My Reflections on Six Years of Homeschooling

Another homeschool year in the books.  My kids and I have been doing this homeschool thing for six years now.  I know I’m the teacher, but I sure feel like I learn just as much, if not more, than my kids each year.  I’m constantly changing my mind or finding a rhythm or routine that works well for myself or a particular kid.  Our family’s homeschool journey began with my oldest in kindergarten and now there are three kids at the table in three different grade levels. God is good.

As I reflect back on the past six years, my mindset has changed so much.  I’m a little less: do-all-the-things and a little more: do-what’s-essential.  I’ve grown from feeling like ‘school should look like school’ to ‘learning happens all the time’.  I’ve moved away from the same rhythm everyday to a little more freedom in our schedule.  Being able to choose the way we live and learn is a gift I hope I never take for granted.  Let’s dig in a bit more to my reflections on six years of homeschooling.

My Reflections on Six Years of Homeschooling

Complete doesn’t equal competency.

Just because a workbook or curriculum is completed, doesn’t mean learning happened.  Checkmarks don’t equate to competency.  Although, for this checklist-loving-Momma, I wish it were true. 

This year two of my kids completed their language arts curriculum and one will finish it in the fall.  One kid completed and began next year’s math curriculum and two are still working on this year’s.  Just because a kid completes a workbook, doesn’t mean he knows all he needs to know and vice versa.  Learning is a continuum and it’s important for me to remember that just because something’s done, doesn’t mean it’s learned. This is a hard one, but a true one.

Spontaneity breeds fun.

Homeschooling three kids has amped up my to-do list.  It’s easy to get stuck in the rut of just getting through things to get them done.  See above.  However, when I make space for us to have spontaneity, we are all in a better place.  The days I remember the most this year are the ones that didn’t look like the rest.  And I can guarantee the same is true for my kids.  School at the coffee shop or park, letting go of a few things to go to a wildlife preserve, day trips to local spots.  Not only were these days fun, but we (all) learned things, too.  Fun matters.

Intentionality matters when it comes to priorities.

No one can do it all.  A homeschooling Momma knows this truth well.  This year I spread us too thin.  Things crept in that weren’t priorities.  We got sucked into things that were good things, but not the most important things.  I noticed this about six months late, but better late than never.  Moving forward I hope to be more intentional with the things that matter to us.

Reading aloud is something I both enjoy and believe is vitally important to learning.  This year we did not read aloud as much as I would have liked.  It fell to the wayside because I let other things get in the way.  Next year I hope to be more intentional in this area.  I’m not sure how I will do this, but I intend to think through it this summer.  When we know our priorities, we can be intentional with them.  

There is no such thing as multitasking.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I had a moment in April where I decided to stop multitasking.  I was multitasking too much during our homeschooling time and I paid for it with my patience and my kids paid for it with a scattered brain Mom.  Mid-April I decided no more.  And guess what?  Our days ran smoother.  They were a tad bit longer, but I was a more peaceful Momma and our home was a more peaceful place.  I’ve learned the hard way that multitasking is an illusion.  Something always suffers when we are trying to do more than one thing at a time.  

Community is work, but worth it.

A homeschooling friend a few years ahead of me once said: When your kid finds a good friend, do what you can to foster the friendship.  This was maybe some of the best advice I’ve received as a homeschooling Mom.  We have been lucky enough the past few years to find and foster incredible community.  We have a few families our kids play with on a weekly basis.  We have an incredible journey group at church.  We are on year two of our (not so) little co-op, which has been an answer to prayer. 

Community is work.  Plans need made, materials prepped, children picked up and cared for, snacks dished out, volunteers scheduled, children taught.  But it’s such worthwhile work.  I have never regretted one ounce of time spent fostering community with my kids.  

I’m grateful for the freedom and opportunity our family has had to homeschool these past six years.  It is such a gift to do life this way.  As we move into summer, I hope to consider and think through how to make next year just a teensy bit better and more in line with our priorities and vision for how our family wants to live. I hope my reflections on six years of homeschooling inspires you to reflect on this last school year.

Reflect

Whether you’re a homeschooling Momma or not, reflection can be a powerful thing.  If you’re up for it, reflect and think through the past nine to ten months. A few simple questions to guide you:

What went well this school year? What was a pain point?

Write it down and circle back to it in August to see if there are changes you can make to the school year to make life run a bit more smoothly.  Happy Summer, friends!