Why we homeschool?
This will be my 5th year homeschooling. We have tried public school, independent study (online public school from home) and a charter homeschool (homeschool with guidance from a teacher). We felt that charter homeschool was the best fit for us and we are currently using that system for all three of our children. Lily is our first child and we started teaching her using a Horizons AOP Christian curriculum when she was 3. We had her in public school from Kindergarten to 2nd grade. Lily was easily influenced by her friends and teachers during these years and she picking up many distractions. When she started independent studies for her 3rd grade year, we felt relieved of much of the distractions but also felt a bit overwhelmed with how much time Lily was spending on the computer for her studies. When Lily entered 4th grade we chose to keep her in independent studies and try Josiah on a charter homeschool for his 1st grade year. We were given a budget to spend on different curriculums and we had an experienced teacher guiding us and helping us. The rate at which Josiah was learning and our freedom to choose the books he was reading that class material he was engaging with, led us to switch Lily to the same charter homeschool program mid year.
This year I will be homeschooling a kindergartner, 2nd grader and 5th grader. I started having a passion and a desire to keep homeschooling when Lily was 3 years old. Much of my creativity and ideas grew to make homeschool fun for them and it was unexpectedly fun for me too. My heart is to prepare them to know the Word of God, their identinty in Christ, growing in discernment and wisdom with the Holy Spirit. I am honor to teach my kids at a young age and help raise their faith in God.
God’s GRACE is what helps me everyday with parenting, marriage and homeschooling. There’s no way I would have been able to homeschool without the grace and love of God over me. When I feel unqualified, discouraged, with no motivation or like I have failed, he strengthens me. Know God will help you and guide you in this journey of homeschooling. Celebrate those small and big victories giving all the glory to God.
How to get started?
You can start homeschooling at any age, though it’s required in California to officially start at 6 years old. I would encourage you to do your research on your state’s homeschool requirements. You do not need to have a degree or teaching experience to homeschool your child. We are thankful to live in a time where K-12 education expenses are completely covered by the goverment. The charter homeschool that we go through give us a more than sufficient amount of money to purchase all types of educational material. We use the money they give us to purchase curriculum, school supplies, technology, and P.E. supplies. We meet with our CT (credential teacher) once a month to review samples of completed school work, for each subject, for each child. The CT also helps you set goals and maintain a good pace. Your CT can help you choose the right curriculum that will work for your family. Your preference might change based on the subject.
Lily who is starting 5th grade, will be using an online math program through Teaching Textbooks. In Science and history I chose Studies Weekly curriculum, since I find it works best for my family. They are able to complete half of their assignments online and the other half on paper. Plan on having some of the studies online to give you time to move from one of your students to the next, when you have multiple children.
There are also tons of FREE resources on Pinterest and free curriculum online for you to print and get started. Reading to your child at a young age is one of the most helpful things to their educational growth. With ages 3 to 4 you don’t have to teach long at all, just be consistent in reading to them everyday and doing small activities. A seasonal bucket list is always helpful to get them actively learning.
1. A Yearly Plan
What are your goals in homeschooling? At the beginning of the school year I spend time with each child to talk about their interests and make a plan on what they want to learn for the year. As seasons change our years can look different. I am curently pregnant and I know I will be taking it slow this year compared to last year. Last year my son was into building “hands on” projects so we subscribed to Kiwico monthly subscription. My 5 year old daughter loves art so I will be investing more in art supplies for her. My oldest this year wants to learn to play the piano.
I also like to plan ahead our field trips. I make sure I have it on my calendar ahead of time. Some fun places we have visited before are museums, zoo’s, caves, battlefields, and u-pick farms. We love going hiking and finding new parks to explore. The public library also provides free tickets for families to attend museums around your city.
I also encourage you to invest on a teacher planner to help prepare you for the week. There are times we can forget to prepare ahead of time and that’s ok! Sometimes going with the flow or taking a break for a day from homeschooling is fine as well.
Children love to play and explore. This is where they learn and can grasp subjects faster. Kids need a lot of: free play, reading books out loud to them, sculpting with playdough, drawing and painting, putting together puzzles, board games, learning numbers and letters through games, outdoor exploration, observing nature, visiting the zoo, library and aquarium.
2. Morning Basket
Morning Basket is our faith based basket filled with books such as the Bible , devotionals, My Identity in Jesus, Armor of God Flash Cards, and “Let’s Just Laugh At That For Kids” book we rotate. Our mornings look different every morning. Sometimes my husband will lead a quick morning Bible study with the kids while I make breakfast. Other times I’m going over the “Let’s Just Laugh at That For Kids” book after breakfast. We love this book that focuses in practical steps to teach children how to recognize and beat the lies the enemy tries to tell them. They learn to “take every thought captive,” to reinforce truth and hope in their lives. This is also a time I take for my kids to intercede for other nations, family members and take time to hear God for themselves. I have a whole blog post about how children hear God’s voice. We love morning basket time because this is a special moment for my kids to grow in the Word of God and in prayer. You can personalize your morning basket the way it fits best for your family and your main focus. A morning basket is not required.
3. Our Daily Rhythm
Our schedule looks different depending on the day. Sometimes we wake up early and other times we sleep in. I use our Daily Rhythm Cards from Treehouse Schoolhouse. It’s a visual schedule I change every morning. This has really helped us stay on task with our daily schedule. Monday- Friday we do Language Arts, Math and P.E. We have history and science 3 times a week. Thursdays are Co-op days for us where they get to socialize with other kids and take a few fun classes. We love to incorporate art/exploration/music in our week as well. Twice a month we go to the library to switch our library books. On Fridays we finish up anything that hasn’t been completed yet, and take a spelling test. Sometimes my kids will finish all their assignments early in the week and we go to field trips. In the afternoons we do read alouds. This is the amazing thing about freedom of homeschooling, you can choose your own schedule what works best for your family. Your homeschool rhythm doesn’t have to look anything like a traditional school day. We homeschool about 2-4 hours a day depending on the age of the child and about 30 minutes for the toddlers.
We usually all work at our kitchen table. I also like to have the kids rotate through stations such as outside in our backyard, the art table, reading a book on the couch, porch etc. I also love to take homeschool to the park, our public library, and our church.
Finding a Co-op group near us has been great for my children. We have one at our church where they get to socialized with other children every week. We also make sure they are joining a kids bible study and attending Sunday School. The public library also provides free art classes for kids and other great events for them to socialized and meet new friends.
4. Do Not Compare Yourself With Anyone
Comparison steals your joy. I enjoy being creative so I do a lot of extra stuff that you don’t have to do. I know many moms who love cooking and gardening and they spend more time teaching their kids in that area. I personally do not enjoy cooking and have no clue about gardening. I love hearing what other moms are passionate about and seeing them teaching those things to their kids. We are all unique and have different visions and passions. I know moms who sing and teach their kids vocal classes at their home. Everyones work schedule is different since we all have bills and financial responsibilities. What works for me might not work for you. I also make sure I don’t compare my children to each other, because every child learns at different pace and have different strengths, each gifted according to their purpose.
5. Self Care
Getting your nails done, going to target without the kids and grabbing coffee with a friend all sound amazing and I do these things often. There is nothing wrong with taking care of yourself physically and mentally. Kids feel safe and loved in a home where we as parents are also taking care of ourselves internally and spiritually as well. I use to have a lot of anger, fear and anxiety habits where I would get triggered easily from previous trauma. These triggers and habits had an affect on my children. I still get angry and have rough days but through the grace of God we have removed from our lives every unhealthy pattern. I was delivered and set free from all those things that were affecting me. My whole life shifted and I have not been the same since my deliverance in Jesus name. God setting me free has made the biggest difference in our homeschool life and even in our marriage. Being rooted in a church, spending time with God and being surrounded with other Spirit-filled women is the most important self-care we need. Everything else may help temporarily but true freedom only comes from the Kingdom of God through knowing Jesus Christ. All of us have a spirit that is thirsty for Jesus and when our spirit is healthy we are whole and complete and no longer broken.
Norma Cruz 