Positive vibes about HOMESCHOOLING

I am grateful everyday for the opportunity we have to homeschool.  Its been 12 years since I made the decision to teach our kids at home.  There has been plenty of ups and downs over the years and we haven't tried everything, but we've had a pretty well-rounded schooling experience.  Each year is different, each child learns in their own way and homeschooling is the most adaptable, creative flexible system.  It's always changing.. year to year, month to month, week to week, if necessary.  I'm grateful for the time the kids had in school as well as our "experiments" with different programs.  We are constantly figuring ourselves out as individuals and as a family unit.  It's been a great way for us to get to know each other on deep, fun, creative levels.

The reason why homeschooling works for me is because I surround myself with positive thoughts about it.  There are plenty of difficult and exhausting things about having your kids home all day... and I could focus on them and become a real stressed out mom.  But I've gotten pretty good at focusing on the benefits of having them home and thinking about our future-- what the kids are into and excited about and how to get more of that into our daily schedules..  It's a very forward moving process.  I am constantly brainstorming all of the fun things we can do together.  I put my energy in focusing on all the GOOD and schooling becomes one of the most creative outlets for my kids and I to explore together.. 

Homeschooling is not for everyone, but it CAN be if you want it to be.  If you have goals and focus on them, you can absolutely accomplish them.  Attitude really is everything.  If you don't have a great attitude about your kids learning experience (whether they are taught by you or another teacher) then focus on what you want for them...  What is the best case scenario for your child to learn?  Think about good things and opportunities and get excited about helping them create what excites them.

I believe education happens easy and naturally.  I know it does because I've seen it with my own eyes.  Reading, math, science is an exciting part of life and if there is no enjoyment, then they will not retain it.  It's all about what brings out a light of curiosity and determination.  Learning happens when there is motivation behind it.

We are just ending our school year... one more week of assignments and homework and reports.  We've been able to transition SO BEAUTIFULLY these past two years through our moves.  I cannot imagine how stressful it would have been if my kids had been in school.  They are all taking lots of courses and they have learned so much this year.  Ben is doing a complete high school program through a school in Pennsylvania (Penn Foster High School) I like the program and think it's been really good for Ben, but not sure if I would recommend it because he's a total teachers pet and does it 100% on his own.  He is about 80% finished with his diploma.  Required courses are all completed, he's just picking and choosing his electives.  This boy loves to do homework and write papers (I loved it too and was a great student in school, but I didn't learn much.)  I have no idea what Ben will decide to do when he's graduated.  Either go to college or take fun classes at the local high school (woodshop, plumbing, auto, PE, etc.) or he will just read and learn on his own until one of those options sounds exciting.  I am a huge fan of the book The Brainy Bunch, which is a family's step by step program to get your kids ready for college by age 12.  Pretty inspiring, if you are into higher education.  I also highly recommend getting familiar with the organization called UNCollege, which was founded by a brilliant homeschooler.
  

Out of all the homeschooling curriculum we've tried over the years, Luke has responded the best to MathUSee.  He will often be found doing "work" with this program, but not in a structured way..  We have often found Luke watching the DVDs or figuring out math problems completely for his own enjoyment.  He doesn't share his info or write it down, but he's retaining it. Luke has been taking high school courses through BYU independent study and we have not been impressed by those and will not be signing up for any more in the near future.  Luke is highly driven and motivated to learn, but he's not into homework.  (He doesn't see the point of it and never has.)  He is a designer, an inventor, a builder.  Luke is NOT a time-waster... if the family is watching a movie together, Luke is in another room reading, playing music, folding origami or doing some kind of science experiment.  He is always engaged in a very quiet way..  He's not into screens whatsoever, unless it's to prank someone.  I think school could be awesome for Luke, if it's the right school with the kind of teachers that will let him soar.  He's wise beyond his years.  He will succeed no matter what he does, I would bet my life on it.

Zack has been doing The Life of Fred for math (highly recommend), The Story of the World for history (highly recommend) and Shurley workbooks for English and Grammar (do not recommend.. It reminds me a lot of what kids do in school and it's been boring and a waste of our money.)  Zack is a great reader and is all about books.  He's into Harry Potter, Michael Vey, Chronicles of Narnia, Wrinkle in Time and several other series.  I don't even know how many pages he's read this school year, but I would say it's more than anyone else in the family (besides me..)  He's so excited about the book he's reading.  I always want him to feel this way about his own education.

Simon is kind of behind if you put him up against other Kindergartners.  He's 6 and is my latest reader.  (I think he may be borderline dyslexic, but we haven't gotten him tested yet.) He is just started to get excited about sounding out small words, as in just this week.  I think Aaron has been a little worried about it, but I have never been worried about Simon.  This child will figure out what he needs to figure out when he's ready.  When Aaron rode with Simon in the moving truck all 6 hours, at the end of the roadtrip Aaron said "Simon did NOT stop talking the entire drive.  I can't believe he talks nonstop.  And I am so surprised how smart he is."  That surprised me because duh.  If you are around Simon, you have to know he's smart.  He's brilliant, actually.  Just not reading yet.  I think he's starting to want to put forth the work to start reading because just recently, he's understanding that it's holding him back.  He wants other people to read everything for him (and we do) but now he wants to read it for himself.  He thinks he already knows everything and up to this point in his life, he's been able to make stuff up.  But now he's starting to realize that the stuff he's making up isn't helping him as much as he wants it to.  And he's also starting to stress about making money.  He gets that in order to be successful, he's going to have to read.  Here is a funny convo I had with Simon just the other day.  It makes me smile from ear to ear..

Simon:  What if I won't be able to get a good job when I grow up?

Me:  You can be whatever you want to be because you are the most powerful boy I know.

Simon:  I know, but I can't read.  And I have to read in order to get a good job.

Me:  There are people who don't know how to read who can still make money.  But I do think learning to read is a smart choice.

Simon:  Can I go on a mission if I can't read?

Me:  Sure.  

Simon:  Can I take the bar exam if I can't read?

Me:  No.  If you want to be an attorney like dad, you will need to learn how to read.  Or you will need to pay someone a lot of money to read and write for you.

Simon:  I do not want to pay anyone money to read for me.  So I'm going to learn.  I think I will first go on a mission and then take the bar exam.

Me:  Sounds like a good plan.

Simon:  But mom!  The bar is only like a 60% pass rate.  40% of all the people who take it don't even pass.

And here's where I smile and say, this 6 year old is going places.  I have no idea where he heard those statistics because I doubt Aaron goes around telling him how hard it is to pass the bar, but he picked it up from somewhere.  I do not worry about Simon's street smarts.  He's going to make a ton of money and then hopefully buy me a vacation home in the Cayman Islands.

I do not worry about my girls one bit in the education department.  They are both geniuses in their own way.  (PS. Every child is extremely bright.)  Roma will probably be reading before Simon.  She's an amazing cook and cleaner-- not that those are wife skills that every girl must develop, but she's actually always drawn to them.  Cleaning and cooking makes Roma really happy, so I am going to encourage her to get really good at it.  Because she will change the world with her amazing strong personality and career.  Her cleaning and cooking skills will make it easier for her to change the world..  Eden is so smart as well and talking nonstop.  I can't wait to see what she's drawn to and what excites her.  Right now it's babies and animals.  She would make an amazing vet at this point.  She's a caregiver in every sense of the word.

Do you think about homeschooling your kids?  IF SO-- I would encourage you do to it.  The best time to start is in the SUMMER because there's no pressure if it turns out miserable.  Pretend it's the school year and come up with a fun schedule.  Do art projects, create a weekly menu, read books together, learn something new!  Use it as a practice run for what the school year would be like.  I would highly encourage you to look into it if it's something you're toying with.  If not, no judgment here, school is awesome too.  Just make sure they have teachers who support and love them because real learning can't happen in a stressed out, negative environment, imo.

I've only lived in Nevada and Utah and they both have great programs for supplementing your homeschool schedule.  Nevada passed senate bill 302 which will give each homeschooling child a $5000 spending stipend (it's being challenged in the supreme court as we speak so funds are not available until all of the law suits are settled.) But Utah has a great "charter school" for homeschoolers.  In Utah, my kids were enrolled through My Tech High and this school provided some really great classes for my boys.  Ben and Luke took LEGO Robotics for free through their program (the equipment sent to our door and the instructions and classes online.) My Tech High will also allow you to make your own schedule and reimburse you for the supplies you buy.  You just have to give them a weekly report of what each child is doing.  So this year Luke took photography, Zack and Simon did minecraft (with a teacher and assignments and tutorials, which was better than "wasting time" on a video game) and Ben got all of his Penn Foster courses paid for.  It made homeschooling so much easier and flexible for us!  Plus they took Karate for PE and got those classes paid for through the school.  Super awesome program.  I am a huge fan of a classical education, so a lot of what I order has to do with classics that are at their grade level I use the TJed classic book list for families and the Academy Bookstore to order my kids curriculum (or check it out from the library, which is most often.)

I am not sure what we will do next year.  We are open to a few different options (I've always been open, and always come back to the same conclusion that their time is better spent learning at home.)  But kids are all different and each year they change and need new things, so we are always looking at the school around us and what they have to offer.  But until we decide, we will enjoy our summer.  We love summer!!!!  We've decided to do a screen break this summer.  No movies, no computer, no tablets, no video games ALL SUMMER LONG.  I am so excited.  We are going to swim, read, play ping pong and board games, do lots of arts and crafts, visit the library and write with a pen and pencil.  We are going old school and I need to work out my phone situation (it's currently broken) but I may just go back to a landline this summer and see how it goes.  We are on vacation, baby... but the beauty of homeschooling is that there is no calendar for learning.  There will be no school, but there will be lots of educating.

Hope you can figure out what's best for you and your family.  I am 100% open to coaching parents specifically about homeschooling-- going over the decision to pull kids out of school, setting up learning schedules, helping the kids find their passions, working out ways to inspire and not control their education choices, etc.  If you are interested, email me.  I charge about $50 per session (which lasts about an hour) but there is homework and accountability involved for you-- so it's much more than a hours worth of work.  If you have questions that you want to discuss over email, send them to janetleeshumway@gmail.com

Good luck figuring out what to do for the kids under your umbrella.  I know you will be inspired to make the best choice for your family.   

XOXO