I have been homeschooling for 4 years now and looking back, I made a lot of mistakes. Honestly, if I had done more research ahead of time, things might have gone smoother. It all worked out though and we are now in a good homeschooling groove, even with 4 kids in the house. So to help you not make the same mistakes I did, I compiled my top 5 mistakes I made, and that you can avoid.
Mistake 1: Not doing my research.
As I mentioned, I could have avoided a lot of hassle if I had done my research. When I say research, this is what I mean. I should have asked these questions.
- What is your why? Why are you deciding to homeschool in the first place? Here is our why.
- What is my budget?
- Do I want a secular or religion-based curriculum and does it share my values?
- Do I want an all-in-one curriculum bundle or do I want to piece each subject together on your own?
- Do I want an open-and-go curriculum or one I have to prepare for beforehand? We use this one.
- Do I want to be able to teach various ages at the same time and with the same curriculum or do I want a different curriculum for each child?
- Does it match my family's learning styles?
- What do the reviews say?
- Do I want an online program, a book-based program, or a hybrid?
- Do I plan on reusing the same curriculum for the next child?
- Is there a return policy if the curriculum isn't a good fit?
- Do I want to print off what you want for the day or have books for everything?
- Does the curriculum follow my state standards?
- How many days do I want to school?
- Do I plan on using a co-op, if so, does that co-op have a curriculum they use?
- How am I going to keep records? Does the program offer a way or will I need to do it myself?
Make sure you ask and answer all of these questions before you begin homeschooling. It will help you so much and prevent a lot of mistakes!
There may be links on this page that will give me earnings at no additional cost to you. As an
Mistake 2: Doing too much at a time.
When I first started homeschooling, I bought an all-in-one curriculum. It had everything needed to teach my oldest. Well, everything except notebooks, pencils, arts and crafts materials, science projects, a kid's Bible, a unit study on apples and pumpkins, a homeschool mommy planner, a desk, etc etc. You get the point, I got a lot of extra stuff just for my first year of homeschooling. I DIDN'T NEED IT OR USE IT ALL!
Go slow!
You will have 12+ years to teach your kids everything you want and need. You don't have to put in the extra unit study or cool science project right now. In your first year of homeschooling, focus on routine and your child's interests. You can see how we schedule our homeschool day now so it's much more manageable. Our Homeschool Schedule.
Mistake 3: Not trying out the free samples before purchasing the full curriculum.
Did you know that many curriculums let you sample their curriculum for free? Well, I didn't. I thought the only way I'll know if my kids will like it is to just buy it and figure it out later. Big mistake. Once you narrow your curriculum choices down, look for some samples to download and print off. See how your kids do with 1 lesson. See how long it takes them, how challenging it is, and if they find it fun.
Also, take note of how much it requires from you. Do you have to teach a lot, explain things, or gather a lot of materials? How much did you have to help? Did it teach things in a way that made sense to you? Could you do a lesson like that every day?
In addition to samples, they might even have some placement assessments to see which level to start your child at. This is important because not every curriculum is going to teach the same things and could have your child on a different level.
For example the curriculum Saxon Math has a free pdf placement test to make sure it is the right curriculum for you.
Sonlight also offers lots of samples to figure out which level is best for you and if their curriculum fits your homeschool. Here is the link to their samples page.
Mistake 4: Not asking other moms how they like the curriculum.
You are probably already members of mom groups on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Utilize them! Ask them about the curriculums you found. See what their experiences are and what would apply to your family. Just make sure to think about if someone else's negative, might be a positive in your home. For example, someone might complain that the lessons are too short and easy. What is easy for their child, might be just right for yours. Here is a snippet of a post on a mom group I follow as an example.
Mistake 5: Putting too much pressure on myself.
This is YOUR family. You make the choices that are in the best interest of your whole family. That means if you are burnt out and a grumpy mama, you probably need a break. If your kid misses a day of school, or a week of school, or even a month of school, they will be alright! You can always move your school year dates, double up on the easy stuff, or take out some of the planned activities.
You are the parent, teacher, principal, and custodian. That is a lot of responsibility and roles to undertake. By taking time to care for yourself, you will be better at accomplishing the requirements of each role. You don't have to do it all, all the time. You have to find balance! See how I find balance in my blog Master the Art of Balancing SAHM and Christian Homeschooling Roles with Ease
I have to remind myself of this often. When we have spent over an hour on ONE piece of paper, I know we need to just stop. I am not a failure because my kid didn't know how to finish the work, or didn't stay focused on it. I don't have to finish it right now. We can always come back to it or I can find another method or activity to teach it.
I love using a digital planner like Homeschool Planet because I can mark things as partially complete and move them to the next school day. I can also move it directly to whatever date I want. It really takes a lot of pressure to have all my lessons planned and easily changeable. Check out Homeschool Planet yourself! They even have a 30-day free trial.
Conlusion
Embarking on the homeschooling journey can be a mix of excitement and uncertainty. I remember those initial days when I took on more than I could handle, pressured myself into being the ‘perfect' homeschooling parent, and hesitated to ask the much-needed questions. Oh, the anxiety and exhaustion were daunting! But hey, let's turn those mistakes into stepping stones for a smoother path!
I've now mastered the art of striking a balance and ensuring that learning at home becomes a joy, not a task. I'm happy to have shared my insights and tips with you to make your homeschooling experience a breeze. No need to reinvent the wheel when you can learn from my experience, and avoid the pitfalls I stumbled upon.
