Mid-Year Homeschool Update

This year, we switched to homeschooling. I had a lot of pre-conceived notions and wasn't sure how it would work out for our family. However, it has turned out to be a huge blessing for our family, and much better than what we left. It was a decision that was abundantly prayed over for 6 years, and looking at where we are, I would definitely recommend it!

There are SO MANY more resources out there now than when I was growing up. Sometimes there can be too many, but I am of the mind-set of "Keep It Simple Sweetie," so that helps me weed through all the extra.

We have a lot of friends & acquaintences that have homeschooled, so coming into this, I had some knowledge of what we were getting in to. I met with quite a few to ask questions before we got started. They all shared their victories and their valleys. All used different curriculums and had different methods. Some were do it all themselves, some are on hybrid models through a private school. Some do DVD-based learning, and some do exclusively parent-led learning. That was encouraging to see the flexibility that homeschooling offered. Little did I know last spring how important that would be for us later on down the road.

At the mid-year point, I am feeling re-assured & positive about this format of education for our family. Going into homeschooling, James and I made the decision to take it day-by-day and one year at a time. This took the pressure of perfection off of my shoulders (which I tend to struggle with), and allowed me an out if I ever felt like it was just too much.

While everyone has their reasons for wanting to homeschool, there are so many benefits to it. Here are a few that we have found...

ACADEMIC

Both of my kids are still achieving honor roll, which is something we were mindful of when we took them out of a traditional setting. Would they still learn well? So far, the answer is yes. Our little beau LOVES math, and little belle is all about the arts.

One thing I love is that they get to learn at their own pace. We can speed up or slow down if there is an area where they need extra assistance.

Our family went through an infinite amount of transition in 2020-2021. With all that change, I wanted the kids to have something familiar to them. So, we opted to keep them on the BJU Press Curriculum they were using at their old school. The homeschool version is exactly the same as what they had before, and since I had substitute taught at their old school, I was somewhat familiar with the lesson plan books. It's not difficult - notes for the teacher are written in black & what you say to the students is in blue. It is a TON of work on my end to teach 14 lessons a day, but it has significantly eased their transition. Depending on how many kids you are teaching, that's something to consider. Will you be teaching all the lessons yourself, will you have a video-led teaching format, or a combination of both? Next year, we plan to implement some of the dvd-based instruction to add a little more flexibility and independence for them.

Currently, it takes us about 3 hours to get through our schoolwork. Sometimes less, and sometimes more if we take a day off and double up the following day. That didn't seem like much to me, but after talking to friends who are teachers, when you factor in lunch breaks, potty breaks, recess, class changes, etc. that's about how much time the average student spends in the classroom learning.

We also joined a co-op this year, which has been an unexpected blessing. I truly believe that joining a co-op has made all the difference for us. The kids attend a school-like setting at a local church, one day per week, where they take elective classes. The kids' best friends attend there, and it has been a wonderful option for us! I feel like as the parent/teacher, it takes the pressure off of me a little bit. It gives them a community of friends & activities, while coming alongside us and allowing them opportunities to explore topics they are really interested in.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR

Our little beau is super active in sports, and that was something my husband was concerned about when we left a traditional school setting. We found that there are actually many options for homeschoolers. We still participate in little league, and our co-op has sports teams where he can be active too.

Our little belle hasn't quite decided what she wants to do just yet, but is leaning toward horseback riding or dance classes again. We are in the midst of that decision making right now.

There are SO MANY options for daytime activities which is nice! We don't have to utilize all our evenings or weekends for these.

FLEXIBILITY

This has been the biggest change for our family. We have always had a highly-structured environment. My husband works an unusual work schedule, so homeschool has been wonderful for that aspect. He's always been an active daddy, but now he gets to spend even more time with them. J loves that he can take the kids out on lunch dates on his off days, or go off on a hike when the weather is nice, so we try to accommodate for things like that. We are intentional about spending time with him when he's off work. Healthcare jobs are rarely M-F, 9-5 so I like that our kids get to see that things don't always have to be cookie-cutter.

We still do field-trips with our homeschool friends! This was another thing that I was intentional about with the kids. They LOVED field trip days with their friends, so we have continued that on. We have a lot of homeschool friends, so we get together monthly or bi-monthly for special outings. We have done the pumpkin patch, museum, etc., and have a ninja warrior day coming up soon! This spring, we plan to go to the zoo, the children's museum, butterfly farm, and more!

COST

The cost is INCREDIBLY cheaper than a private school. We did the math last summer and we were paying $829 per month in tuition over 12 months for both of our kids to attend a private, Christian school. That came out to be about $10,000 per year, and didn't include uniforms, various supplemental charges, meals, etc. When you add all that extra in, you're looking at another $1000+ per year.

Our homeschool curriculum costs were around $2000 for the full curriculum for both 2nd & 4th grade materials. It came with everything you need, including visuals and manipulatives. Nothing extra was needed. A lot of my homeschool friends actually spend even less than that. We made our final decision so late in the summer of 2021, that we opted to just order a brand new, full set this year. You can find lesson books much cheaper second-hand. Often, you can get curriculums that are used for half the price.

We saved $75-100 on school supplies, because we only purchased what we actually needed.

And our co-op costs were $35 one-time fee to join, and around $50 per class for the semester, so that wasn't a significant cost either, compared to what we were spending previously.

We didn't qualify for scholarships or grants, so all of the costs for private school were out-of-pocket for us. Overall, the switch has been a HUGE difference for us financially.

What about Mom & Dad? When do you spend time together?

When the kids were in a traditional school setting, we used to do lunch dates while they were in school. Now we do those when they are in co-op. Sometimes it's lunch at home, and sometimes we go out, but having a little bit of time were we can connect builds a good foundation for our family. So, that is one piece of advice I would give - be intentional about making time to spend with your spouse.

A little encouragement...

There will be good days, and there will be challenging days. It comes with the territory. Yesterday was our first full day back from Christmas break, and it was TOUGH getting my ducks in a row and keeping everyone on track. However, that's not the norm. You have to take the challenges with the victories. Kids are kids. Moms are moms. We all make mistakes, and there are so many opportunities to learn (for all of us). The good days have far outweighed the not-so-good.

At the end of the day, I would highly recommend homeschool if you are looking for an alternative to traditional school.

We will continue to take it day-by-day and a year at a time. We are already planning for next fall and what changes we think we'd like to make.

I hope that helps to answer some questions you might have. If there was something I didn't answer, feel free to ask away in the comments!

Be blessed,

Kimberly