Tag: Homeschooling

Establish a Good Homeschool Routine

What’s the very best schedule for homeschool families to follow in order to be successful? And how can you help your family learn healthy habits, especially around homeschool? These are pretty huge topics, and I’m sure that you’re feeling rather overwhelmed by it all. Chances are if you’re reading this, that your homeschool schedule is always changing or perhaps failing. Now you’re wondering, ‘How do I establish a good homeschool routine?’ 

Truth First.

First of all, you should know that most homeschool families have had or are having struggles with their schedule. As frustrating as that is, it’s common! Why is this? The answer is truly simple. It truly is impractical for most homeschool families to follow a strict schedule. In most cases, time slots on a time chart are only going to cause more frustration than happiness. The reason being, life happens! It’s important for your homeschool to work around your life, not the other way around. Which is why it’s so important to establish a good homeschool routine. 

Avoid the Burden of an Intense Schedule.

Instead of burdening yourself with an intense schedule of: 8:00am – Math. 8:45am – Reading. Finally, 9:10am – Spelling and so on. Change it up! Have you heard of time blocks? Time blocks are different blocks of your day designated for homeschool work, and life.

Aim for Time Blocks With Your Homeschool Routine.

Time blocks can look like: 8:30 – 11:30am Block A. Block A can change based on the day. For Monday, it could be Math and Science. Then for Tuesday it could be ‘Free Creativity Time’.  Following Block A, you can begin your next block. Or, you can take a break with your kids if they’re feeling tired. You as the homeschool parent teacher will be able to determine how your child is doing with this routine each day. 

Avoid Micro Scheduling Within Your Time Blocks.  

It’s much easier to schedule in the blocks of your day rather than individual subjects. Plus it’s so customizable. As your homeschool day can have as many or as few blocks as your family needs. It’s recommended to have 2-4 blocks in your homeschool day. While also doing your best to avoid micro scheduling within your homeschool blocks. Additionally, it’s important to keep the blocks running daily at the same time. It’s really important to be careful not to change the times of the blocks, as it’s good for your family to learn the blocks and stick to them. 

Life Happens! What Happens in the Blocks Changes. But the Blocks Stay the Same.

It’s obvious that life happens, and changes are inevitable. Which is why having these blocks in your homeschool plan can be so great. For example, if I schedule 3 blocks for each day of the week. And my blocks are scheduled like: Block A 8:30am – 11:30am, Block B 11:30am- 2:30pm and Block C 2:30pm – 5:30pm. Our days can go like: Monday Block A – Math and Science. Block B – Art and chores. Block C – Free play, reading, practicing instruments. Then our Tuesday blocks can totally be switched up. Block A – Day prep, free play, chores. Block B – Language Arts and Social Studies. Block C – Music practice, physical education, reading. 

Be Flexible with your time blocks. 

It’s important to remember that while the items within the blocks may change on a daily basis, the time blocks remain the same. That’s because I’m not ‘creating a schedule’ to keep my family on track. I’m creating a routine using time blocks. Consequently, my whole family learns the routine because of these blocks. As a result, our family stays on track!

Don’t Do Every Subject, Every Day!

Another huge factor when it comes to keeping your homeschool schedule somewhat on track: Stop trying to do every subject, every day. Obviously you want to make sure that your child remains on track with their education. Because no one wants to fall behind. However, cramming all the subjects into one day will only cause a flurry of overwhelm for both you and your child. Sometimes, if I know that my child is struggling with Math, I will only schedule Math for a block. While being sure not to include any other subjects in that block of time, or other blocks throughout the day.

Figure Out How Your Family Operates. 

Some families do better with morning learning, some families do better in the afternoon. First it’s important to find out your families learning rhythm. Then plan accordingly. Additionally, it’s really important to NOT worry so much about ‘book work’ being done daily.  Maybe your child learns better with games? That’s fine! This doesn’t mean that you throw out the book work completely. Instead you can aim for book assignments for one day, learning games the next, and educational resources after that. 

Don’t Compare Your Homeschool to Someone Else’s. 

Everyone’s homeschool doesn’t look the same. For instance, if you see instagram posts of perfectly put together homeschool rooms with incredibly written captions of how the day went. It’s important to remember that most people post the highlight reels of their day. Rather than the chaos that actually occurred.

Switch It Up. 

Maybe time blocks won’t work for your family. Perhaps you need a rigorous schedule instead. Alternatively you may feel better with a loose schedule. Irregardless, you should never feel that you must commit to one way of homeschooling for the whole duration of your homeschooling journey. Because things change, and that’s fine! For example, you may start homeschooling with a perfectly planned schedule, and end the year with time blocks. Because homeschooling is like an ocean, you have to learn to embrace the waves that come your way. 

Be Confident. 

You are doing such a great job teaching your kids! Therefore you should feel so proud of all that you are accomplishing. If your schedule has failed, please don’t be upset. Instead research alternative scheduling methods for your homeschool. Also, chatting with other homeschool parents on how their schedules or routines look can be extremely helpful. Just remember to chat with ‘real’ homeschool parents in homeschool groups. Rather than looking at someone else’s highlight reel, while wondering why your life can’t look that perfect. This is an important step in your journey to establish a good homeschool routine.

Don’t Get Stuck.

Sometimes as homeschool parents you will face tough days. Of course the schedule will change and things may fall out of whack. Sickness, work, life, unexpected situations. All of these scenarios can play a part in throwing your homeschool routine off track. If your homeschool routine/schedule has fallen apart, don’t get stuck. Just keep moving forward with the knowledge that you’re doing an excellent job. And remember, you have the ability to accomplish big things!

Check Out These Schoolio Blogs and Free Resources for Scheduling.

Click Here to read ‘When Your Homeschool Schedule Isn’t Going As Planned’ 

Click Here to view ‘Daily Homeschool Planning Tips and Free Resources’

 

Additional Helpful Resources to Establish a Good Homeschool Routine.

A Flexible Homeschool Routine Your Kids Will Love – The Simple Homeschooler

Tips for Planning Your Homeschool – The Happy Housewife

Best Tips for Creating a Homeschool Daily Schedule – Your Morning Basket

Defend Your Choice to Homeschool

It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year. The time of the year that includes family gatherings, delicious meals, holiday music, and gifts. Easily the best part of the holiday season is the opportunity for you to defend your choice to homeschool. Now you get to practice this skill with every family member that decides to question your choice. How exciting! So, are you prepared to defend your choice to homeschool this holiday season? If not, let us help you with that. 

Homeschooling has become so much more mainstream in the last 10 years. Nevertheless, there are still so many people that have strong negative opinions about home-learning. Often times their opinions can be extremely overwhelming. Which sometimes can lead to frustration and at times social exhaustion.

Additionally, feeling like you have to constantly defend your choice to homeschool can leave you feeling very burnt out.

So, why do people judge homeschooling so harshly and also so often? Undoubtedly it has to do with traditional comforts for starters. Because the average person wants things to look and work a certain way. Therefore when things look different, or they have a hard time understanding something ‘new’, it can cause them to have a mountain of doubts in your homeschooling abilities. 

Is it fair that you must defend your choice to homeschool? Absolutely not. Unquestionably there are some people that just enjoy questioning you to get a rise. Clearly, in those situations walking away is honestly your best choice. On the other hand, if this relationship is important to you and the person asking the questions is clearly just asking out of curiosity. Then these eight reasons will come in as a handy reference for you. Especially when preparing to defend your homeschooling choice this holiday season. 

8 Reasons Why Homeschooling Rocks: 

1. Freedom to Choose.

Many parents find that in-home learning allows them the freedom to choose their educational approach. Additionally, homeschooling can be personalized around your schedule, values, and living. This can look like: Some parents choosing to unschool for greater benefits of freedom and even creativity. On the other hand, structured learning can produce amazing benefits. Those benefits include but are not limited to: Accelerated academic performance. As well as, homeschooling gives the parent, and the student, the freedom to choose what style of education is best suited for their learning needs.

2. Putting your child’s needs first, now!

Homeschooling gives you the freedom to prioritize your child’s emotional, mental, physical and behavioural health now. Rather than worrying about your child in a large class setting. You have the opportunity to help them with their current needs.

3. Which brings us to our next important reason: Valuable Learning time.

Chances are you already know this to be true. Large class sizes have aided in learning loss. Additionally,  children’s learning challenges often go undetected. The reason is that it’s nearly impossible for a teacher to care for a class of 20+ children and help each child learn in a way that is unique to them. When homeschooling, your child will greatly benefit from the one-on-one time that they will receive. 

4. Opportunity to focus on important life skills.

Preparing for adult life is a really great perk of homeschooling. Obviously, homeschooled children have more opportunities to learn to cook, budget, do laundry and more. These life lessons are just as valuable as a child’s math assignment.

5. Encouraging Independence.

While one-on-one learning is readily available when homeschooling. There’re also amazing opportunities for your child to learn independent skills. This is another huge perk of homeschooling. Things like independent play, reading time, life skills, and more.  Are all utilized when homeschooling.

6. Stepping out of a bad situation.

Occasionally mental health issues are directly connected to unfortunate school situations. For example: Providing your child safety from a situation that they’re being bullied in. This is another huge beneficial component to homeschooling.

7. Focus on their mental health.

Anxiety, depression, brain health, and social anxiety are all areas of your child’s mental health that can be helped by homeschooling. Because homeschooling gives you the chance to help your child by focusing on their mental and emotional well-being. Moreover, homeschool parents can prioritize time learning coping skills, medical care and therapy. Which will then benefit the child mentally, and in time academically too. 

8. Home learning offers the opportunity for a more thorough education.

It’s fact that traditional schools skip a lot of educational lessons. These range from different subjects like history and science to mental health. Of course these educational lessons have the opportunity to  examined further when homeschooling.

Regardless of how beneficial it can be, home learning won’t be for everyone.

Even if you listed all the most amazing benefits of homeschooling to the person questioning you. Some people still will not be able to see the benefits. Please don’t let their sour opinions drag you down. Even if you just remember these 8 reasons to benefit and back up your own personal beliefs about homeschooling. It will still be worth it. 

Your decision to put your child’s education first is a direct side affect of your desire to provide them with the best skills for a good life. You’re doing a great job. 

 

Click Here to prepare for the ‘What about Socialization Questions’! 

Additional Resources: 

Benefits of Homeschooling – The Homeschool Mom 

What Are Some Benefits of Homeschooling – OFTP

4 Reasons Your Kids Should be Homeschooled – Augusta Free Press 

Stay Curious With Your Homeschool.

Stay Curious With Your Homeschool – Guest Blog by Tawny Stowe

Every child is different! Isn’t this exactly why I wanted to homeschool? To give time and space to my child so he can learn in his own way? Well, intellectually yes. But then I found myself setting up my home exactly like a school. Trying to do all the ‘school like’ things. My heart was hearing Rudolph Steiner loud and clear. Saying “Why did you bother to read my philosophies if you are going to be so mechanical?” Even so, I just couldn’t let go of this idea of how I thought education should be. Because that is all I have ever known. I wasn’t sure how to stay curious with our homeschool. 

What changed…

Luckily for my son and I, I am a Saggitarius who gets bored with routine with ease. So, we were released from the ‘educational’ prison I had created. Just as soon as the weather turned nice enough to spend the majority of our time outside.

Over the spring and summer months I turned my trust to homestead moms. I leaned into Wildschooling ideas, placing a great importance on learning in our natural environment. At first it was sheer necessity, as a single mom I couldn’t manage our spring gardens with a full day of sit down learning. Very quickly this way of learning opened my eyes to a beautiful truth for my son and I. 

Learning about Charlotte Mason and Rudolph Steiner spoke to my soul.

Truly the ideologies of Charlotte Mason and Rudolph Steiner speak to my soul. I find that the more I learn about them the better able I am to embody them and to model them. This has resulted in an epic growth for me and a much deeper connection to my environment. A true healing of my Metis roots, and a stronger richer bond with my son. 

When exploring homeschooling for the first time, or really at any time. It can be so overwhelming to know what to study, and how to study. To be honest, some days it can be overwhelming to know where to even start. Some people have a natural teacher flow to their life and it comes like second nature. While others, like me, have to nurture their teacher flow a bit more until we can really find it. The true key to success in homeschool, is to stay curious and stay in alignment with your values. 

What are the best questions to ask yourself to stay curious?

Some of the best questions to ask yourself usually start with why you want to homeschool? The answers to these questions will guide you towards what philosophies or even curriculums support your desired outcomes. As I deepen my relationship with my son, I find I have to evaluate my reasons constantly against his growth. Constantly checking in with whether I am doing things for him, or for me. Because the answer to that can drastically shift our educational direction. I am continually learning that I must stay as curious as him. Curious about what excites him, what lights him up, what fuels him, what challenges him, what improves his confidence, nourishes his mind, his body and his soul. I use the seasons to prompt my reflection time. This way I can check in where we are both at, four times a year. 

An unexpected path of motherhood.

This journey to homeschool has come with moments of ease and moments of challenge. But above all it has come with a deeper feeling of presence in motherhood. Along with a stronger bond of love between my son and I. Together we grow, one day at a time. I have found that more times than not, it is him teaching me. I am so grateful that life pushed me down this unexpected path of motherhood and homeschooling. As I find myself becoming a much braver, compassionate, resilient human because of this experience.

Staying open to the process and a having a curious mind are the only two real tools needed in my opinion. The rest is about tuning into one another and celebrating the joy within the journey. 

Schoolio Guest Blog

Click Here to read another blog by Tawny Stowe.

How Do You Homeschool With A Toddler?

How Do You Homeschool With A Toddler? – Guest Blog Written By Rebecca Miller

Are you wondering if it’s even possible to homeschool multiple children of different ages? How can you possibly teach your 10-year-old math while your preschooler is asking for snacks every five minutes? How on Earth can you practice reading with your 12-year-old while your toddler is climbing on your lap? How do you keep your toddler busy during homeschool? 

As a mom of four, ages 3 to 14. I understand that it can be a challenge! But, my friend, it is most definitely possible! 

Through trial and error, I have found some great ways to keep my preschooler busy while spending time with my older children on their projects.

Here are a few of my favourite ways to keep your toddler busy: 

Make sure your toddlers bucket is full.

Let’s face it – sometimes it can feel as if our youngest is constantly seeking our undivided attention. Sometimes the way they go about getting our attention is not the most discreet.

Recently I added something to our routine that has been a game-changer. When you front-load the day with some quality one-on-one time with your toddler (for example – reading, playing or cooking together). It can fill her bucket and lessen the need to seek connection while you are helping her siblings.

Enlist help from others.

Homeschooling is a family affair. If you have a spouse, talk to them about ways you can share the responsibilities and joys of educating your children. Maybe you can take turns teaching. Perhaps one of you is stronger in one subject and would enjoy taking that on. Maybe your partner can play with the youngest child while you work with the older ones – or vice versa.

If you have family or friends nearby, you may be able to have them care for your youngest for a few hours per week. During the school day. Homeschooling is all about family, you may be surprised how grandma may respond if you ask her to support your homeschooling journey in this way. Another option is to find another homeschooling Mom in your area who would be willing to swap childcare with you. 

Rotate toys for your toddler.

Sometimes toddlers and preschoolers can become overwhelmed when there are too many toys. If you find there are toys that your child doesn’t play with regularly, it can be really helpful to put them away in a closet for awhile. Then when you bring them back out, they can seem new and exciting again. Similarly, if there are toys that are only brought out at “school” time, your child will get excited at the novelty of those toys. Your toddler will begin to associate school time with their ‘special’ toys.

Try some fun ‘Make ahead activity trays/bags’.

Preparation is key, here. When you are preparing lessons for the older kids on Sunday night (or whenever you prepare). Take a few minutes to prepare something for the youngest learner as well. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive. A simple baking pan with magnet letters, new Play-doh, stickers and paper or even a tub of rice can be a fun activity! While they are busily playing with their new activity tray, you will be able to help the other children with their book work. 

Utilize nap time.

  This one is pretty self-explanatory. If your toddler or preschooler is still napping, you can use that time to focus on book work with the older kids without distraction. If your child is not napping, you can still add “quiet time” to your routine. Bring out quiet toys or books that are reserved for this special time. And have your child get cozy and rest their body for an hour.

Take advantage of helpful older siblings.

Don’t be afraid to have your older kids take on “sibling duty.” I believe that one of the best parts of having all my children at home is that they can create a strong bond. I also believe children who learn responsibility in younger years, find it easier to become responsible adults. In our family, everyone knows (not that they always agree) that we all have parts to play and “jobs” to do within our family unit. My oldest two are 14 and 12. They take turns watching the busy 3-year-old when I am need one-on-one with one of the others. 

Play school with your toddler.

Younger siblings love to imitate older siblings. While the older kids are working on their worksheets, get out pens, markers and paper and have your little one “do school” along-side their siblings. Stickers, dry erase boards and colouring books are also great ‘school supplies.’

Seek out non-traditional learning opportunities.

Playing board games, going for nature walks and exploring a local farm are all great learning opportunities. These activities don’t involve sitting at a desk. These learning opportunities can supplement your book work and are perfect for all ages. While walking through the forest with your kids, you can point out different types of leaves and birds. Have your toddler point out different colours and shapes in nature. While playing a family board game, your preschooler will learn turn-taking along-side their siblings. Sometimes non-traditional learning activities can be overlooked, but they can really help solidify concepts learned through book work.

Educational Apps.

If you are open to using screens in your home, allowing your preschooler a limited amount of free time on an educational iPad app can be useful and fun. There are many free and low-cost programs that can be a great tool to keep your little one occupied. While still teaching some fun and important skills like shape recognition, colours, letters and numbers.

Including your toddler or preschooler in your homeschool whenever possible is the best way to build strong relationships and a strong foundation for learning. Sometimes, though, it is necessary to give your older children more individual attention. I hope these ideas give you hope that you absolutely can homeschool your children, even if you have a toddler underfoot.

Schoolio Guest Blog

Is your child old enough to jump into Kindergarten? 

Check out our fun Kindergarten program! Click Here

How to Use a Digital Curriculum

Are you curious why we are so passionate about our digital curriculum? Lately, we’ve been receiving multiple questions about what a digital curriculum is? How can you use a digital curriculum? And what are the best ways to be successful using a digital curriculum? This is why this blog is all about how to use a digital curriculum and why we’re so passionate about it.

Why do we promote and sell a digital curriculum? 

Convenience is always the ideal. This is why the idea of having only physical workbooks in hand is the ideal and preferred method for most families. This is why we are passionate about finding an alternative that will make the family and the environment happy. It should be alarming that roughly 15 billion trees are cut down annually. Researchers estimate that since the onset of human civilization, the global number of trees has dropped by approximately 46%. Find more details here.

Those are some staggering and alarming statistics.

Especially because trees are such an essential part of life here on planet earth, trees and shrubs improve soil and water conservation while storing carbon. They also help moderate local climates by providing shade. Trees act to regulate temperature extremes and provide homes for much of the world’s wildlife. 

Trees are so important and needed. Yet, they are the first to be cut down when we need lumber to build more houses, furniture, and paper for books. This is why we are committed to helping heal the environment. And while we are just a small, start-up company. We are determined to make a difference in the world around us. 

Digital curriculum means: Fewer trees being cut down to provide for single-use books.

That’s important to us. We understand that some families wish to have a physical product in their hands. That ‘pen to paper’ feel is hard to replace. The pen-to-paper ‘feel’ is something that most people greatly value, and we agree. It is essential to be able to use a pencil to learn better writing skills, especially in the beginning years. We aren’t saying you need to throw out ‘paper’ altogether, as our digital curriculum comes with many options.

Partial Printing: 

When you purchase our digital curriculum, you can only choose to print out the worksheets your child needs to practice with. The ‘reading’ and ‘lesson’ parts of each lesson can be used by simply opening the digital curriculum on your iPad. Read and learn together, then have the worksheets printed out – and let them get to work. 

This is a sure way to guarantee that less paper is being used while ensuring that your child is still getting that pen-to-paper feel.

Fully Digital: 

Alternatively, some families successfully download their digital e-books from their dashboard and use their digital curriculum with a tablet or iPad. They then have their child use a Stylus pen or Apple Pen to fill in the answers. Once they have completed the page, they save it. When you choose this option, you are using essentially no paper, which is a massive gift to the environment or your organization.

Your Digital Curriculum is Still Useful, Even if You Had The Workbooks Printed.

Those files aren’t just a waste. You can use the digital files to plan your lessons, look ahead, save for later, and help you stay organized and on track. Having your digital curriculum is also an excellent backup. What if you spill a drink on your paper workbooks? Those digital files are a simple replacement. You don’t have to purchase a whole new book. You can easily print off the pages that were compromised by juice. 

Digital Curriculum Helps Parents and Teachers Jump Right In. 

Our digital curriculum is also beneficial because you have access to it as soon as it’s purchased. That means you don’t have to wait for the curriculum to arrive to begin planning. As soon as it’s downloaded off your dashboard, you will have the ability to get familiar with everything needed to have a successful homeschool year. 

Digital Curriculum is more affordable. 

The curriculum will always be a little expensive because a lot of work and information goes into your curriculum. However, when it comes to a digital curriculum that isn’t printed – those costs become much less. We are committed to making quality home education available for families across Canada and The United States of America. 

How are we giving back with our digital curriculum and workbooks? 

We know that not everyone will want to have a digital curriculum. This is why we have offered a printing and shipping option through our third-party printer. All that paper takes away from our goal to help save the trees. So that is why we teamed up with One Tree Planted. Because we care deeply about the planet and give back to nature. We are investing 1% of monthly revenue to One Tree Planted. By doing so, we are planting trees across Canada and the world. Giving back where we can to help our environment.

Start small if you aren’t sure how you would feel about going ‘digital’ with your curriculum.

Grab a fun science unit like ‘Weather’ for grades 4-6. Click here to check out ‘Weather.’ 

This unique science unit is just 39 pages and covers fun lessons like What Causes Weather, The Sun, The Wind, All About Precipitation, Hurricanes and Tornadoes, Human Impacts on Climate and Meteorology. With this compact Special Interest Unit, your child can learn about the weather digitally. 

Another excellent science resource is: ‘Optics,’ which gives you another chance to try it out digitally. Optics is geared towards Grade 7-8. This Special Interest Unit is only 38 pages and teaches your student about Light and Vision, Transmission and Absorption, Reflection, Lenses, The Human Eye and more. Click here to learn more about ‘Optics.’ 

These Special Interest Units are filled with great content. Choosing to use these units Digital vs. getting printing done will allow your family to try out a fully digital curriculum on a smaller platform. 

If you need more tips on using our digital curriculum, our team is always here to help. 

Tablets and stylus pens can be purchased at any electronic store. Our favourites for digital curriculum use are the iPad and apple pen combo to fill out the curriculum quickly. 

Remember, whatever way you choose to use your digital curriculum, we stand behind you and are here to help you be successful. 

When Your Homeschool Schedule Isn’t Going As Planned.

What do you do when your homeschool schedule isn’t going as planned? 

Autumn is such a fitting season for school to resume. The weather outside matches the excitement that many homeschoolers feel when beginning a new school year. Both the new season and the beginning of a school year are fresh, crisp, and filled with promise. Many excited homeschool parents have their colour coded schedules all ready to go. Some are already diving into their curriculum with their students for the year. Staying on schedule can feel really good, but what do you do when your homeschool schedule isn’t going as planned? 

First of all, it happens.

It happens to all of us. Not just in the category of ‘homeschool’, but in all  categories of life. We all have times that we’ve made elaborate plans, and then plans suddenly changed and those hopes you once had are just a distant alternate reality that didn’t come to fruition. When things don’t go as planned it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and sometimes cause anger.  Because we just want things to work out the way we had originally planned, who doesn’t?

So, what do you do when your homeschool plan falls apart? 

Your amazing colour coded, perfectly planned schedule is now null and void. What now? Do you become aggravated? Because now you have to start over from scratch? Do you try to rewrite the plan? Or do you just throw away the plan and wing it? What’s the best alternative to a broken homeschool plan? 

When a setback occurs for your homeschool or any other area of your life you should always:

  • Check in with yourself.

Clarify what the initial goal was. What were you hoping to accomplish with your homeschool plan? How close did you come to accomplishing this goal? Taking a look at what you were hoping to ‘accomplish’ and how close you came are simple ways to ground yourself in reality and help you not too overreact when things get messy and the plan gets interrupted. Change and scheduling issues are inevitable. Because life is a series of ups and downs, so try not to let this pull you down. 

  • Remember the truth. 

Setbacks and messed up plans are not a reflection of you as a person or a homeschool teacher. Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan, and sometimes they do. Life is a never ending balancing act. It’s really important for you to remember that this isn’t your fault. Sometimes things change, and it’s how we react to the change that matters the most. 

  • Know that you aren’t the only one with the scheduling issue. 

Believe it or not most, if not all, homeschool families experience setbacks and delays when it comes to accomplishing that which they had originally planned. For sure it can be frustrating, but homeschool parents are one-of-a-kind. Strong, brave, and not afraid of a set-back. When things get turned upside down, utilize this opportunity to show your kids that life doesn’t go as planned, and through the set-backs we learn important lessons and test our resilience. 

  • Plan for the unexpected.

When things get off-track, plan for them to get off-track again. Because they will! That’s part of life. Sometimes we can’t control our circumstances, really no one can. There isn’t a single person in this world that has the ability to know when the unexpected will happen. So expect the unexpected, because I guarantee it will happen. 

  • Ditch this false idea that things need to be perfect.

It’s homeschool, not traditional school. It won’t look like ‘real school’, because it’s not supposed to. You probably won’t have school desks, a big chalkboard, and colour coded binders (or maybe you will). You won’t be able to get your kids to sit at their desks in their house for 6 hours. Homeschooling is different, and it is beautiful. You can personalize your schedule, you can decide when is the best time for education to begin and end for the day. It’s not perfect, because it’s not meant to be. 

  • Don’t get stuck in it – move forward.

Things didn’t go as you planned? OK. Let’s move forward. Learn from your mistakes. ‘What happened that threw us off our plan? Did I maybe plan too much?’ Relax your schedule. There are so many circumstances that can occur. Like, the whole family catching the flu, the homeschool curriculum company experiencing printing delays, your child finding a topic they’re really interested in and want to spend more time on. And the list continues. 

Instead of becoming upset and discouraged when your homeschool schedule doesn’t go as planned, focus on the fact that sometimes things fall off track. Move forward. Always, move forward.

 

Additional Resources for you to check out:

Daily Homeschool Planning Tips

Overcoming Setbacks 

Staying Sane When Things Don’t Go As Planned

 

 

Everything has a Season – Even Education

Everything has a season – Guest blog by Tawny Stowe

“Everything has a season” … It’s a cliche, but for me it’s also a permission slip! As a homestead mom and an entrepreneur, certain seasons find me a little over my head! This was my first-year homeschooling. And when I began, I had these grand ideals of how to make school happen in my home the way it does in a classroom.

I failed. Miserably.

First I started off with alarms set, I had specific curriculum planned out every day and books set up on the table. I even had specific days for different topics.  At first, my four-year-old was excited and just as quickly he wasn’t. As soon as it turned into a power struggle for our family, I knew something had to change. But being so new to the homeschooling way of life, I didn’t know what!

And then… It happened.

As they say when the student is ready the teacher appears. So as I sat in on a webinar for my business that happened to be led by a homeschooling and homestead mamma of three. In her teaching she fully admitted that as gardening season approaches, her and the kids are done with formal learning for the remainder of the school year. When the demands of the garden increased, all learning revolved around growing food!

 

This was inspiring!

Suddenly, I felt as if the Spring Season was an open permission slip to let the rigidity and routine of learning go. We could slide into a more “unschooled approach” to education.

Then what took place blew my mind!

The power struggles that my family was facing, vanished. It seems getting a five-year-old to put on rain boots and splash in puddles requires zero effort! We went hunting for bugs, exploring wetlands for migrating birds, and spent time talking about the fertility of the Earth as it unravelled before our very eyes. Then we talked about seeds, and land stewardship (okay he’s five we called it tending to our food and forests). We collected garbage, we kayaked and we explored medicines and wild foods as they presented themselves. As I was walking around from morning to night working in the gardens, wheelbarrowing dirt, starting seeds and transplanting seedlings, and raising baby chicks, my son was with me every step of the way.

Another change in our Homeschooling Journey.

So here we are, now watching this season that started as Spring. Moved into summer and is quickly bringing us to fall.  I am pausing to reflect on what I am harvesting from the seeds I planted and tended all summer. Both in my garden and in my son’s learning environment.

My son has outgrown his shyness. He thrived in the natural world talking to plants, trees, rocks, and animals. We spent a summer taking our winter learning of Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe Language) and applying it to our outdoor classroom. We read books, we studied field guides. We had countless campfires helping us heal our Metis roots. Doing so by keeping us feeling connected to the Natural Landscape and all of her beings.

A new cycle is here.

In our way of living, we approach harvest as a time of ending, of clearing and even death. We view death as a necessary part of life because through the completion of one cycle a new one can emerge. Our cycle of complete unschooling is coming towards an end. I sense in both of us a desire to return to the blessed moments of connection we had when we spent half days with some structured learning.

Approaching learning through the seasons gives me permission to bring change (or cycles) into our school approach. And as I round up my first full year of homeschooling, I feel blessed. Blessed to have found a way to weave the healing of my Metis roots with my love of nature’s seasons. This all comes with a desire to help raise a child connected to the land through home learning.

Author Spotlight - Tawny Stowe

About the author: Tawny Stowe is a Metis business owner who works on the traditional lands of the Anishnabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples now known as Arden, Ontario, Canada.

Tawny is a steward of land and resources which allows her to embody her role as the Woodland Priestess helping parents return home to themselves and their children through a (re)connection to the Earth. She teaches a remembering of the Mind-Body-Soul through the sharing of children’s stories, song, food, creativity activities, gardening, spirituality + yoga practices, and nature exploration.

Click here to learn more about Tawny

 

Anxiety and School

Anxiety and School – Guest Blog by Meredith Blunt

I am so glad to be writing for Schoolio again. This time about something a little heavier than my last guest blog but a subject near and dear to me. I’m writing this with no expertise (not a doctor!) beyond my own experience as a parent and a human who has moved through the impacts and distortions of anxiety herself. Anxiety and mental health is a huge, personal, and potentially upsetting topic. Anxiety has a daily presence in my life. I am hoping to share some of the most insightful and effective knowledge I have gained from my own research and experience with anxiety and school, as well as from the experts I’ve met. 

Emotional and Mental Health.

Feeling anxious can be a normal reaction to events in our lives that make us feel pressured, stressed or challenged. This is okay. That anxious feeling teaches us to assess our perceptions quickly, make critical decisions and bolster our convictions. However, anxiety that is overtly and constantly present moves into the realm of a disorder. It feeds negative thought patterns. It pushes us to feel constant worry and fear. In these times of growing awareness and knowledge around mental and emotional health, we are gaining a better understanding that children can be just as affected by anxiety as anyone else. We are learning about the factors in their lives that can cause anxiety disorder. Unsurprisingly, school is one of those factors, which is why talking about anxiety and school is so important.  

Anxiety and school, what it can look like:

As parents we’re told to ‘trust our gut’ when it comes to our kids. This is good advice but tricky to follow. We are influenced by so much – our loved ones, social media, literature, news etc. It isn’t unusual for our internal voice, our own wisdom, to get drowned out. Parental intuition is further challenged by the role school plays in each child’s life. As the majority of their time is spent at school, it has an outsized impact on a child’s mental health. Teachers, conflicts with peers, being away from home, and expectations of family are all aspects of school that can be contributing factors to an anxiety disorder. 

“It started out as stomach aches and headaches…”

I noticed the beginnings of anxious behaviour in my youngest back when he was in grade one. It first started out as stomach aches and headaches every school morning but gradually progressed to withdrawal from some interests and sleep disruption. Fearing any lasting consequences of this situation and due to the complete absence of support from our school and his teacher at the time, my husband and I withdrew him from public school and began our first foray into homeschooling. 

Wisdom does come with experience, in our case we had crossed paths with school-based anxiety already and learned valuable information. Three years prior to my son’s grade one year, I didn’t have the confidence to trust what I was seeing and sensing with my eldest as anxiety disorders developed in her when she was around the same age. Everyone seemed to know better and worked to assuage my fears, so I put my trust in them. It’s hard to forgive yourself for mistakes you’ve made as a parent.

We can only do our best with the tools and knowledge we have at the time.

I didn’t know that what I was looking at was anxiety in my eldest. I would see her struggle to connect with peers and I would resort to the traditional well-meaning adages of ‘say hi!’ and ‘be friendly’. We battled over learning from mistakes, and I would feel lost when her reaction to an error or failure was immense defeat and crippling negative emotions. I’d try to get her excited about new things only to see her recoil almost in terror. The kids who sometimes can’t find the words to describe what they’re experiencing are the young people who may be susceptible to anxiety disorders. These kids can end up carrying heavy labels in school settings – difficult, shy, perfectionist, distracted, under-achiever, a weaker student. This is my daughter and not one of those labels was accurate. 

This isn’t a simple or easy topic to discuss. When we talk about anxiety in our children it hurts. When we give voice to these massive concerns for our kids – ranging from sleep deprivation and disruptive emotions to self-injurious behaviour and suicidal ideation – they become part of the world. The bigger, open, judging world. This is hard, really hard. We live in times where more pressure than ever is on families to be relentlessly picture-perfect at all times. If we pull back the curtain, what will people think of us! 

Here’s what people think – “Whaaaaat! That’s my kid too…that’s me too! I thought it was just us”. They really do. 

So what do we do as mums and dads? We get help. Help for our kids and help for ourselves. We learn how to listen, how to respond, and how to reach out when we feel overwhelmed. We adapt our parenting skills to the needs of our kids.

Here’s some favourites from my range of resources:

(I have no professional affiliation with these links they are just ones I like a lot). 

Books:

Helpful Apps that my family loves: 

Support groups:

It can be a wonderful, positive surprise, how generous and loving groups like Schoolio Families can be! 

 Therapy*:

  • Cognitive-behavioural therapy has been reliably successful in my experience. 

Learning the skills for when anxiety shows up:

I don’t know about you but I’m feeling a little worked up thinking and writing about anxiety and school so I’m going to regain some calm. This is the first suggestion I always make when talking to friends and other parents about anxiety in our families. Our kids need to know they are fully capable of being in control of their emotions. They are eager to learn the confidence and skills needed for anxiety when it shows up. Where those skills begin is awareness of the most basic of bodily functions – breathing. 

As anxiety builds, the more shallow and rapid we breathe. This is a prehistoric response from our brain, telling our body “There’s danger! Time to flood everything with oxygen and get the adrenaline going so we can get the heck outta here!”. There’s no sabretoothed cat stalking us but our body’s response is sufficient for us to cope as though there were. When we learn to identify this behaviour, the next step is to take control of the perceived threat by controlling our breath. 

Check your breathing.

Sometimes known as Paced Breathing, you inhale through your nose for 4-6 seconds, hold for 2-4 seconds, then a controlled exhale through your mouth for 6-8 seconds. It is totally cool if you can’t breathe for those exact seconds yet. The calming key is that longer exhale. With it you are releasing the excess oxygen and adrenaline which gives you control of the situation and yourself.

Another great one, especially for our little littles, is Box Breathing. Hold the image of a square in your mind. Each side of the square is equivalent to four seconds. We breath around the square. Inhale for 4 seconds, hold our lungs full for 4 seconds, exhale for 4 seconds, hold our lungs empty for 4 seconds. 

Putting in the practice of identifying the moments when we need to take that pause and breathe is worth it, whether you’re a kid or a grown up. 

It’s important to foster our mental well-being as caregivers because there are challenging emotions that come when your child is embattled with anxiety or any differences from the neurotypical. Guilt, doubt, resignation, disbelief, avoidance, anger, sadness to name a few. Those difficult feelings are valid and deserve reflection. 

A personal favourite expression regarding this is you have to put your own oxygen mask on before helping another. This doesn’t mean if a family member is in crisis you hold up a finger and say “Just a sec! I need 20 minutes for some *me* time then we’ll get to working on what’s happening with you ok?” …none of us would do that – it’s ridiculous. 

What it does mean is that every day we take space and time for ourselves.

What that space and time look like is dependent on you! For myself, my go-tos are walking and re-learning to run. The activity gives me the space and time to enjoy my own progress, and focus on it. Exercise isn’t the only activity that works, I encourage you to find the right activity for you that allows you to restock your emotional stores so you are better prepared to cope with whatever challenges the day brings. The singular purpose is to fill your happiness quotient. It’s also good behaviour to model, demonstrating that you find contentment and success in just being you and doing something for just you. 

I hope I have done some service to the impactful and encompassing topic of anxiety and school -age children. I would genuinely love to generate a supportive on-going discussion centred around advice, patience, familiarity, education and humour. Whether you and/or your child are experiencing what you suspect is anxiety or you are interested in mental wellness, remember we are not alone. 

*I fully acknowledge that financially viable and timely access to therapy is critically lacking in Canada. If you have the means, please consider advocating and supporting improved access to mental health professionals and programs in your region. Getting help should not be as difficult as it is.

Schoolio Guest Blog - Meredith Blunt

Debunking Homeschool Myths

Homeschooling has become so much more mainstream in the last decade. Despite that fact, there are still so many homeschooling myths. A couple weeks ago we posted a blog about the #1 myth surrounding homeschooling, which as you probably guessed it, is the thought that homeschooled children aren’t socialized. A belief that drives homeschooling families crazy. Aside from that myth there are still so many other myths that are just so far from the truth! That’s why this blog is dedicated to debunking homeschool myths.

As stated above, the #1 myth surrounding homeschooling is that homeschooled children aren’t socialized, we already busted this myth with great detail. Click Here to Read  Now we will jump to the next series of myths that drive homeschooled parents crazy.

Homeschool Myth #2: Not very many people homeschool their children.

That’s a myth. If you read the blog about socialization and homeschooling then you will know right away that that’s a myth. Why? Because there are literally millions of children being homeschooled worldwide. Why has homeschooling become such a popular option? It’s so easy to blame the pandemic, because yes that has caused a huge rush of parents to homeschool. But realistically parents have been turning to homeschooling for a while now because many parents have found that homeschooling puts their child’s needs and goals at the core of their education.

Myth #3: Homeschooling families all fit into the same mould.

That’s a nope. In fact, there are many, many different types of homeschooling families. Each is unique in their own way. There are families where the mother just stays home and teaches while the father goes out and works. There are single parent homeschoolers, there are families with so many kids, there’re families with one kid, there are different cultures, there are religious homeschoolers, there are secular homeschoolers. The differences are pretty distinct, but their reasons are often relatively similar.

Homeschool Myth #4: Children that are homeschooled don’t learn as much.

Most, if not all, homeschool programs are extremely thorough and detailed. When you choose to homeschool your child, they have the opportunity to learn in a way that is unique to them which often will be much better than the alternative. Homeschooling is customizable right from the teaching, to the schedule. Because of the customization and flexibility, children have the opportunity to move at a pace that works best for them.

Myth #5: Homeschooled children can’t function in the real world.

That is for sure going to be debunked. Because homeschooled kids spend every day in the real world. The belief that homeschooled kids spend all day sitting at home is false. The reality is that homeschooled kids get so much more time outside, they learn so much about their surroundings when they’re learning from home. Traditional learning often has kids sitting in one room for hours in a day. Homeschooled children spend lots of time out and about, interacting with their community.

Homeschool Myth #6: Homeschooled kids don’t get into College.

Do you think that’s true? I know for a fact that it’s not. Because I was homeschooled, and I was accepted into University just fine. I’ve been debunking homeschool myths my entire life. But don’t just take my word for it, because statistics show that Homeschoolers have a higher rate of attending college than any other group of children. 66.7% of homeschooled kids, compared to 57.5% of traditional public-school children. Even some well known colleges seek out homeschooled kids because they recognize their unique qualities and skills that they often have, like being self-motivated and self-disciplined.

Check out these statistics on homeschooling: Click here

 

Myth #7: Homeschool parents aren’t qualified to teach.

This is a sore subject for a lot of homeschooling parents. Because they’re tired of being underestimated. The truth is, that parents are the best teachers for their children. Parents teach their children to talk, walk, eat, read, and function in the world around them.  Contrary to popular belief, parents are actually the most qualified to teach their children. Parents choose a professionally crafted curriculum which aids and guides them on their teaching journey, so they are more than qualified to teach.

Homeschooling isn’t for everyone, and that’s ok.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with traditional learning and there’s nothing wrong with homeschooling. Both are different and important. Whichever avenue of education you choose for your family, be sure not to judge the other group of people and the decision they made. They are doing what is best for their family unit, just like you are. The general rule is just, be kind!  I hope you’ve enjoyed debunking homeschool myths with us! Let us know what homeschool myths drive you crazy?

 

Sources: 

Back to Homeschool

There’s an office-supply company locally that uses a parody of the Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” to advertise their back-to-school sales every year.  And getting ready for starting your homeschool year can be the most wonderful time of the year! To make sure it’s a great year for you and your kids, here are a few things you can do to start off right.

1.   Before you start your homeschool:

Plan ahead

Before you start your homeschool year, take a moment to grab a calendar. Things will go a lot smoother this year if you do a little bit of planning, especially if you’re a family that thrives with predictability.  So, on your calendar, plan out your school year dates. What day will be the “official first day” of your homeschool year? When is the “last day of school”? And when is your fall vacation break, Christmas break, spring break and any other days off?  Mark them all off on your calendar.

Create space

Next, gather up all the resources — books, curriculum, paper, pencils, etc — and put them where you can find them. You don’t necessarily need a dedicated homeschool room, but a dresser, shelf or cupboard where all the supplies and resources live, will help immensely.  Give your homeschool a home base, so that you can find stuff when you need it.

Get supplies

Finally, it’s time to go shopping. Just because we homeschool doesn’t mean that we can’t take advantage of all those back-to-school sales!  There’s just something about freshly sharpened pencils, brand-new glue sticks and crisp, blank notebooks that excites my kids about getting started. So, take the kids and go back-to-school shopping.

 

2.   Get ready:

Clean out

Now that you have a plan and supplies, it’s time to get ready for school. Start with cleaning out the shelves from last year, if you haven’t already. Get rid of the old worn-out pencil sharpeners, the crinkled and torn papers, and the tiny bits-and-pieces of eraser lying around. Straighten up the books, sweep out the pencil shavings, and tidy up the paints and math manipulatives. Then you can put all those fresh new supplies away, ready for that first day.

Plan ahead

Next, do yourself a favour and plan out your first month of meals, at least. Starting a new school year can be busy, because it’s not just our studies that begin again, but all the extra activities do too! So, if you’ve got kids who will be doing swimming lessons, soccer, and Spanish classes this fall, you’ll probably be busy driving on top of everything else. Who has time to figure out what’s for dinner?  Plan ahead.

Stock up

And stock up on snacks for the new school year, as well. If your kids are anything like mine, they’ve been used to raiding the fridge anytime they like over the summer, while fresh fruit and veggies are in ample supply. Keep up the good habits by stocking up on healthy snacks now, so that they (and you) aren’t tempted by more convenience foods later.

Make a note

Speaking of all those extracurricular activities, pull out your calendar again, and note down when those start dates are. Do you need to get new shoes for soccer? Are fees due for Scouting or piano lessons? Make a note to yourself of the extra costs and supplies you need to get. And you’ll also want to check for potential field trips or special events you want to attend with your homeschool community.

Adjust your routines.

And finally, it’s time to start adjusting your routines to accommodate a less casual day. If you’ve slipped into later bedtimes, less frequent baths (because they’ve been out at the splash pad or pool anyway!) and meals have been more “grazing” and less “sit-down”, you may want to start those habits again with your family. If you have a “school year” routine and a “summer” routine, take the time to adjust yourself and the kids from one to the other.

 

3.   “Not Back to School”

 

In many homeschool support groups and communities, homeschooling families will celebrate with a “Not Back to School” party, potluck or picnic. These are awesome ways to connect with your community and celebrate homeschooling! And because we aren’t sending our kids to school, we have the flexibility to enjoy the last days of summer at parks, playgrounds, splash pads and trails without the same crowds.

 

Check with your local support group for dates and locations!

 

4.   It’s the First Day of homeschool!

 

Homeschooling doesn’t mean you can’t do those cute “first day” traditions that public school parents do.  Make your first day just as memorable and fun!  Maybe you spend the day in pajamas? Or maybe there’s a special “first day” breakfast you make? Grab a fun sign and take pictures with the kids! Create your own special traditions to mark that first day.

 

5.   Keep going.

 

Maybe your first day isn’t as fun as you hoped. Or maybe those first few weeks are a little rough. Homeschooling is all about the flexibility. So, keep going with your homeschooling, even if your first few days and weeks don’t go according to plan.

Don’t rush

There’s no need to rush on getting things done. So, it’s ok to take your time, and let the kids adjust to a new routine. Whether it’s your first year, third year or 18th year of homeschooling, not everything goes well the first time you do something. That’s normal. Take a deep breath, remind yourself why you chose to homeschool, and keep going.

Stay consistent

Follow the kids’ lead here. Sometimes it’s not going well because something isn’t working. But sometimes, it’s just a transition issue! It helps if you can stick to a routine as much as possible, and keep the house rules and expectations as clear as you can. When things change, sometimes kids start testing our patience again, just to see where the boundaries are. Stay consistent, and keep going.

Play with them

Take time out for play too! Public schooled kids get recess, and our kids can have much more. Homeschooling doesn’t have to be an all-day thing. So, go outside, break out the board games, or grab the craft supplies and have fun with your kids too. If the day has been hard, maybe a snuggle and a movie will lighten the mood.

Throw it out and start again

If your first days have a few bumps along the way, that’s ok. It should smooth out soon. But what if it doesn’t?

 

Well… homeschooling is about flexibility! Don’t be afraid to throw it all out, regroup and try again. Reach out to your support group, or favourite blogger, and get encouraged. Keep going!

 

Guest Blog - Sarah Wall

Sarah Wall is a pro at teaching her older kids and homeschooling teens. She also helps homeschool mamas do the same. After leaving an abusive marriage with 5 young children, launching a successful business, and creating a support community with several hundred members, Sarah believes there’s always a way to achieve your goals. It’s just about finding the right support. So, if you’re contemplating homeschooling teens, or middle schoolers, she believes that you can accomplish it.

Click here to learn more about Sarah Wall 

 

 

Curious about how to start homeschooling in Canada? 

Click here to read ‘How do I start Homeschooling in Canada?’

 

Socialization and Homeschooling

What is the number one homeschooling myth that drives homeschool parents crazy?

Does it have to do with Socialization and Homeschooling? You bet!  This whole idea that homeschooled children must be isolated and not able to understand social cues, needs to stop! Because the fact is that homeschooled children do have a social life. Whether you’d like to believe it or not, socialization and homeschooling go hand in hand.

Naturally, you’d think because I was homeschooled and grew up in the country that socialization and homeschooling weren’t a pair for my siblings and I. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. We went to homeschool events (yes, even back in the 90s). We had Christmas plays, and believe it or not I had a healthy social group filled with best friends.

My mom ran a soup kitchen in the city close to us, and she would take us with her every Tuesday to help prep food and serve the homeless. Sometimes when my dad had time off, he would come home and tell us to pack our bags. We’d jump in the truck with him and my mom and go for an adventure. We’d cross the border to the United States and travel up and down the East coast. Meeting tons of people, experiencing different parts of another country, and gaining valuable life experience.

Why the questions about Socialization and Homeschooling drive me crazy.

I started homeschooling my oldest daughter in 2015. I would get so frustrated with the constant questions from family, friends, neighbours and even strangers. A fan favourite was: “How are you going to socialize her?” Obviously, the same way you socialize other kids! It became increasingly difficult for me to restrain my attitude when I’d receive the same questions over and over again. By 2019, I had become a pro at answering these questions. I’d spew off all of the things that my children were participating in. Homeschool gymnastics, co-ops, French lessons, track and field, swimming lessons, park dates, field trips and more. My children have neighbourhood friends, homeschool friends and a long list of others. And, I was determined to prove to all the ‘What about socialization’ people that my kids were doing just fine in that department.

Then the pandemic hit, and with it brought isolation that we had never experienced before.

Now, I felt that I had to defend homeschooling in a whole new way.

Quickly I found that parents were taking to social media to say ‘Homeschooling sucks!’ when they were stuck in the thick of trying to deal with virtual learning. I remember telling people: “Virtual Learning, and pandemic learning are completely different from homeschooling.” But, not too many would agree with me.

Most parents assumed that because homeschooling was the same as virtual learning and isolation. This idea goes hand and hand with the myth that Homeschooled children don’t have a social life. When I chat with friends, acquaintances, my husband’s co-workers, and neighbours, the new question about socialization and homeschooling is: “Your lives wouldn’t have been that different because you already homeschooled before the pandemic.” Cue the eye roll. Yes, our lives were interrupted by the pandemic. Because, no, my children don’t just spend their time in the house reading books and ignoring the world outside. My children have had to go through isolation just like the rest of the children out there. We weren’t able to see friends, go to sports, activities, co-ops, and music lessons.

The issue lies with this idea that children need to go to traditional school in order to have a healthy social life. Is this actually accurate?

Before I answer that, I just want to clear something up first. It’s not Homeschooling against Traditional Education. It’s not a matter of ‘what’s better overall’. The point is, that homeschool parents are doing an excellent job of teaching their children, caring for them, cultivating their interests, and helping them to have a thriving social life. Public School parents are doing an excellent job also. Each family must decide what works best for them, traditional education or homeschool. Neither is wrong, so neither need to be bashed. But, for whatever reason Homeschooled parents are the ones that are constantly bombarded with the questions and the comments. The ones that are forever being asked about socialization and homeschooling. Why is that?

I really don’t know. I’d like to say it’s because it’s not the ‘normal’, and people don’t understand when something is different. But, that’s really not the case. Because since 2012 homeschooling has been on the up and up in both Canada and the United States. More and more families are turning to in-home education. I should point out that the turn towards homeschooling started well before the pandemic.

 

Am I just being defensive because it was our choice to homeschool? So, I feel I must defend their socialization to everyone that asks?

That could be. But I choose to look at facts and research first. Not just at my family and our social lives. But at the many, many homeschooling families around the world. Then looking at how their social lives compare to those of traditional education. According to Evidence for Homeschooling: Constitutional Analysis in Light of Social Science Research, “Studies demonstrate that homeschooled students are well socialized.”

“Several studies found no significant difference in the social skills of homeschooled and non-homeschooled students. Other studies found that homeschooled children score significantly higher on social development rating scales/questionnaires. For instance, one study using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, a well-tested diagnostic tool of measuring communication and daily living skills, found that homeschooled students substantially outperformed traditionally schooled students. The average overall score for the homeschooled children on communication, daily living skills, socialization, and social maturity subscales was at the 84thpercentile compared to the 23rd percentile for the traditional schooled students.”

That’s an interesting find. Isn’t it?

Could it be that Homeschool parents are right to feel frustrated when people ask them the same questions about socialization and homeschooling?

Through direct observations and recording his findings on the standardized measure known as the Child Behavior Checklist, Richard Medlin, PhD, was able to measure students’ social skills. He compared the social behaviour of seventy homeschooled and seventy traditionally schooled eight to ten-year-olds. “These students were matched along demographic and socio-economic lines and found no significant differences between the two groups regarding measures of self-concept and assertiveness.” Read about it here!

Interestingly enough, Dr. Richard Medlin found that, based on the checklist, non-homeschooled students had more behaviour difficulties than homeschooled ones.

Want to know another really cool fact about socialization and homeschooling? When formerly homeschooled college students rated their own characteristics and personality traits. (They did this through a standardized measure called the NEO Five-Factor Inventory- 3. )These students showed to be significantly more agreeable, conscientious, and open minded than the national sample, consisting of mostly traditionally schooled children.

How could this possibly be the case?

Shouldn’t homeschooled children be the ones struggling with socialization? Nope. Why is that? Do traditionally schooled children have a social life because of the classroom setting? The answer is simple, no. When children are in class, they aren’t to talk. Socialization happens on the playground, on class trips, playdates, sports, volunteer work, in music and art classes. And guess what? Homeschooled children have all the same opportunities and often more!

The conclusion is, homeschooled children are not isolated, socially-lacking creatures.

Despite the myths surrounding socialization and homeschooling, homeschooled children do have a healthy social life.  So, next time someone starts to question how your homeschooled child could possibly have a social life. Remember these facts, or point them to this blog! It’s time to break down the stereotype that homeschooled children are destined to be socially awkward.

 

Read more from Schoolio about Socialization and Homeschooling, click here! 

Sources for this blog: 

Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum

Choosing a Homeschool Curriculum

Blog by Schoolio Co-Founder, Lindsey Casselman.

As a homeschool mentor, one of the most common questions people ask me is about choosing a homeschool curriculum. If the pandemic has shown me one thing, it’s that people have a significant misunderstanding of what curriculum is used in public schools and where it comes from.

Let’s clear that up first:

In Canadian public schools, there is no pre-fabricated, standard curriculum that the government provides and teachers use. What the government has, and you can access online via each province’s website, are what is usually called “Learning Outcomes” or “Curriculum Expectations”. These are, exactly as the name states, the outcomes of the curriculum that is taught. The government lists the concepts they expect students to know by the end of their grade year. The level of support for teaching these concepts varies by province. But the commonality is that every teacher creates or sources their own curriculum content to use in order to teach your child.  And help your child reach those outcomes. There are no lessons or units that the government provides to teachers, this is part of their job.

So, the answer to everyone’s first question is no.

No, you cannot get access to the government curriculum, because there is no such thing. You can get access to the government’s expectations of learning outcomes and use them as a list to help aid you in deciding what to teach your own child. That is if it’s important to you to follow those expectations.

This leads us to how to choose a homeschool curriculum out of the many, many options out there. Obviously, having a lot of choices is always great, but it can feel so overwhelming when you’re brand new to the homeschool world.

Whenever I mentor someone on choosing a homeschool curriculum, I start with these four questions to help us narrow it down:

    1. What type of homeschool curriculum do you want? Are you wanting secular (no religious affiliation), or faith-based? If you want secular material your choices will narrow down considerably. Some people want faith-based learning, some don’t really care and will use faith-based material and just “leave out the religious bits”, and others want truly secular programming. The choice is completely yours!

    2. Do you want Canadian, US, or another country-based material? Most parents want material from their home country, especially for the history and geography units, but you can certainly source material from other places as well. I know one homeschool family that only uses old USSR educational learning material. I know many Canadian parents who use US material (as this is the overwhelming majority of products available). There’s no right or wrong answer.

                 The only thing to be aware of is that if you’re a Canadian and you use US material.

You will need to swap out the math parts that use units of measurement and money. Also, you will have to source some Canadian social studies if you want them included in your learning journey. None of that is too difficult, but it’s worth bearing in mind. Especially if you’re paying a hefty price tag for a math curriculum, for example, you will still need to source and purchase or create replacements for some components of the program.

    3. Are you wanting to follow any specific learning outcomes or expectations? Similar to #2, this is about the style and expectations you want to adhere to when choosing a homeschool curriculum. Some parents want to follow their home province/state’s learning outcomes. Regardless of where they live, some people want to follow the guidelines of certain countries. I know Canadians who follow American Common Core guidelines. And families in Dubai who want a Canadian education for their children. There’s no right or wrong, better or worse, it’s whatever you want for your family. You’re also not obligated in most areas to follow any standards. Work on familiarizing yourself with your local provincial/state homeschooling laws to be absolutely certain.

    4. Do you want to get all your subjects from one company? (This is called an all-in-one curriculum) or are you fine with (or prefer) to source different subjects from different companies when choosing a homeschool curriculum? There are pros and cons to both of these options and as with everything in home learning, the choice is yours!

The pros to an all-in-one homeschool curriculum are:

  • Ease of sourcing and use. If you like a company’s product and can get every subject from them, your curriculum hunt just got immensely easier.
  • Similarity across subjects. An all-in-one curriculum is going to mean you have all your content together in one place, it’s all the same “voice”, and it’s all the same instructional style. Every subject follows the same structure. This can be helpful for kids with unique learning needs if the instructional style suits them. And for any child who thrives with sameness and routine.
  • Easy planning. Some all-in-one programs will come with a schedule, or scheduling recommendations, and will often have all subjects laid out to be used in the same time frame. Letting you start and end your year at the same time across subjects.

Not always, but generally speaking in my experience, it has always been more affordable to buy an all-in-one curriculum than to buy subjects separately.

The pros to sourcing material from a variety of providers when choosing a homeschool curriculum:

  • When a company specializes in one subject area, they are more likely to employ experts in that sole area. For typical learners, this isn’t really necessary (for example, a fourth-grade public school teacher is at best an expert in one subject area, but not all). So, having top-of-line expert attention in every subject matter may be overkill for the price you will pay for it. But again that’s entirely up to you. If money isn’t an object and you want the best of the best in every subject, you can 100% achieve this through sourcing each subject area from that subject area’s leading experts.
  • Unique needs learners. There are curriculums out there developed specially for various unique learning needs. You can source a language arts program for dyslexic/dysgraphic children. There are different homeschool curriculum companies that offer math programs for gifted learners. And, you can source a writing program for reluctant writers, the list goes on. By choosing subject-by-subject, you can tailor each subject’s instructional strategy to your unique learner’s needs in each area. This is great for kids who excel in one or more areas while simultaneously struggling in other areas.

Are your children special needs?

This goes along with the last point, in that if your child has any special learning needs, you may be able to find a curriculum designed to meet those needs. If there isn’t a specific curriculum to meet your needs, (for example, there are curriculums for giftedness and dyslexia, but there are not, to my knowledge, curriculums specifically designed for ADHD children). Then your next best option is to consider your child’s needs before you start looking at the curriculum. Do you need something with an audio option for lessons? Do you need screen-free? Do you need a lot of hands-on and movement-based learning vs. seat work? These are all things to consider when you start your hunt for choosing a homeschool curriculum.

Choosing Homeschool Curriculum can be overwhelming.

Maybe you’re feeling more overwhelmed than ever before. I recommend actually sitting with these four questions and making a few notes on paper about each one. Do you have hard and fast requirements in any, all, or none of the above four? What are they? Does this feel daunting? It might, but it will really help you focus your direction when researching the homeschool curriculum.

Once you have a solid direction and wish list, you can start to research. You’ll be able to quickly weed certain programs out when they don’t meet an expectation you set out in your search. This will help you spend more time on the programs that do fit your student’s needs.

Recommendations and Reviews for Choosing Homeschool Curriculum:

Recommendations from people are great and can help you become aware of companies you may not have known existed. Remember though, that for any curriculum out there, you will find folks who LOVED it and folks who HATED it. The reason for this is because the curriculum, and what works for each family, are unique to the family and their needs. It’s going to be very personal for each person, and you’ll often find that people are very passionate about their love for the program they have found works best for them.

Just remember that there is no right or wrong, there is no “best” curriculum. Because families and learners are diverse, so is the homeschool curriculum. Try to find companies that have samples and reviews that actually show you the program materials, either in photo or video. You can take the reviews with a grain of salt while intensely inspecting the sample materials being shown to see if you think the program will work for you and your learner(s).

Is cost an issue when choosing a homeschool curriculum?

If cost is an issue, I recommend not even looking at programs that are out of your budget. Check the price first, if you can’t afford it, don’t torture yourself by falling in love. It’ll just make you inclined to be unhappy with whatever you end up “settling” for. I promise you, you can absolutely 100% provide an amazing education to your child without spending a lot of money or getting that really expensive curriculum package. All your child needs is your love and patience, and you will learn together regardless of your materials! So, please don’t sweat it if you’re on a tight budget for materials!

That about wraps it up.

Hopefully, you’ll find a program that really clicks for you and your child. Keep in mind that you are not married to whatever you choose the first time around. You can always try something new next year, or resell what you have in one of the many homeschools buy/sell groups (search for one local to you). Then switch gears mid-year. Some curriculum companies let you purchase mini units, so you can try out the content. This gives you a really good feel for the program before committing financially to the whole year.

And, if finances are an issue, being able to purchase a few units at a time throughout the year, rather than everything up front may be an important feature when choosing for you. Just remember that what you pick today may not work and that’s ok. There’s no failure in throwing in the towel on something that you tried and didn’t work. What works brilliantly this year, or for two years, or for five, might stop working one year as your children change and grow. Your teaching style, homeschool philosophy, or family structure also changes and grows. Aim for flexibility, patience, and maintaining an open mind.

Enjoy the process and have a great year!

Learn more about Schoolio’s Homeschool Curriculum.

Click Here to Learn More About Schoolio’s All-in-One Homeschool Curriculum