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Whether you are new to homeschooling, or a seasoned veteran, it always helps to have reality checks.
New or current homeschooler? Just starting your school year or in the thick of it? We all have our own ideals for homeschooling. The perfect environment, the perfect curriculum, the perfect schedule, the perfect balance of academics, creativity, and socialization.
Ideals are good. Goals are good. Reality is good, too. No matter how much we plan, life is going to intrude on our schooling. Someone will get sick, the grocery shopping will have to get done, the car will have to be taken into the mechanic...or something else.
So, here is a short list for when you need a reality check:
- Make plans
- Yes, go ahead and plan. Schedules are good. Children often like to know how things are going to go. It helps moms and dads, too.
- Be Flexible
- These are probably the two most important words in homeschooling. You are home, not in a sterile office environment. Things will come up. Just remember that life can be a lesson in itself, when needed.
- Housework can wait
- We do not have to have a perfect home in order to homeschool. Let the dishes go until later.
- Sometimes ordering a pizza is worth it
- There are days when a quick meal you do not have to cook will seem like a miracle. Work a few into your schedule, and use them when necessary.
- Remember why you are doing it
- When a day gets crazy and you feel your sanity slipping, remember why you are homeschooling.
No one said it was going to be easy. It won't be! Rewarding? Certainly! We all lose our grip on what one human being (usually named Mom) can do. When you find yourself straying far from the idealistic homeschool you had imagined, just give yourself a quick reality check, and jump back into the fray.
Have fun!
The copyright of the article Realistic Homeschooling in Homeschooling is owned by Christine Alcott. Permission to republish Realistic Homeschooling in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Comments
Aug 20, 2006 11:13 AM
Irene Taylor :
Hi Christine,
What a great article on realistic homeschooling!
You offer some excellent advice that is pertinent to every homeschooling
parent - and indeed, every parent as well. Your ideas are great - and I
think we all need a bit of reality from time to time!
Thanks for
an excellent article!
Irene
Sep 21, 2006 7:31 AM
Kate Copsey :
Christie
I came across your article this morning and wish I had come
across it earlier! We have a major dilemna brewing with our youngest's
school. It is a great environment but multiaged the youngest 7 and eldest
(ours) is 11. There are four kids and they are taught at apparently their
own speed. The problem is that our child, who has Asperger's, was poor in
math and struggling in most subjects but completed 4th grade last yr. We
thought the small classroom and numbers in this new school would bring out
the best in him and fill in all those gaps that he missed along the way.
Alas the teacher, who does not have much experience, IMHO, is treating them
all like idiots! He is learning 3rd grade math and how to write in
cursive!!! When I questioned this I was told that they didn't know his
capabilities and as he wasn't getting 100% on his math they would progress
slowly and could advance when the teacher though he was confident enough.
Yesterday I ordered 4th/5th grade math and grammar books. We paid up
front for this expensive school, but I truly think we need to bolster up
the academics so that he is learning somthing at his proper age level.
The real dilemna is if I should leave him learning at the level they have
him, where he is happy or wreck that by pushing alittle to get him caught
up.
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