I’ve been homeschooling for quite a while. I started in 2006 with a four-year-old and a newborn. We didn’t do much, but we had time every day to read some stories, play with playdough, paint, or something similar, and engage in hands-on activities to master basic preschool skills. We had a lot of fun and took some great field trips. We developed some good habits.
I homeschooled in 2007 when another newborn arrived. I was homeschooling in 2008 while I carried our fifth son, and I homeschooled in 2009 after we buried him. In 2010, we needed more social interaction, so we joined a co-op and kept on home educating. And so on. We graduated our older son and his co-op friends during the pandemic and sent them to college. Most graduated from university this year or have made considerable career strides. Our other sons have both graduated from high school and are working on their university degree plans.
We have tried different curricula over the years, swapping out math and phonics programs, as well as science and writing curricula, as needed due to time, space, budget, or learning style constraints. We’ve worked hard, expanding our workload as the boys grew up. We’ve also worked hardly at all, taking breaks for house projects, vacations, and family fun. We celebrated great successes and suffered through miserable failures. But the middle son moved into the university of his choice and is playing his sport and working on a degree, so we must be doing something right.
But there is no magic program for any subject. There is no kid for whom everything is easy, no perfect parent, and no beautiful schoolroom that will do everything you need forever. Plans break down, kids grow and change, and life suddenly spawns new circumstances you didn’t ask for and can’t control.
Instead of perfect plans, there is the grace of God, the benefits of good habits, and the consistency of showing up every day to be with your kids as they learn. Be with them as they grow. Give them new challenges and help them set new goals, slowly increasing their skill level from that of a child to that of an adult in all areas.
You don’t have to work all the time. You can take breaks, adjust assignments, and change plans. The 180 days required by the Oklahoma Constitution only make up about half a year. But if you show up for that half the year, you’ll make significant progress, and so will your kids.
The key to successful homeschooling is consistency. Just keep moving forward.
