Hindsight certainly is 20/20 isn’t it?
Beginning the homeschool journey is a scary one. Â So many decisions. Â What to buy, how to teach, what to teach, and my favorite, how bad can I screw this up?
Homeschooling really isn’t that hard or that scary!
Here is the list that I wish I would have had when we started homeschooling our oldest 7 years ago.
1.  You don’t need curriculum for preschool, kindergarten, or even first grade.  Spend your money on good quality books, spend time outside and go on field trips.  Homeschool by doing – your kids will thank you.
2. Â Don’t be in a hurry for formal seat work.
3. Â Take time to explore how you like to teach and more importantly, how your child likes to learn.
4. Â Make sure your kids know why you homeschool.
5. Â Don’t bad mouth other school options such as public school, or private school. Â Even thought people may {and probably will} be negative about your homeschooling decision, just smile and carry on.
6. Â When it comes time to choose a particular curriculum, don’t be afraid to choose something different the next year.
7. Â Don’t spend all your time searching for the “perfect” curriculum – it isn’t out there!
8. Â Make sure your children are proficient in math and reading. Â Make sure those math facts are solid and don’t worry about being behind.
9. Â Enjoy and really get to know your children. Â It’s more important than any workbook page or any project they will ever complete.
10. Â Don’t worry about what others are doing – be confident and choose your own homeschool path.
What do you wish you would have known before you started homeschooling?
Join me each Tuesday for the next 10 weeks as I team up with the lovely ladies at iHN for 10 in 10
Great list Jen! I spent all summer one year doing #7 and I drove myself CRAZY! Not making that mistake again 🙂
Yes I know! Now I always make my curriculum choices before the end of our year so I can forget about it for a bit during the summer!
This list is right on the mark! And there is definitely no such things as the perfect curriculum!
Excellent points, Jen! We’re moving very slowly through math, too.
Looking forward to reading more.
Great list Jen! 8)
This may sound silly, but I wish I had known more “come backs” to negative questions, and I’m not talking about nasty come backs.
“Ten Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Started Homeschooling”
Ten things I wish I HAD KNOWN before I started homeschooling. This weird modern tendency to substitute “would have” where “had” is correct is one of my (homeschooling) pet peeves.
Thank you for pointing out the error and taking the time to leave a comment! Have a great weekend, and Happy Mother’s Day.
Spot on! My favorite is “homeschool by doing”.
I’m enjoying all of your homeschooling posts, Jen. Somehow I missed this one awhile back. Oh, how I wish that I had this list 8 years ago…I did everything wrong! Now, in this season of life, I know why God called me to this other vocation of homeschooling…He had so much to teach me:)