by Janny Jackson
BE ENCOURAGED
Your child has recently become school age or you have just pulled him/her out of public/private school, and you want to homeschool.
CONGRATULATIONS! I’m so excited for you.
Welcome to freedom.
First of all I want to say this, you are more than CAPABLE. You are your child’s greatest teacher. You will both be growing on this journey together, and it will feel hard, and impossible at times, but you will get past that, and realize how rewarding it is overall.
You’re anxious. Feeling overwhelmed. Already put the cap of failure on your head thinking you could never measure up to what your child has already been exposed to.
You’re right, you can’t.
Hear me out. This study about how time is spent in elementary classrooms breaks down three different categories: Academic, Nonacademic, and Non-Instructional, in the second and fifth grade classrooms.
These are the summary findings:
“On the average, students spent 1 hour and 30 minutes (second grade)
and 1 hour and 55 minutes (fifth grade) actively engaged in reading and math activities…” (pg.12)
I’ve been on this journey for three years now. I follow a lot of homeschool moms on social media, and I’ve seen a lot of their videos. I feel pretty confident in saying that most moms can fully homeschool their child/children in 4 hours or less, taking into account many factors. How many children are being schooled, how old are they, what levels are they on, what does their workload look like, are babies/toddlers living in the home (we love them but they are distractions), do you have to stop and take care of phone calls or drive to appointments, do you have to take a break for naptime, snack time, lunch time, I mean the list could go on and on.
From my personal experience I have been able to homeschool my two elementary aged children in 2 hours, that’s with no distractions. With distractions, it can end up being stretched to around 4 hours.
But guess what? That’s where your freedom comes in:
You have the freedom to school for how little or long as you want.
You have the freedom to choose what time you want to get started, and what days you want to school.
You have the freedom to choose what subjects your child is being taught and what books are being read.
You have the freedom to protect or expose them to whatever you are comfortable with in your home.
You have the freedom to take the day off because you just need a break (hello mental health).
You have the freedom to grow your relationship with your learners because YOU are their teacher AND parent.
Homeschooling is not a sentence. It’s meant to be freeing. And right now it might feel like it, but I promise you will come to that conclusion soon enough.
The reality is this: yes, you will lose some of your own personal freedom. If you are already a stay at home mom and this has been your norm, then nothing really changes in that area for you. But if you are used to sending your kid off for the majority of the day/week, then say goodbye to being able to use the bathroom in peace, or having a phone conversation without a million interruptions. What is cleaning during the day when the house stays lived in? I think you get the idea. And that can be frustrating for some. I’m an introvert, I get it.
The freedom comes in knowing that your children are safe.
Safe from an ever-evolving world that assumes that we should all think alike and believe the same things.
Safe from exposure to words, thoughts, actions, books, videos, etc. that may not just harm the mind but also the body.
Safe from the fears that creep into our minds as parents anytime our kids are away from us.
The freedom comes in knowing that you have the ability to take charge of your child’s education. The confidence it will give you as you learn together in this journey, as you see the progressions and evolution in learning, will fuel you and keep you afloat when you have rough days. No one is immune from them. They will happen. You will second guess everything and want to quit. But don’t. Have confidence in yourself and the process and it will all be worth it.
SO, now that you know you are capable, how does this look PRACTICALLY.
Keep reading here.