How long is a typical homeschool day and how does it compare with the hours of a day in public school? Many parents, new to homeschooling, wrongly assume that they should homeschool for the same length of time as their public school counterparts.
In general, a homeschool day is much shorter than that of a traditional school. But this shorter school day doesn’t mean that less is getting done. In fact, homeschoolers can often achieve more in less time than public school students.
Some homeschoolers tout the expression “done by noon” as one of the benefits of homeschooling. This may or may not be the case for your own homeschool depending on the number of children in your family, outside activities, your natural pace, and how old your children are.
The beauty of homeschooling is that you can cater it—your routine, your curriculum, and your methods—to the unique needs of your kids and your family! Homeschool moms have the advantage of being in nearly full control of their homeschool schedule.
Diligent early birds with young children, on the other hand, might have their work complete before brunch.
Other families may like to take long breaks in between each subject, taking all day to complete their work but in an enjoyable and leisurely fashion.
Typically, students in elementary grades get their work completed in a fairly quick amount of time, often hitting that “done by noon” standard if they started the day early. Of course, the workload increases as children mature. So a middle schooler or high schooler will need to spend more hours on school work. Outside activities such as co-ops, field trips, doctor appointments, therapy and library visits can interrupt and lengthen your homeschool day, too.
In short, the average homeschool day varies greatly from family to family. But it is typically much shorter than the school day of a traditional classroom.
The Homeschool Day vs. a Typical School Day
Take a moment to consider all the classroom management teachers deal with! While all these tasks arenecessary based on the setting, they aren’t directly related to learning. Teachers have to juggle:
20-30 kids per classroom
individual and unique needs for each chile
keeping the classroom organized
roll call
class disruptions
redirecting students and keeping them on task
bathroom breaks
lunch break
hand raising
discipline issues
standardized testing and preparations
emergency drills
All these requirements cause teachers to lose important teaching time. Homeschoolers may have many these issues to contend with as well, but they are equipped to handle them much more quickly and efficiently because of the drastically lower student to teacher ratio.
As you become a more experienced homeschooler, you will gain a sense of the right amount of time for your school day. Remember your day will still be shorter than a typical public school day. And that’s one of the big perks of homeschooling! Enjoy it!
The flexibility of homeschooling allows you to cater the learning experience to your child’s unique needs and interests without the loss of teaching time. That means more time for the extras you love!
About the Author
I’m Erin, an introverted homeschooling mom to two intense extroverted kids. We are child led with a heavy emphasis on read alouds, games, art, nature hikes, and hands-on everything! My kids just learn better when they can use their hands. You can find me at Nourishing My Scholar.
We traded the hustle and bustle of city life for the quiet that only farm life can provide. This creates a wonderful environment for our children, complete with chickens, goats, ducks, and cows. I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls. When we’re not homeschooling, you’ll find me curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book or possibly enjoying a random dance party in the front yard to the newest Disney soundtrack.
There are no tags on any of my child’s clothes. When she needs new clothes, we spend hours in dressing rooms trying to find ones that are comfortable. Deeply intuitive, in need of quiet downtime, challenged by change, a perfectionist, she is not alone. There are, in fact, two people in my family of four who fall into the 20% of the population known for being highly sensitive.
Elain Aron, Ph.D. is the author of The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them. She herself was often misunderstood and even shamed for being too sensitive.Elain writes, “… it is primarily parenting that decides whether the expression of sensitivity will be an advantage or a source of anxiety.” Because a highly sensitive person (HSP) brain works differently, they need understanding and support. Homeschooling can offer a highly sensitive child the environment they need to thrive.
Below, you’ll find ways to help your child embrace the gift of sensitivity.
There is Nothing Wrong With Your Child
While a child who is highly sensitive may respond differently to situations and stimuli than their siblings or peers, they should be assured their responses are not wrong. They are born with a nervous system that is highly aware. Highly Sensitive Children (HSC) are also often intuitive, creative, empathetic, and reflective. They tend to be conscientious, in tune with their senses, and have a rich inner life. Loud noises, smells, textures, tastes, or change can be a true challenge for your HSC child. Therefore, it is important to give assurance that it’s okay to be who they are.
Setting Matters
Maybe sitting at the kitchen table with talkative siblings or loud co-op classes aren’t a great fit for your HSC and hinder their learning more than they help them. They may need time in a quiet room, or to be able to listen to music or audiobooks while they work on math. Skipping loud activities or ones that require uncomfortable clothing is okay and sometimes necessary.
My child loves her biweekly wilderness class but struggles to wear the layers necessary to participate in winter. Going there in the winter is painful for her. We’ve realized until she’s able to handle snowsuits and being bundled, it’s best to sit out that season. We find other ways for her to experience nature. And we make sure on the warmer winter days, she gets plenty of time outside.
Support Their Efforts
It’s hard to want to do things that feel uncomfortable, but sometimes a highly sensitive child wants to push themselves through their discomfort. When my HSC tries to push past what is uncomfortable, I’ve found it is important she’s in control. My role is to remind her she can do hard things. And I strive to be supportive when she needs a break or to try again another time.
I recently watched her determination pay off. Every year we attend a mother-daughter camp with a huge rock wall. She is very much challenged by the feeling of the harness. The first year, she quietly cried the entire time it was on. Determined to climb, wearing the harness was a major accomplishment. The second year, she spent a good thirty minutes adjusting the harness before she was ready to climb. This year, she put it on, looked at me with her this is so uncomfortable face and headed for the wall. While it’s hard to watch my child struggle when she chooses to do so, it’s important I give her the time and space she needs.
Allow Time
Sometimes we are late to classes, and getting out the door takes a lot of time. We’ve discovered a few helpful tricks to make this easier:
make sure her comfy clothes are clean
give a lot of transition time
keep her bag packed with all the things she might need
Sometimes, she just needs a few extra minutes. The alternative to giving her this time is not attending classes or rushing her, which leads to tears and fighting. While we have gone in both directions, extra time is always the better option. When it’s hard to be patient, I try to remind myself she is not defiant or lazy. She would much rather jump in the car and be comfortable.
Offer Alternatives
While it can be hard and even frustrating to figure out an HSC’s needs and triggers, it’s important they have what they need to feel comfortable. My best advice is to take them with you when you buy clothes, school supplies, and food. Let them touch, smell, and pick out things that appeal to their senses.
Take note of what your child loves to touch and taste. Are they someone who craves things that are soft or rough? Foods that are hard like ice or mushy like applesauce? Do they need clothes that are tight or don’t have seams? Offer options and then let your child decide.
Again, it’s worth the time it takes to figure out the best pencils, pants, and foods that help an HSC feel their best. And it’s okay if the things they like or need are different from the rest of the family.
Communicate with Friends and Family
The research on Highly Sensitive People is not new. Unfortunately, neither is the tendency to label HSP as too sensitive. Friends and family might need help learning about what it means to be highly sensitive, and they might need gentle reminders. A well-intentioned family member who sees your child in a struggle can make the situation worse by raising their voice or telling them to get over it. Belittling a child’s need only creates shame and more struggle.
Communicate with friends and family, so that they know how to help when your child is having a hard time. Talking with them can also help them understand why certain gifts and activities need to be avoided. My family knows not to give my child clothes. They also know we don’t go to loud restaurants with multiple televisions blaring.
Identify Needs
Regardless of our child’s needs, we can help them to understand who they are and what they need.
They need to learn to identify their triggers and to recognize the things they enjoy and need. Help your child tap into their senses. Maybe you can play games where they touch a variety of textures or get out the spices and let them find their favorite smells. Help them collect the stuffed animals, blankets, music, and toys that bring them the most comfort. Create a special corner in their room for some of the things they love. Then, they know they can head there when they need a break.
My daughter has a basket of things she loves and sometimes needs. When she’s feeling overwhelmed, she can take it outside or to a quiet space in our home. She also knows that having a journal and pencil nearby is always helpful and has placed one in pretty much every room, car, and space she might be.
Help Your Child Advocate for Themselves
Once your child knows what they need, it’s vital we help them find their words so they can speak for themselves. People are going to ask why they always wear sweatpants or are having a hard time. They don’t need to feel embarrassed or to have a parent jump in and explain what is going on. Instead, we can empower our children by letting them know there is no shame in the truth.
I’ve heard my daughter tell both adults and children why she needs what she needs. Not only does advocating for herself help her embrace who she is, it helps her create deeper connections with the people in her life. They are given a chance to accept her for who she is.
When my daughter was four, we were talking about how she needs extra time. I’ll never forget her looking at me and saying, “I’m worth the extra time it takes, Mom.” She is, and so is every child and adult who needs extra time, certain clothes, foods, and settings.
Success is Attainable
Homeschooling a high sensitive child takes time and patience, just like homeschooling every child does. But it’s important we take the necessary steps to know what our HSC needs, help them know what they need, and make sure their home and learning environment supports them. Supporting our HSC does not mean they are never triggered or are always comfortable. It means we help them know they can do hard things, let them be who they are, and give them plenty of opportunities to find success.
About the Author
Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.
Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
One of my chief concerns was that I valued my relationship with my son too much to homeschool him. I was convinced that spending so very much time with him would result in us growing tired of one another.
We already had battles and emotionally charged moments, and I feared that being the person to constantly force school assignments he didn’t want to do would mean butting heads even more. I worried
that he would see me as a strict teacher and not his loving mom
that lines would blur as our roles shifted
that what was already unsteady would become unsustainable
I’m very happy that I was so very wrong.
The relationship between my son and I has grown stronger than I ever could have imagined as I’ve watched him heal, grow, learn, and thrive. I’ve gotten to know wonderful parts of his personality that I would have missed otherwise. And I have been privileged to help polish the rougher parts that always seemed to rub the wrong way before.
While we’ve grown closer and found our groove in homeschooling, I’ve stumbled a few times. Through my experiences, I’ve discovered a few temptations that absolutely have the potential to damage our relationship. Here’s what I avoid to keep from ruining my relationship with my homeschooled child.
1. Too Much Review
Most curriculum works in a spiral format. It reviews previous material while introducing new information in an attempt to keep facts and formulas fresh. This isn’t necessarily a bad format, but there comes a point when reviewing can become excessive.
While learning about the state capitals, I decided to take every opportunity to quiz and review my son
while driving in the car
sitting at dinner
during commercial breaks
This was just too much. Instead of keeping facts fresh, I was negating opportunities for casual conversation and was trading connection for repetition. The freedom and peace that we enjoy in our homeschool, the chance to learn at a pace we’re comfortable with, was replaced with drills and expectations.
He wasn’t learning the capitals anymore; he was being beaten over the head with them!
What if you devote all of this time and energy into a lesson for it to go in one ear and out the other? At the end of the day, your goal as a homeschool parent isn’t to create a recording of everything taught. It’s to inspire a love of learning in your child and to forge a relationship with them in the most intimate of settings.
What your child learns is important, of course, but conversation with your kiddo is usually sufficient to get a feel for what they’ve soaked up. Be their parent, not their drill sergeant. Sit next to them and learn together; don’t ask them to recite for you.
2. Trying to Replicate What Everyone Else is Doing
Seeing how well other families are doing, it’s easy to begin to wonder if maybe you should try it, too. Maybe if you tried that curriculum your child wouldn’t struggle with spelling. If you had a dedicated homeschool room, you might be a better homeschool parent. And what about what they’re doing at the public school down the street? You heard that they’re doing this experiment and reading that book, so does it say something about you that you’re not?
Attempting to replicate what works for one family can cause you to forget (or even ignore) what works for your own. By shadowing someone else’s footsteps you rob your child of the chance to forge their own path. You create a box that you were never meant to fit inside of, and the relationship between yourself and your child suffers as you both struggle against its confines.
You, the homeschool parent, have the opportunity to meet your child where they are in every area of their life, to fine-tune and customize their education in a loving and thoughtful way. Your lesson plans can be seen as love letters to your child, the result of your dedication and devotion to what’s best for them. Be the homeschool parent that your family needs, not the one you see succeeding elsewhere.
3. Comparing. To Anyone.
In the same vein as attempting to replicate someone else’s homeschool comes the temptation to compare:
Your slow mornings with someone else’s early rising.
Your child to someone else’s.
Or yourself to another parent.
Or yourself to a homeschool philosophy.
Your tattered books to someone else’s laminated worksheets.
Any time you begin to compare yourself or your situation to another, you invite the idea that you are not good enough. Any time you compare your child’s academic performance to that of another, you invite the idea that one is better than the other. Any time you begin to notice a deficit or weakness in your home because it’s a strength in someone else’s, you are walking a dangerous line that can too easily leave you disillusioned, dissatisfied, and dismissive of the unique needs in your own homeschool.
It’s not hard to see how comparison can ruin your relationship with your child, but it’s worth reminding yourself, as often as you need to, that it is a path towards bitterness, not betterment.
4. Resenting Your Commitment to Homeschool
I know, it seems obvious. Resenting homeschooling is obviously a no-brainer when it comes to how you could possibly ruin your relationship with your child. What’s not so obvious, however, is how we come to resent it.
Maybe you’re always having to turn down invitations to lunch with friends. Maybe you’re struggling financially and could really benefit from a second income you’re forfeiting to homeschool. Maybe you’re just having a hard day.
Little thoughts creep in and say, “If only I weren’t homeschooling, I could really…” The seed is planted, and the resentment grows.
Now instead of recognizing homeschooling as a privilege, you see it as a prison, a necessity, an obligation. Your child has become a pair of shackles instead of a partner in learning.
A decision made to bring freedom to your family can quickly convert to feelings of resentment, bitterness, offense, and displeasure. Where your relationship with your child was once a cornerstone of your homeschool, it is now a duty, a task, a chore, suffering under the illusion of obligation.
You get to homeschool! You get to share this time with your children! You get to hand-pick their education and provide them with all the love, enchantment, and opportunities they can handle. Homeschooling is a privilege, but the moment you start to see it as an obligation you begin to damage the relationship you have with your child. Suddenly they are to blame, and your reason for homeschooling becomes an excuse for your unhappiness.
There are many, many ways to ruin your relationship with your homeschooled child, but none of them are caused by actually homeschooling.
Our expectations, our ideas, our own boxes that we build and expect our children to fit into—theseare the breeding grounds for relational damage. When it comes down to it, these situations and feelings can be just as damaging in any setting. As a homeschooling parent, though, you find yourself spending more time with your children than most parents do, which creates more opportunities for these little seeds to sprout.
Really the greatest way to ruin your relationship with your homeschooled child, with any child, is to become lax in examining your own heart and motivations. By guarding yourself against feelings of bitterness or insecurity, you protect your child and your relationship.
About the Author
Jennifer Vail proudly lives in the great state of Texas with her very handsome husband and three very funny children. All three kids are educated in three very different ways according to their very different needs, which is exhausting but fulfilling. Jen’s hobbies include naps, 90’s pop culture, Netflix binges, buying books with the best of intentions to read them all, photography, and extroverting. She holds a degree in counseling but has found her calling by writing for and spending time with families of differently-wired, outlier kids—the square pegs of the round world.
She stays up way too late and drinks way too much caffeine, but has no intention of changing either. She is the community manager and contributing author at Raising Lifelong Learners where she writes about homeschooling gifted, anxious, and otherwise different kiddos, but also rambles at This Undeserved Life from time to time. She feels compelled to mention that she still very much loves the Backstreet Boys and rarely folds her laundry.
Homeschooling has challenges, finding support shouldn’t to be one of them. Support can help us when the homeschool day proves particularly tough. If you find yourself in an environment where you don’t have support, create your own! Join Janna as she chats with Laura, a mother who homeschools in Europe. Listen in Laura discusses the challenges and joys of homeschooling and how she now shares her knowledge through her blog, Monkeyandmom.com.
ABOUT OUR GUEST | Laura is a homeschooling mom from Europe and the creator of the blog Monkey And Mom. Laura has been homeschooling her son, Marc, for 7 years, delving deep into the world of STEM for gifted learners. Her journey has been one of discovery and dedication, blending nurturing, patience, and a flexible, creative approach to education. Through her blog, Laura shares an eclectic mix of homeschooling tips, resources, and fun printables, all born from her hands-on experience. Whether you’re a parent to an only child, a homeschooler looking for fresh ideas, or just beginning your homeschooling journey, Laura’s insights are sure to inspire and guide. She’s here to share her wealth of knowledge and experiences, providing valuable resources and encouragement for fellow homeschoolers.
Podcast Transcript
Janna 0:04 Welcome to Homeschool your way I’m your host Janna Koch and BookSharks Community Manager. Today I am joined by Laura from MonkeyandMom. She is a homeschool mom from Europe who is the creator of the blog, monkeyandmom, Laura has been homeschooling her son Mark for seven years delving deep into the world of STEM for gifted learners. This episode is going to open your eyes to the idea of schooling outside of your comfort zone. Laura is going to tell us her story. And I’m so excited for her to share. Let’s bring her in. Laura, thanks so much for being here.
Laura 1:10 Thank you for having me.
Janna 1:13 I am so excited for you to share your story. I know that BookShark is used internationally, I would say my exposure to the families who use BookShark are either in the US or US families who live overseas, you are neither of those things. You are a family that lives overseas that was born and raised. And so you are choosing to use an American curriculum like BookShark, and then creating this blog and these amazing videos on your YouTube channel, which we will make sure to link in the notes for those who are listening. But let’s start from the beginning. Why don’t you just introduce yourself and then we’ll get going into why you chose to homeschool in the country that you live.
Laura 2:00 Hi, I’m Laura and I’m a blogger at monkey and mom. I homeschool an only child, currently seventh grade and we are a eclectic home schooler. So we choose and pick whatever works for us. But we like balancing academics and child led learning. My son is gifted in STEM and he is my opposite in every way. So that made for an adventure in homeschooling like we never have a dull moment.
Janna 2:30 So why don’t you tell us what country you have your country of origin, maybe other countries that you lived in, and then we’ll kind of get into the history of homeschooling in the country that you’re currently in.
Laura 2:44 Sure, we are homeschooling in Romania. And we’ve been living in Romania and India for several years. So homeschooling here doesn’t really have any regulation. We don’t have any rules to tell us what to do and how to do it. It’s not legalized, I hate using that word. But that’s the truth. So we homeschool under the law that says that parents here can choose their school. So parents can choose the school outside Romania. So that’s why we had to choose an umbrella or distance school to homeschool because in Romania distance schools are illegal. So we had two options when we chose, we could go the UK route or the US Route. So we chose us because I feel that US provides us with more options, there are more options. When it comes to curriculum, there are more publishers who cater to homeschoolers like BookShark. And I also feel that the exams are easier, because we will go the AP route and SAP route and I feel that with the AP, you can choose whatever passion to have and just go to those exams, you aren’t forced to go through standardized tests, like if I can call it that. So homeschooling here isn’t popular. And I think it’s mainly because it’s, you have to do it in English, you have to do it in the language of the school that you chose. So lots of parents fear that and it’s a real fear, it’s hard. And also, there’s no real community. Like you can’t really find a lot of information on how to do it correctly. The authorities and people in general have a lot of misconceptions around it. And you can really feel shunned, you know, like you are going against the grain you’re doing something that hasn’t been done and everyone looks weird. Like why did you choose that? And also, I feel people don’t choose it because there’s not a smooth say Dealing between homeschooling and public school. Like I know in us, you can easily go between them switch and whatever suits you. But for us when we do it, it’s like a long term commitment. You cannot really go one year homeschooling one year public school and the back again, because a lot of schools here because of misconceptions and everything they can make you see through exams, for every single subject every single year, you haven’t been enrolled in a public school here. So that’s a lot. And you really have to ponder and like take this decision, this decision is not taken lightly, you know, here, so I feel like we have a small community, but it’s growing and becoming more confident, and I hope it will be fine in the years to come.
Janna 5:47 Your decision to choose a US based on brella school, you said was kind of based on the not only the academics, but also availability, but the language. So would you say there is a high percentage of Romanians that speak English? Or is that a language that isn’t necessarily spoken a lot in your country?
Laura 6:07 Well, we don’t have English as an official language. So no, it’s not that prevalent. It’s one of the languages spoken here by some people, but not a large percentage of them. But if you want to homeschool don’t really have a lot of options. Because even if you look at other languages in Europe, homeschooling is pretty much illegal. Like in Germany, you can get in jail into jail, if you homeschool your kids. There are other countries who have strict regulations like France, where you need to see through their national exams, like every two years, and they are becoming increasingly stricter. So even UK started changing and modifying their laws. So there’s not many options you have when it comes to choosing an umbrella school. Most of them are English. So English is a must learn language. But I also feel like at the same time, it was something I wanted from the beginning, you know, because I thought if my son will learn, like, we’ll finish all his school in English, and we’ll have this plus to his portfolio that he knows how to speak English. And he’s currently beneath and he finished, he has diplomas in English, then he will have doors opening for him, like he’ll have access to all the international universities and he won’t have to go to the stress of learning English, you know, as a second language, and getting ready for both the exams here. I mean, in the in the LSAT or whatever entrance exams he had to take, if you wanted to go outside to a university. So there are more benefits to English. And I keep telling people here also that it’s not only this, you also have a lot of resources in English that aren’t there in other languages. So I keep encouraging people even if don’t go the homeschooling route, you can opt to teach your kids English when they are later. So when they start school, you can just grab anything like they want to learn chemistry at seventh like minded. There’s a curriculum for that, you know, but it’s in English.
Janna 8:25 Yeah. So did you learn English as a child? Or was that something that you made a decision as an adult to learn?
Laura 8:31 No, I actually learned English during high school. English is my third language. So during high school, we had like two hours of English per week. And that’s where they started learning English. But most of it I learned when I took when I had my son, I took the decision to read in English and teach him as much English as I knew. Because that you know, I don’t know if you’re familiar with the one parent, one language and all those, like, you know more languages in their family, one parent can speak one language, the other parent can speak the other language and the kid was picked both. But I was like, Why aren’t all the languages because I’ve been both Romanian and English with him. And now he’s better than me, obviously. But while I was teaching him when he was little, I just looked to better myself. And I did through listening to audiobooks through reading all in English. I just switched everything to English. And it was so difficult at first, but then you start seeing it pay off. And I’m telling the parents that come to me also, Romanian parents that just try to create an environment where English is present everywhere, even for your kids and that really helped them. You don’t even realize when it’s happening. Just start speaking with them like when you play or when you prepare food or like make them Listen to it and use it in your family. And you will see it’s not that difficult.
Janna 10:06 I think one of the major advantages for you as a parent who is choosing to homeschool is that you have a love of learning. And I know that we as parents, when we model that for our children, it is the best type of learning, right? When we’re, we’re demonstrating that it matters to us. We’re passionate about it. It’s contagious. And I think whether it’s Romanian families learning English, or it’s English speaking families, learning Romanian, like, we have these amazing capabilities, if we’re willing to put aside our own fears, and, and just kind of jump into the deep end, knowing that there’s no way we can drown, you know, like metaphorically, because we’re not even in water. So sometimes we just, we just have to try. Now, you weren’t going to homeschool your son, from the beginning, you decided to try your local school district. And I would love for you to share that story. Because I think it’s really impactful to your journey.
Laura 11:08 Oh, yeah, he actually just tried school for a few days. And I immediately knew it wasn’t for us, like the environment. And also, I’m sorry to say this, but like the level we live in a small area. So maybe that’s why but I felt like the overall level of his peers didn’t match his and here, we don’t have that differentiation you have in us, I think you have classes for gifted kids or accelerated learning. We don’t have that here. Like everyone, the same age is put together and they all have to kind of be at the same level. I even spoke with his teacher and she said, Well, you taught him too much. And when I heard that, you know, like, that’s not normal. How can you teach someone to? You’re always learning, you know, and that you said that I was an example for him with learning goals. And I think that’s essential for all parents to show their kids, that learning never stops, you always learn you can learn as an adult, and maybe you don’t know everything, they also have to see that that adults aren’t always right. They don’t always know everything. I think those are the things I really wanted to instill in him and also encourage that natural curiosity that kids have. I didn’t feel that the schools here would help with that. In fact, I felt that that was the first thing they would crash. Because if you go to a child that’s curious and asking the question, and you tell him, Oh, you’re too little. Now you can learn it in a few years. You know, it’s not the right moment. Or we don’t do that today. We’ll do it another time. That’s like a surefire way to just drown the curiosity and belittle their curiosity because you say it’s not important enough for us to do it now. And that’s what I felt the school did here. And I didn’t realize it at the time. I just went home crying, because I felt something wasn’t right, you know. And then I’m so glad I just went ahead and listen to my instincts. Because eight years later, I can say it worked. But back then it was so scary. Like I didn’t know anything about homeschooling back then it wasn’t even in my mind. And then I discovered this homeschooler one local home schooler who was posted in English on her blog. It was called my English homeschool. And I contacted her and I asked her how to do all this and she started telling me about homeschooling and how to do it in Romania. And like that really opened my eyes and opened the gates floodgates, because after that, I started researching a lot. And I created my own communities on Facebook, and I just wanted to be an example for everyone that came behind. Like I wanted them to find the information I couldn’t find when I was looking for it. So yeah, the reason we homeschool basically was we wanted something better for our son.
Janna 15:21 I am really encouraged by your statement that you just felt like something wasn’t right. Like it. Typically, as humans, we go with the flow. We don’t like to go against the grain. It’s uncomfortable. And we’re we’re pioneers and something that we didn’t necessarily want to be a pioneer in. But there’s just that gut feeling that we can choose a different way. And I think that a lot of homeschool parents feel that way. Like, I may not know what I’m doing. But I know that I’m supposed to be doing something different than what’s being offered to me. And I don’t want to say the easy way because public school, private school charter schooling, each has their own place and challenges, right parenting is a gigantic challenge in and of itself. But I think listening to that sixth sense that we have as parents that we do know what’s best for our kids. And when we go to what we think are the authorities on it, and they they’re dismissive of us that’s like, we could go okay, well, maybe it’s just in my mind, maybe I’m just overreacting, you know, I should just like you could have just said, Well, I’ll just send them and see what happens. It’s like we have to be advocates for our children. And I think that it’s it’s a lot easier said than done. Because when you’re challenging the establishment, it does feel like David and Goliath, right? Like, I can’t do this.
Laura 16:54 And it’s not even that, like we also face challenges from our own families. Like even my own mom said that I’m destroying his future. What am I doing? This is not what people usually do, like who are you to go against everything, you know, and that’s something that parents here face. I think even in the US, there’s, it’s like, even with a rich history of homeschooling, you still have this problem. So here, it’s even more because even I had a lady write to me and saying that I’m so excited to start Homeschooling with my six year old and then in a few days, she was like, my husband has a degree. So I was like, I know exactly what she’s been through, because I had to fight my whole family to be able to do this. But I was so convinced in that instance, that this is the way we should go that I was willing to fight for it. And I’m happy I did.
Janna 17:51 When you have such a strong conviction about something, I think that is like the first stepping stone to fight because if you’re unsure and you’re wishy washy, then the first sign of resistance either a partner is very hard when your partner is not aligned with your passion, it can be very difficult to persuade. But beyond that is if you two can get on the same page, which to me is the biggest thing, but you know, then your surrounding family. It’s like when people start to poke holes in your plan, it feels, you just start to feel like you’re sinking. But when you have such a strong conviction that it’s like, I don’t have the answers to what you’re saying. Yeah, maybe I am making the wrong decision. But the only way to know is to try. And I, in our experience. I didn’t want to homeschool our kids. I was like, No, that’s not what I want to do. And my husband, we always were like, first I was like, Maybe we should homeschool. He’s like, No, not a good idea. And then I was like, Okay, we shouldn’t homeschool. And then he was like, Maybe we should homeschool. And then so it’s like we had these different phases. And finally, we were both like, Okay, we’re going to homeschool. And then that just like solidified the decision. So was your partner always on the same page when you presented this out of the box education?
Laura 19:07 Actually, he wasn’t really he wasn’t really convinced me to to work. But I kind of told him that’s what I’m doing. So you have to roll with. And he was I think he was waiting like, okay, she will quit next year. You know, like this is becoming too difficult. And then if him and my family they started seeing the results, like oh, she managed to make him read and now he can do math also and oh, he even has a diploma from the umbrella school. So maybe it’s not so bad. And then as the years progressed and they saw his growth, like my son’s growth, they kind of like we’re okay with it. My mom still brings it up sometimes. She would say like, Are you sure? Like I You’re sure he can go to college after nice where he has Have like paperwork that’s accepted. Do you know what you’re doing? And all those kinds of questions, like, you know, she sees that he’s advanced in math and chemistry. And they were worried like, what will you do? Because he’s like ahead of you. So yeah, we found on tutors online, we found online classes self paced, because he doesn’t like, once, and he’s doing great, he keeps growing. That’s what’s important to me to see him happy, both emotionally and otherwise. And to see him grow academically, though those were my goals. And I see I’m reaching them year by year.
Janna 20:39 And really, I mean, it’s like the proof is in the growth, right? It’s one of these things that it’s like, I can’t prove to you that this is a good choice. But I can only demonstrate, and the only way I can do that is by trying it. So let’s, let’s give it a go. And there are parents, especially during the pandemic, who started homeschooling, who saw the benefits, sometimes not immediately, and you know, we all have our ups and downs, right? We have good days and bad days, and both us and our children. But then, for whatever circumstances, they couldn’t continue, you know, things open back up, and it just wasn’t a possibility. And then there was other families who thought for sure, they would go right back into the brick and mortar schools. But after they had been out and been doing homeschool, they were like, This is amazing. Why didn’t we try this earlier? And so it’s one of those things that like, you just don’t know what you don’t know. And the only way to know is to do and there’s like, again, there’s fear in that right, like, but there’s also comfort in the fact that like I no amount of me talking is going to prove to you what I’m trying to prove like, you just have to trust me. And that was the thing to like, we tell a lot of people just try set aside a year, and then see and then reevaluate. And if it’s not, if it’s not for you, it’s not working, you know, and in the US, because we can, in most states seamlessly go from one to another, with very little friction. It’s like you could even do semester, just try for a semester and half the year and see how it goes. So yeah, it really, but all the things that you’re saying that you feel and have experienced? I think those are global, I don’t think that is, you know, isolated to homeschooling out of the United States, I think that is just homeschooling in general, because we’re constantly really crossing our fingers that we made the right decision for our children.
Laura 22:36 Yeah, it’s true. Like even now, as he approaches the high school years, you know, the Fears are growing. Am I doing enough? is doing enough? Like, you know, that the homeschool schedule is less than the hours they spend in public school? So should we do more hours? Should we do extra action with them? You know, those are doubts, and they will always creeping, but I think they are a sign that you’re doing the right thing. I think when you start questioning what you are doing, you’re really thinking about it and assessing it and I tell the parents who reach to me that, like it’s okay to doubt yourself. It’s okay to keep asking yourself if this is okay, if it works fine, because you should constantly see if you need to change anything. And there is no way to do that. If you don’t care. If you say no, it’s fine, it will turn out okay. No matter what I do, I think that’s where the danger lies when you stop thinking or you never think from the beginning that you should really give your best, you know, homeschooling is not easy. And I tell that to everyone. It’s not an easy decision. And it’s not an easy thing to do. Because you’re sacrificing so much as a parent. Also, it’s way easier to ship them to school, especially in some cases. And also it’s not for everyone. I know that people say, Oh, just homeschool because it’s so easy. But the truth is, some kids do better in public school. And some parents cannot take the role of a teacher or facilitator I can say because you don’t always have to be the teacher. You can choose materials and people from outside, but you still need to be involved invested in it. And some parents just cannot do it and it’s fine. Their kids will be happier in other settings. I think the main thing here is to just do what’s best for your family, for your kids and for yourself.
Janna 24:38 Now talking about one of the biggest decision makers after you’ve decided to homeschool is finding a good fit of curriculum and where you’re going to go. And so, your story you kind of reverse engineered the fact that you were looking at the end goal that you knew you wanted some kind of college Just degree for your son. And you you obviously saw right away that that was something he could accomplish. And you know, he was gifted in that. So you had the end in mind. So you kind of worked backwards and kind of tell us that process like how you narrowed it down and came to your decision and what you choose to use.
Laura 25:21 So I wanted him to like be achieving academically, but I also wanted him to preserve that curiosity and love for learning. Like I wanted him to be a lifelong learner. My end goal is not really that diploma and goal is for him to always learn, always be curious, like, I think that’s real happiness when you can find happiness in what you do, because you love it, and you’re curious about it. So, because of that, I, I ended up being eclectic, I didn’t start with the eclectic homeschooling because I thought it’s so difficult to just go. And there are so many curricula, and how do I choose the perfect lead up doing it anyway, and it was great. I think balancing that is the secret sauce here. For example, we do teach art and math, those are non negotiables. And I think it’s universally available, because no matter where you go, and what you do, these are the two things you should know you. But for the rest of them, I kind of let Him lead. I saw he has a passion for sciences and stem in general and early on. So that was our third choice. So we have language arts, math, and then his passion, which is science. So it’s pretty easy to go from there and choose curriculum. And we always prioritize them that way. So my resources and my effort efforts go more into choosing these three for him. And then there is come at the back.
Janna 26:54 I think that is unique, because I think most parents don’t look at it that necessarily that way, I think we’re so ingrained to think that it has to be, you know, these core subjects and it has to be in this order. And but you know, we really can, the point of a child led learning is to focus on what your kids are really interested in. And there’s, like you said, always non negotiables, but, but really help that process and encourage them to help you make that decision once they become capable. As they get older, because they’re going to they’re going to be the ones doing it, they probably should enjoy it too. Right. And you shouldn’t be you just hope.
Laura 27:41 Sorry. That I feel that he will continuously discovered things he’s interested in. And sometimes he’ll discover them because I am the one planning resources and exposing him to things. So as we go through a planned curriculum, we’ll stop at I don’t know we did from bookshop this year, about the Romans, you know, and then we ended up with Roman numerals. But how do you say 1 million in Roman numerals and all those things he likes going down these rabbit holes. And I think homeschooling the way we do it. Flexible and eclectic just allows us. Okay, we have pause, everything we were doing for today. Let’s go and find out more about Roman numerals. And he ended up printing pages from the internet with all the Roman numerals. And then he actually learned them so well that he started writing his own novel. And he hates writing. But he chose to put the pages in Roman numerals. So now he can read Roman numerals from monuments everything. It wasn’t something I planned to do. But this is how child led learning works, especially if you balance it because many times parents think that if you choose one style or one way you have to do it 100% You know if I want to go Child learning, I just have to do whatever the child wants every single day. And it’s not that I think eclectic homeschooling showed us that you can just blend and mix and do whatever percentage you want to just make it work and to see your child grow and grow and love to learn.
Janna 29:25 So would you say that your passion behind homeschool are the one of the reasons you love it is because you do see your son just blossoming. In all of these areas. The fact that you literally just said he doesn’t like to write but he’s writing a novel like that’s a huge win.
Laura 29:44 Yeah, it is. And we had a lot of adventures, especially when I was like a new home schooler. I had no idea what I was doing. We went with a box curriculum for the first two years and they did everything to a tee from me I realized it’s so much like public school, and we kind of both of us hated it. We went through it, but it was great. And then I really sat down. And I looked at it. I said, Okay, what is it with this curriculum, that doesn’t work? Because I knew there were parts that work. And I realized there were two main things. One was that some of the subjects or, like, busy work, they were repetitive, and he didn’t need that, because that’s the way he learned. And some of them weren’t sufficiently developed, you know, for writing, in particular, I felt that his tempering didn’t work doing. And even I wasn’t capable to explain writing, like composition, writing, you know, creative writing to him. So I said, I didn’t even know what to look for. I didn’t know what I needed, what he needed. So I sat down, I thought it through logically like what kind of curriculum would fit a logical brain. And I said, he needs something step by step, he needs something broken down, he needs like a list of things that he has to do for every single composition. So he knows what. And I found the curriculum. Finally, it was so amazing, I didn’t see immediate results like we are in the second year using it. And I finally see him take initiative in writing. And that has been amazing. Like, I cannot believe it. That also helped me because being a writer, and I love writing, and I love it so much that I sometimes go overboard with my blog posts, I write too. But I have this defect. Like, I feel like correcting his work from my point of view. And I go, like, writing is super personal. And you can’t, you cannot go there and say, Oh, I don’t agree with your idea. And I know that that’s a very touchy subject with a lot of homeschool moms, and maybe even teachers, I don’t know, all the rubrics, I just cannot correct it. So I decided to Okay, writing will be outsourced. I won’t do it. He’s doing it with videos. And I just have a checklist. And if he follows the form, I’m not looking at the ideas or the way he presented them, if he follows all the requirements, like a form of the essay, or whatever he’s writing, he gets full points. And that has been amazing for us. Like it encouraged him. And now he’s even writing his own novel. I don’t know how many hundreds of pages. It’s some sci fi thing. Hopefully, he likes.
Janna 32:50 Oh, that’s really exciting. We do have a podcast with a English tutoring company that has a publishing site. So I will definitely get you the link to that. So it might be something that he could actually publish and let other children his age read in the United States is kind of an interesting concept.
Laura 33:12 Interesting.
Janna 33:14 Yeah, I agree. I never wanted, I never graded my girls writing. I just read through it. Because I’m the same way. I’m an English major, I have an editing brain. I want to fix what’s not right, I want to change the word around so it’s more clear. And it was hurtful to them. I found that very early on, it was like, Why are you picking that apart? Why? Because it is so personal. And so I stopped grading and I thought, well, when you go on to higher learning somebody, you’re gonna have to accept criticism from somebody, but it’s just not going to be me because I didn’t want to break that part of our relationship. And both of my older two daughters, they were able to take college classes as freshmen, sophomore in high school. And all they needed was some of that guidance in like the mechanics of it, but they had no problem with the writing. And they love to write and I had a daughter who wrote a novel, too. And I was like, Oh, my gosh, I’m just blown away. I could never imagine writing, having a consistent storyline for that many pages. So. So yeah, it’s beautiful when we see those things happening, and I love that you just trusted the process. You know, it took two years. And part of that could have been the curriculum. Part of it could have been his brain development proud part of it could have just been he finally found something he wanted to write about. I mean, there’s so many different factors that I think homeschool parents get caught up in the product when really we need to just trust the process. And that again, is one of those hard asks because you’re saying well, keep going it might take a couple years you’ll get there and we are so we were immediate results driven. So it’s harder, I think for us to be like okay, it’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna work and and fingers crossed that it does. Laura in closing Do you have a homeschool hack you can share with our listeners.
Laura 35:04 In fact, I have more like, more like three. So far one of them. And the first one one that helped us a lot since the beginning. And I’m so happy and discovered it is the growth mindset. I don’t think it’s spoken of so much in the homeschooling community. But it’s so important to because you also mentioned that your daughters didn’t like to be criticized and such. So I feel the growth mindset really helps with that, and it helped my son because he’s accepting criticism in stride. Now, it helps you think differently about mistakes, it helps them see that through mistakes, you are actually learning and growing. And it’s not something that you know, you have to read a lot about, there are a few links on the internet and a few YouTube videos, you can watch, and you’ll get an idea of what you need to do. And one of our favorite quotes, which is growth mindset is all things are difficult before they are easy. And that’s what we have on our desk. And it helped him when he started reading also, because we use a curriculum that was not a good fit. And I didn’t know at the time, and he was actually crying to every lesson. And it took me a while to say okay, like, yeah, you trust the process. But up to some point, you know, like, I saw that it was working, and I kept pushing through, and then he ended up crying. So I said, Okay, this is not fine. We almost finished it. And then I just switched completely. But he remained with that reluctance in reading, you know, and the growth mindset really helped him there. And I told him, okay, just take it step by step, you know, let’s look behind you when you started speaking, because he was later I didn’t have any other example. It was very difficult for you, you know, but now you do it, you don’t even think about it. And this is what will happen with treadling. Also, you kept at you keep at it, you know, every day, a little by little, and in a few years, you won’t even think about it. And I was right, because now he’s an avid reader. He just loves reading. And that’s why book shark is so perfect for us. And the second hack is only compare yourself to yourself. I see this happen a lot, all over social media in all the Facebook groups, and we all fall into it sometimes. But you should remember that you shouldn’t compare your child to anyone else or your situation to anyone else. If you see growth, like six months ago, or one year ago, or two years ago, my key is on an upslope, then what you’re doing is perfect, keep doing it. If you don’t see that, then you should reassess and change things. And the third one is we already discussed about it. I think balancing academics and Child led is like the perfect way to, you know, grow curious individuals and individuals want to learn for life. And this happens only because homeschooling is so flexible.
Janna 38:14 Well, thank you those three, and they blend beautifully together. So I think I think that’s a full hack with a part A, B, and C. So thank you so much, Laura, I want to thank you for what you have contributed to the homeschool community, not only in your country, in your passion to help others kind of explore this alternative education, but also what you’re doing to encourage those of us on this side of the globe, because your blogs and you’re sharing your journey with you and your son has been an encouragement I know to our community as well. So thank you so much. And thank you for being here today.
Laura 38:53 Thank you for having me. It’s been so fun.
There’s no doubt that there are very defined preferences among homeschoolers about whether or not to use secular and faith-neutral curriculum. I’ve heard these very pointed questions when it comes to evaluating curriculum:
Does that science book espouse creationism or evolution?
Does your history curriculum align with the Bible?
I choose our curriculum carefully. All year, I pour over catalogs and curriculum sites. I read reviews and constantly keep in check what we are using and whether or not it’s the best for each particular child. Whether or not a curricula contains Bible verses or spiritual references is not something I concern myself with on this job of choosing learning tools, and this is not to say that I am not a Christian (because I am). But I have several reasons for choosing secular curriculum.
There is a ton of great curriculum out there—both secular and religious-based.
Every year that I homeschool, it seems there’s more and more to choose from. I love choices though, and I consider being able to choose from a wide array of curricula and not being held to it by a school board as one of the very biggest perks to homeschooling. That said, I feel that I would be excluding a huge range of wonderful programs out there if I were to only look at religious-based curricula.
I’ve made a choice to homeschool my children which opens up a huge amount of freedom for me to choose what best fits my children and their very individual learning styles. Why would I close myself in by choosing only religious-based books?
Religious-based curriculum tends to leave out facts I want my kids to know about.
When it comes to certain subjects, there’s very little I shield my kids from. We watch the news together. We talk about current events. We carefully discuss politics and the issues at hand. One of our biggest jobs as parents is to prepare our kids for the big world out there, and I want to discuss this tough stuff while they are still at home with me.
I have found that some religion-based curriculum leaves out information about other religions or certain historical events, and this is not something I want for my kids. Discussing a wide array of religions is something that is very important in our family. We’ve had some amazing discussions around these topics, and I feel that if anything, the knowledge of other spiritual choices, makes my own faith stronger and it also gives myself and my children a better understanding of others and what they believe.
Subjects like grammar and spelling are not for instilling faith.
Can I just say that sometimes I think we just go overboard? We can be so afraid of the outside world infiltrating our homes and our children that we even try to incorporate our beliefs in our spelling books. I have a hard enough time getting my kids to enjoy grammar without trying to tie a Bible lesson into it. For subjects like this, I choose what’s best for my children, because I know that good grammar isn’t going to teach my child how to be a decent human being; it’s just going to teach her where to capitalize.
The bottom line for us is that we have choices. Secular curriculum has its place among those choices, so don’t automatically rule it out even if you are passing your faith to your children.
About the Author
Alicia Hutchinson is the homeschooling mom to four. She and her children love reading and history and exploring outside. They are just settling into their new home in the Minneapolis area, where they just relocated from North Carolina.
You can read more about Alicia and their homeschooling adventures, current projects, and thoughts on motherhood at her blog Investing Love.!
The BookShark binder* is huge. It has to be to fit all of the information, lessons, and activity sheets included in the 36-week curriculum. We need the Instructor’s Guide that goes in the binder, but thankfully we don’t need to lug it around.
There are several ways we can keep our BookShark materials organized and accessible without wrangling a 3-inch notebook. If you’re like me and prefer to keep the big binder on the shelf, all you have to do is choose one of these five solutions.
1. Use a Working Binder
A working binder is exactly what its name suggests: a binder that holds the things your homeschoolers are currently working on.
This method works well if you plan units or like to build breaks into your homeschool year every six or eight weeks. Transfer the lessons to a smaller binder and when your child is finished with them, swap them for a new set of materials.
A working binder is also a great tool if you are using several different BookShark programs. Keep your current history, writing, science, and math units together, so you always have on hand exactly what you and your student need.
2. Use a Filing Crate with Hanging Files
Some of us are just not binder people. It’s okay!
A hanging file system is another great way to organize your BookShark curriculum. All you need to do is put each weekly lesson into a separate file folder. If you have multiple homeschoolers, you might put their weekly lessons in the same folder so that you can grab one file at a time. Or you can choose different colored folders for each child.
Once you finish a lesson, move the file to the back of the crate or cabinet. Your homeschooler’s next set of lessons is now right up front, ready for them.
3. Use a Kids Binder and an Adult Binder
My child loves school supplies and would be very upset if I were the only one with a binder. So she gets her own notebook, too. tory. Use reading strategies to craft your questions and discussions:
I always put all of her activity sheets in one binder and my Instructor’s Guide in another. She also likes to organize her supplies by subject, so her BookShark history lessons and writing assignments are in one binder while her BookShark science lessons are in another. These binders don’t have to be very big and give her the autonomy (and school supplies) she craves. They also lighten the load on my binder.
4. Spiral Bind Each Unit
If you love to keep curriculum long-term, spiral binding each unit or several units is a beautiful way to save and showcase the lessons. Spiral-binding might be an easier way to travel with units or for younger children to use the materials.
Systems like the Happy Planner also allow you to punch holes into the materials and use plastic rings to bind the lessons together.
5. Pull Out What You Need Each Week
Perhaps the easiest way to keep yourself from lugging around your big BookShark binder is to pull out what you’ll need each week. Keep the materials in a folder or separate binder—whatever works for you. At the end of the week, put everything back into the big binder and pull out what you’ll need next week.
Practically speaking, the big binder is massive and takes up a good amount of space on the table.
There is another reason you might consider downsizing your binder: Some children get overwhelmed by seeing everything they will need to do in a year. Seeing a manageable amount of activity sheets or reading may dissipate the shock factor. If you feel overwhelmed by the number of lessons, it might help you feel less stressed as well.
*A BookShark binder is included in the Required Resources for All-Subject and Reading with History Packages.
About the Author
Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.
Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
Having a child who lives with anxiety can often be an overwhelming experience. It’s painful for us, as parents, to watch our children struggle with the weight of anxiety disorder. We work tirelessly to help them learn coping mechanisms, develop strategies for managing their anxiety, and help them live their best lives. What if there was one small thing—something many of us might already be doing—that could add another layer of support to their anxiety management?
I am currently parenting and home educating a child who has generalized anxiety disorder. Because I also happen to be an adult who lives with anxiety disorder, I have a deeper understanding of what my child is experiencing. I’ve been there and can truly empathize with my child’s feelings.
After a lifetime of searching out different coping techniques, I still find new things to try or think about. I recently came across an article discussing how reading can help anxiety. It made me think about all the books I crawled into when I was younger, as a way to self-manage my anxious moments. I thought about the times I snuggled up to my kids with a good book when one of them was having their own hard day. It really clicked, and I started to dig a little deeper.
Bibliotherapy Soothes the Anxious Mind
Above the door of the ancient library at Thebes, was inscribed the phrase Healing Place For The Soul. As long as there have been stories to tell and stories to read, humans have used the written word as a way to soothe our hearts and ease our minds.
There is a term for this, bibliotherapy, the act of using books to aid in treating mental health disorders. Particular stories can give our minds a way to see things and find solutions.
Sure, we all love a good book or a good story, but how can we use books intentionally to help our children deal with their anxiety? One of the most effective treatments I’ve tried for anxiety disorder is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). In a nutshell, this is the act of retraining how we think about a situation, so that we can rewire our brain in its reaction to the situation.
Reading a novel can be a powerful way reframe a bad or scary thing. In the book, we watch the character solve that problem and fight that scary thing to victory. The more we read about a character overcoming a struggle, the more our brains start to learn other ways to respond to a threatening trigger.
Reading Lets the Anxious Child Be The Hero
GK Chesterton once said, “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
Books show us that the things we’re scared of, the situations that trigger our anxiety, can be beaten. Our children read a hero’s tale and see an ordinary everyday character—just like them—go on a journey through dark moments and scary places. They see our hero fight the darkness and emerge victorious.
Reading puts our children in front of these heroes and lets them imagine themselves as the victor, conquering the dragon. It gives them a brief experience of feeling that bravery and beating their foe.
Reading Reminds Us That There is Good in the World
When you live with anxiety, the world can seem overwhelming—full of terrifying events. To our children, these fears can become all-consuming. When we read a book, we are reminded of the good in the world:
that people can be strong and brave
that love can, and does, win
that we can persevere and overcome
Finding books with characters who do the good things and overcome adversity reminds our children that the world is not such a scary place.
Reading Gives the Anxious Mind Something to Do
A child who is feeling anxious will often have a million thoughts going all at once. They may be scatterbrained, or they might become intensely fixated on one problem or thought. When we sit down to read an engaging book, we give our minds something productive and enjoyable to do.
In an anxiety episode, our child’s mind is looking for trouble—in full flight or fight mode. If we give the mind something to focus on, it can’t keep fixating on the anxiety trigger. This kind of mindfulness activity can be an excellent coping mechanism, and books are a great way to do it. You can’t read a book and think of five other things at the same time. A good book will pull you in, and your mind will slowly let all the other worries fall off to the side.
Once your child spends time focusing their mind on one task, their mind can feel less scattered and frantic. Along the way, they’ll hopefully get pulled into a wonderful story or a fantastical world.
As home educating parents, we read all the time. We have family Read-Alouds in our curriculum, and literature for our homeschool lessons. We listen to audiobooks in the car on our way to activities. Reading can be such a large part of our lives already. How wonderful it is that we can also use it to help our children cope with fear and anxiety. with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it.
About the Author
Nadine Dyer is a homeschooling parent to two great kids and the lucky wife to one amazing guy. She and her family, which also includes four spoiled guinea pigs, reside in beautiful (and chilly!) northern Ontario, Canada. Nadine is the author of upabovetherowantree.com where she shares her journey, with all its ups and downs, as a secular homeschooling parent. When she isn’t homeschooling or writing, Nadine can usually be found in search of good coffee, good books, and great conversation.
If you’ve ever doubted yourself as a homeschooler, you’re not alone. No matter how many years we homeschool, doubt can get loud. Seeds of doubt plant germinate and sprout when our kids struggle, when we’re tired, when our kids say they are bored, or when learning stagnates. When worry rears its head, our inclination might be to turn to a quick fix or busy work to quiet our fears.
What is busy work? Busy work is anything we tell ourselves is good for our child knowing full well deep inside it’s a way to keep kids occupied or put a bandaid on whatever is going on.
Busy work often appears in the form of
worksheets you’ll never look at or use
excessive practice and problems
crafts
online learning games
educational television
flashcards, and workbooks
While all of these things can be wonderful learning tools if used as such, they can also be pointless. They can be busy work.
Busy work in education is like the fillers in our food. We can pretend something labeled natural is automatically nutritious. But when we analyze the ingredients label, we see the truth. And at times (especially when we are stressed or exhausted), we tell ourselves our children are learning when children are merely doing something school-like.
I’m not here to judge. When I was a new teacher, I gave my students busy work. Again, there are a variety of reasons good teachers and homeschoolers use busy work to keep kids occupied. Busy work keeps kids quiet and basically content when other children are learning at different paces, when children are struggling to learn, when a teacher is tired or overwhelmed, and when there isn’t time to plan a more meaningful or hands-on lesson.
Good teachers and homeschoolers don’t turn to busy work because we’re lazy. We turn to it because we feel something is amiss. When we have that feeling, we need to answer the deeper questions:
Is my child struggling or challenged by something we are learning?
Is my child complaining about being bored or miserable?
Am I comparing my child to someone else?
Am I tired or in need of a break?
Is my child tired or in need of a break?
Are my expectations realistic?
Am I looking for reassurance?
All of these questions point to something other than the need for busy work. And in fact, offering worksheets or mundane practice on something a child already knows, finds boring, or they don’t understand is only going to make the situation worse.
There are alternatives to busy work, even when we’re tired or feel overwhelmed. Here are eight ways to say no to busy work.
1. Play
Children learn through play! Play is just as important, if not more so than anything we are teaching our kids. Rest assured, they are learning! If you need to work one on one with a child, have toys or activities the others can play with independently. Maybe set up an art station, reading corner, or building center. These areas do not have to be complicated or time-consuming to set up. Pull out beads and strings, watercolor pencils and paper, put books in a basket, or grab a bin of LEGO blocks.
2. Games
There are countless games that offer practice in reading, writing, math, geography, etc. Children will learn the skills at a faster rate if they are playing. Bonus: playing a game can be the perfect way to both take a break and learn at the same time.
3. Quiet Times
If we want our children to learn, our children need rest. A study out of the University of Edinburgh and the University of Missouri looked at the best ways to improve memory. “The participants were asked to listen to some stories and answer questions an hour later. Without the chance to rest, they could recall just 7% of the facts in the story; with the rest, this jumped to 79% – an astronomical 11-fold increase in the information they retained.”
When our kids aren’t used to resting or playing quietly by themselves, it can take time to help them adjust. Start out with ten minutes of quiet play and work your way up.
4. Use Group Work or Pair/Share
We can learn by watching others. If there are skills you want your children to practice, find a friend or sibling they can practice with. The other child may explain the concepts in a new way that helps it stick.
We all need reassurance, but as homeschoolers, we may have to offer it to ourselves. Keep lists, charts, or bullet journals to remind yourself you are all doing great! Keep track of and encourage yourself by focusing on all the things your child accomplishes during a school day.
7. Take a Break
Give yourself and your child time to process everything you’re doing. Take time to plan, to talk together about what your child wants to learn or needs to learn.
8. Go Outside
There are a number of reasons to get kids outside. The outdoors offers places to learn, explore, and exercise. Nature is good for our brains and our well being. Take a walk or head to the creek, the fresh air will reset everyone’s mood and your kids will find all sorts of learning threads to follow.
As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to offer our children a quality education over quantity. Our kids do not have to sit in chairs all day, stand in lines, or wait for twenty other children to finish their work. We can set deadlines or not. Our kids can learn inside or out, in the morning or afternoon, and while that doesn’t mean our job as a homeschooler is easy, it does mean we can focus on what our children need and avoid keeping them busy with pointless busy work.
If after reading this article, you wonder if your entire curriculum may be based on busy work, take a look at BookShark. Meaningful discussions about great books are the heart of a BookShark education. No fluff. No busy work. Request a catalog here.
About the Author
Kelly left teaching middle and high school English to homeschool her children and reclaim how she and her family spent their time. Followers of interest-led learning, her family’s days rarely look the same, but they tend to include a lot of books, art supplies, and time outside.
Kelly facilitates local writing circles for women and children and blogs about nurturing the love of learning on her blog, Curiosity Encouraged. She loves to journal, read memoirs, hike, and travel. She seeks quiet mornings and good coffee daily.
We all suffer from information overload at times. When there is too much detail or too much to digest, we tend to shut down and not assimilate any of it in a meaningful way.
The same is true for students. Some learning tools are overwhelming. For example, traditional maps and atlases that have hundreds of labels can be hard to digest. There’s just so much information, students may not know what to zero in on and consequently remember little of what they see.
By doing the work of locating and labeling places on their map, students are more likely to remember what they are learning.
We tend to remember information better when it has a specific purpose or connection to what we are learning. The Markable Map gives you a way to create that context. You read; then you mark.
This 23″ x 34″, full-colored map can hang on the wall so your students can reference it easily. Tip: If you don’t have room on your wall, pin it to a piece of foam board and store it under a bed. You can prop it up on an easel or a chair during school hours.
It’s laminated, so you can use it again and again for a variety of activities.
The map has two sides: the United States and the world.
All of your students can use it, from kindergarten through high school.
Markable Map Learning Activities
You can use the map for a variety of learning activities with students of all ages across subject areas. You’ll only need a few supplies and resources such as Vis-a-Vis® markers, an atlas, the Internet, and of course, the Markable Map.
BookShark Instructor’s Guides include suggested mapping activities, so you’re covering geography in an integrated way if you follow the lesson plans. Below are some of the kinds of mapping activities that you may encounter. If geography is a favorite (or a weak spot), you may want to add extra mapping fun into your homeschool routine.
Label parts of the map such as lines of longitude and latitude and the equator. Learn what these terms mean and why they are important.
United States
Write the name of the state you are studying and place a star on the capital of the state and label it. Also mark and identify major cities. Include geographical features such as mountain ranges by drawing triangles where they are located.
Choose a color for each region of the United States. Outline each state as you study it with a Vis-a-Vis® marker corresponding to the color of the region.
Draw a symbol, such as an outline of a car, on each state that you have visited. This is also a great activity to do as you plan a vacation showing where you will be traveling.
World
Label continents, oceans, and countries as you study them.
During the Olympics, place the olympic rings on the map where the games are held. Learn about what the rings stand for, then using colors corresponding to the rings, outline those regions on your map.
Use your map to show where Native American tribes were located across the United States as westward expansion became the focus.
As you study the history of different parts of the world, add a symbol or simple stick figure style picture on your map where major events took place.
Show the movement of troops during wars. Talk about the obstacles the geography of the area might have caused for them.
History is being made everyday, so locate and label places you hear about in the news.
Other Subjects
When you read about a place in a book, locate it on the map. You can even draw a small copy of the book’s cover to attach to the map.
When writing a fictional story, consult the map to find a setting for your story. Think about how the geography of that area would affect the character’s lives.
Use the Markable Map as a visual for a presentation.
Learn about graphing using the lines of longitude and latitude. Give students coordinates and have them draw a circle on the map where those coordinates meet.
Reference the Markable Map when visualizing math problems dealing with distance.
Have students create their own word math problems using the map.
When studying animals, put small pictures of them in the region they are most predominant. Or track migration routes of animals across the world.
Draw small pictures of inventions and place them on the map where they were invented,
Label the places different types of music were created or emerged from classical to jazz to rock.
As your students study different subjects, brainstorm your own family’s ideas for how to use the Markable Map in your homeschool. You’ll discover it’s an inexpensive investment that yields valuable learning opportunities for the entire family. s with our children. Draw out the topics they are interested in and can relate to, ask questions that spark opinions and more questions, and get excited about what will happen next. Your kids will follow suit and you’ll be digging in and having valuable discussions with them before you know it.
Are you in a season of on-the-go-schooling? Are you out exploring the world more than you’re at home? I know I am! Museum visits, sports practices, dentist appointments, weekend trips, co-op classes, piano lessons and countless hours in the car blanket our week.
This constant motion means that our homeschooling has to be flexible. Sometimes reading assignments are tucked into the twenty-minutes hanging out in the waiting room or the forty-five minutes at the library between activities.
At first, I didn’t think we could fit anything meaningful into these short shifts of learning, but I knew I had to find a way!
Next to my front door, you’ll find a laundry basket filled with tote bags of various kinds. As we waltz out the door, staying on track with learning is as simple as grabbing a tote. Let my bags inspire you to build carry-alls that meet the needs of your on-the-go family!
1. Tote Bag Homeschooling for All
If you’re going to set up just one tote, this is the one. It has something for everyone—perfect for family-style learning! Here are some suggestions based on what’s in my own bag:
A card game or two
A juicy read-aloud
Drawing books and colored pencils
Journals for freewriting
Magnetic white boards
Magnetic letter tiles for word play
A tablet for streaming documentaries
2. Tote Bag Homeschooling for One
This kind of tote bag is designed for one learner and is individualized accordingly. Here is what you’d find in a few of ours.
Learner, age 6: phonics workbook and early readers, math book, a couple of picture books, a geography sticker book, crayons and unlined paper, audiobook player with earbuds
Learner, age 12: atlas and Markable Map, deck of cards for math games, writing journal, historical fiction book, tablet with science videos bookmarked
Learner, age 14: laptop for online math lessons and history videos, novel, science book, word roots game, colored pencils and drawing notebook
Mom: Instructor’s Guides, a few math manipulatives, a read aloud book, a box of granola bars
3. Tote Bag Homeschooling by Topic
This tote bag is focused on one subject area and the contents will vary depending on the topic.
History Bag: history read-aloud, atlas, geography game, world history encyclopedia
Science Bag: field guides, nature notebooks, colored pencils, science books, science-themed games
Math Bag: deck of cards, snap cubes, math-themed read aloud, base-ten blocks, math notebooks, dice
Reading Bag: early readers, letter tiles, white-boards and markers, word cards, a phonics game
Fine Arts Bag: poetry anthology, art books, how to draw guides, markers, colored pencils, oil pastels, books about famous musicians, audio player with earbuds
4. Tote Bag Homeschooling on a Budget
This tote bag is inexpensive and versatile! It could be assembled with just a few items from the dollar store!
Library books
Notebook and pencils for writing and drawing
Dice, a deck of cards, and dominoes for math games
Homeschooling flows smoothly into the pockets of our days with grab-and-go tote bags! They don’t have to be fancy or overly involved. Build a few totes and line them up in your entryway so you’ll be ready for next day of on-the-go learning. Each bag can fit your family’s needs and the contents can change as often as you’d like them to!
Angela Awald is a homeschooling mama to 6, certified teacher, writer, and doula. Her days brim full of learning, loving, and laundry (lots and lots of laundry)!! She believes that nurturing children (and ourselves) means helping them to see that all of life is about learning – from our mistakes, from each other, and from great books! Angela blogs at nurturedroots.net where she shares the ways she is nurturing her family and inspiration for nurturing your own.
