Why do so many of us continue to suffer silently?
Countless homeschoolers have been reaching out to me regarding their “problems” within their homeschools. Many parents are too shy to opening up about this topic with their local homeschooling mom friends or judgmental family.
They don’t know who to turn to for help and there are often few professional resources for homeschooling parents (not including most bloggers and YouTubers as professional resources here) on how to actually run an effective homeschool.
This material can not be presented by just anyone. After two decades of being in the educational business, even I use the proper opinions of skilled curriculum experts, not my own opinion (I share their research in my courses).
I think the “silent shame or suffering” that parents have had needs to end. So many deserve some help. Believe me, I also know that the help is desperately needed as the number of women who have reached out to me has grown immensely over the years.
Sometimes it’s the feelings of not knowing where to begin, if they are doing things right or their feelings of inadequacy in teaching certain subjects or homeschooling at all, that can sometimes really get parents down.
If you also would like some help, you are not alone!
For those who don’t know me, I am a licensed educator and have worked in both the public and private sector in the United States and Dubai for the past twenty years. I have homeschooled for years and have also worked a great deal in the homeschooling community. I have met so many beautiful women and families along the way that have inspired me to share what I know.
My work as a teacher, an administrator, a consultant to principals and school boards and the fact that I am also a parent myself, has led many women to come to me with their questions. I welcome them with open arms. I cannot begin to tell you what such a wide range of exposure to our schooling systems at all levels has taught me (I share a lot of it in my homeschool training courses in detail).
There is so much I wish someone would have told me years ago and that I am so grateful that I know now. I have a passion for sharing it. Let’s just say it opened my mind to homeschooling and incorporating the best out there and being mindful to keep out what definitely doesn’t work for children.
What I wish to share today is a culmination of a lifetime of teaching and training, as well as thousands of conversations with parents and homeschoolers about their struggles and needs.
Here are the 6 Essentials of a Successful Homeschool:
I cannot tell you how many women that I speak to that do not have a clear vision of where they want to by the end of the year. For myself, I have a pocket notebook that I use for my different subjects such as Math, Science, Social Studies and etc. and I always have it as my go-to document regularly.
If you do not have a clear idea you could probably rethink your standards and goals. However, if you are non-schooler or traditional schooler you might have your own personal goals that don’t necessarily include things such as benchmarks and Standards. There are individual goals for each child, as there are goals for children who might be behind in reading or arithmetic
In either case, goals and record keeping needs to be in the forefront of homeschool planning. There has to be some way that you are keeping track of whether or not each child is meeting their goals.
Check out the training course for goal setting here.
A lot of moms that I talked to don’t measure the progress of their child and for example, there are upcoming unit exams the coming weeks then you might check the progress of your child however it must not be done that way because you must monitor them regularly.
I have a note-taking strategy that is super simple that is about 5 words, as a busy mom I do not have time for a tremendous number of documents. It is super easy that I have it every time, you can actually do it in a written assessment or activity in order for you to check if your child has reached that certain goal. The bottom line is you have to check their progress from time to time with your own means and in the proper way.
Check out the training course for measuring progress here.
There are many curriculums out there, but MOST are not aligned to the standards and not all will match the specific skill set, level and learning style of of your child. This is super critical to choose the right curriculum so that you will be sure that the curriculum will fit the learning style of your child and check if it is comprehensible and comfortable to teach because at the end of the day if you do not feel confident then nothing will happen.
Check out the training course for choosing curriculum here (my Master List of the best curriculum is included).
At the beginning of the year, you actually get the curriculum for your different subjects and break it down. For example, you can take a curriculum that is of one grade and the other and you can overlap them just be sure that you do it in the right way.
Not having a yearly plan can cause a child to fall behind in their studies. Also, it is critical that we are organized and have the materials on hand when needed. I usually make a resource list ahead of time particularly in August or September so that I will be ready.
I also schedule trips ahead of time. You can schedule an extended activity in your local area, or you can have a vacation across the ocean in a country of at your favorite destination. Both extend the effectiveness of your studies if properly planned and aligned with your current studies.
Are we all as organized as we would like to be?
Maybe not. However, I will say that we need to be. The success of our family is on the line. Have you ever met an unorganized teacher of have had the unpleasantry of being taught by them. I sure have. What a train wreck. Do we want to put our child(ren)’s educational future in jeopardy? I sure don’t want to be responsible for their failure. Let’s work hard to put a sure-fire plan in place, insh’Allah.
Disorganization = Poor Education
At the end of the day, as much as we want to do these beautiful things in homeschooling there are trust between us and children. We must ensure that we are giving our children the best chance possible. That begins with our courage to skill up on what we don’t know and to get organized in our plan of action.
Maybe you are just overwhelmed about all you have to do in the day in addition to homeschooling.
Maybe you just wish you had someone to hold your hand. I feel you. I’ve been there.
Many moms are struggling because they do not consider the basic things like newborns, part-time jobs and household chores when considering their homeschool schedule. It’s a work in progress but can be done with ease.
Check out the training course for creating a schedule that works here.
I can’t explain to you how much better we are when we are happy, especially in education. I want you to think of a situation when you are depressed or sad and you had to enter a classroom.
Were you open to learning? I know I wasn’t.
Have you noticed that when we are trying and you don’t feel motivated or good about ourselves, we don’t do our best?
Children work the same way. We need to keep them motivated and excited to learn. There are so many ways to do it with star charts, experience rewards, mini-challenges, small prizes, but most of all, a chance to feel good about themselves.
These simple things are ways to help us motivate our kids and to measure the progress they have made. It gives us all a chance to celebrate their success and encourage a love for learning.
There are TONS of cheap and stress-free ways for you to use to motivate your child. It’s just a matter of us discussing which one works for your family.
Listen to my podcast on the topic here
