a sequential scope and sequence
  • record keeping/grading services
  • often been called “conveyor-belt” education

Textbooks and workbooks are used. This is what a lot of us used in public school and the approach most of us are familiar with. And this is the way most new homeschoolers start out. Ask yourself why you would want to repeat the same approach that is not working in public school.

Many online public school at home providers have popped up in the last 10 years. Even online schools which may not necessarily use printed material may still under this approach because it’s based on textbooks.

A graded textbook guides teaching, and subjects are covered in increments over the course of a school year.  Textbooks may be supplemented with worktexts or books.

A few curriculum providers (both secular and Christian)

  • Abeka
  • Acellus
  • Bob Jones
  • Calvert

Unit Study Homeschool Approach

Characteristics

  • where all subjects are covered by being focused on one topic
  • child-led or parent directed
  • emphasis is on mastery-based learning instead of ages
  • natural real-life approach to learning
  • students can see the whole picture
  • creating self-learning

Unit Studies take a specific theme or topic and delves into it deeply over a period of time. The emphasis is on integrating language arts, social studies, science, history, fine arts, and math together while focused on one unit of study or theme.

The unit study philosophy emphasizes that all knowledge is connected and remembered longer when taught in an integrated fashion.

A few curriculum providers

Charlotte Mason Homeschool Approach

Characteristics

  • oral narration
  • written narration
  • copywork
  • nature study
  • journaling
  • use of living books
  • form habits

Homeschool Approaches

Charlotte Mason was a turn of the century British educator whose approach was to teach children skills such as reading, writing, and math, and then expose them to the best sources of knowledge for all other subjects.

This means taking nature walks, visiting museums to view art up close, or reading what she called “living books.”  Textbooks are viewed as dry and dull and to be avoided in favor of richer sources of knowledge.

A few curriculum providers

Classical Homeschool Approach

Characteristics

  • intensive language arts focused
  • emphasis on Latin, Greek and Hebrew
  • progression through learning based on child’s development
  • reading great books as a way to connect to great minds

In Ancient Greece, emphasis was place on learning the tools of learning. 

These tools could then be applied to the study of any subject. 

This classical” approach would have students study grammar, the dialectic or logic phase, and finally rhetoric. These tools were known as the “trivium.”

Following the study of these subjects were arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music – called the “quadrivium.” The approach is to teach learning in “stages” according to the child’s development.

The book by Dorothy Sayers’ The Lost Tools of Learning is a reference  for this approach; Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well Trained Mind was the first book of its kind to lay out curriculum suggestions for this approach.

A few curriculum providers

  • Institute for Excellence in Writing
  • Veritas Press
  • Memoria Press

Unschooling Homeschool Approach

Characteristics

  • learning is directed almost entirely by the child which is where unschoolers differ from other homeschoolers
  • instead of teaching being at the center, the child is at the center of learning
  • children should not be forced to learn something against their will
  • more access to the real-world
  • creating self-learners
  • to provide an environment with rich resources

Homeschool Styles Are Homeschool Approaches

John Holt was a twentieth-century American educator who believed that children’s natural curiosity and desire to learn were destroyed by traditional schooling. 

He is generally associated with the unschooling approach, which focuses on nonstructural learning that allows children to pursue their own interests and believes that children should be included in a meaning full way in the life of adults.

The approach has the child at the center of learning and subjects revolve around his interests.

The child is exposed to a rich environment of resources, including an adult who models a lifestyle of curiosity and learning.  Formal academics are pursued when the need arises or when the child indicates willingness.

A few curriculum providers

  • Because learning is child-led, homeschoolers will have many resources in their homes from living books to games. Also, every day learning experiences are used to teach every day. Many curriculum resources are unschooling friendly.

Look at some of these posts The Big List of Unit Study Hands-on (and Hands-off) Curriculum and Big Ol’ List of All-In-One Homeschool Curriculum (a.k.a Boxed) which will help you with curriculum.

I hope these tips give you a starting point.

Top 5 Approaches New Homeschoolers Need to Know

You’ll want to read these other tips.

Hugs and love ya,

After deschooling, a new homeschooler’s first step is to get a basic grasp of homeschool approaches. Having a basic grasp of the top 5 approaches new homeschoolers can conquer overwhelm and tame the curriculum beast. CLICK HERE to read this SUPER helpful list!
After deschooling, a new homeschooler’s first step is to get a basic grasp of homeschool approaches. Having a basic grasp of the top 5 approaches new homeschoolers can conquer overwhelm and tame the curriculum beast. CLICK HERE to read this SUPER helpful list!

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

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

Summertime homeschooling is the time to add spice to your routine. Because summertime conjures up lazy days at the pool or a trip to the beach, also take advantage of a more relaxed schedule.

Besides, summertime is not only a great time to begin homeschooling, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year. Kids won’t even realize they’re still learning with these fun summertime schooling ideas below.

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

Whether you want a break from a more rigid schedule, feel like last year’s curriculum left you feeling less than inspired, or want to use summertime to put a foot in homeschooling, you’ll love these eight tips.

8 Ways to Use Summer Time to Kick Start the Homeschool Year

Mix and match these tips or use one to put the spark for learning in your new homeschool year.

ONE/ Target one element of language arts like writing.

Although many new homeschoolers think they have to wait until the fall to begin their year, it’s so much better if you get a feel for teaching by focusing on one subject.

It may be a subject your child is struggling with or a subject which interests him.

When I have summertime with my high school teens, being absorbed on one subject like their writing keeps it from being overwhelming when they have a heavier load at the beginning of the year.

I love the courses by Writing Rockstar.

For example, one year we focused on strengthening writing skills through a course set to my teen’s pace.

Slowing down and lingering on a subject like composition encouraged my son’s love for writing; it allowed him time to pursue his passion of writing without the pace of a hectic schedule.

TWO/ Add a new self-paced class like these fun online Literary Adventures classes.

Also, whether you’re looking for a poetry class, an online fun self-paced course for a high school teen or your younger kids, you’ll love the variety of wonderful literature at Literary Adventures.

THREE/ Dive deep into a subject which gets overlooked like ART or MUSIC

Art is a subject that can easily get overlooked during the year. Have you seen this fun Art History Kids.

Until we started taking online art classes art was a struggle for us. I’m not an artsy person, but we love art.

During the long relaxed days of summer, it gives us a time to indulge our love art.

Then,, music study is a much overlooked study, although it shouldn’t be. You’ll love these courses.

These are high school courses, but Music in our Homeschool has something for just about every age.

20th Century Music Appreciation for High School
Music Appreciation: Middle Ages Thru Classical Era for High School

FOUR/ Teach your kids to cook with Kids Cook Real Food.

Kids love the feeling of doing authentic jobs, and kids these days really need creative work to do with their hands. Your Kids will love their courses.

FIVE/ Add fun subscription boxes.

And subscription boxes nowadays rock our world with fun learning. They keep our homeschool day fun and lively. Try one or two!

SIX/ Watch educational movies.

Educational movies make a great start to school. It’s easy after pulling your kids from school to jump straight into book learning.

You may think that is what homeschooling is about. Beginning your year with educational movies puts the whole family in a relaxed mood.

Pop some corn and grab one of these movies from the list below to begin your learning journey.

Grab my Free and Useful Editable Movie Report For Homeschool to learn with movies.

SEVEN/ Don’t forget refreshment and education for the educator.

The worst thing you can do in the beginning of your school year is to focus solely on the needs or your kids.

Taking time to educate yourself about homeschooling or just grabbing some refreshment will give you the boost you need for the new year.

I love the fact that Fortuigence has a free course for parents about writing. It it a subject lot of us struggle to teach.

EIGHT/ Homeschool unit studies nurture a love for learning. Do one or two.

When children have control of their learning, school can go a lot more smooth. Unit studies have a way of nurturing a love of learning because you can pick topics that pique your children’s interests.

I have volumes of free unit studies here on my site. Here are some of my 26 Free Nature Unit Studies for Multiple Ages.

Living books for multiple ages is also a great tip when your budget is limited. These nature living books I use below are from – NaturExplorers.

Our Journey Westward

Pick one or two and recharge your kids’ love for learning.

How to Use Summertime to Put a Foot in Homeschooling

You’ll also love these other ideas to use summertime as way to put your foot in homeschooling:

Hugs and love ya,

Summer time conjures up lazy days at the pool, a trip to the beach, and more relaxed schedules along with a family vacation or two. Summer time homeschooling is not only a great time to begin, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year.
Summer time conjures up lazy days at the pool, a trip to the beach, and more relaxed schedules along with a family vacation or two. Summer time homeschooling is not only a great time to begin, but a way to have a relaxed start to the new year.

Is Homeschooling Making the Grade? It’s in and the Grade is ALL Fs!

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

Successfully homeschooling is not easy. Ask a homeschool mom and she’ll admit many days are tougher than she thought in the beginning. Is homeschool worth it? Is homeschooling making the grade?

After 20+ years of homeschooling and having my third homeschool high school graduate this year, I’m here to tell you that the grade is in and it’s all Fs.

Is Homeschooling Making the Grade?

What is there to not love when emphasis is put on Family-style learning? Public school only Feigned an interest in our child.

Children are not Forgotten or left behind. There is no worrying about the no child left behind law because your emphasis is on the individual needs of your children ahead of standards for the masses.

Successfully homeschooling is not easy. Ask a homeschool mom and she'll admit many days are tougher than she thought in the beginning. Is homeschool worth it? Is homeschooling making the grade? After 20+ years of homeschooling and having my third homeschool high school graduate this year, I'm here to tell you the grade is in and it's all Fs.

At first, you don’t appreciate your new Found Freedom or Flexibility.

Trying to follow the public school schedule is normal albeit Foolish. You left the public school because it didn’t Fit your educational philosophy until somebody Finally asks you why would you mimic something that is not working. Is that the meaning of insanity?

Then, you Figure out that there are no homeschool police lurking around the corner. Determined to Face the odds and not overly worry about ruining your child’s Future, you learn to savor precious moments, relax, and take one year at a time.

Homeschooling is about doing what is right and Fine for your family. You have choices to homeschool with an attitude Full of Faith or use Faith-Free curriculum.

It takes a Few years to get past the guilt you have because your Firstborn was your guinea pig. Instead of playing and nurturing a Fidgety child’s need to move you made the Formative years too Formal.

Understanding that you First learn to parent a 2 year old or 3 year old by Focusing on Fun, you have to Forgive yourself for new bee mistakes.

Always worrying if your children are behind is Frightening and Finally you let go of Fear.

Doubters told you that homeschooling wasn’t for the Fainthearted. Embracing a Feisty and Ferocious attitude, you learned to squelch the naysayers, embrace the years when everything went wrong, and to be energized and Fortified when your kids moved ahead two grade levels in a Few months.

After many years of homeschooling you know that you’ve Fueled your kids love for learning although you felt like a Fool. It took a while for the Feelings of Failure to leave, but through homeschool Friendships you gained a new homeschool Family and a renewed Focus.

Reflecting isn’t easy, but you learned to stretch Forward and measure success through every day interaction with your kids. No longer looking to public school as an option for education, you’re absolutely sure that your mommy curriculum you Fussed over year after year Fosters a true love of learning.

Sure, you try to Fuel that same can-do spirit of how to teach in new homeschooling moms, but you realize they only want to talk about choosing curriculum. Finding answers for their family is their job.

From Fanatical to Formidable Homeschooler

Helping to Fortify new homeschool educators is what I can do. Learning is not a small window of time that quickly closes and progress is a journey measuring year to year and not day to day. Through all the Fatigue, Frustration, and Financial strain you wouldn’t change one Fiery moment.

When you Finish the Formal part of your homeschool years, you know how Fulfilled, Fantastic, and Fearsome you truly are now!

Don’t forget to join my FACEBOOK group where we talk about ALL these things and more!

You’ll also Find these articles inspiring:

Hugs and love ya,

Successfully homeschooling is not easy. Ask a homeschool mom and she'll admit many days are tougher than she thought in the beginning. Is homeschool worth it? Is homeschooling making the grade? After 20+ years of homeschooling and having my third homeschool high school graduate this year, I'm here to tell you the grade is in and it's all Fs.

Why Buying Curriculum Won’t Make You a Homeschooler (But What Will)

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

You should have seen it! It was the newest hyper speed printer you’ve ever seen in a homeschool household. I kept it busy night and day printing hefty 3-inch binders full of every subject I could dream of to teach my then preschoolers. At the end of three months when it was time to start my first official day of homeschool, I was already burned out. Buying curriculum and printing everything I could find on the internet didn’t anymore make a homeschooler than buying my son’s first car made him an experienced driver.

You couldn’t have convinced me then that unless I had purchased curriculum, I wasn’t a full member of the national unified happy homeschoolers society. (No, there is no such club.)

So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler, Uh

Instead of focusing on buying curriculum, which is only part of the homeschool puzzle, I should’ve been educating myself on homeschool approaches, my definition of education, and trusting a child’s natural bent to learn.

Why Buying Curriculum Won't Make You a Homeschooler (But What Will)

Curriculum seems to be the hallmark of identifying yourself as a homeschooler. While it’s important to have curriculum, I’v learned that:

  • curriculum doesn’t really teach anything,
  • you need very little to get started,
  • focusing on the three Rs – reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic is the starting point,
  • subjects like history, geography, art, and science can wait for a for while as you focus on the three Rs,
  • understanding what is the homeschool lifestyle is of much more importance, and
  • understanding what is NOT homeschooling is just as important as calling yourself a homeschooler.

How to Instantly Become a Homeschooler

You don’t have to wait long to become a homeschooler. It’s not buying curriculum that advances you; it is about adopting ideas from the homeschool lifestyle.

One common weave of all successful homeschoolers is that they think out of the box. Determined to not follow the same method of teaching that wasn’t working in public school, a true homeschooler takes time to know her children first. Then, she finds curriculum to meet her needs. She doesn’t buy curriculum then make her family adjust to it.

True homeschoolers appreciate quickly that:

  • they’re free to choose when and how they learn,
  • they can set their own deadlines,
  • more emphasis can be given to their child’s interests,
  • lessons can be short and still be rigorous,
  • kids are encouraged to be problem solvers and independent thinkers,
  • the day and lesson plans can be flexible,
  • traveling is part of the homeschool lifestyle and
  • that kids do learn by living.

Although we say it all the time, a true homeschooler takes time to understand how curriculum is a tool. A tool can wield great power and hurt others if the user does not know how to use it well.  Like any dangerous tool in our home, we take time to read the instructions well and take great care when using any tools around our kids.

However. new homeschoolers pick up curriculum and command it with such force and that if their kids have trouble, they question first the child instead of the homeschool approach or curriculum. When completing curriculum is set up as the absolute measure of a child’s progress instead of measuring progress individually, a child could be left feeling worthless.

Unintentionally, the harm at home may become worse than what was going on in public school.

Like any tool, sometimes it needs to be used longer, other times it needs to be put down. It reminds me of baking bread. At times, I need to use my kitchen tools and other times I put it away and use my hands. Using my hands is the only way I can tell how well the dough mixed and the consistency of it.

Teaching is the same. If we never take a hands-on approach to our child’s learning, learn to put down the curriculum and change things in the curriculum fit our child, we will never have a pulse for how our child is advancing. Homeschooling will be a struggle from the start and stay hard period.

Use free online curriculum like Easy Peasy All In One to find a true starting point for buying curriculum. I know some homeschoolers who use Easy Peasy primarily and supplement it. Personally, I prefer to buy curriculum and supplement with free curriculum because I want to hand pick curriculum that is unique to each child’s strength.

Also, true homeschoolers avoid the thinking that all of their kids have to use the same math or language arts program. One sanity saving tip is for your kids to learn together. However, you’ll want to take time to understand which subjects can easily be taught together and which subjects are best learned separately. Look at the tips here on my post Skill Subjects vs. Content Subjects: What’s the Difference.

Besides using free curriculum and free online tests to gauge a starting point, a seasoned homeschooler includes her child’s interest as part of her curriculum. When a child comes from public school they’ve been taught to take a passive approach to learning. In otherwords, the teacher dictated the lesson plans and subjects.


Although a child may have been a good public school student, had excellent grades, and be responsible, he was not a partner in lesson making. This concept may seem offensive to the average public school teacher. To a homeschool mom, the concept of including a child in what interests him and how he learns is the first step to independent learning. We’ve learned that an obedient child doesn’t always equal a child interested in learning lifelong. It just means they learned to do what was necessary to get by or to have good grades.

Intrinsic learning happens by independent learning. By giving choices to our kids, we seem them as a partner to their learning and not a passive bystander.

My bountiful binders full of printing material cost me a fortune to print and cost more in stress. Only doing a handful of the worksheets, I learned quickly that preschoolers learn best by doing and not by all the school-ish things I had got ready. Thankfully, my misguided exuberance didn’t mess my sons up for life.

Why Buying Curriculum Won't Make You a Homeschooler (But What Will). You should have seen it! It was the newest hyper speed printer you've ever seen in a homeschool household. I kept it busy night and day printing hefty 3-inch binders full of every subject I could dream of to teach my then preschoolers. At the end of three months when it was time to start my first official day of homeschool, I was already burned out. Buying curriculum and printing everything I could find on the internet didn't anymore make a homeschooler than buying my son's first car made him an experienced driver. Click here to read how to become a homeschooler!

I had time to change my attitude to appreciate that buying curriculum did not a homeschooler make.Have you made the same mistake?

Look at these other tips you’ll love:

Hugs and love ya,