5 Misconceptions About Homeschooling

As we prepare to start our fifteenth year of homeschooling, we find ourselves facing the same basic misconceptions that we've endured for over a decade. As a homeschooler, constantly addressing these falsehoods can become tedious, and it can be difficult to refrain from making a sarcastic comment when confronted with apparent disdain and ignorance.

Here are some of the more common misconceptions we've run into in the last fifteen years....

Misconception Number One: You get to sleep in....

I don't know how it is for every other homeschooling family, but our children almost NEVER sleep in (unless they are sick). In fact, with seven children between 18 months and 19 years, sleeping through the night is 'iffy' most nights, let alone sleeping in until 7:00 am. If one or more of our children sleep until 7am it's a rare morning. I might not have that mad dash to get children on a bus in the morning, but we are definitely up and at 'em bright and early, just like most other families with children. Since we don't subsist on cold cereal and Poptarts, we are in the kitchen making breakfast by 8am.

Misconception Number Two: You get to relax all day while your children watch "educational" TV

To be honest, there have been days, especially during the early or later stages of pregnancy or during illness, where our "schooling" consisted of a few more episodes of "The Magic School Bus" or "Popular Mechanics Kids" than I might prefer, but that's the benefit of homeschooling. It adjusts to what is happening in your life and family right then and there. Each minute of each day. That means some days we might watch television -- but it also means we might spend the entire day at a museum, hiking through the woods, or reading a great piece of literature. There are no "school" bells to stop our learning for the day, and more often than not, it begins early in the morning, measuring out ingredients to make breakfast and continues until the lights are turned off for bed at night (unless of course we're studying the stars). With homeschooling, there are no true "days off" or weekends because every day is a learning experience, filled to the brim with teachable moments. 

Misconception Number Three: Every Day is a Pajama Day

I know some people really, really love their pajamas. That's just not me. It's a rare day when I come downstairs and start breakfast without getting dressed for the day and making the bed first. But, for my kids, it's more of a variant. If we have places to go, I will send them to get dressed for the day right after breakfast. If being in their pajamas is hampering their learning for a time, I will have them get dressed before coming to the breakfast table. Other days, I might not remind them until lunch. And yes, there have been times when they wear their pajamas all day. If they are comfortable, learning, happy, and healthy, what clothing they wear shouldn't matter. That's one of the glories of homeschooling; it adapts to what works for you. Truly, is there anything better than cuddling up with a good book under a soft blanket in front of a fire with a cup of hot cocoa handy? Don't you wish you could have done that during your school days? I certainly do!

Misconception Number Four: You shouldn't homeschool if you don't have a degree

While this argument might seem valid to some, a college degree doesn't mean a person will be a good teacher, able to share or impart a passion for learning onto their pupils. To suggest that a normal adult parent is incapable of teaching their young children basic concepts is absurd. Parents are natural educators of their children. It is parents that teach their children how to speak (though typically unintentionally), parents that potty train their sons/daughters, parents that teach life skills (dressing, brushing hair/teeth) and parents that divest the knowledge of right and wrong to their children from the youngest of ages. Parents are natural teachers and advocates for their children, knowing them better than any strange adult in an institutional classroom ever could, with an intense desire to see their child succeed and the determination to find the best methods to ensure that success. A loving parent can do far more for their child's education than a horde of "education experts" intent on creating a cookie cutter methodology of education. 

Misconception Number Five: It's Easy!

Of all the things I have done or attempted to do in my life, homeschooling is by far the most difficult. It's so much more than being a Mom or a Teacher. It's both jobs, plus cook, custodian, and counselor all mixed into one, with no breaks, no aides in the classroom that can take over for a few minutes, and no Principal to delegate discipline to. It is challenging in every aspect. Keeping up with grade level expectations, researching learning models, teaching methods, and constantly evaluating and adjusting lessons so they can benefit your child/children the most. It's humbling to know that your children's success depends entirely on you and your ability to provide them with a quality education and the foundation for a good life. There are power struggles, daily learning lessons, tears (both yours and your children's), and sometimes, you learn more about yourself and your preconceived notions than you might like. It is the single most difficult and rewarding calling I can imagine.


There are many other misconceptions about homeschooling, like that pesky thing about socialization or that homeschoolers can't get accepted into big-name universities, but we'll talk about those later.

Busy Days

 Long absence....but we're back!

It has been several years since I've posted on here....so what's happened in all that time? 

Well, life has been busy. To begin with, I took a step back when we decided to move. AGAIN! I didn't think it would be quite this long of a break, but there we were, renting a 900 sq. ft. three-bedroom cabin with six children, two cats, and no washer or dryer. With the FLU! Yes, we moved at the height of flu season, and we had that wretched stomach bug for almost a month. It was miserable to say the least. Also, it was a true realization that I'd been spoiled our entire marriage, because I never needed to go to a laundromat before that time. Weekly visits to a laundromat with six children were not easy, but we took our school work with us and made the best of the long tables. I didn't have time to blog.

Fast-forward about six months, and we were moving again, this time into a house. Some things are absolutely picturesque: A river runs at the edge of our backyard, and we have an enormous yard, trees, chickens, and a pool. But, there were some drawbacks with the house (the previous owners were heavy smokers, which meant a LOT of cleaning), some mold, and old carpet to deal with. It's been a slow process. We've been here for around six years, and in that time, I accepted a position teaching English online at a community college and ESL online in virtual classes. We also welcomed a foreign exchange student from Brazil for one school year. That was an amazing experience! He went home to Brazil, and a couple of months later, just as we were getting used to taking one vehicle as a family again, we learned we were expecting our 7th child! I told you life has been busy!!

We welcomed our seventh child in the beginning of 2024. He is amazing. Are you keeping track? We now have three sons and four daughters! That's growth for you. But, we have the "exchange bug" and last school year, we welcomed another foreign exchange student, this time a young lady from Finland. So we have two host children (who we are blessed to still talk with regularly) and seven biological children. Crazy, right?

As of May we have officially graduated our oldest child. That feels a bit surreal when we think about it. We are sending him off to college at the end of this month, and I am going back to college to start on my doctoral degree as he begins his first semester. Someone asked me why I wanted to go back to school again, and all I could say is that, for me, college courses are refreshing. Are they work? YES! But they also really push me to do something for myself and keep me motivated. 

So many other things have happened in the last six years, but I'll try to get to some of those later. Will I keep up with the blog now? Boy, I don't know, but I sure hope so! 

Shared History...Ancient History

One of the things I LOVE about homeschooling is that we can experience learning as a family.

It makes for an interesting dynamic...and a great deal of fun!

Right now we are studying Ancient history -- the earliest civilizations -- Sumerians, Upper and Lower Egypt, King Narmer/Menes, Cuneiform, Hieroglyphics, Stone Tablets, Papyrus, Mummification, the Rosetta Stone, and Hammurabi's Code. It's an exciting time for us! Listening to the kids talk about history in excitement, with a clear understanding of what was happening in the world at that time, is amazing. But I think this time period in history has a great deal of appeal to all of us.

Ancient Egypt brings so many different thoughts to mind. The kids this month created their own Hieroglyphics, and spent time writing/speaking in each other's "codes" one Friday. They actually wrote keys for their individual languages, and passed the key along with their codes. We also made the double crown of Egypt - the crown King Narmer (Menes) wore when he united Egypt by combining the crown of the defeated king with his own, making the red & white crown that would be worn by Pharaohs for several thousand years afterward.

It really benefits the kids to hear the interpretation of what we are learning from each other. Savannah, sharing her understanding of Hammurabi's code with her sisters, gives a different insight than if I were to just share the basic information. Even more interesting, their interpretation almost always involves a discussion of if something was morally/religiously correct. Hammurabi's code really created a very unique debate about the appropriateness of the punishments.

Friday was the end of our first month of school and we celebrated with a game of Jeopardy based on our history studies. I developed questions from what we've learned about History over the last month. Since we have been learning this particular subject together, I was able to create one game for all four of the kids. It was a fun experience, and really gave us an opportunity to review what we've learned before moving on this coming week. Since it was a success, with all four kids able to answer multiple questions, we will probably make this a monthly event.

With the changing weather, we've had to curtail our walks a bit, and start incorporating Cosmic Kids Yoga, Just Dance Workouts, Jumping Jax Gym, and the like. Asher and Savannah will be studying nutrition this year in Science. Last year they each learned one "harder" dish to cook (spaghetti, chili, tacos, ect), one dessert bread (apple, pumpkin, banana), and made one simple lunch (PB&J, Deli-Turkey sandwiches, ect). This year, they will start helping design our monthly menu, and will each become responsible for 1-2 meals a week. Last year I avoided teaching them how to make breakfast foods, like pancakes, concerned they would burn themselves on the griddle, so hopefully this year we will find a few recipes they can make the night before and pop in the oven (I found a delicious peach & walnut stuffed french toast!). Rosalynne and Gabrielle are still a little young to help in the physical kitchen much, but they will be responsible for setting/clearing the table, getting cold items (yogurt, fruit, cheese...) and might help a little with the menu.

So far, school has been fairly relaxing. We have a full schedule, but we are working through it each day, and are settling into the swing of things. I'm excited to see what this next month brings!

First Week...Success!

The start of a new school year is always challenging. We've gone from a relatively free summer back to the structure of lessons and schooling. It's not the easiest transition.

Now that we've completed our first week of school, I have to say it went extremely well. This is the first year that we have combined our studies (World History). It's also the first year we've done two complete cores, including Science. Last year we forwent Science with Rosalynne and Gabrielle because they didn't really seem to be getting much from it after the first 8 weeks, so we packed it away to save for this year.

The first day, we went a bit slower and didn't complete our lessons until around 3:45pm, but by the end of the week, we were finished by around 2pm. We have also continued with our hour-long walk in the morning after breakfast, so I'm pretty content with that completion time. Gabrielle started right in with Grade 1 readers and Language Arts, and she is doing excellent! It's amazing what one year will do. Last year she wasn't reader for Kindergarten readers or LA, but it's clicking suddenly, and she is making sense of the words and doing well with her spelling.

Teaching 3 different Language Arts this year is definitely challenging, but it's one of my favorite things about homeschooling. I can make sure I am working at each child's level, and they never have to struggle so much that they lose their love of books and reading.

It has taken quite a bit of trial and error to place Asher and Savannah in the appropriate levels on Time4Learning. The 6th Grade Language Arts program was WAY too easy, and they found it extremely boring. But 6th Grade Math was pretty challenging.

Overall, we had a great first week. Friday is our "off" day. We are working with a 4-day curriculum this year, so our plan is to reserve Friday for field trips, art/crafts, appointments, make-up work, extra-curricular, electives, and an extra day to review any topic or subject that proves extra challenging.

I'm sure as our school year continues we will be adjusting our schedule and lessons as needed. But, it has been a wonderful first week! 

So -- what is curriculum and which one do we utilize?

I mention in previous posts about our curriculum choices, but saying "curriculum" really doesn't explain much of anything.

Curriculum is basically the subjects and material comprising a course of study in a school, college, or educational program. It is, simply, what we study. When discussing homeschooling, however, often it is so much more than what we study: it includes the methods of study. Methods of homeschooling vary widely, from complete unschooling, to relaxed homeschooling, to a Charlotte Mason approach, to a school at home philosophy, to unit studies, and so many more than I could mention here. 

Sonlight Box Day! Our curriculum came in!

Personally, unschooling is not for us. We need some amount of structure, and though I do like to let the kids pick different electives to study, I am uncomfortable with the idea of completely student-led learning. So, I might let the kids help choose what area of Science we will study (Earth, Physical, Biology, Chemistry, ect), but then I will select the appropriate materials. 

If I had to describe our homeschooling method I would say it's a rather eclectic mix of relaxed homeschooling, Charlotte Mason (Nature studies, yay!), with just a touch of school at home. Yes, we have desks, tables, and a designated learning area, though often our lessons move around the house, inside and out. 

In general, we have a schedule, but we keep it relaxed. We have an overall plan for the week, month, semester, and year. If we complete more in one term than we do in the next, it's not a big deal. Our main goal is to have fun while we complete our studies. If we work a little faster some weeks, and slower others, then so be it. With homeschooling, we are blessed not to have a designated end of the school year. We can finish earlier or later than initially planned, or we can extend our studies throughout the summer and go year round. 

The Core Asher & Savannah are using

This will be our third year using Sonlight Curriculum. It's an amazing program, which uses living books to teach History, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Science. Throughout the year we do what are called "Read Alouds" which are books that I read to the kids and then we discuss them. The kids also have what are called "Readers" which are assigned independent reading. We also study History and Geography through reading. This year, Asher and Savannah will be doing Core G, World History Part 1 (seen above, though we purchased an older version that has more books and materials) and will be reading approximately 40 books. 

By an odd stroke of luck, the girls will be starting Core B this year, Intro to World History Part 1 (seen below), so for the next two years or more, they will be on the same cycle as Asher and Savannah, so we can actually combine some of our read alouds!

The Core Rosalynne and Gabrielle are using

Because the kids are separated in age, we can't use just one Core for them. It would either be way too challenging for Rosalynne and Gabrielle, or way too easy for Asher and Savannah. So we will be using two Cores (B & G), one for the older kids, and one for the younger girls. I will combine the read alouds, somewhat, since the kids will be studying the same time period and locations at approximately the same time. The kids all listened to several of our read alouds last year and still talk about their favorites. In fact, they've asked us to reread some of them. 

The biggest difficulty in using Sonlight with four children of different ages and abilities is that I need to use multiple Language Arts programs, so Asher and Savannah will study 6th/7th grade language arts with Core G. Rosalynne and Gabrielle, however, are at drastically different levels. Rosalynne will be working through a 2nd Grade LA program, and Gabrielle will be starting at a K/1st Grade level. Rosalynne is reading fairly well for a 6 year old, and easily worked through Grade 1 LA last year. Gabrielle wasn't quite ready for Kindergarten LA last year, so we switched to The Reading Lesson and just worked on writing and letter sounds, getting to basic reading towards the end of the year. At the start of the school year, I will assess Gabrielle's reading before making a final determination of where to begin. 

With Sonlight, the Core program covers History, Bible, and Literature, so I am easily able to pick readers/LA that are a perfect fit for each student. Similarly, Science is separate from the Core, and will adapt for multiple ages. The girls are starting Science A (we decided not to use it last year) and Asher and Savannah will start Science F, but I will detail our LA and Science studies a bit later.

A New Year, A New Newsletter

Welcome back, everyone! 

We stopped blogging for a while, thinking that a better way to reach our family and friends would be to mail our newsletters (not everyone has internet access, right?) but, after a year and a half of writing our newsletter, and often forgetting to go to the post office to mail it, or running out of stamps and only sending them to half of our list, we decided to give this medium another try. 

This school year we are doing something quite different! We will be integrating our literature-based curriculum (Sonlight) with online programs (Time4Learning, ABCmouse). In our technologically advanced world, we know it's important that our children know and understand how to utilize computers and similar systems, and what better way than to mix this integration with necessary core material? Asher and Savannah will be focusing on Math material this year, while Rosalynne and Gabrielle will focus on Math and Reading. All four of the kids will have access to core material in other subjects, but for our purposes this year, those subjects will be purely for fun.

As we did in our Newsletters, the kids will be responsible for some of the information in the blog, though I intend to post regular updates about our progress. I'm still not certain how frequently I will post, or just how much of a contribution the kids will have (we have an extremely rich and full curriculum this year). 

Last week and this week is our "soft start" which is my way of saying we are taking two partial weeks to become acclimated with our online programs so we can work out any bugs well before our official "start" date of September 4th. This is as much for me as it is for the kids, since I am learning two completely new parent 'portals' and reviewing the lessons and objectives along with the overall scope/sequence of the programs. Since we already have a "complete" curriculum with Sonlight, we will likely spend a few weeks adjusting our schedules to achieve the correct balance. Feel free to check in and see how that adjustment is going.

As many of our family and friends know, we have welcomed two new children into the family since this blog was regularly active. Rosalynne and Gabrielle will move to be featured here, in Adventures in Homeschooling, and our two youngest kiddos will be featured in Nursery News. 

Well, in a nut shell, that's where we are at right now as we approach the official start of the new school year! We look forward to sharing our adventures with you this coming year. If you know a family member or friend that might enjoy following along, please feel free to share a link to the blog with them, or send me a message with their email, and I can email them a link to new posts as the come out! 

Shrinking our Schedule

As our school year winds down in the next few weeks, it's nice to look back and see what we've managed to accomplish, not so much in terms of scope and sequence, but in terms of overall growth.

This year, Asher went from hardly reading to reading graphic novels and has finished the year off with completing a unit study in Where the Red Fern Grows. That's an impressive amount of progress. He also advanced from reading basic stories at the beginning of the year and writing very brief summaries to reading a chapter book each week and writing a book report. 

Savannah has gone from reading moderate chapter books to reading full-fledged novels this year. She has read Harry Potter novels, Nancy Drew, Monster High, and towards the end of the year we've thrown in the classics in varying degrees of difficulty. Right now she is reading Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. Her book reports have advanced from simple one to two paragraphs to one to two pages. I continue to be impressed with her ability to read, but even more so, her true love and appreciation for reading.

Math, which has been one of the few subjects that the kids struggled with in the last few years started as one of the easiest and favorite subjects this year, but as we wind down, it is again one of the most difficult. Fortunately, Teaching Textbooks really has made a difference, and the kids seem to be excelling even while they are not particularly fond of the subject just yet. 

Science this year has been an amazing journey into the deep blue sea. We have learned about all manner of sea creatures and their classes. We have done a number of interesting experiments and projects. The Ocean is a topic that has enthralled Asher since he watched Finding Nemo at three years old. He has been drawn to all sorts of marine creatures and books about sharks, jelly fish, and octopus, taking Savannah along with him, so it has been really fun to study these creatures in depth.

At the beginning of the school year we were completing a move. In the middle, Jeremiah joined our family, Trevor started a new job, and we both earned college degrees. You can just imagine how much our schedule has changed with so many events happening within this year. Some of the changes were easy (not having coursework to complete has certainly given me more time!) and other changes have required us to adjust (like Trev's schedule). Overall, this has been our best year homeschooling yet! 

As we prepare for our year to end, I will be scheduling some assessments, ordering curriculum for next year, and planning summer activities and review. Though we don't like to admit it, we really need a schedule to keep us on track, even in the summer.