Homeschooling Beginner Basics - How do we do it?
What do I need to get started homeschooling?
#1 A reason why you want to homeschool - this is important for the hard days when you see the school bus go by and think "man that would make life so much easier!"
#2 An explorative mind - You may need to try different things before you find what works best for your child
#3 A sense of determination - This time with your kid is going to be so worth it in the long run. Don't give up and don't give in to the nay-sayers!
What can homeschooling look like?
For Christmas two of the boys got these “Digging Adventure” activities. I was basically this hard clay brick with gems inside, and they had to chisel away with their little wooden mallets and chisels to find all the treasures. I loved watching them whittle away at the project! They sat for several hours working to free all of the gems and then our oldest spent even more time examining each find. This led to some great discussions about rocks and how each of the stones were different. This is the type of learning I want my boys to experience! There is nothing wrong with the brick-and-mortar school; I have been teaching at one for eleven years and I believe I have made a positive impact on my students and their learning… but that isn’t the only option!
We are currently using a mix of curriculum because I think that works best for us. We do all traditional paper versions. As the boys get older and the subjects get more complicated, there is always the option for videos or online activities but for now I think our kids are surrounded with too much technology as is and if I can reduce it during school time, at least a little, I will.
What materials do we use in a "typical" day?
Our typical day looks like Bible, English and Spelling, Math, Science or History, and Reading. Then as we go, we add more units here and there based on what we think Gabe needs. In the afternoon we encourage the boys to do Legos or arts and crafts. I make a hard effort to get the boys outside as much as possible, not just because our house is so small, but the fresh air is needed!
For Bible we are currently using
The Action Bible Devotional by Jeremy V. Jones. The boys are all really big into superheroes, so this type of devotion book keeps their attention. It has lessons that are short and sweet, but there are a few questions at the end, all of which prompt you to look up a Bible verse. There are other times I will have him simply read certain verses, if I feel like he is struggling with certain things, or I want to emphasize certain life lessons.
English, Spelling and Math are strictly Abeka. I love that they are repetitive. I know for some kids they get bored with that style, but I feel like the repetition is needed for Gabe. There is always the option to skip a section if he has those skills down pat but most times the speed is good for him. We do add extra activities with the Spelling units just because I believe spelling and vocabulary are super important! There are parent guides that come with these. I am not strong in English, so I did get that one, but not the others.
In Science we do use Abeka’s main text, but I found Gather Round Homeschool materials by Rebecca Spooner and am loving adding in some of her units based on Gabes interests. Right now, he is big on birds, so we are working through her North American Birds unit! So, we do this on and off with the Abeka science.
For History we are loving the Fun-Schooling
American History Timeline by Thinking Tree Books and plan to use their
United States book this spring! It is structured with learning units, but the actual content is very open ended, so you have more freedom to be creative with how you want your curriculum to be structured. For example, when we were focusing on the Pilgrims, we read
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims by Rush Limbaugh,
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Bulla and even watched "FreeBirds". All of these items intertwined to add substance to our unit, and we were able to use the Fun-Schooling text to create timelines, draw pictures of the characters' lives, write down notes about important character details and so forth. Sometimes with less structure, there can be more creative discussions because you aren’t trying to cover point a, b, and c to finish the lesson.
I was a lover of books growing up. So that is another thing that I strongly encourage with all of the boys. Gabe is enjoying the Imagination Station series right now. We do read aloud as well but I try not to specifically schedule time that he has to read because I want him to do it because he wants to. So far that hasn’t been a problem!
For gym we attend jiu-jitsu practice at a local place every Wednesday and he also is on the Mifflinburg Elementary Wrestling team, so he has practice Monday and Wednesday evenings. Otherwise, he has chores every morning and evening with the animals and is often jumping on the trampoline. We encourage as much outside time as we can get the boys to do.
We are still trying to find a good way to do an actual music class. Right now, he loves to listen to all different types of music, and we would like to get him into playing an instrument, but I also don’t want him to have too much on his plate.
Homeschooling has been a great fit for us because I want to make sure I am seeing first-hand what my children are learning! It is hard and there are some days where I question if he is actually getting all he needs, but then I remember all the life lessons he is learning, and it is all worth it!
Will we do it differently next year for Clayton in kindergarten? Probably! But he is a different type of kid compared to Gabe so we will need to find a teaching style that fits him best. And that is the great thing about homeschooling, you are not set to any one type of teaching or material!
I am also very excited to be adding in our own Agricultural Curriculum starting in 2022! Make sure to check in the
SHOP area for the upcoming units!
Below are a few links to materials and supplies we have used and loved! They are technically affiliate links so I may get a small commission from any of the items your purchase. Rest assured they are items that we know and love and hope that you will love too!
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