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.
Don’t give up the ease of laid out lesson plans which a boxed homeschool curriculum provides because you have active boys. Here are four ways that a boxed curriculum turns out to be a very boy-friendly option.
1. Hands-On Activities
There is no one size fits all solution for boys. However, one thing most young boys have in common is the need to wiggle. Because a boxed curriculum eased my teacher prep time, I had leisure to look plan and add activities for wiggly learners.
For example, when reading Where the Wild Things Are, I made paper bag puppets with three of my sons.The puppets brought the story to life and helped my boys remember the plot.
The instructions for a scheduled reading worksheet was to write in the words with the long /e/ sound. Knowing my boys’ aversion to writing, I had them write the words on balloons instead of filling out the worksheet. That one little twist made the activity more fun fo them. We blew up the balloons and the boys spent the rest of the afternoon batting them about while memorizing words with the long /e/ sound.
2. Masculine Writing Topics
When teaching my boys writing, it took more teacher effort to unleash their writing creativity. Video games, sports, technology and plain old silly things are not topics that always fall into the realm of what most teachers feel are writing-worthy.
I could easily substitute a boy-friendly writing topic and still teach the different writing genres presented in the lesson plan each day.
3. A Dose of Competition
Grammar is not only about rules but about listening and using good speech every day. Knowing that my boxed curriculum had well laid out, sequential lesson plans, I could focus on creating engaging activities for my boys.
Instead of studying grammar on their own, the most effective tool was to do grammar together and orally. For my older boys, who are close in age, we made learning grammar a game. Following the teacher’s manual, I explained to the boys what they were learning for the day. As they repeated back to me what they learned, they scored points. At the end of the week, I let them dip into a treasure chest I kept full of surprises from the dollar store.
Taking boys’ natural desire for healthy competition made learning come alive.
If it looked like the competition was moving from helpful to harmful, I would change the game to a simple hide and seek indoor game. I would write words or grammar rules on index cards and hide them around the house. Each of my boys, including my younger son had an equal chance to find the cards. Boys are all about racing with each other, and this method worked too.
I never felt that I wasted the worksheets because I could use them later for a quick review or used half of them to reinforce what they were learning.
The peace of mind that I was covering grammar well was more important to me than a few pages that my boys didn’t do.
4. Independent Learning for High School
When my boys were young was not the only time I used stress-reducing boxed curriculum. My husband fell very ill one year, and I could not sit down with my high school son to plan his next year. By that time, my son liked predictable schedules and thrived on routine.
Pulling out the boxed curriculum, my teen could follow the clear cut guidelines to know what was expected of him each day as I spent time in the ICU with my husband.
Knowing what my high school son had to do each day and that he was progressing to graduation lightened my load at a time when I was stretched thin. More importantly, my son graduated with excellent grades and a love of learning was stimulated and not stifled by a boxed curriculum.
Besides providing a framework to follow, there is no shortage of lesson plans and review to choose from when using a boxed curriculum. Individualize boxed curriculum to fit all the pent-up energy you deal with day to day by using one of these four ways and free up your time to build a strong mom-son bond. To me, that is worth anything!
About the Author
Tina Robertson celebrated the graduation of Mr. Senior in 2013 and Mr. Awesome in 2015. Because of her love for new homeschoolers, she mentors moms through her unique program called New Bee Homeschoolers. She loves all homeschoolers, though, as she shares her free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, unit studies, lapbooks and homeschooling how tos. She can’t sing, dance, or craft, but she counts organizing as a hobby. She is still in the homeschool trenches blogging at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
After you decide to homeschool, the next consideration is what kind of homeschooler you will be so you can choose your curriculum and plan your style of teaching. Are you a religious homeschooler who desires to infuse all of your teaching with the principles of your faith? Or are you a secular homeschooler who prefers not to teach matters of religion or at least keep them separate from your academic pursuits? Your answers to those questions will influence what kind of curriculum you consider and ultimately buy.
Do you want a faith-neutral program or a faith-positive one? Do you prefer secular materials only for certain school subjects?The beauty of homeschooling is that you can mix and match. Some families hold a personal faith but prefer a curriculum that doesn’t address those tenets in the day-to-day homeschool lessons. Others are strictly secular in the own perspective on life and, of course, want a program to mirror that conviction.
Being a Secular Homeschooler
If you’ve ever felt out of place at overly spiritual co-ops or at churchy homeschool groups, we invite you to consider BookShark’s 4-day faith-neutral curriculum. It’s literature-based and covers everything your children need. Our All Subjects Packages include Reading, History, Science, Language Arts, and Math (plus areas like geography, vocabulary, etc.). All the materials come in one big box, and you won’t have to worry about editing out religious content on the fly. Add in whatever faith-based materials you prefer—or not! We leave the choice up to you.
Below is an index of all our articles and blog posts about secular homeschooling: reasons, definitions, tips, and even a personal story from a secular homeschooling mom.
There are as many reasons to homeschool as there are benefits in doing so. It’s not uncommon for a family to choose to homeschool for one primary reason, but as the years go on, they discover so many more reasons to homeschool—reasons they never even contemplated until they started on the journey. With more experience, a homeschool parent begins to see the rich education that homeschooling provides goes well beyond any single motivation—whether religious or secular.
In search of an olive tree, we circled through the Acropolis and headed towards the Erechtheion. “It’s in the same place Athena planted an olive tree back when she and Poseidon were competing for Athens”, my son said excitedly. He’d heard this story along with the many others he’d share with us throughout our trip thanks to Rick Riordan’s “Greek Gods” and “Greek Heroes.” We found the tree and read from a nearby plaque the same story my son told. A similar scene occurred in every museum and ancient site. Good books once again offered the interest and knowledge I hoped they would.
My family’s recent trip to Greece was not the first time I had used books to guide our travels. We’ve followed Laura Ingalls from Minnesota to South Dakota, used Native American histories and lore to explore Pine Ridge and the Black Hills. And we’ve walked through Platform 9 3/4, so we could ride on the Hogwarts Express into Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Before we traveled to Idaho, we read about the geology and wildlife we might see, and books about the ocean came home in our library bags before we headed off to Delaware and Florida.
The goals I have when we travel are the same goals I have when we’re at home; I want to facilitate interest, enjoyment, and a meaningful learning experience.
No matter where we’ve traveled, I’ve found the same basic framework I use to create lessons and unit studies works well. I divide our trip into three parts: before, during, and after. This guide very much follows my goals. In the beginning, we’re finding interest. While we’re traveling, we focus on building those interests and having a lot of fun. When we return home, we have new knowledge, experiences, and often times new interests, and we have learned in a meaningful way.
Pre-Travel
Much like the beginning of a novel study should include pre-reading activities, the beginning of our traveling unit focuses on creating interest and making sure kids have the prior knowledge they need to understand where they are going and what they’ll be seeing.
Books and Film
One of the best ways I’ve found to plant interest seeds lies in the pages of a good book. Before we travel, we head to the library.
Young Adult Literature and picture books are a great place to start. Books on wildlife, myths and legends, history, and the environment have also sparked a lot of interest in our home. Movies, TV shows, and documentaries are also wonderful resources.
Before heading West, we watched “Little House on the Prairie.” The movie “The Odyssey” introduced my children to the Trojan Horse and some of the histories they’d hear about. Travel shows let them see the island of Aegina and Athens before we arrived.
Travel Guides and Websites
We love to flip through travel guides. It’s a lot of fun. Filled with beautiful pictures and a lot of information, they offer kids a glimpse of the things they might see and do. Before we travel, I have my children choose a few things that interest them. I’ve found when they have some autonomy in planning our trip; they are more likely to read up on where we’re going and look forward to the things they’ve chosen.
Food
Before we traveled to Greece, we talked a lot about the different types of food we would be able to try. I also made a few Greek dishes for dinner so we could sample some of the foods before we left. I made sure we found a few things my children would enjoy and look forward to eating again.
Packing
Many kids love to pack! Mine want to start packing months before we travel. While clothes, favorite stuffed animals, and pillows are important, I also pack supplies that will help keep the interest we’ve been building. A camera, journal, colored pencils, a magnifying glass, tape (for putting things in journals), baggies for treasures, and maps are wonderful learning tools. I’m always glad we pack them.
During Travel
The bulk of the unit, this is where the pre-learning comes into play. I’ve found the time we take to build interest and knowledge always pays off. It’s magical seeing the places you’ve learned about come to life. Dipping our toes in Plum Creek, seeing Mount Olympus, and visiting places like Delphi and the Parthenon—I know these moments were that much more meaningful because we spent time learning about them beforehand.
Vacations are meant to be fun! This is not the time to be quizzing kids or hauling around binders of the curriculum. When we travel, our focus is on being together, experiencing what’s around us, and having a good time. With that said, there are fun ways to encourage interest and facilitate learning.
Books
Literature and good stories can make time during your travels a lot of fun too! We listened to On the Banks of Plum Creek while we drove to Walnut Grove and the banks of Plum Creek. While we were visiting a museum in Greece, we found a book of Greek myths in the museum bookstore. Tired of walking, the kids and I found chocolate croissants and a little corner in the museum cafe. Together we read about what we were seeing and enjoyed a little downtime. We often continue reading about what we’re seeing or hope to see during long car rides or at bedtime.
Activities
Journaling, collecting items for a scrapbook, and taking pictures are activities that can keep our kids engaged. Many national and state parks have Junior Ranger programs. Some museums have interactive guides or scavenger hunts for kids. No matter where we travel, I try to keep my eyes out for ways we can keep and deepen our interests.
Kid days are also really important. While we are all learning all the time, we don’t have to sightsee or be tourists every day of our vacation. I try to make sure my children get to plenty of parks, have time to swim in the hotel pool, can watch their favorite shows, and have their favorite food, pizza, at least one night. The comforts of home, downtime, and doing things that are just for fun are important parts of our traveling unit too.
Games
How many Athena statues can you find?
Do I spy the messenger god?
Write down three of the most interesting facts you can find.
I like to have a handful of “I’m bored!” games in my back pocket whenever we travel. Photo scavenger hunts, drawing games, even hangman can encourage learning and give tired or bored travelers a second wind.
Post-Travel
Returning home and sleeping in our beds is always nice, but post travel to-dos and adjustments also make coming home bittersweet. Piles of laundry, jet lag, trying to get back into a routine, we’re tired, and there’s a lot to do. Still, our unit is not over. The post-travel part of our learning is just as important as the rest. It doesn’t need to happen the minute we get home, but it shouldn’t be forgotten.
Reflection
Telling our travel stories and reflecting on what we learned is important. We gather the journals, download the pictures, collect the treasures and spend time talking about our trip. My children are each creating a photo book for our trip to Greece. They have a place in their room for all the trinkets they bought and have enjoyed being able to tell their friends, our family, and their co-op teachers about their travels.
New Interests
Cooking, novel writing, homesteading, and tracking are just a few of the interests that have traveled home with us over the years. Back to the library, we go. A new unit study or project or good read is often found thanks to our travels.
You don’t have to get on a plane or travel across the seas to use a traveling unit study. Near or far, create one for any places you go. Maybe think about starting where you live or make one the next time you go on vacation. It takes time, and you might make a couple of extra trips to the library, but the learning that happens before, during, and after your trip will be well worth the added time.
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, leads classes on Outschool, 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.
Do you remember what it was like when your sweet little babies began to utter their first sounds? Did you run to get a textbook so you could teach them how to speak? Of course not! You certainly didn’t freak out thinking there was no way you would be able to teach them how to talk.
Instead you began to say simple words to them like mama and dada. And each time they attempted to make the same sound, you excitedly cheered them on.
But for some reason, the thought of teaching language arts seems to strike fear into the hearts of many homeschool parents. There’s no need for fear.
Remember, you’ve been teaching your kids language skills since the day they were born, even if you didn’t realize it.
How Children Acquire Language
Children learn language naturally. Just like your kids learned to talk without a Teach Your Baby to Talk board-book-textbook, they can learn how to write in a natural and fun way—a way that will help you both get excited about learning.
For homeschooling language arts, you can opt for a textbook approach like a public school does. Or you can choose the natural approach for listening, reading, writing, and speaking. A natural approach to language arts (like the one BookShark uses) immerses kids in all facets of communication in an age-appropriate way.
One tool in this natural teaching toolbox is incredibly simple yet extremely effective. It’s kind of like the Swiss army knife of language teaching methods since it teaches and reinforces multiple skills.
This tool is copywork.
What Is Copywork?
Copywork is simply writing down a sentence or passage from an example. While children copy from this example, they can concentrate on punctuation, correct spelling, and penmanship because they aren’t busy composing the sentences themselves.
When we consider all that young learners are putting together at the same time, it’s easy to understand why writing might be overwhelming.
Copywork reduces the overload.
Copywork is closely related to how your kids learned to speak. You, an expert in talking with many years of experience, spoke to them, and they imitated the sounds. And with each new word they acquired, you kept talking to them. Before you knew it, they were stringing whole sentences together—eventually grammatically correct sentences without ever being formally taught the rules of grammar.
With copywork, kids get to imitate both expert and experienced writers by writing the author’s words on paper.
Copywork—An Effective Way to Teach Language Arts Skills
In the natural approach, language skills aren’t seen as separate subjects to be taught, but as a whole. That doesn’t mean you won’t ever focus on a particular area. But your curriculum will be real books.
When kids consistently use copywork as a part of their language arts studies, they encounter words in context and see how rules are applied. You will be amazed at how they naturally absorb rules of capitalization, punctuation, spelling, phonics, and other grammar skills.
Go back to the idea of how they learned to talk. They didn’t need grammar lessons. But as they heard you speak correctly over and over, they mastered the rules of grammar and sentence structure simply by absorbing them. Sure, they made mistakes along the way, but you knew it was just a part of the process. You even thought their mistakes were cute.
Why Copywork Works
Copywork respects the way kids learn language skills and takes advantage of it. Kids learn to write from actual writers, not textbook producers, by immersing them in real writing.
Copywork reinforces skills they have already learned. Your students copy out of the books they are reading. They’ll encounter the passage within context. They will both hear it and write it.
Skills are reinforced in a natural, not contrived, way. Our kids can do countless exercises in grammar books and memorize a multitude of spelling words, but when they do those things out of the context of real writing, those skills often don’t translate to their personal writing. With copywork, students encounter words in context and see the rules of grammar in action. They know not just the what but the how.
How to Use Copywork
Start small. Think of it as building language muscles. Just as you wouldn’t have a child start lifting one-hundred-pound. weights to get in shape, you don’t want to overwhelm them with long, complex copywork passages. For example, BookShark copywork passages have been chosen with children’s abilities in mind. But every kid is different! You are the teacher, so adjust the amount of copywork if needed to fit your child. If the passage seems too cumbersome, either shorten it or stretch it across more days.
Though studying many subjects works great sitting on the couch, be sure they are comfortably working at a table or desk to do copywork. Sitting up straight with feet on the floor will help young learners both focus and form good writing habits.
We are more likely to embrace something when we understand the rationale behind it. So show your kids why copywork is beneficial. Talk about the fact that they will be learning to write from great authors. Explain that copywork will help them go beyond learning rules to actually applying them.
Don’t Fall into One of These Copywork Pits
A pitfall is a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty. These are a couple of common pitfalls when it comes to using copywork in your homeschool language arts.
1. Lack of Consistency
Guess what? No matter how great any learning method is, sometimes kids will balk at being required to do anything. They would often rather be building LEGO bricks or coloring.
When kids think there’s a choice, they’ll usually go with whatever requires the least amount of effort (a lot like us adults!). Copywork requires focus, and it can be uncomfortable in the beginning for many children. That’s okay.
For those who are especially reluctant, you might need to shorten copywork passages, or perhaps let them choose what they will copy that day. You can even set a timer for around five minutes so they know there’s an end in sight. But do require something each day so that it becomes a habit.
2. Not Valuing Copywork Enough
It seems too simple to be really effective, doesn’t it? Since most of us were brought up with a learn with constant drill-and-practice mentality, it’s easy to think copywork won’t really be that beneficial. If you don’t believe how effective it is and embrace it, neither will your kids. It’s amazing how much our kids pick up on our attitudes.
BookShark Language Arts
When your children study language arts the natural way as BookShark teaches it, they will really learn it. Not simply to pass a test, but in a way that truly makes them better communicators.
Copywork is just one of the many ways your kids will encounter language naturally. With BookShark, all of the components of a well-rounded, natural approach to teaching Language Arts will help your students to grow in their abilities in a way that is developmentally appropriate.
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.
Many BookShark parents love to outsource some of the scheduled reading aloud to audiobooks. This hack gives them a bit more time, saves their voice, and even allows the entire family to enjoy the listening experience together while traveling or doing chores.
Another big use of audiobooks in homeschooling is by children who struggle with reading independently. Whether it’s due to dyslexia or just learning at a slower pace, these students benefit from hearing their Readers delivered in audiobook form.
Due to licensing challenges, BookShark itself does not provide audiobooks alongside its literature-based curriculum. But with a touch of resourcefulness, you can piece together what you need. Here are our recommendations to get you started with your search of audiobooks for BookShark.
1. Free Audiobooks
The apps below are available for free through most libraries. These three apps are always our first stop when hunting for a particular title in audiobook form. Much like a library book, you have a limited time to listen but can always renew. Check with your local library to see what’s provided with your membership or library card.
Sometimes there’s a new book out and we just can’t wait for it to be offered at our library. Or maybe we want the option of listening to a book over and over without having to return it. In that case, we need a paid subscription.
I also like the feature in these apps that allows students to choose if they want to read or be read to.
3. Ebook Readers
There are also a few apps that read ebooks to you. These options are wonderful if you’re looking to help your child become a fluent independent reader since your child can follow along visually with the audio.
Bookshare® According to its website “is available only for individuals who have a qualifying reading or perceptual disability, a visual impairment, or a physical disability that affects their ability to read printed works.”
My children both love audiobooks. Many a night they have fallen asleep listening to a favorite story. We also love to listen to books on car rides.
Some readers also do a better job understanding what they are reading when they can hear it. As a teacher who has taught many students with dyslexia and other learning differences, I found this to be true again and again. While younger students might enjoy being read aloud to, I’ve also found older students often like the autonomy an audiobook gives them.
Audiobooks do not have to replace the books in our homeschool curriculum, but they can be a wonderful addition, and for some students work even better than a physical book. Try using audiobooks in conjunction with your BookShark Readers or Read-Alouds or use audiobooks when you’re in the car. They make for a wonderful start and end to the day as well. Audiobooks encourage even more reading in our homeschool days! There are no drawbacks when it comes to more great books!
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.
As homeschoolers, the idea of having children who can complete school lessons, projects, and assignments on their own can be enticing. Mom, who usually bears the burden of the homeschool planning and teaching, gets a break, and children take responsibility for their own education. Sounds like a win for both parties, right? Yes, but let’s delve into this idea of independent learning more deeply:
How do you know when your child is readyto learn on his own?
How much should you push your children towards working solo?
Exactly how do you train your kids to learn independently?
Is independent learning even possible?
Is It Really Possible for Children to Learn Independently?
Does independent learning really exist? The answer depends on how you define the term. All of us need to learn from someone or some kind of starting point of reference, so it’s not realistic to expect our kids to learn without any guidance at all. For example, the cornerstone of the BookShark curriculum is parent and child, learning together over great books. Sure, older kids can do their assignments and reading alone, but they would miss the insights from their parents that come from discussing the History and Literature. So consider what you and your kids lose when they learn on their own.
With that said, it is possible and wonderful to teach our children to take ownership of their education. In our family, the kids complete some of their homeschool assignments on their own, which—in my mind—qualifies as independent learning. For example, my oldest daughter does most of her lessons and quizzes herself while I help her review and prepare for testing. For our younger children, independent learning might include Read-Aloud sessions, worksheets, and simple crafts while the bulk of the learning is done alongside a parent.
When Can A Child Start to Learn on His Own?
Some early education methods, such as Montessori, encourage teaching children self-reliance at a young age. Others, such as unschooling, promote allowing a child time to develop his or her own educational interests.
Since children mature at different rates, there is no specific age when parents should begin to teach kids to work on their own. As parents, we know our children best. We know when they’re ready to move on to more advanced concepts, and we know what they’re capable of doing.
While it would be unrealistic to expect a very young child (grades K – 3) to learn solo, it could also stunt your child if you continue to hover when he’s ready for greater autonomy. In each family, parents have to assess their children’s abilities and skills to determine when they are ready to complete schoolwork on an independent basis. Trust your gut on this decision. You will know when the time is right and how much liberty to allow your kids. If you are unsure, ask them! They often know exactly what they need and can tell you how much support and direction to offer.
How to Help Kids Learn Independently
Children, like adults, need very little guidance or encouragement to do the things they like. Naturally, if our children enjoy what they are learning in school, they will develop the self-motivation to complete many of their assignments without much prodding or direction.
A good way to help kids become self-motivated is to allow them to have a say in their education. Let them choose a few of the books on the reading list this year. Or allow them to choose a few animals, places, or historical events to study.
For example, at the beginning of our school year, we make a list of all the things our kids would like to learn about. Then we try our best to work those topics into our lessons. When I announce that we’ll be covering one of those topics, the kids are so excited that they’re willing to do whatever assignment they’re given—even independently.
Another way to help kids learn to complete their schoolwork independently is to teach them to manage their time. Upper elementary and middle school grades are a wonderful time to start working on this skill. Start by giving kids to to lists to check off. Then give them blank weekly planners to fill in on their own and check off completed work.
As an example, our middle schooler, who has ADHD, is learning to create a weekly schedule for herself. She tries to complete all of her schoolwork in four days, so she can have an “off” day each week. Setting up her own routine has helped her develop the drive to get her assignments done on her own and on time.
As homeschoolers, we can make independent learning fit into our family’s educational goals, abilities, and grade levels. By giving our children a say in their education and helping them learn to manage their time, we can help them become independent learners for life.
About the Author
Selena is a homeschooling graduate and a veteran homeschooling mother of four, including three with ADHD. She and her husband, Jay, use an eclectic homeschooling approach to encourage their children to learn throughout their lives. Selena blogs about her family’s homeschooling adventures every week at Look! We’re Learning!
Homeschool scheduling is about finding your starting point and matching your family’s own groove. For example, when my boys were preschoolers and toddlers, my goal for the day was to shower and have some meaningful reading activities for my oldest son. Insanity was thinking I had to get my homeschool started at 8:00 a.m. when there was no need to. Fast forward to the middle and high school years. My sons now start their homeschool day closer to 8:30 a.m., independent of me.
The key to breathing sweet homeschool scheduling into your day is to begin with a set of guidelines that you can actually follow—ones that fit your family’s groove. We don’t need one more thing to stress us out if we are already struggling with homeschool scheduling, so look at these easy starting points below.
Analyze Your Family’s Routine and Daily Flow
For example, if you have a younger household, your day will start earlier. When my household was younger, some days I could start school by about 7:00 a.m., stop for nap time, and then pick up again with a few more activities. Other days were helter-skelter.
Setting a dogmatic time to start our homeschool day only added to my aggravation because there was very little I could control when my children were preschoolers. Later, I understood that because my children were so young, I had to have a tentative game plan and find flexibility so that I could accommodate my family’s needs.
However, older children tend to thrive with routine and sameness even though we may not as adults.
Find Balance
If you are not a morning person, then give yourself another half hour or so in the morning before you tackle your assignments in the Instructor’s Guide. However, if your children are morning people and they can start independently of you, then set the schedule to accommodate their desire to start early.
Think About the End of the Day
When does your homeschool day end? Though learning and living naturally flow in our day, and sometimes it’s hard to see the difference between the two, we still want to schedule an ending to our day. Through the years, I have heard of homeschoolers who homeschool for eight hours or more. I am shocked.
Our job as homeschool educators is not really very different from having a full time job. We need to have an ending to our day because homeschool burnout may loom ahead if we don’t.
During the younger years when there is not much difference between playing and learning, having an ending time is not as important. However, as your children approach the middle and high school years and you are teaching them to stick to a schedule and how to balance their time, it becomes critical.
Avoid Hour-by-hour Homeschool Planning
When you are struggling with homeschool scheduling, avoid hour-by-hour planning and instead to plan bigger chunks of time. Getting out your daily planner and setting aside 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for homeschool is doable, flexible, and gets your feet on the road to homeschool organization.
Next, noting the hours 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. for house chores is pretty flexible too. Instead of chaining you to a homeschool schedule that might not work for you or that may be too specific right now, start with scheduling broad zones of time.
As you fine tune your homeschool schedule to fit your family’s rhythm, then you can fill in with hour by hour chores, academic subjects, and other activities you have planned.
The simple truth is that homeschooling requires time and a schedule that fits your family as your children grow. Fitting your family’s groove at the present moment, having an ending to your homeschool day, and planning in blocks of time are the beginnings of homeschooling scheduling success. w 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
Tina Robertson celebrated the graduation of Mr. Senior in 2013 and is getting ready to graduate her next son. Because of her love for new homeschoolers, she mentors moms through her unique program called New Bee Homeschoolers. She loves all homeschoolers, though, as she shares her free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, unit studies, lapbooks and homeschooling how tos. She can’t sing, dance, or craft, but she counts organizing as a hobby. She is still in the homeschool trenches blogging at Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.
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.
