Perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding homeschooling is that children remain isolated from the world around them. If you really think about it, 15 mins of recess at public school are all children truly get to talk to each other, yet people insist on sending their kids to school to be "socialized"
Raise your hand if you have ever been shushed by a teacher for talking in class🤚
In the age of what feels like the government trying to program a generation… let’s raise problem solvers and critical thinkers. 😉
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#unschoollife #timefreedomgoals #backtobasicsandbeyond #liveinspiredtoday #unschooler #letthembelittleforever #liveinspirednow #timefreedomiseverything #unschool #lifeschooling #lifeschoolers #timefreedommoneyfreedom #backtobasics #momlife💕 #homeschool #liveinspireddaily #momlife #timefreedom #homeschoolroom #365homeschool #homeschoolkids #momlifeyo #lifeschool #thehappynowmovement #momlifeunfiltered #homeschoolmoms #momlifeinspo #unschoolingfamily #unschoolingrocks #thehappynowproject
Struggling with getting homeschooling off the ground? You are not the only one!
This graphic is meant to be slightly humourous but the point I am trying to get across is that homeschooling may not come to you as easily as you had originally aniticipated and that is perfectly normal. 😁
I have come to realize that homeschooling doesn't happen the way you think it does. Parents often find themselves going through different "stages" through their homeschooling journey.
Honestly, even after you have done your research and found your comfort zone, it is still a journey filled with excitement and often times unpredictability.
As you keep learning and make small tweaks and adjustments to your daily rhythms, you will become more confident and comfortable with homeschooling.
As always, I am cheering you on! Feel free to DM me, if you have any questions!♥
As someone who spent a lot of time and energy on being a good student, something I wish I had learned earlier in life is that academic success is not a very good predictor of career success or life satisfaction.
This is in part due to what academic success requires. It usually means being good at following instructions, not rocking the boat too much, and absorbing information even if you aren’t particularly interested in it.
As I learned after I finished school, these skills aren’t nearly as useful in the workforce or in life. What we need to succeed in the “real world” is good social & emotional skills, creativity & outside-the-box thinking, a willingness to take some risks, and an understanding of what we are good at and what is important to us.
This doesn’t mean all academic skills are meaningless. Students who struggle with basic skills should get the support they need to gain both competence and confidence.
It simply means that we need to keep the big picture in mind when it comes to the role of academic instruction in our children’s lives. Academic success is not a prerequisite to a successful and happy life. It’s only one narrow path for getting there.
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#education #educationmemes #365homeschool #homeschoolfun #educationreform #educationrevolution #educationmatters #educationquote #alternativeeducation #homeschooling #homeschoollife #homeschoolinstagrammers #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschoolers #secularhomeschooling #homeschoolideas #homeschoolers #homeeducation #homeed #homeeducator #childledlearning #selfdirectedlearning #selfdirectededucation #educatingkids #21stcenturyeducation #educationforlife #happykids #happyfamily #raisingkids #academicsuccess #educatorsofinstagram
What should you expect when you start deschooling your child for the first time?
👉 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Chances are, you will probably be a little confused about what you're supposed to do because this is new and unusual territory. Questions such as 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦? or 𝘈𝘮 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩t are pretty common
👉 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿
You may start to feel pangs of "Is my child going to fall behind his peers". Rest assured, your child is going to be okay!
👉 𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺
You may notice your children walking around aimlessly or unsure about what they should be doing. This is good. Boredom is needed for them to ignite their imagination and creativity. This is how they will learn to manage their time.
👉 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲r. They are opening up to you more and sharing their thoughts and ideas. You are bonding and making memories.
Are you currently deschooling your child? What emotions have you felt, please share with us in the comments below⬇
#homeschool #homeschoollife #365homeschool #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolfun #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeeducator #unschool #unschooling #unschoolinglife #classicaleducation #waldorfhomeschool #wildandfree #wildandfreemama #wildandfreechildren #homeschoolmom #homeschooldad #homeschoolmomlife #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolconfidence #bravewriterlifestyle #kindredhomeschool #homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolpreschool #preschoolathome #totschool #montessoriathome
I’m not the mom who makes sure the kids comb their hair and put their shoes away. I’m not the mom who makes sure her kids meet every academic standard. I’m not the mom who knows what’s for dinner or has a designated laundry day.
I’ve spent a great deal of time and energy shaming myself for this.
I’m done.
The question is not, “Am I a good mom?” The question is, “What kind of good mom am I?”
Things only get better when I focus on who I am and what I like, rather than who I’m not and what I don’t.
So here I am:
I am the kind of good mom who says yes to messes and pets and projects and parachutes...until I say no. I am the kind of good mom who is emotionally dynamic and talks about it with her kids. I am the kind of good mom who is consistently inconsistent; sometimes it’s dessert first, and other times it’s no-dessert-til-you’ve-eaten-your-vegetables.
I’m the kind of good mom who packs the kids in the car when she just can’t take it anymore, and drives up the canyon for a walk in the woods until we all come to our senses.
I’m the kind of mom who stays up way too late sneaking my kid an extra snack after he’s brushed his teeth and listening to his worries pour out at bedtime, then having a slow morning nursing my toddler and taking a bubble bath while the kids watch Wild Kratts and the neighbor kids have already been at school for an hour.
We also do math.
Kinda.
And it’s all good.
Even the hard is so, so good.
Because it’s the hard I choose.
What kind of good mom are you?
The sight of these sweet boots sitting on a tailgate and soaking up farm life today made me so excited for our future. These three, and the one who is on my chest most of the time, are the ones we work so hard for. The reason why we dream big and strive to make those dreams a reality. We experience so many of our firsts right along with them and I love every second of the memories and childhood we are creating for them. It's a slow and steady process but watching it all unfold is so rewarding❤
I love talking about this. Seriously - homeschoolers are not lacking in socialization! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Here are some observations I've made with homeschoolers regarding socialization. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1. They are comfortable talking with people of all ages. From babies to the elderly, homeschoolers are great conversationalists! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2. They have more opportunities to communicate in day-to-day society. As they run errands with you and participate in family activities, they are learning how to talk with professionals, peers, and leaders. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3. Because they are typically with you when you get groceries, go to the bank, and pay your insurance bill, your kids are learning how to properly function and adjust to the different aspects of society. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What are some ways that you see your homeschoolers becoming more and more socially adjusted?
🍎 What book has your child loved that surprised you the most? For me, it’s definitely been the most recent series, the Little House Series. Don’t be afraid to give your rough-and-tumble boys books like this. You never know what books they will love! Kids not old enough to read? Read a chapter out loud each night. We started this in preschool and it’s stuck ever since ❤️
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#intentionalhomeschool #intentionalhomeschooling #homeschoolcollective #homeschool #homeschooling #homeschoolingmom #unschool #homeschoollife #365homeschool #homeschoolcollective #preschoolathome #totschool #kindredhomeschool #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolmomlife #wildandfreemama #montessoriathome #homeschoolpreschool #homeschoolfun #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeeducator #unschooling #totschool #totschooling #preschoolathome #preschoolhomeschool #preschoollife #living_homeschool #boymom💙 #boymomlife #sahmomlife #sahmlife #readtoyourkids
⬆️TRUTH💣⬆️⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This isn't necessarily an easy step. But it's so necessary. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When I coach & help others start Homeschooling, I make sure I help them start the "deschooling" process first. I say this a lot because I wholeheartedly believe it. If we try to mimic a traditional school environment in our homes, we will be left feeling frustrated, insecure, & unable to educate our children. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When a parent pulls a child from school to homeschool, they're often instructed to "deschool" their child. I would argue that deschooling the parent is the most important step. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In order for us to be successful & confident, we have to have a fresh, clean slate when it comes to education. We should approach it with new eyes & all the possibilities that are out there. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Many new Homeschoolers get caught up in the "perfect curriculum" or the "best daily schedule". ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It makes total sense. When we start out, we're often looking to our experience in the traditional school system for how we should educate our children at home. Although this works for many, it doesn't work for all. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When helping someone to "deschool", I first ask them to research why the public school system was created during the Industrial Revolution. I think if we can understand WHY education is the way it is today, we will learn that it isn't the only way & that there are many other philosophies. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We will have more confidence & success in homeschooling when we learn that there are other ways to teach a child. When we forget everything we once knew and create a new set of beliefs around education & learning, that's when the real magic happens. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Maybe you're new to this whole Homeschooling thing and maybe you're not. Either way, I invite you to consider what your current beliefs on education are and then to consider whether they are serving you & your family. 😊♥️
Let's unpack this myth that "Children need school to socialize" together - What are we really trying to say as a society when we say children go to school to socialize.
I have made several posts here on IG about how socialization occurs organically when we live in the real world. But today, I wanted to expand this idea one step further and talk about forming actual friendships.
Why is this important? Because when people often bring up socialization and homeschooling, what they really mean is that children form friendships in school. The argument is that if we keep our kids at home, they won't be able to form friendships.
How did we as a society get to the point where we don't think it's possible that our own family👪 are also our friends?
What I have learned over the years is that my children are actually each other's best friends. I often wonder if they would have this close relationship if they spend their days in different classrooms instead of with each other.
What role does friendship play in your homeschool? I would love to know your thoughts on this⬇
Why do you choose to homeschool?
Some of you have been homeschooling before the pandemic. Some of you continue to homeschool even though schools are opening up.
Why?
I know that homeschooling gives me the freedom I used to dream about. I know that homeschooling has given me a stronger bond with my kids than we could have ever had otherwise.
But the beauty of it all comes together when I look my children.
Homeschooling has given them the opportunity to explore and learn however and whatever THEY want.
They learn not only academics but life skills like time management at a young age. Most adults cannot manage their time, but my young boys? They know what they need to do and they get it done.
This is the power of homeschooling.
Our kids exceed our expectations because we have allowed them the space necessary.
We can grow in learning and in life together as a family cheering each other on to do better, to be better.
♥Share this message when another homeschooling family.
Why do you homeschool? I would love to hear your answer - please share with us in the comments section below⬇
Riddle me this - Do all classrooms have four walls?
Did you know that children can thrive in learning opportunities outside of a traditional classroom setting?
All you need to do is ignite a little spark of curiosity then take a step back and let the magic happen. I have seen this over and over again.
Some kids may discover mathematic principles through art.
Some kids may learn geography through reading.
Some might simply observe and ask questions. Plenty of questions.
There isn't one way of educating our kids. There are many different ways and they will all lead upto the same thing. Growing up as capable & confident adults.
Tag a friend who might be struggling with this today♥
🙋🏽♀️ Raise your hand if you thought Homeschooling would take much longer than it actually does?
🏫 When we think of school, we think of a full day of classes and lessons. In reality, even in 'school', there is a lot of down time and dare I say...wasted time. Especially in the elementary years, lessons can be so efficient when educating a child 1:1. Teaching a class of 24 to learn fractions is much different than teaching one child. (Hence why we love & appreciate all of the amazing educators out there!)
If you're feeling overwhelmed by trying to fill a full school day's worth of lessons & activities, I want you to know that you don't have to be doing that. And most homeschoolers don't. If it works for your family, amazing. But if it's not working, try adopting the mindset of "less is more".
Shorter, intentional lessons are so effective. Using your child's learning style (tactile, auditory, visual) to teach them will help. Giving them some autonomy will also help you both. You can give them a binder or folder with activities/ worksheets you want them to accomplish that week and give them some autonomy over their schedule & how they accomplish those tasks. You can also rotate subjects so, for instance, doing history on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Science on Tuesday and Thursday. You don't need to be cramming in every subject every day. 😊 #freedom
Throughout the day I'm randomly asking my son spelling words and the definitions of "noun" and "verb". I'm constantly giving them math problems to do on the fly. We play games. We sing songs. We bake and cook. We dance. They definitely are not sitting at a table for 6-8 hours a day and they're still learning & thriving.
Quality over quantity.
🤔 We'd love for you to share with us below, did you used to think you had to be doing school work 6+ hours a day?
🤔 If so, what helped you homeschool more efficiently & effectively?
I’ve been planning and organizing for the new school year. Now that I have my core curriculums and units planned out I am beginning to look at my supplemental materials and other resources to see what I need or want to add.
morningstogether is one of my favorite resources for beautiful and useful materials, I have coloring activities, flash cards, clip/count for everything from ABCs to Math to Spanish.
I’ll be sharing some of my favorite resources from morningstogether in stories this week!
morningstogether has a a site wide sale beginning today with use of my special code:
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To Receive 20% off your entire purchase, use my code: Abbie
Packin’ up year 1 of homeschool!!
I almost cried. I’m not gonna lie. There were parts of homeschool that almost did me in. But I look at these books and these faces and I see 4 faces that persevered. 4 faces that decided we’d make it no matter what. Which somedays meant we walked away.
My biggest fear for this first year was… would they learn enough??
I counted… these 118 books are just their history and language arts reading. And they read them all. Which means I talked about and questioned them on 118 books. And holy cow… it was a lot. And I was tired. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. They amazed me in how much they grew in a year.
I asked them the other day if they wanted to continue homeschool or if they miss school. To my surprise, they all said homeschool. 😂 With the caveat that they miss friends and recess. Which truthfully, I miss this for them too.
I would love to say this was a relief… but nope, it wasn’t. 😂. I’m not sure I can keep up with all 3 as they get older… but I’m crazy proud of us for surviving year 1😂
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#unschoollife #timefreedomgoals #backtobasicsandbeyond #liveinspiredtoday #unschooler #letthembelittleforever #liveinspirednow #timefreedomiseverything #unschool #lifeschooling #lifeschoolers #timefreedommoneyfreedom #backtobasics #momlife💕 #homeschool #liveinspireddaily #momlife #timefreedom #homeschoolroom #365homeschool #homeschoolkids #momlifeyo #lifeschool #thehappynowmovement #momlifeunfiltered #homeschoolmoms #momlifeinspo #unschoolingfamily #unschoolingrocks #thehappynowproject
A few reminders for the homeschool family:
❤️ Every homeschool family has rough days (yes, even the ones with curated Insta feeds of poetry tea time and nature journals!) Lean INTO the hard and allow it to bring you closer, build character, and create new paths for moving forward together.
❤️ Homeschool families have to make sacrifices: time, energy, money. Every sacrifice is a choice you are making to lay down your lives for the sake of sowing seeds that will bear fruit. You may not see it now, but what you are doing MATTERS.
❤️ Your relationship with your children comes first...not the curriculum, planner, or checklist. It is GOOD to keep a pulse on you and your children’s needs and put it all aside for a day of adventuring or snuggles and connection if needed.
❤️ It’s more about children learning to love learning than the actual content in which they’re learning. You don’t need to know it all, have it all, or be an expert at it all to do this job well. Light the fire, spread the feast.
Cheers to normalizing NORMAL in this space instead of showing only the facade of perfection. It's not always easy, but it's good. ☕ Let's show the hard, the messy, and the real and call it all GOOD.
Let's talk about homeschool methods! Don't make the same mistake I did. 👇
When I tried homeschooling for the first time, I clung to the idea that homeschooling needed to look a certain way. I was afraid of doing anything different because
A) I didn't know what different meant
B) I thought I would confuse the kids
I felt guilty for not doing enough with my kids
I felt like an inferior homeschooler compared to those around me
But I didn't give up. And 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽.
If I had to do it all over again, here is what I would do instead
💪I would pay better attention to our family's rhythms
💪I would take it one day at a time to examine what worked and what didn't work
💪I would use my fellow homeschoolers as inspiration instead of the standard
And finally, I wouldn't be afraid to just be myself with my kids having a blast!
♥Save this post for later
♥ Tag a friend who needs to hear this
High school on the road (link in bio)
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Lots of questions about teens on the road lately and understandably so!
For now I thought I’d share some of what we’re using, or have used over the years, for high school homeschooling.
With one homeschool graduate under our belts, and this one close behind, we definitely feel passionate about allowing our teens to pursue learning about things they’re interested in rather than simply checking off a box because we’re told to do so.
One of our homeschooling goals is graduating young adults who love to learn.
So giving them the ability to pursue that, and tailor their education around that, feels like a gift for going into their adult lives.
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Every child is different, and the beauty of homeschooling is that every education for each child can be different, but if you head to the link in our bio I’ve shared some of what’s worked for us (including curriculum links) so far over on our blog.
Read this caption and then read it again⬇
𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺?
Ask yourself, what would you do if there were no schools?
🥧Would you spend your time gardening and baking?
📚Or would you dive deep into fairy tales and poetry?
🌓Would you spend time learning in the morning or the evening?
You have the freedom to decide!
John Holt is a wonderful thought leader on the subject of homeschool. He challenges us to stop trying to recreate a classroom in our home but 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗵𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗺𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲.
Your home. Your family. Your choice. ♥ Enjoy the journey, friend. There is so much freedom in deconstructing our current beliefs & rebuilding them to better serve our family.
Tag a friend who needs to hear this today🤗
Ready or not?!
No before you get to excited.. We aren't playing a game of hide & seek 🤣
Let's chat about School Readiness! It's a tough one, to send your babe to school early or wait and send them the year after 🤷♀️ #helpamamaout
So Oscar is 5 next Feb. I was about 80% sure I was going to send him to School next year! I didn't really think much about it, I just thought "yep, he'll be 5 and ready to go".
However I've had mixed opinions from others on the subject. Sara has always said wait, she believes the later the better and working in Early Ed, she has encouraged many parents in the same predicament to do the same. But I've also had others telling me to send him, he'll be fine and he's ready to go! 🙈
So after a bit of reflecting today and a convo with a professional about some of the social, emotional and other challenges we still face with Oscy on the daily, we are now 80% sure he won't be going til 2023.
But I wanna know YOUR thoughts on the topic. Is it better to wait as late as possible? What's your experience?
New scrumptious natural play- DOUGH has hit the shelves today...that new cacao-nut 🤤 #sogood
