New to homeschooling? Two things that will help you survive the first year.

You decided to homeschool your children, congratulations! Or perhaps you are a pandemic homeschooler like our family and are eager to get started because you don’t want your children to be behind. Let me say this (for you and for me)—our children will not be behind. Our children are tiny people that will tell us what they need if we take the time to listen.

We have been homeschooling for almost two years and listening to my kids has been the hardest part of our journey. Mostly because I fell victim to the curriculum monster that got a good chunk of our family’s money but also because I was navigating in unknown waters without a map. Let me explain.

Homeschooling doesn’t have a “fit all” type of box. Every family is different and everyone’s priorities are different as well. Some are religious and others are secular, some live in the city and others live in the country (where I would like to be one day), you get it. Everyone is unique. But in the last few months, as more people turn to homeschooling, I have noticed the questions that flood the homeschooling groups about asking for the “best curriculum” and that simply does not exist. Period.

The best curriculum is what works with your family naturally and before you go out and spend your hard earned money I want to share with you the two things I wish I had known when we decided to homeschool.

I wished I had known more about deschooling and I wished I had taken the time to formulate our WHY.

Deschooling is known as the adjustment period that our children (and us) go through when they leave school to start homeschooling. And if you are not familiar with this practice, this article by Jeanne Faulconner has valuable information for you and your family to start your own deschooling process. Deschooling allows our children and us to think about education in a whole different way. Deschooling is about letting go of what we have thought to be the “correct way” of educating our children, is about not doing school at home. Deschooling is about rewiring our brains to learn beyond the walls of a classroom and truly seeing the world. And remember what I said about navigating in unknown waters without a map? Well, deschooling will give you the first coordinates so you can get to know your children and set sail for a joyful homeschooling experience. This is why your why is important.

Your why doesn’t have to be long or fancy but it needs to be thoughtful on what direction you want your family to go when choosing the homeschool lifestyle. Also because your why can lead you into finding your family’s homeschooling style and this my friend will save you thousands of dollars. You’re welcome. See, it all goes hand in hand.

If you are like me and it takes you forever to write something (including this short blog post) then let me help you get started. Begin with simple questions such as: Is this short term or long term? If this is a short term decision then you can visualize what’s needed for your child’s reentry into the school of your choice. If this is a long term decision, then sit back and think about when your child becomes a grown up and someone asks him or her: So, you were homeschooled, what was that like? (and I wish I remembered where I read this because I would lead you to their book and/or blog but I don’t. I’m sorry!) And your child will go down memory lane and come up with an answer. What do you want that answer to be? What memories do you want him or her to retell? Are they funny or tedious? Are they happy or sad?

This future conversation keeps me up at night. I think about this almost every day because our journey has had their struggles and Kind Screamer seems to have the best memory of any child I know because he remembers everything. The good, the bad and the uggly. And believe me, we have had uggly around here and one day (not anytime soon) I will write about it. And that’s why I went beyond academics to formulate our why. I want them to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. I want them to know how to change a tire and how to fix a furnace. I want them to be excited about learning new things. I want them to see the world through books and actual travel. And the most important thing for us is to make lasting memories as a family.

What do you want for your children? What do you want them to remember?

Now that you have an idea of why deschooling and having the guidance of your why are important to your homeschooling journey. You should turn to the people that are going to be doing the bulk of the work—your children.

If you have young children then following their lead and not pushing when they are in a raunchy mood is my recommendation. Save yourself!! But if you have older children then ask them. Ask what they are interested in and what they want to learn. This can be daunting because what they say may not be what you had in mind. Welcome to the club! All I can say is be patient. Love yourself and love your children. You Got This!!!