Helpful Homeschool memories.......
Dear Friends,
In the last few weeks I’ve received lots of requests for help and questions on how to homeschool, where do I start and what do I do? I am by no means an expert , I have friends who have homeschooled all their children right through to college but I’m happy share the information I do know and what worked for our family during the 5 years we homeschooled from our barn in Sonoma.. So here’s some information to get you started....
We loved homeschooling and our homeschooling community. At times it was challenging as it requires an “ all in commitment “ by the parent or parents co-sharing the role of being the educator but we found it does increase the bond with your child or children and it’s an experience you’ll cherish forever.
I created this blog to share my thoughts , ideas and resources and I’ll do my best to post regularly as I remember what worked and what didn’t for us !!! .........and I promise to keep it real. It wasn’t all roses. So when you have those days where you want to go to bed at 4pm or sit in your car to just escape your children just know - I know !
When our family decided to homeschool from 2014-2019 we had 4 children in 3 different grades. Over a 5 year period we had started with twins in Pre K and finished with an 8th grader ready for Highschool. After 5 years as a family we all decided we were ready to re enter the system and take a break from the style of learning that we loved. Homeschooling was an amazingly beautifuil, supportive community that helped me both as a mother and as an educator of my children.
It’s important for me to share that homeschooling for us was a way of life. It was my full time job. I didn’t coach sports like I do today. I didn’t do fulltime study. I homeschooled my children. This was my full time job and it took all my time and energy. I didn’t try to fit additional activities in and for my that made the task easier. Some homeschooling moms can master this task of juggling work and educating in the home, I wasn’t one of them. Educating 4 kids was enough for me. It was rewarding and fulfilled me in so many ways as my community was so rich. I was blessed to be in a situation where I did not have to work outside the home and was able to devote those years to my children and spend time I knew I wouldn’t get again.
In a way I’m trying to look at this Covid down time as another time to enjoy quality time with the family again too, despite the fear and uncertainty that surrounds it.
I sympathize with all the parents feeling stressed about the educational options for their child but please feel at ease knowing that California is one of the best states for alternative education, so if it’s out there California has it ! The other states are not that far behind , North Carolina I hear is apparently even better. So take a deep breath ! It took me 2 years to relax into homeschooling so I don’t expect one blog to ease your mind.
When I made the decision to homeschool these were the first websites I went to and the people I contacted responded fairly quickly within a few days and helped connect me with others, it snowballed from there.
https://www.
https://www.hsc.org/
https://m.facebook.com/
Every year I would attend :
https://
This was always an amazing 2-3 day homeschool conference event with speakers and basically where I would source my supplies for the next year from the adjoining homeschool convention. It was also a wonderful networking event.
When I first started out homeschooling and was a complete newbie , coming from San Francisco Waldorf School into the country we decided to stick with Oak Meadow Curriculum. This was designed for complete grade/year packages and helped you step by step in your delivery in educating you child with as much or as little support as you needed.
https://www.oakmeadow.com
If you are looking for more traditional style of learning and wanted complete year packages check out :
Abeka has complete grade packages
https://www.abeka.com/
Alpha Omega has a selection to choose from and will walk you through the process of which homeschool program is right for your family.
https://www.aop.com
This next homeschool program is traditional Waldorf but I still feel this is one the best styles of learning to really try to avoid being stuck inside in front of a screen, go check it out. They really try to educate in real world time, developed by experienced educators. My eldest thrived on this curriculum.
https://www.
Rich in History it is an alternative style of learning but never dull and the children will love the subjects like Botany, Greek Mythology, form drawing which is like an artistic introduction into geometry.
Secular homeschooling kits -
https://timberdoodle.com/
https://www.
https://www.bookshark.com/.
Has always been one of my favorites for younger learners.
Few other notable websites:
https://www.
https://www.time4learning.com/
Few of my favorites learning websites that I go to regularly, Khan Academy, Beautiful Feet Books, Beast Academy, no more tears Handwriting, BJU press, Spelling City, Saxson Math ( not that exciting but very solid content)
For classes :
https://outschool.com/
https://www.quantumcamp.com/
For outdoor classes :
https://www.vildanature.org/
https://www.connollyranch.org/
For supplies ( if you plan to teach Waldorf style ) I like Paper Scizzors Stone
https://www.waldorfsupplies.
I hope this gets you started and I’ll post again soon. Please reach out to our state homeschool organization first, they are the backbone of our community. What I have shared today isn’t even the tip of the iceberg, these are just thoughts.....
Stay safe, much love B
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