New Beginnings

 

Hey there! A few years have gone by since I last posted.  Our homeschool group started going their separate ways, and then Covid hit... and we all know what a devastation that was on so many groups, and clubs.  

And something else happened.  My kids grew up!  My oldest son got married, my second oldest also moved out of the house, and all of my littles, well, aren't so little anymore.  They have become Tweens and Teens.  

As a homeschooling mom I had to rethink my game a little bit.  I had already gone down that path with my older two, but now it was time to start at the beginning again.  As some of you know, finding homeschool groups for younger children isn't too hard.  But, once a child reaches about ten, the opportunities fall away.  So frustrating!

So, it was time to start a new Homeschool Group, this time 10 and older.  I am happy to say that there were so many families looking for the same things we were. Our group has been going strong for a little over a year... and there is no end in sight.

So, whether you homeschool or not, join us as I chronicle our homeschool group activities, as well as ideas, tips and tricks for your older kids.

We live in the western suburbs of Chicago and are very fortunate to have so many amazing resources... I will be sharing those as well. 

What about you? Have you come across the same lack of resources for your older kids? And if so, what kinds of things did you find?

A Day In The Life Of A Homeschooling Family : The Page Family

:: Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family, as well as how long you have been homeschooling.

My husband Adam and I got married right out of college ten years ago.  We have three great kids - Anna is almost 8, Ariel almost 5, and Jordan is 10 months.  We have homeschooled from the beginning.  Even though my husband and I both attended traditional public and private schools, we knew this was right for us from the get-go.

:: Do you have any 'Back to school' traditions?  Do you jump right in, or gradually introduce subjects?

Even though we school year-round, we do take a short break when we finish a curriculum.  There's just no guarantee we will start our school year in August or September with the rest of the Back-to-school crew!  But no matter when we start, I always take back-to-school photos of each kid and a video of them answering the same set of 'interview' questions each year (favorite foods, what do you want to be when you grow up, etc.).  They like looking back on these videos and seeing how they and their answers have grown.

We tend to dive right in to take advantage of motivation and momentum while we have it.  The main reason we school year-round is that I can't guarantee I'll make it through five days every week, and we tend to take a lot (planned and unplanned) of time off for travel and activities.

:: What made you decide to homeschool your children?

This is the question people ask the most and I still don't have a succinct answer.  Homeschooling just 'feels right' for us.  But it comes down to a combination of things.  Firstly, I believe I, and not the government, am responsible for preparing my children for their future in this world.   Secondly, I only get a relatively short tie with them, and I want to spend it making memories, not reminding them to do their homework.  Thirdly, I love the freedom homeschooling offers.  We have the opportunity to experience so many things because we can travel outside the walls, schedule and calendar of the public schools.  We can develop relationships with what we are learning about and make it a personal lesson that we own.  For example: recently, instead of reading about bees in a book, we visited a friend's beehive and tasted their honey.  We also had the flexibility to travel south to the St. Louis area during the Solar Eclipse to be in the path of totality.  The homeschool lifestyle gives us a chance to experience that life itself is the lesson.

:: What does a typical day look like in your homeschool?  Are you a schedule follower or a gentle rhythm type mama?  Maybe somewhere in between.....

We really don't have a typical day and are off the chart of schedules and rhythms.  I aspire to routines, but there always seems to be some activity that throws us off.  At the moment, what works for us is lists.  I let the kids know in the morning if we will be attending an activity out of the house and what time we will need to leave.  I write a list for each of them, dividing up what we need to accomplish for the day and whether we will do it before or after said activity.  It helps keep us all on task so we can experience the fun things but still accomplish academic progress.

:: Do you have a specific method or philosophy that you follow?

We land somewhere between Charlotte Mason and Classical with a but of Montessori thrown in.  I believe strongly in giving my kids a liberal arts education with a good grasp on history, and we do a lot of reading in our house.  But, I also want to take advantage of the fact that at home, we can play to their strengths and indulge their interests, so I will certainly follow them down the path of discovery when it's feasible.

:: We would love to hear what curriculum you are using this year.

We are currently using My Father's World: Rome to the Reformation.  It's technically not for my kid's grade level, but we were going chronologically through history using Simply Charlotte Mason before we switched, and this package was the next logical place to continue that.  I love all that the curriculum offers, but it's my first year using a boxed curriculum and I do find myself struggling to stay 'on the schedule.'  The kids love it because it encourages me to do a lot more 'projects' than I would ever plan on my own, and they are learning a lot.  I'm not ready to decide if I'll use it again next year or not, though.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us Sarah!  Have a great school year.

Channon

A Day In The Life Of A Homeschooling Family :: The Fife Family

:: Tell us a little about yourself and your family, as well as how long you have been homeschooling.

I'm a 32 yo SAHM and licensed therapist (LPC), I have a husband who works in the engineering/it field and 3 kids ages 9, 6 and 3.  I am homeschooling my 9 yo and have been since Nov 2014.  My 6 yo is in public school 1st grade and the 3 yo just started preschool at the public school as well.

:: Do you have any "Back To School" traditions?  Do you jump right in, or gradually introduce subjects?

With my homeschooled kid we don't have any schedules or traditions, we learn things as naturally and organically as we can, as questions arise.  There are times when I have to back off of schooling anything altogether bc he is too anxious to learn anything and needs some time to process.

:: What made you decide to homeschool your children?

My oldest has always had some behavioral issues but once he started 1st grade, within 3 months he became completely agoraphobic, refused to wear clothes bc of the sensory issues, could not be in a room alone bc he thought robots/monsters/a giant walking talking dog would eat him, and had horrifying nightmares every night.  he was 6.  he was completely dysfunctional and the school was blaming me... even though he was fine in my care up until that point and all the techniques they were using made him regress further and further.  it was completely insane.  So out of fear of losing him completely, I pulled him out and have been healing him since.  We have since learned he has VERY high functioning autism, so even though he LOOKS like he should be a normal kid he has some delays.

:: What does a typical day look like in your homeschool? Are you a schedule follower or a gentle rhythm type mama? Maybe somewhere in between...

I don't consider myself "gentle rhythm" but I do have to use my intuition to know when he can handle a bit more challenge and when I need to pull back and let him process everything (information, emotions, experiences, etc.).  Schedules actually raise his anxiety, he is afraid he can't meet the expectations, so we are very flexible.

:: Do you have a specific method or philosophy that you follow?

My philosophy is that he is incredibly intelligent (tests off the charts) and has great intuition to know what he can and cannot handle at any given moment.  I have to trust him completely and that helps him trust himself.  

:: We would love to hear what curriculum you are using this year.

For math we have been playing prodigy.com and dragonbox... other than that we mostly unschool.  We read A TON of books together and he is starting to pick up writing on his own after he made me promise to never ask him to write again, and I think the reading is helping with the writing/spelling right now.

Thank you, Miriam, for giving us a peak into your homeschool!

Channon