Are you excited, too? The beginning of the school year is full of excitement, anticipation, and many decisions. Whether new to homeschooling or looking for fresh ideas, these insights should help you start the new school year positively. Before we jump into these resources, I’ll give you a little background on me and my journey.
Who Am I?
I’m a mom of six children aged 22, 21, 19, 16, 14, and 5, who has exclusively homeschooled. We have a college graduate, a senior and junior in college, a junior in high school, one in middle school, and one just getting started. We have predominantly homeschooled in community, which provided us with the accountability, support, and social interaction we needed. However, it isn’t everyone’s experience, and that’s okay too. The beauty of homeschooling is its flexibility. I’m the founder of NOLA Homeschoolers, a group offering field trips, classes, and information for area homeschoolers. I’ve gathered a wealth of experience that I’m excited to share with you.
If You’re New to the Journey:
List Your Top Three Reasons: Write down your top three reasons for homeschooling and prominently place them. When it gets hard, and it will, you can reexamine your reasons to see if school is the answer.
Define Education for Yourself: Spend time reflecting on what you wish you would have learned, what blind spots you had as a young adult, or what is missing now (like cursive in some schools), and decide if it will become a part of your guiding principles.
Understand Learning Styles: Understanding your and your child’s (ren) learning style will enhance the experience for everyone involved.
Determine Your Educational Philosophy: If you love a Montessori approach, the best classical program will not meet your needs. Accept that the approach you like may not work for your child or all of your children.
Register with the State: Ensure you follow the necessary legal requirements by registering with the state and unenrolling from the last school if needed. In LA, we are required to register annually.
Getting Started with Homeschooling
Involve Your Kids:
Shopping Together: Make school shopping a family affair. Let your kids pick out their notebooks, pens, backpacks, and other supplies. This can add excitement and anticipation for the new school year.
Setting a Budget: Curriculum, extracurricular activities, field trips, hobbies, school supplies, library fines, and meals all add up and should be part of your budget to avoid surprises.
Identify Your Space: Determine where you will homeschool, whether at desks, the kitchen table, the family room, a dedicated school room, in the car, the library, or the park. If working from home reduces productivity, consider alternative locations.
Plan and Organize:
Determine a Start Date: If you are participating in a coop or program with a start date, it’s decided. Otherwise, you can choose! Some families start after Labor Day, while others homeschool year-round.
Use a Large Calendar: Fill in known dates such as field trips, family vacations, holidays, and breaks at the beginning of the year. This helps everyone know what to expect and teaches time management.
Flexible Scheduling: Decide how many days a week you want to homeschool. It doesn’t have to be five days; it can be three or even six, depending on what works best for your family. In LA, we must homeschool for 180 days, which is 20 days a month following a 9-month year.
Incorporate Children’s Interests:
Learning Preferences: Include your children’s interests in the curriculum. Ask them what new hobby, skill, or topic they want to learn. This will make learning fun and foster a love for lifelong learning.
Managing Expectations: Set realistic boundaries and expectations about activities outside of academics. Limit extracurricular activities if needed to maintain a balanced schedule. Discuss these options as a family.
You can find the rest of the blog at New Orleans Mom.
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