Whether you are about to embark on your homeschooling journey, or are continuing into another year, the new year is a great time to take a fresh look and consider your family’s expression of learning. What I like to call finding your groove.
It can be overwhelming to know where to start with homeschooling. Although talking to others, reading books or blogs or following others online, can be inspiring, it can also leave you feeling inadequate to guide your child/ren in their learning. It can be difficult to know how to create your own family’s expression of learning. All families are different. All parents are unique. Each child is one of a kind. It is not possible to take a ‘one size fits all’ approach to learning. The more my children grow, the truer this becomes. There is no ‘fool-proof’ homeschool model.
So….how do you find your own groove?
Starting with you is always a great place to begin. Who are you? What do you love? What do you enjoy and love to do? What skills and interests are you comfortable with? How can you share this with your child/ren? If you love the bush, take your children out for nature walks and learn about native plants together. If you love to paint, set yourself and your child/ren up with paints and create a masterpiece together or show them some brush strokes to learn. If you love to read, snuggle up on the couch with a drink (hot or cold depending on the weather) and enjoying letting your imagination run wild together. Embrace YOU! Your talents, loves and joys. Start within your comfort zone. This is the foundation of finding your own groove.
Next, moving onto your child/ren is a great next step. Who are they? What makes them tick? What do they love to do or learn about? Where do their interests lie? Help them explore, grow and flourish into these things. Take them to the library to learn more about topics. Meet up with friends, family or people in the community who are experts in an area of interest to them. And best of all, learn WITH them. Learning alongside your child/ren brings strong connection and deep learning. Your child/ren’s unique interests and ways of learning contributes to your own family groove.
What about all the other scary stuff? Algebra? Chemistry? Grammar and punctuation? Other languages? And so on??? There really are many options with ‘the rest’.
purchase a highly supported program: If you’re keen on teaching your child/ren in an area you don’t feel confident in, there are many options out there of programs that are designed to follow step by step or even scripted.
Use an online program where children use a device to learn and practise skills in a subject area such as maths, English, other languages etc.
enrol in various workshops run in the wider homeschool community that touch on different topics.
outsource a subject area to a friend or family member who has the skills and passion to teach your child/ren. You may even learn alongside them. This can be done in a homeschool community group.
enrol your child/ren in a full day or half day program where teachers can regularly teach your child in an area you’re not confident in. This can also give you a break to take a breather, focus on other children or time to work.
Do not fear the unknown or uncomfortable – outsource, learn together or upskill. See it as an opportunity to learn with your child/ren. How you include these areas into your learning will all become part of your family's unique groove.
So you, dear parent can confidently guide your child/ren in their own unique journey of life long learning! You will find your groove soon enough. Give yourself grace and time in this process. Don’t try to copy someone else’s expression of family learning, create your own. No one is like you! Embrace, impart and enjoy the journey of learning together in your own way. What a joy and privilege.
blessings,
Penny
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