is, I didn't even know anyone who homeschooled. My belief then was that a rigorous academic course was necessary for my kids to stay ahead of their peers.
It didn't take long for that to blow up in my face. Sitting at the table memorizing spelling words was a daily battle. Practicing math facts brought about tears. Even reading, a once beloved pastime, was a chore. I finally had enough of the fighting and just quit. I stopped requiring any time at the table. I didn't talk about math facts, and I closed up all the books and put them on the shelf. Returning my children to a classroom was not an option. I had to figure out something.
Steve and I had long conversations about what we wanted for our kids and what we thought were important subjects for them to learn. We read more about various homeschooling methods and started making lists of our favorite curriculums. I joined a couple groups and signed up for a weekly coop.
I highly recommend a support group! That group can be made up of whomever you'd like and is probably more effective if their beliefs in homeschooling are different than yours. It's in that difference where I learned the most.
I also found the support of a coop to be very helpful. We have been participating in various co-ops for about four years. I make new friends, my kids make new friends and there is the expertise of other parents to help teach my children. There is also an accountability associated with a co-op. The only reason I have completed two volumes of Story of The World is because I was accountable to another family to stay on track.
Back to the original purpose in this post. What does our typical day look like? My kids have a list of "requirements" that I ask they complete each day. The list changes based on individual need. I also ask for input from the kids to create their lists. Khan Academy, art, language, reading, writing, puzzles and chores are currently on the list. We do history and science in a weekly co-op. I purposely left the categories vague. For example, I'm not concerned about which language the kids learn right now. Stephanie was interested in ASL for a few months and then decided she'd rather learn French. Now, both of my kids study French online and are excited to be able to chat with each other knowing I can't understand them. I call that incentive! Reading is another category purposely left open for interpretation. I used to require the kids read aloud every day. I quickly found that I was creating a dread when it came time to read. It's when I started allowing operations manuals, graphic novels, magazines, etc to count towards reading time that both of my kids were excited to read. In fact, many days they get sucked into a book and beg for more time.
I don't have all the answers, I'm still learning from others and from my own mistakes. I do know that when I lightened up and realized that there was no way the kids couldn't learn that our days were much more enjoyable. There have been days in the past when I suggested we spend the day at Disney and blow off school work only to have one of the kids ask for time to finish up their math. (They are paid for math progress. I call that incentive, too!)
In a perfect world, the kids would be in charge of their own education. I'm just available to facilitate the process. I hope to create a love for learning that spans all of the subjects and lasts a lifetime.
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