It has now been nearly three months since beginning my homeschooling experiment. And I’d be lying if I said it was all “peaches and cream.”
We’ve experienced the ups and downs that one might expect from any experiment. I’ve modified curriculum constantly, in an attempt to figure out what works best for each child’s learning style and level. I can see that there are very good reasons for using excellent homeschool curriculum, rather than that designed for a classroom.
But I don’t have time to both design curriculum and teach my kids, (let alone write a book.) So very soon now, I’m going to settle down on my picks and quit changing streams in the middle of a horse. (You can thank my mom for that whacked-out expression.) I’ve spent extensive time on selecting curriculum, and keeping track of my evolving curriculum here.
We’ve also dealt with stressful relationship dynamics. Homeschooling accentuates personality conflicts, and I find we lock horns more often than we would if the kids were out of the house for nine hours per day.
As their teacher, I need to enforce a whole new set of expectations, which makes me the “bad guy” in even more instances than I was before. This is troublesome, but we’re working on it.
But as a whole, what I’ve discovered most, is that I WANT it to work. My kids WANT it to work.
We won’t know if it’s successful until the end of the experiment, because that’s the way experiments are.
So far:
I’ve discovered that, although 2nd grader excels in 3rd grade math, and my 4th grader reads more than 500 pages per week, my kids are not gifted in every subject.
I’ve witnessed the very different ways in which each child processes learning.
I’ve watched C find out for himself how fun reading can be.
I’ve naturally integrated learning into our daily life, because I know what they’re studying and what they’ve already learned.
I’ve photographed them conducting science experiments and loving it.
I’ve learned subject matter that I swear I never learned when I was in school — and I think it’s a gift to have this opportunity.
And, in-between the arguments, I’ve come to know my kids better, understand them better, hear them more, sit with them more, relax with them more, play with them more,
love them more.
And I’m remembering, that in all things,
PROCESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRODUCT.
Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones:
The Beginning
Week One – Starting with a Frazzle
Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff
Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing
Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS!
One-month Review
D’s Review at One Month
Week Five – Stress and frustration
Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum
Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks
Two-Month Review — Some aha moments
Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream
Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history
Five-Month Review — What I underestimated
Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month
Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review
D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series
Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig
All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS!
HOMESCHOOL EXPERIMENT RESULTS SERIES:
WHY WE STARTED
the JOYS
the STRUGGLES
the FUTURE for us
Update – Since we Quit Homeschooling
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(Photos: conducting DNA and bacteria experiments at the Science Museum of Minnesota.)
Tags: curriculum, home school, homeschool, homeschool experiment, homeschooling, review
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1:57 am
This was a heart pleasing post.
… the pictures of your budding scientist
…. pride I heard in your voice and the love I saw in your smile.
Yes.
8:20 am
What a lovely post. I have really enjoyed reading about your ‘experiment’ and the learning you are all doing. Thanks for sharing it with us out in the blogosphere.
10:37 am
Oh how I’ve enjoyed following your journey! I know I would be SO much the same way, especially the part of constantly adjusting the cirriculum. I absolutely LOVE your pictures and I can feel the joyful rewards your getting for all the extra effort. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Hugs,
Holly
Holly’s Corner
11:01 am
Wow! That encourages me as I look at starting to consider homeschool for this fall for my soon-to-be three-yr-old. I won’t be perfect, it’ll be a lot of work, but it’ll be worth it! Cool!
1:28 pm
Our son is an adult, home school was unheard of back then, but I am fascinated by it, so your blog is quite interesting to me. Love the photos showing the concentration, a testament to just how much learning is going on.
8:47 pm
Very interesting post about your experiment, and verifying pictures of your most concentradet kids.
What I wonder, how skilled need a mam or pap have to be to deploy such an experient as Home School?
9:05 pm
Thank you all for your support as we muddle our way through this experiment.
TorAa — I ask my self the same thing daily;))) It’s really about getting the right curriculum, I think. If you have the right plans to follow, there isn’t so much you need to know as the teacher.
But it’s definitely been a challenge!
12:02 am
[...] Kelly, at Pass the Torch, shares the ups and downs of homeschooling after three months of the "experiment." in The homeschool experiment – three month review posted at Pass The Torch. Does it pay to be a little bit sneaky for the benefit of your child? See what Christine did in Sometimes being a Sneaky Mom is a Good Thing! posted at arewethereyetmom.com. [...]
10:19 am
Sounds like things are going really well. Everyone is learning from the experience, which is an added benefit. I love the pictures, your kids seem to be really enjoying themselves.
Here via the carnival of family life.
12:55 pm
I’d love to homeschool. My daughter won’t hear of it. So I homeschool without her knowing it.
Who says schooling has to happen at a specified time or way…
1:10 pm
Here again via CFL
1:13 pm
That’s the part of homeschooling I think I would enjoy the most. Getting to know the kids better. And as an added bonus, I’d learn a few new things along the way. Sounds like you’re experiment is showing some promising positive results.
Here via CFL.
1:21 am
Great post.
Thanks for sharing.
9:58 am
Kelly, this is such a great post–I love the words and the pictures, too! You’re a gifted photographer!!
2:20 pm
Your post encapsulates something I’ve thought about homeschooling for quite some time, that homeschooling and indeed parenting is like a taffy pull. Times of tension, mixed with times of relief. But with each tug and pull I know that we’re getting closer to the a “final product.” And while I’m now at the end with my first I sense that the product is “bitter-sweet.” The sweetness that comes from watching my nearly 18 year old blossom into a lovely woman mixed with a tinge of sadness that it all ended more quickly than I would have ever imagined. The times of tension are long forgetten not just by me but amazingly by my children as well. Totally unexpectedly my 16 year old son said, “Mom, I love you.” Huh? Yesterday, was a tense “lock horns” day. Today, he loves me and all is well. Tension and relief. Another day passes and we are both made stronger and closer.
You said in your post, “We won’t know if it’s successful until the end of the experiment, because that’s the way experiments are.”
The experiment will never be “over” even if you decide to return to a more conventional form of schooling. Parenting is an experiment that never ends and like you said, “process over product.” Keep on keeping on.
1:50 am
I’m enjoying your blog. I want to recommend The Thomas Jefferson Education. It is a wonderful book with so many insights about homeschooling. Let me know if you like it.
Have your daughter visit my kids’ blogs. http://tumblingturnips.blogspot.com and http://mathiplication.blogspot.com/
They have a blog roll on their sites that is fun for kids.
10:57 am
HEY, have I got a deal for you….. How ’bout I bring the kids home with me after the museum for a couple of days of crash course MUSIC and ART? That would get two less thorns out of your side at this extremely busy deadline time. You could write and re-write in total peace and quiet and I’d LOVE the thorns and noise??
Don’t say I never dun nuthin’ fer ya! heeheehee.
(((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))
4:13 pm
[...] More Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning One-month Review Two-Month Review Three-Month Review Four-Month Review Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month [...]
7:25 am
[...] (Photo from Month Three.) [...]
7:35 am
[...] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
10:27 am
[...] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
6:18 pm
[...] Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
7:44 am
[...] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
8:24 am
[...] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
10:17 pm
[...] Other Homeschooling Experiment milestones: The Beginning Week One – Starting with a Frazzle Five Steps to Drive Yourself off a Cliff Week Two – Just when I thought I knew what I was doing Week Three — Let there be CRAFTS! One-month Review D’s Review at One Month Week Five – Stress and frustration Week Seven – Flip-flopping curriculum Note to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated Six-Month Review – Let’s Just Skip this Month Seven-Month Review — Curriculum Review D’s research paper — Save the Earth Saturday series Tales of a Fourth-Grade Guinea Pig All posts about the experiment — including WAY-COOL FIELD TRIPS! [...]
8:53 am
[...] written a lot about the Science Museum of Minnesota over the past year. In January, I shared photos of the kids conducting DNA experiments, and in August I introduced you to Collector’s Corner. But Friday was our last visit for a [...]
7:47 am
[...] to self – Consider having low expectations some weeks Two-Month Review — Some aha moments Three-Month Review — Not all peaches and cream Four-Month Review — Loving ancient history Five-Month Review — What I underestimated [...]
9:45 pm
One of the best lessons you can learn as a new home schooling parent is to de-school yourself. Your children do not need curriculums to learn. That is a public school concept. Nor do you children need to be graded or reach milestones, another public school concept. These things make learning a chore for your children, stress you out and will always result in conflicts as you try to play supermom/teacher keeping them on track with some imaginary goal invented by adults. Have you tried unschooling? Although I hate the label unschooling believing it a misleading title, I can attest it works better than any curriculum and both you and your children will be much more relaxed and much happier. Unschooling is letting your children learn what they wish to, when they wish to, at their own pace. Your job is not to teach them to memorize facts or figures. Your job is to teach them how to teach themselves and research for themselves. You will be surprised how far they fly with that. It is also an education of a life time because as adults if they choose to change their careers they will not be looking for worksheets or curriculums to show them how to learn what they need for their new career. They will already know how to research it all for themselves. They will make better decisions about the information they are reading and learn to consider the sources for themselves. Worksheets and curriculums and structured learning entirely stifles the idea of self processing information. There is a great book called The Unschooling Unmanual. Do a Google search for it. It will make all the difference in the world to your view of what home schooling actually is. You can also temper unschooling with the Charlette Mason method. Google that too:)
Don’t worry, all new home schooling Mom’s fall into the trap of trying to reproduce school at home with the same results as you are experiencing. After a couple of years of trying this and that, all based on curriculums etc you will eventually have the confidence to start throwing those curriculums out the window as useless. They don’t work in school and they don’t work in home school. Take the short cut and check out unschooling and Charlotte Mason now in these early days. I promise you will not regret it. There will be no more conflicts of personality or arguments and learning will be fun again for your children.
Best wishes to you all.
8:24 pm
We’re on our 11th year of homeschooling–and it would be so neat to have a record of those early days like the one you are assembling here–love your heart, your honesty, your questions, your challenges, your ideas and successes! Best wishes as you continue the adventure!