CHM079: 6 Tips For A Solid Homeschool Year

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Hi, and welcome to the Christian Homeschool Moms Podcast.

I'm Demetria and glad to be back with you on this episode, number 79.

And on this show, I'm going to talk about six tips for a solid homeschool year.

So if you've just started back your school year for homeschooling, welcome back to Homeschool.

I'm really excited because we started about a week ago and we're kind of back into the swing of things now.

So things are starting to pick up for us and our family.

We've gotten the kids enrolled in a couple of classes, and we're on our way with our homeschooling.

And so, yeah, we're back into the swing of the regular rhythm.

So how's your start of the school year going?

If you're just getting back into things, how's that going?

I'd love to hear from you over at the blog@christianhomeschoolmoms.com and so what I wanted to do on this episode is to just give you a few tips to remember this upcoming school year.

So some of the tips that I wanted to share with you are things that have helped me over the past eight years of homeschooling.

And they're ideas that I think will help you and your family, you know, as you embark on a new school year, whether it's your first year or your 10th year.

It's always just good to remind yourself of these tips, but because they are helpful and the first one is to ease into a homeschool rhythm.

I was just speaking with someone recently who said that she is easing into her homeschool year.

I believe that's Andrea.

So shout out to Andrea, who is also a writer at Christian Homeschool Moms, and she was telling me how that she is easing into her homeschool year.

And I love that word because, you know, so many of us, when we do our homeschool planning, we tend to try to jump into things, just kind of dive into it with all the energy that we can muster.

And a lot of times that's not the best way to approach homeschooling since we do have to bend and transition and be flexible, you know, during the process.

Because, you know, again, homeschooling is a process.

And we, as much as we plan, as much as we try to get things, you know, together up front, as in my last podcast, when I talked about getting, you know, your room together, you know, creating a homeschool space.

Space, as much planning as we do, there's still so much that you cannot prepare for.

You just have to walk it out one day at a time.

Homeschooling is truly something that you have to ease into each year because each year is different.

So for us, what that meant was the first day of school, besides our curriculum picks for the year.

I honestly wasn't 100% prepared for the school year.

I didn't have everything planned out for the week, much less the day.

And so what I did was the morning that I knew we would start school, I gathered our books together that I felt like we would use, but always with an open mind that, you know, I could always retreat to our reference shelf to use anything if, if the, you know, if it arose that we would need to.

So, you know, not everything's planned out step by step anymore.

Like I tried to years ago when I first started homeschooling.

I've learned that flexibility is key.

And so we just eased into our day.

And I started with, you know, my eighth grader this year and my second grader just kind of opening up in prayer and Bible readings together.

And just from there we went straight into math, just kind of opening the book and going from there and sort of letting the day flow for itself.

As I picked up each book, you know, we kind of ran across some things that we found interesting, especially with subjects like history and geography.

And there's always the library.

So, you know, go to the library and pick out books that go along with our subject.

And so I've tried to be a little bit more relaxed our first week of school.

So, you know, my recommendation if you're feel is that if you are feeling an overwhelm is to just relax or ease into your homeschooling week.

Don't feel like you have to do, you know, seven subjects on day one in order to call it a school day.

Just really ease into it.

Some people actually like meeting up at a park for park day on the first day of school.

And just I'm really having a fun first day of school with other homeschoolers.

And so I found that to be something that people tend to do here locally.

And our first week of school, we joined a group of others.

Not exactly a co op, but it's actually classical conversations, something that we were in many years ago and decided not to join up until now.

So we're back and it's exciting because now my kids are in different levels than they were three years ago.

I have now a middle school child who's in Challenge A.

And then one who is just starting foundations.

So very, very different than what I thought we would be doing.

And it was kind of a last minute choice and it was a totally God thing for us this year.

And so here we are again, back on a different track of school, but very, very exciting as I take, you know, each year one year at a time and just ease into my own journey and everybody's journey will look different.

So always, you know, kind of stay open minded about that kind.

That kind of leads me into some of my other tips for you.

One of them has to do with allowing your homeschool philosophy to evolve.

So don't be afraid of change.

You know, from year to year, things will look different for your family if you're open to that.

You know, if you're totally not open to change, then expect the same old, same old.

You know, it'll be the same year after year, with the exception that your kids will change no matter what.

So.

But you, you don't have to change.

You know, if it works for you, then fine.

But also just remember that it's okay to transition.

It's okay to make changes as necessary.

I know that I've been involved in homeschool groups where people were very afraid, seemed that there was some type of a reticent, just very, very fearful of making any type of change in curriculum or style.

Even if you're a classical, you're classical for life.

If you're Charlotte Mason, that is your mantra for life kind of deal.

And so, you know, I say really be careful with that and just be open, remain very, very flexible as our kids change, as we evolve, you know, and as our families evolve, you never know from one year to the next what your family may have a bent towards.

So if you're classical this year, and maybe that you discover a few things about Charlotte Mason or a few things about unschooling that really attract you to a different homeschool philosophy altogether.

And you may find that just a mixture of all of it is what your family's all about, that maybe you're eclectic and so don't be afraid to make those changes.

You know, if any of you have been listening to my podcast for any amount of time, especially if you follow my journey from last year and the year before and the year before that, when I first started this podcast, I've made a lot of changes.

There's been many, many transitions in our homeschool journey.

You know, we started years ago, very eclectic, but with a bent toward the classical education.

And from there, you know, we've used a lot of workbooks.

We've used the traditional philosophy.

We have transitioned from that.

When we first moved to California, we started to be really interested in classical education, but also with trying classical homeschooling for a little while.

We did classical conversations and enjoyed that, but found that it didn't fit where we were emotionally as a family.

So being so close to the ocean, we started doing a lot of kind of science and hands on things by the ocean.

And so we naturally were attracted to Charlotte Mason method with nature journaling and things like that when we lived close to the ocean.

Now we moved to the city.

Things are a little different now with the way we homeschool.

And so we actually ended up for one year doing virtual school with my oldest daughter as we made our transition to where we live now.

And that was very, very helpful.

At one point in the middle of this journey, we also had used Sunlight for a year, which is a literature based program which is very different than virtual schooling and very different than classical education in Charlotte Mason.

So as you can see, our journey has reflected many, many changes from year to year.

And although I'm not afraid of change, I also feel like it has to be something that, you know is going to be a fit for your family that year.

It shouldn't just be, you know, hopping from one philosophy to the next just for the fun of it or just to kind of shake things up a little bit in your family and just for fun, because, you know, transitions are not easy.

They're not easy on kids and they're not easy on parents.

And unless you feel like you're making a change because it's needed, then, you know, maybe best not to experiment just for the sake of it.

But it's great to experiment because you know that those changes are absolutely needed for your family.

So this year, because we were given an opportunity to do classical conversations this year, and because we're in a new city, it was so, so helpful to be able to connect to other families who are also Christians and believers.

And, you know, it's not always an easy feat to find that kind of Christian community if you're living in a city where it's difficult to find maybe Christians unless you're going to church.

And of course, not everyone at church is homeschooling.

And so making those types of homeschool connections can be difficult unless you locate and zero in on those groups that, you know are absolutely faith based Christian families who are also homeschooling.

So that was one of our motivations for Feeling that this might be a year to try classical conversations again.

So we're back on that track, and so far, so good.

It was our first.

Our first week.

So I'll have, you know, a lot more weeks to uncover, unpack this journey and see how, how, where that takes us and how we enjoy it so far.

You know, my oldest daughter's really, really, really jazzed about that and getting to meet other kids outside of her home.

Whereas, you know, with her virtual school last year, it was difficult to meet other kids because, of course, everything's virtual.

So this is a great year to get out and meet friends, and she's really been enjoying this first week back.

So, you know, allow your homeschool philosophy to evolve if needed, and just don't be afraid of change.

Also, here's another tip for you.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And I've said that before, and you know, in that vernacular, because I think it's, you know, such a great way, you know, to remember that don't go messing with things that aren't broken.

You know, if it's working for your family, then by all means, keep doing what you're doing.

You're doing great.

And, you know, most of all, don't try to fix something that doesn't need to be broken or doesn't need to be fixed because it's not broken, because.

Just because everybody else happens to be making a change.

So if you see that, you know, your peers, your group of friends, friendship circle, your circle of friends are, you know, switching one curricula to another, and everybody seems to be patterning after this one thing.

Everybody's making that change to change their curriculum or change activity, and you seem to be the only one that's not making that change.

You might feel a little bit left out of the circle, but remember, it's not about.

It's not about what everyone else is doing.

So really focus on your own family's particular needs.

It's great, I think, to create a family philosophy.

If you haven't done that, take some time to get out a sheet of paper and write down your family's goals of homeschooling.

Write down your philosophy.

Get together with your husband, if you're married, and see what his goals are for your kids.

Combine them with your goals for your kids, and then talk with your kids about their goals for themselves and for their learning journey.

And then create a family plan for the year about what you expect to have accomplished by the end of the year for each of your Kids and do look at them individually, because that's important.

They're not the same.

So you don't want to have the same goals for each kid.

So you want to, you know, make sure that each child gets his or her own particular set of goals.

But also look at this in terms of your whole entire family goals for homeschooling.

What is it that you're actually trying to accomplish?

And then you focus, you stay focused on your family's goals and your particular journey, and then you don't have to worry about what everybody else is doing.

And so, again, it just brings me back to, you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If it's broken, then fix it up, right?

So if you have a broken wheel on a bicycle, then you want to fix that wheel.

You know, if something's broken in your life, then you want to get it fixed.

And it's the same with your homeschooling endeavors.

If there's something going on with your homeschooling that doesn't quite work for you, that's when it's time to fix.

That's when it's time to make a change, to transition in your journey either to a different homeschool idea or philosophy or transition to a different setup of the way you're doing things.

Maybe it's really something as simple as changing something like where you do school, where your kids are getting their studies done, if maybe just going from the schoolroom, so to speak, to their bedroom.

If that one change changes everything for your experience in homeschooling, then make that change.

Maybe it's better that they do school in their bedroom.

I know last year, my daughter spent a lot of time in her bedroom with school because of virtual schooling.

It made a tremendous difference in our actual, you know, just in our overall day as a family.

You know, having her in her room for so much.

I missed her because I felt like she was gone so much just being in her room all day.

But for her, it was just this special time of just being able to concentrate on her work without the interruptions of my teaching her younger sister.

So maybe just small changes like that, like finding a quiet spot far away from everyone else in the family that your kids can go and get their schoolwork done.

Or maybe a small change in location.

Maybe instead of staying in the house, you go out.

Who knows, maybe even a little just nice reprieve somewhere, you know, in nature, just out in the woods, or, you know, pull up a chair, you know, out in a nice, spacious area.

If you have access to something like that, get a lawn chair and just read for a few hours and.

Or if that's not the way you want to do it, then hey, you know, just figure out what works for you.

But I just say that it's so important to find out what works and try different things.

If something's broken, you always look for a solution to fix that.

So figure out what would help your kids to learn better, what it is that you can do to help your children, or what it is that you can do to facilitate a better learning environment or to bring about the change in your homeschooling.

Maybe by scheduling something differently, dropping a few things so you're not so over scheduled, or getting up earlier in the morning, that changes a lot.

I know for a fact, because we started doing that last week.

But getting up earlier definitely changes the look of your homeschool.

Getting up later makes everything run differently.

So look at everything from different perspectives.

It's not just about your curriculum choices, although that's a big, big part of it.

Choosing curriculum that works for your personality as a teacher really makes a big difference.

If you are finding yourself overwhelmed looking at the teacher manual, then the curriculum is going to overwhelm you and overpower your homeschool.

So picking curriculum that suits you would be better, I think, because in many ways you can then take it and break it down to your child's level or beef it up, or do whatever you need to do to tweak it so it meets your child.

But it helps if it's a good match for the parent.

Okay.

So if you feel comfortable administering the work or teaching the material or presenting it somehow, if it's a comfort zone for you, then that's a great, you know, a curriculum choice also.

Wow.

Just so there's so many different facets of homeschooling that when you, when you think about your everyday life, just the organization of your materials, how you choose to store your items, anything from your, your kids routines and how, how well the household is run.

If you've got dinner on, if you've got, you know, time to do your laundry and clean up a little bit, you know, before, if you've had time to pray, you know, everything matters.

It's not just about picking curriculum and then calling it a homeschool day.

It really encompasses our entire lifestyle.

So, you know, just really think through all those types of questions.

You know, I really should come up with some type of a checklist, you know, for things to look for in your homeschooling so I might end up making a printable or something like that.

But anyway, that's just an idea for you there to fix whatever needs to be fixed so that you can move on and enjoy your homeschooling.

Another tip for you is, you know, true learning is messy, so be okay with it.

It's okay to get a little messy.

I know that, you know, I'm a neat freak, but I also realize that learning is, is more powerful and more valuable if the kids can get knee deep, elbow deep into the trenches of learning.

And that is going to mean getting messy, especially with science.

But some of our other topics like geography or art and you know, even mathematics, don't be afraid to get on the floor and play those games and participate and really just get really dirty when it comes to a lot of these topics that you're teaching.

So if you want to bring things to life, especially for younger kids, being, you know, just available to allow for fun and creativity is so helpful.

So don't be afraid of that.

You know, you can clean up when you're done, but you know, while you're, while you're learning, enjoy the process, get a little dirty.

Sometimes, of course, you may have to go out outside if you want to keep the dirt out there.

But you know, find a place where you can really just let loose and enjoy your homeschooling.

So for us, you know, with science we've, we've done, we've enjoyed doing tornadoes.

We did a tornado experiment about a year ago and this year we'll be doing a lot of physics.

And so, and so with physics it's going to consist of building and not so much dirty work really, but just really getting hands on and just getting in there and building things.

And I think that's going to be a really cool experience for us.

And it's for art, you know, just finding a spot where if we drop paint it's okay and just letting the kids enjoy that, that time of reflection and just let them get messy and paint away and enjoy the process without having to worry about keeping everything neat and tidy.

You know, I have girls, so my girls are real girly girls.

And I, like I said, I have a 13 year old, so she's not really messy, so I don't have to really worry about cleaning up after her.

I do have an 8 year old who still enjoys very much jumping in a puddle of water.

So, you know, I still have that, you know, experience right now with a younger child.

But again, you know, I don't know, I Don't have a house full of boys.

So that might be a little bit different if you have boys.

But I imagine that learning is so much fun when you can get out and let them run around in a field and build, you know, just build all kinds of really cool things and just explore and run and fly kites and build rockets and just.

Just do great, fun homeschooling things, you know, and to have that freedom as a homeschooler, to be able to learn any way you wish, you know, it's.

To me, it's beautiful to see homeschooling as you can get dirty and you can enjoy it and have fun, you know.

So I say, you know, while they're young, enjoy it and let them get messy and be okay with it.

My next tip for you is don't label your kids unless it helps, okay?

So labeling, you know, has a bad rap because we say we shouldn't label, and it's true to some degree.

You should not ever label your kids.

Don't ever say, you know, you're slow, you're clumsy, you're this, you're that.

You know, if it's negative, please keep your labeling to yourself and let them grow, you know, out of whatever stage they're in and just let them grow into the person that God has called them to be.

Without the labels, the last thing they need is for mom and dad to be labeling them.

But on the other hand, where I think labeling comes in handy is when you do have something positive that you want to speak over your children.

I do believe in the power of positive words, and I believe in spiritual speaking over our kids.

And when I say speaking over, that's kind of like having a life mantra where you speak over your life and you say things.

When I look in the mirror, I speak to myself, and I tell myself exactly where I want to go in the future and what I want to see in myself, what I want to see manifest within my life.

And so, you know, I'll try not to get too deep about it, but I really think it's very important to speak those words of life over your children.

So if, you know, whatever you see in them, you know, bring that out.

I think it's important.

I see that my daughter's very gifted in art, and so I tell her all the time, you're a budding artist.

You are, you know, excellent at painting.

You're excellent at drawing.

You're an excellent artist.

And I speak that over her because I see the gift, and I see it, you know, it doesn't mean she has to go into that feels, you know, when she's an adult and I'm not, you know, approaching it from that, from that direction, I'm just telling her, like, look, this is what you're really, really good at.

And so when I find that she's not good at something or I don't think that she enjoys something, for example, if she doesn't enjoy writing, I don't like to say over her, you're not as good at writing as you are at drawing.

Because I still feel that she's good at writing.

She may not actually like to, but I think that she's good at it and that she could be better if she continued to practice, if she continued to put forth that.

That effort and energy into it as she became more alert and interested and motivated to write.

And so that's, you know, one of the reasons I wanted her to do classical conversations this year is to help motivate her with writing.

As they're teaching from Latin, they're teaching Latin, they're teaching her about the process of writing.

And that's just a support system that she needed in her life this year.

And so during this process, I think it's important for me to speak that over her, that you can do this.

You're going to be great at writing.

You just keep.

You keep on working at it, and you're already great.

I can see it happening.

I can see that for you in the near future, that you're going to write a full research paper and you're going to be so good at it.

It's going to be an excellent paper.

And, you know, just to keep speaking those words of validation over our children, even when we don't see it completely manifested yet, it's important to give them the benefit of knowing that you believe in them.

Okay, so that's just my take on labeling.

I think there are times when it's okay to label, when you are labeling from a positive position.

And lastly, I wanted to encourage you to trust God, trust your instincts and relax.

And those three things kind of wrap up this whole entire podcast and sum everything up for you this time around.

As you're listening to this episode, I want you to keep in mind that everything I've said really just boils down to trusting God, because your kids were given to you for a season and for a reason.

And while you have this opportunity to really be a huge part of their lives, trust God that he is going to take care of them.

They are going to be okay, and you are the facilitator of their education while they're in your home.

So just take advantage of this time to love on your kids.

Encourage your kids.

Don't get frustrated with them.

I know sometimes they frustrate you.

But.

But be of good courage.

As the Bible says, be of good courage.

Be.

Be encouraged.

Right?

And trust that God is in control.

He loves your children.

He loves you.

He's giving you the energy, the motivation, the tools, the resources, everything that you can possibly think of that you need to take care of your kids and to teach them.

God is giving that to you.

Just trust in him and also trust your instincts, because he gave you women's intuition for a reason.

He gave you instincts so he knows exactly how to help your children.

Through the use of your female intuition, he knows how to use that to help you to help your children.

So when you feel like something's wrong, when you feel like one of your kids isn't as happy as he or she needs to be, when you feel like something's kind of off, then the Lord will prompt you to help that child in that area through prayer, through talking to your kids, whatever you need to do to get them through certain times in their lives as they're going through different stages.

And so trust the Lord, trust your instincts.

And most of all, through this entire homeschool journey, you know, a lot of this can be very overwhelming.

We can get so super busy just trying to make it all happen, from choosing curriculum to.

To just figuring out the scheduling, and just everything can be so up and, you know, crazy in the air like that.

So we.

We want to calm down and realize that it's okay to take a breather, relax.

It's going to be okay.

Because each day is different.

One day turns into the next and into the next and into the next, and each day begins to evolve.

Different type of week and a different kind of month and a totally different kind of year.

As your homeschool, as the face of your homeschool changes, as your children grow older, as some of the kids end up graduating from your.

From your fold, and you have a different group and dynamic of kids that you're working with now because one or two of the kids are off at college and, you know, or some of them have gone to public or private schools, and you've only got a couple at home, things change, life changes.

But God is there for you, so just relax your way through it, and you're gonna be okay.

You can do this.

And so that's my encouragement for you.

Today.

Thank you so much for listening to this episode.

If you're driving your car, you're out and about, you're listening.

Christianhomeschoolmoms.com this is episode number 79 and you can see the show notes@christianhomeschoolmoms.com and click on episode 79 from the tap podcast.

All right, thank you so much for listening.

I do have one brief thing to share with you and it is one of our reviews from itunes and so I'll read it really quickly.

But I so appreciate G Jean S I S C E O okay.

And it you say that and so this person says, inspiring and encouraging homeschool podcast shows.

She says, I love listening to the Christian Homeschool Moms podcast because it always, it is always inspiring and encouraging for my journey as a homeschool mom.

As a result of connecting with this podcast, my community of people who get me has expanded.

I love that you have an online community to go along with the show.

Thanks for all you do, Demetria, to help us stay connected and encouraged in this sometimes lonely homeschooling journey.

Thank you so much.

G Jean S I S CEO Sis CEO thank you so much for taking time out to just leave a review for me in itunes.

This was back in November 2014, so thank you for that.

I do appreciate it so much that you would leave a five star review and leave these encouraging words for me and it makes me want to keep going.

So I appreciate it and I'm, I'm glad to know that this podcast is of help to you when you felt, you know, lonely on the homeschooling journey.

I believe a lot of women do.

And so you're not by yourself by any means.

And so the community that she's referring to is probably our Facebook group.

And so it's not exactly a group, it's a fan page.

But I do post some things there at the Facebook page and I got a Pinterest and Twitter.

And so if you want to check out where I am there and a lot of my other active places or my most active place besides Facebook would actually just be my YouTube channel.

So you can check that out as well.

I tend to check my YouTube very regularly.

So if you ever leave me a comment at YouTube or Google, I'm most likely going to find that and respond to you quickly because I do set up for notifications there.

But thank you so much.

And if you want to leave me a review, I would be so pleased to, to see it and read it out loud on the podcast.

Okay.

So I will read that and you can leave even you know, if you have a website or something of the sort that you want to leave in within the the review.

I would love to.

I'd read that out loud, you know, on the podcast.

So I would be glad to read that onto our podcast here.

So be sure to leave me a review in iTunes.

5 stars.

Appreciate it so much.

Alright, so that's it for today and you have a blessed homeschooling week and I'll be back with more tips of encouragement, motivation and practical tips as well to help you in your homeschool journey.

Hopefully some interviews soon too as well.

Thanks for listening.

Bye.