Homeschooling
I get soooooo many questions about homeschooling. Panicked mamas messaging me and asking what age my kids were reading/doing math, what curriculum are we doing, how many hours we spend on school....
Society has tricked parents into believing they’re not capable of teaching and equipping their own children for life. Somehow, what worked for thousands of years has changed into something scary and unattainable for the average person.
Let me just say this about homeschooling:
It’s not that hard.
Really.
I promise.
Most parents think that you have to spend the same amount of hours doing school at home as children do in the classroom- and that is definitely not the case. Children learn really quickly when they’re one-on-one, vs the one-on-twenty ratio at most schools. You can easily teach your kiddo something in 10-15 minutes that they would spend over an hour on at school.
Each of my children are so different, and their learning styles, strengths and weaknesses all vary as well.
I had one kid reading prolifically before their 4th birthday, and another who didn’t until they were 8! I have one who has mild dyslexia and wrote backwards for YEARS, one who easily excels at math, one who taught herself to read...
My oldest has written several books, which was nothing I ever asked her to do, or even taught her how to do! Writing was something she enjoyed, so she taught herself things like character development and how to create efficient outlines.
My son enjoys cooking, so he taught himself (and is teaching his siblings) how to make his own breads, pastas, pretzels, donuts, candies, ice cream, and several different delicious meals. In the process he has naturally learned quite a bit of science and math too!
All 3 of my oldest could pretty much run the household if needed. They know how to cook healthy meals, do laundry, clean the house, use basic remedies and supplements if someone were sick or not feeling well, change diapers, bathe babies, entertain toddlers, and anything else you can think of! And kiddo #4 can do almost all that is listed above as well!
#5 knew all of his letters, numbers, shapes, colors, vegetables, fruits, planets at age 2! (Thank you, YouTube )
They’re all confident, secure, and can easily carry on a conversation with adults.
I don’t say this to brag! I am sure not a perfect teacher, and my kids aren’t perfect students.
There have absolutely been times in this journey where I have doubted my ability, or felt crazy overwhelmed with the task of making sure these kids are prepared for life.
Have you guys ever heard of John Taylor Gatto? He was a public school teacher in New York for almost 30 years, a world renowned speaker for another 20, and author of several incredible books.
Gatto was a huge advocate of “unschooling”, and believed that when ready, and in the right environment, children could learn incredible amounts in short periods of time.
Gatto concluded that "It only takes about 50 contact hours to transmit basic literacy and math skills well enough that kids can be self-teachers from then on."
As a family, we have pretty much proven this to be true! I’m so thankful for Gatto’s research and books in showing how little “formal” education our kids really need. It takes the pressure off and allows them to be kids, which they need more than anything!
This is one of my favorite articles on the subject:
“Do you want to know what kids want to do? They want to dawdle. They want to explore. They want to sniff the dandelions and squish mud between their toes. They want to laugh and they want to run. They want to read exciting books in your lap and then move on to reading exciting books in the space between two strong branches of a tree. They want expanses of time to satisfy their curiosities and to learn how to relate to themselves and to others. And do you know why they want to do these things? Because each of these things will contribute to their development in deep and untold ways. Children desperately need their childhood hours. Let's give them some back!”
If this mindset stresses you out and you really wanted to replicate exactly what happens in school, check out this article by Raising Wildflower Kids that shows you how to do exactly that, but in less than 2 hours per day.
I usually joke that one of my main reasons for homeschooling is because I get to sleep in...but seriously, check out this next article:
“We’ve got a sleep deprived society” and “This is an international issue. Everybody is suffering and they don’t have to.”
His idea was to move the start time of a school in Britain from 8.30 am to 10.00 am. Upon testing this theory at a chosen school, after a certain amount of time and a further wave of exams, he wasn’t surprised to see that the attendance levels had improved along with the general productivity of the school – and most importantly the students’ grades were up drastically.
https://newspunch.com/work-before-10am-torture/
If you feel called to homeschool, I promise that you can do it! Even if you don’t FEEL equipped, YOU are! 
If we can do it, your family can!
