This is Part 2 in my Homeschool Experiment Results series. You can also read Part 1, Why we started.
(Photo from Month Three.)
This is my Pass-the-Torch Tuesday post for this week. Educating your own children is a great way to pass the torch.
There have been times during this homeschool experiment, when I’ve thought I could do it forever. I’ve sometimes grieved the fact I didn’t homeschool since the beginning. Why did I wait until I was forced into a corner, before I considered homeschooling as an option?
In the first four months of our experiment — the homeschool honeymoon — my kids were the best of friends, who played Barbies and cars and store and Legos.
All. Day. Long.
I had to wrench them away from play to get our lessons done. Even after the honeymoon, I could see that this experience has made them closer as siblings.
The flexibility of homeschooling has been significant. Although we’ve kept a pretty normal schedule at home, our schooling has never lasted more than half the day — a relaxed schedule the kids have really appreciated. And field trips have been a norm. We purchased a family membership for the Science Museum of Minnesota and have visited regularly. This made it possible to take in each exhibit one day at a time, rather than zipping through the whole museum in one haphazard school field trip. We extended our winter trip to Florida to a glorious two weeks, visited museums there, and schooled on the beach. And we took a trip to Chicago — primarily to see the dinosaur “Sue” at the Field Museum — because C had read about her early in the year.
We’ve discovered we LOVE social studies — particularly history! I didn’t even know that about myself until this year. In fact, after D finished with her American History lessons, she’d come and sit with C and I as we read about the Egyptians. She loved it so much, I finally decided to postpone the rest of American History for a different year, so we could all enjoy the learning together. Her fascination for history has followed into our field trips as well. At Old World Wisconsin, she insisted on visiting every exhibit — so much that we barely finished it all before closing. I can’t wait to go with D to Boston next week. She’ll make an excellent partner for “traveling through history.”
Homeschooling has also forced me to focus on opportunities for cultural pursuits. Because we no longer had music classes (which D enjoyed very much), I arranged for private voice lessons for D and now C started up guitar. Because we had no art class to attend, I felt pressure to organize our own supply station, and we turned the downstairs bar into a craft bar. Paint by number sets, and Mandala sand art were our favorite art projects this year. Each of these has been a very satisfying and worthwhile activity I wouldn’t have otherwise made the time for or spent the money on.
But the most positive result of the homeschool experiment is that over the course of the experiment I have grown to know my kids better than I ever have before. I’ve become aware of their unique strengths and weaknesses, and greatly improved my understanding of their academic abilities. They’re both very smart, but not every subject is easy. As a mom, it’s important that I have an accurate understanding of that, and I don’t think I had this before.
I’ve also discovered loads about myself — that I have a profound interest in history and literature, that I enjoy curriculum and lesson planning, and that I LOVE learning new things with my kids. I’m pretty sure I’ve learned as much as my students have this year.
I think the decision to homeschool this year is one of those pivotal moments in life that none of us will ever forget. Stay tuned tomorrow for part three in my Homeschool Experiment Results series — the STRUGGLES.
Thank you all for joining me for results week. And if you’re a homeschooler, please remember to write your advice post and put your link here on Friday. Thanks!
HOMESCHOOL EXPERIMENT RESULTS SERIES:
WHY WE STARTED
the JOYS
the STRUGGLES
the FUTURE for us
UPDATE after we Quit Homeschooling
Family out of Sync
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!
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Tags: curriculum, home school, homeschool, homeschool experiment, homeschooling, joys
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6:51 am
Well, I’m glad you did the positives first! *wink* It’ll make reading tomorrow’s post easier! LOL I’m really enjoying this and looking forward to the rest!
1:03 pm
Thanks, Beth! I can’t wait to read what people write for their advice on Friday!
1:51 am
you learned, too.
that is apparent.
7:27 am
[…] This week I’ll share the results of this year-long experiment with homeschooling. I’ll write about the joys, the struggles, and the future for us. And I’ll end the week with a collaboration of efforts between homeschool bloggers. We’re all posting our best advice for new homeschooling families, and including it in a Mr. Linky, for easy future access. I hope this will provide valuable insight to parents who are considering, or just starting to homeschool their kids. If you’re a homeschooling blogger, please join in! And let me know if you announce the project — I’ll link to you. For details, click here. […]
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6:55 pm
I really enjoyed your post. I once considered homeschooling but chickened out. This post was terrific.