Our Philosophy on Homeschooling
This year (2017) marks our 5th year of homeschooling! Sometimes it doesn't seem like it was that long ago that we pulled our 1st grader out of school at the Christmas break and embarked on our 'work for ourselves & homeschool our kids' adventure... other times it seems like we've always been doing this. Time is a funny thing.
In these past 5 years we have learned a TON. Probably more than all 3 of our kids put together. ;) Homeschooling is such a wide topic of beliefs, instruction, curriculum, styles. I'd like to share more of our take and what we've learned in the past 5 years-- a little insight into the free school plan that we'll be releasing this summer for the 2017-2018 school year. (Woo hoo!)
Start Here: The Moore's
I found THIS BOOK toward the beginning of our homeschooling journey and fell in love! Better Late Than Early is an amazing book written by Raymond and Dorothy Moore- long time pioneers of children, family, education and homeschooling. They give great insight to the reasoning for NOT pushing formal education on little ones, instead letting them learn through working alongside parents and through play. Letting their minds develop naturally before moving into a more formal setting. Our son (the oldest) suffers from dyslexia (although we didn't figure it out until later than we should have... the same with his eyesight problems #parentsoftheyear) and after reading this we realized that some of the issues we were having could be in part to our pushing stuff too early. After backing off a bit and taking the advice of the Moore's we were amazed to see him start to grow and flourish again. It was truly amazing! We also loved their book, The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook which is a definite must read as well! I plan to do a series of in-depth reviews on their books, I know I reference them to friends and family far too often- I'm sure they'd prefer a quick link to read instead. ;)
While the books will go into much better detail-- we believe in NOT pushing formal education until about 8 years old or so. We believe in letting little kids be little kids. Play, helping out mom and dad, learning through in-the-moment situations and practical application. When the time does come for more formal education, they keep it simple with clear instruction time and an increase in service and work.
God Centered
I blogged a bit about it HERE, but a main goal for us is to raise children that are knowledgeable and passionate for the Lord. Cramming a ton of facts on various historical points or being top kid on fractions is nice and all, but I'd rather focus on studying the Bible, prayer and meditation, and compassion for their fellow people of this lovely world. To us, THAT is far more important that a million amazing worksheets.
S I M P L E
We run a family business (doing weddings of all things = HIGH stress), have 3 children (ages 3, 6 and 12) that we homeschool, maintain an 8 acre property, care for my husband's elderly mother often, keep a strong marriage somehow and a million other things that parents/spouses/entrepreneurs deal with on a daily basis. We need something SIMPLE. We're busy, and I feel like we've found homeschool programs that are either ridiculously expensive or SO intense and busy that we're behind the moment we start. (AKA -- high stress mom -- no fun kids) I've found such great joy and peace in minimalizing our home, our schedules, our lives -- minimalizing our homeschool was the next best thing!
Real Life Application
Remember as kids when you'd be learning something in school and ask "when would I ever need to know this?" and then we were always told some absurd answer? Well, how many times have you had to use a lot of those things in your adult life? Reading, writing, basic math -- those are the key elements to a strong foundation. If you can read and you have a love for learning, for inquiring, for figuring it out-- ANYTHING is possible! In our day and age, in the information generation that we're in, one can learn pretty much anything! When teaching our kids, I want them to learn the things that they can actually apply and use. They definitely get topics that they run wild with- and we greatly encourage that, but we get them involved with as many real life tasks and experiences as possible. Education is everywhere-- we just have to get it out of our heads that it has to happen at a desk thru a workbook.
Today is a Gift
Lastly, have FUN! Each day is a gift, it's the present. Have fun-- don't let school turn you in to monster mommy- it's too easy to do! ;) Play, have fun, pull out the board games, run around outside, watch movies and snuggle, bake, go adventuring. Realizing some days to just call it quits and head outside with some chalk or a bucket of water to splash in makes all the difference.
Cannot wait to create and grow in the online community here- it's such a special job to take on the role as educator for our children. Having a clear understanding of what your outlook on schooling is, keeping your heart focused, simplifying and enjoying every moment you possibly can -- that's our philosophy on homeschool.
[This post includes affiliate links - our MINIMALIST HOMESCHOOL PLAN will be released FREE of charge, checking out our affiliate links is greatly appreciated instead of having to purchase any of the homeschool content we'll be releasing! 😊 Thanks a bunch!]
