Family Fun 2021: Homeschooling

We have made the decision to homeschool for this upcoming year 2021-2022! Our kids will be entering grades 1 & 3 and we are really excited about this opportunity. We have always taken time to ‘teach them’ whether it be a mini lesson on the Erie Canal or taking them to historical spots on vacation where we delve into History. Life long learning is one thing that Joe and I have in common. We understand that education is not about a piece of paper or that it’s over once a book is closed. There are so many aspects to learn about throughout our lives, it’s impossible to know it all!

We plan on doing a lot of Unit curriculum teaching. I really enjoy the Charlotte Mason approach to education, where you use living books to teach about what happened as opposed to strict textbooks and worksheets. I believe we will incorporate online academies as well as some private lessons where arts are concerned. Joe is in charge of the Science aspect, so I believe our kitchen will be quite the laboratory this upcoming year. Being a former 7-12 English teacher, I have some “unlearning” to do in regards to how we will operate as homeschoolers. This past year and a half as “E-learning students” my children loved their classes over the computer/Google meets but after most of the students went back, there was no more teacher led learning…it was more fend for yourself online and with worksheets.

We have many reasons why we are choosing to homeschool, but the biggest factor is the time freedom. We now have the ability to pick up and leave whenever and go wherever we want. We can pack books, workbooks, laptops etc and actually go do a bit of a ‘road-schooling’ I guess it’s called. First on our list is to visit my Mom and stepdad! Charleston, SC is packed FULL of History and culture. We have so many items on our bucket list I am certain we won’t get to them all….but most importantly? Spending time together as a family.

Some people may disagree with me, but I think part of our problem as a society is the lack of family time. It’s the send the kids off for 8 hours and have nothing but busy & rush rush rush before and after. Too many activities and too many “things” that don’t equate to much other than stress. There was a huge part of me that was incredibly sad the day I put my little girl on a bus at 8:27 and didn’t see her again until almost 4pm. Just because that’s “the norm” doesn’t mean we have to do it. In a way it doesn’t surprise me we’re choosing a different path, as we run our business it’s all about being creative. I think there’s such value in finding what works best for you and finding a way to make it happen. Who knows what this next year may bring, and I can’t tell you for how long we will do this, but for now it’s a new adventure and we are more than ready to begin!

If you have homeschooled, I would love any tips or advice you may have! We are open to learning all the different ways our children can connect and learn with the world around them.