(this article was updated on September 2021)
Homeschooling never crossed my mind. And although at the time of this article we’ve been homeschooling for 16 years; our 3 oldest children actually started out in public school.
So what was the catalyst to the educational change?
In 2004, my husband took a position with an international ministry so we relocated. Our children were attending a local magnet school before the move. Princess was in kindergarten doing fun kindergarten things.
However, at the new school, the kindergarten class was reading and writing and spelling, oh my!!
The transition was difficult for our daughter.
I had no idea that phonics played an integral part in reading (nor did I know how to teach those concepts) but I did what I could to help Princess make it through kindergarten.
In 2006, we moved back to our hometown, and after another year of trying to acclimate to a classroom setting that wasn’t conducive to her learning style, we began to consider our options.
We knew she could not continue on this course.
So my husband & I began praying & talking about the possibility of homeschooling. We knew our daughter was a bright capable learner. And we were very concerned about what her academic future would look like if we left her in public school.
At the time, we knew three homeschooling families and zero about homeschooling!
One friend walked me through the process of filling out the necessary paperwork and the other friend was generous enough to let us borrow all the curricula we needed for 2nd grade!
In spite of having a deficit of homeschool knowledge I did heed the recommendation to read The Way they Learn, which helped me to understand that my daughter needed repetition in order to master concepts.
That small nugget shaped the way we did school that year and beyond.
That first year, I focused on filling in foundational gaps that had previously made comprehending sequencing & reading very difficult.
We did other subjects too and even had some fun (my daughter had a knack for helping me not to take my self too seriously)!
But it was our first year year and I did not add a lot of “extras”.
The results, you ask?
While her struggles did not dissipate over-night (do they ever?), we did see gradual improvement in the course of that year.
She could do things like:
- count past twenty,
- say the days of the week in order
- and although reading was often a tear-producing event (ahem…for both of us!) we were seeing progress there too!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story, but in the meantime, tell me:
Are you homeschooling, or thinking about it? Book a free call with me to learn more about how I can help you.
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