Over the years I have had many conversations about homeschooling that start with, “what about algebra?” as their child crawls around our feet at MOPS (Mothers Of Preschoolers) making vroom noises. Or what about socializing with other kids despite the soccer game the kids are playing in at that moment. Times when the kids and family or friends gathered are so loud we have to step out on the porch just to hear each other and yet the mom (sorry dad’s but it’s always been the mom asking the questions at first) can’t see the forest for the trees. I think we mom’s seem to find the hardest, most problematic issues; real or imagined and focus intently on them. Face it mom’s we are worriers. Me too.
I too thought about what will I do in high school as my child was learning how to write her name in kindergarten. While I do think we need to keep the big picture in mind. Let’s not let the worry creep in and strangle out all the good possibilities. There are years of education and learning ahead!
Homeschooling can bring a level of insecurity that causes you to weigh the world’s expectations on your shoulders, and it’s a crushing burden.
What do you learn in kindergarten…letters, numbers, better executive function (like dressing yourself). In 1st grade you learn those same things again with a slight advancement in difficulty. Same goes for the next several years. In fact I have learned that children tend to learn the same material over and over and over again at slightly deeper levels each year for the elementary years. It’s not until the late middle school, high school years until subjects can get more detail oriented and shorter in duration.
This was my first take a breathe moment… When I opened the science text books for grade 1 and 3, the 2 little ones I was teaching that year. They were being taught the same subjects with a slight variation in emphasis. Such as the earlier grade was teaching about trees and the older text was teaching about garden plants with seed experiments. I actually bought both books. In the end we did both books for science for both kids on science days. The younger child caught what he could of the older child’s more in depth science terms and the older child was given a bit more work to do, or used as an assistant for the younger child’s experiments.
I could breathe. I researched and found that until they hit high school the main NEED in science was a SOLID foundation in the basics of scientific method, curiosity, and to go over and over in new and interesting ways the various branches of science. Yeap…the next year we were unschooling science homeschoolers. Never missed a step and enjoyed it just as much!
Learning can happen anywhere, anytime.
The next thing that came to me was I don’t have to conform to 180 days of school work. We do WELL over that. When we go to conventions I find neat stops along the way, such as seeing Indian mounds in southern Ohio one year. We don’t just have a life and we homeschool. We are homeschoolers. It’s a way of life for us. We learn through curiosity, asking questions, going down roads that lead to new adventures. That means we get LOTS of time to work with the kids on areas that they are weaker in. We also have lots of time to work with the kids so we know more how they would like to learn and express themselves. Don’t get me wrong I have a plan outlined for the year and goal to get to. I just allow for the Lord to send us side roads to travel down.
This time is fleeting. Our kids will be grown and testing their wings before you blink an eye. Let’s have fun and learn.
Take a breathe! You don’t have to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders. You don’t have to have all the problems in the IEP solved by December. I’ll let you in on a secret, many times those nagging problems that get put on IEPs or brought up by developmental pediatricians are ones that are brought up with your child’s public school counterpart again and again and again… Don’t expect a few months to erase a couple years developemental delay. The key is progress and steady work toward your goal. Chart a course upward!
Breathe! Enjoy you child. The sunshine. The holidays. The time you have together.