In the Spring of 2022, we decided to begin our first homeschooling year. We always wanted to homeschool, but our careers kept us tethered partially fulfilling lifestyle. Be it as it may, when God wants to move you, He will continue to prompt you in a specific direction.
We began to feel increasingly unsettled; after a long year of commuting, rushing out the door in the morning, working to pay for the private school, and most importantly, watching our daughter grow up missing this precious time with her.
We knew that if we did not try to homeschool now, we might never. We decided to take a leap of faith and begin our first year of homeschooling. In a short time, we learned what education truly means to a child and our duty as parents. Most of our preconceived notions or concerns about homeschooling were wrong, perhaps fear-based or lack of knowledge.
Many lessons were learned during our first year of homeschooling; here are the 6 top lessons.
- Curriculum is only a guide
- Schedule a rest day.
- Observe holidays
- Form good habits
- Education is a life
- You are the best person to teach your child.
1. Curriculum is only a guide
The most common questions most parents ask, including myself, are:
- What curriculum will I be using?
- Can I do this successfully?
- Will my child get a proper education?
We, like most, chose the best curriculum we knew about at the time; we selected the same curriculum our daughter was being taught at school. It was an easy transition for us; I was familiar with the material.
However, as I began to unpack the lessons month by month while simultaneously reading the Charlotte Mason 6 volume series, I felt the curriculum was dry and wordy.
With the guidance of Charlotte Mason and her works, I took her wisdom and applied it to our studies. I did not abandon our curriculum; I only changed what was needed, adding a delicious feast of classic literature.
Charlotte Mason’s works spoke directly to me. She has become my mentor; funny how that can happen; a person I have never met, from the 19th century, can have such an impact on my life!
Her words have laid a strong foundation for us.
I struggled to let go of the books we purchased with the original curriculum, but when I did, the shift in learning only proved the Charlotte Mason method worked for us.
Each book had a life of its own, and our daughter connected with the story and the characters.
The importance of connecting our children to only the best literature is far more than a good book; it can either grow their love for learning or crush it.
Sometimes, it takes trial and error. There is no magic curriculum; hold them loosely.
2. Schedule a rest day
I wanted to expand on these two questions:
- Will our child get a proper education?
- Can we do this successfully?
It wasn’t until we started homeschooling and taking ownership of our child’s education that I realized we (parents) are the best people to teach our children.
The desire has to come first, and secondly, knowing that God blessed us with a child. They are directly connected if He gave us the qualifications to raise a child, then he must have provided us with the same qualifications to educate her.
Our duty continues beyond providing all the necessities and love; our duty goes beyond the status quo. This is not to say that every single parent should homeschool their child, but many of the problems we see today stem from the education our children receive.
More money for public schools does not seem to be the answer, better teachers do not seem to be the answer, school selection does not seem to be the answer, and every other tactic that has been tried does not seem to be the answer. The tried and true answer to our education problem, or lack thereof, has always been parents. I could go on more, but that is not for now.
Rest is as important as work; children can only learn so much at a time. All children are different; we must balance learning too much and too little. Some studies can take longer than expected and require more mental effort.
A lot more ground can be covered when your child is learning at an optimal level, having their attention and focus. This is achieved when they are rested and not overloaded.
Can we learn too much at one time?
Mental work should always be within his ability to repair and replace the tissue. Otherwise, it could be harmful long-term to the learning process.
Two things happen when you learn something new: First, neurons immediately pass electrical signals along new routes in your brain. Then, over time, this leads to changes in the physical structure of cells and their connections in the brain.
Nerve tissue constantly and rapidly wears away the more used, such as engaging in mental effort or emotional excitement. The work that wears the tissue is necessary and healthy to stimulate new growth.
Mental work should always be within his ability to repair and replace the tissue. Otherwise, it could be harmful long-term to the learning process. It can harm the learning process if more tissue is wasted than replaced. New tissue grows to replace the worn tissue during the time of rest.
Less seems to be more in the early years. Reading slower and shorter lessons works better for us than work overload.
3. Observe Holidays
Observing holidays may seem obvious to many parents, but I must admit I brushed over a few this year. We should have recognized them. We incorporated the reason for the holiday but did not take the day off of school. If you are anything like me, I am a check-off-the-box type of gal. I love to stay on track, complete my week, and finish everything we set out for.
When a holiday would arrive, I would either think I could “get ahead” of some of our work or we may “fall behind.” Recognizing a holiday as a day to rest while giving honor to the reason behind it seems to impact a child more.
When we plan our next year, we will schedule each holiday. There is enough time to complete the desired subjects and no such thing as falling behind a steadily planned course.
4. Form good habits
Everything stems from a habit, be it good or bad. Once a habit forms, it is hard to change and has to be replaced with another habit. Charlotte Mason explains it best; when a habit is formed like a train on its tracks, it is harder to derail when they are laid down properly.
Good habits form a good character, starting from the very beginning. When teaching a new habit, we may have to repeat ourselves a few times, but it will become a habit if we persist and do not give up. There were many reminders when teaching our daughter to make her bed in the morning, but now she understands that it is her duty as part of the pride we take in our home.
These daily tasks weave right into having a well-prepared student. There is a transition between getting ready in the morning and mentally preparing to learn. How we start our mornings dictate the rest of our day; when our daughter takes ownership of her lot first, she takes that same ownership in her studies. Good habits are wonderful servants!
Here is an excellent method from Sonya Shafer I like to use:
- I do it. You watch me
- I do it, and you help me
- You do it, and I watch you.’
- You do it, and I inspect you
5. Education is a life
Before homeschooling, I understood education as a structure with a metric our children needed to reach. The better the school, the better the education. The better the education, the better the college they can get into. My preconceived notions have wholly been turned.
After almost a year of homeschooling and reading everything I could get my hands on about homeschooling, Charlotte Mason explains it best, Education is an atmosphere, discipline, a life!
Home Education, Volume 1 of the Charlotte Mason Series
- ‘Education is an atmosphere’ doesn’t mean that we should create an artificial environment for children, but that we use the opportunities in the environment he already lives in to educate him. Children learn from real things in the real world.
- ‘Education is a discipline’ means that we train a child to have good habits and self-control, both in actions and in thought.
- ‘Education is a life’ means that education should apply to body, soul and spirit. The mind needs ideas of all kinds, so the child’s curriculum should be varied and generous with many subjects included.
In our modern world, children are learning to test well, but are they learning to think for themselves?
Good has been made evil and is made to be good; the only way to protect our children from this is to teach them how to think for themselves.
“How do we build up our children to think for themselves? We give them a precise hold on vital truth, and through the perspective of current issues, they’ll land on the safe side of whatever controversies they come up against. They will recognize the truth in whatever new light it is presented in.” – Charlotte Mason.
6. You are the best person to teach your child.
Good character is an achievement and is possible for anyone. Only parents can teach a child this. Think about who truly forms a child, their parents or caretakers. Good character yields a good life, and outsourcing our children’s education has become the norm. We, as a culture, send our kiddos off to school in trust of an intuition we have very little connection to.
Only parents can teach their children about essential relationships and life duties. If most of the day, which turns into a year, we spend less and less time with our children, how can we truly make the impact we want? We want our children to be prepared for the world, have a love of knowledge, and be able to unpack ideas; parents are the best teachers.
~
After a year of homeschooling, our enthusiasm has only grown; the more we learn, the more we feel compelled to continue. We will go year by year with the same goal: giving our child the best education possible. Homeschooling is not for all families, but if you are considering homeschooling, every sacrifice you make to start is worth it.
Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash