This is the age group that many people fear. The start of the teenage years. It seems that in our society we have created this negative feeling surrounding the teenage years, but it can be a beautiful adventure, especially when you have the opportunity to Homeschool. By this age your young pre-teen has had the opportunity to gain some useful skills and a bit of independence, which is a great asset to you as the homeschool parent. Wether it has been through a traditional brick and mortar school (in person classroom setting), or homeschool, your kiddo has a pretty good grasp on some, if not all of the early elementary skill set needed to start on the middle school adventure. If you are transitioning into Homeschool from public school, there will definitely be a period of time in which you and your child will need to slow down and find your footing on what feels right for your family's homeschool. Most homeschoolers call this period the 'deschooling period". This phase can be a bit daunting because most of us will have the tendency to compare and test our homeschool's progress and rigor against that of a traditional school. The most important thing to remember during this time is that Homeschool is not school at home.
Homeschool is the gift of time to flow through learning and not be shoved from one subject to the next......
The world around us is our classroom
It would be impossible for any Homeschool family to replicate a traditional classroom setting at home, nor should that be the standard. After all, we choose to homeschool in order to break away from that broken system for an array of reasons. Every homeschooling family will have a very personal motivator that drives the desire to homeschool. This reason will be the most foundational point in your day to day. It is important to know your "WHY". Asking yourself why you are homeschooling will be your godsend. This will help you set everything into motion from how to teach, what curriculum to use, which subjects you incorporate, and how you schedule your days. Most importantly it will help you and even your middle schooler through those days when you start to doubt yourself and your decision to homeschool. Even Homeschooling "experts", who have been doing it from the start, experience a bit of angst when entering the uncharted waters of the middle school age. The on going question of the rigor and legitimacy of your Homeschool will come and go no matter how long you have been doing it. But that is what makes us the best educators for our own children.
No one on this earth would put forth as much effort for your children as you will....
With your "Why" in hand and your expertise on who your child is, you can start to sift through all of the wonderful resources readily accessible to you. We are very fortunate to have access to such an array of materials. When we first dove in we started looking for "the best" materials to purchase. If you have done any searching of your own, I'm sure you have seen how many wonderful materials are out there. But again the best resource your child has is you. We have definitely purchased certain materials and loved using them. But we have also found plenty of free resources to use. When looking for materials you will want to decide which core subjects you will be teaching as well as what is required by your state. Click the link below, Home school laws, to look up your state. We have also included several links to some free resources and some of our favorite purchase sites to pick and choose from.
Offering an array of enriching life skills
Chess Yoga Embroidery
Kettle Bells Embroidery Writing
Once the core subjects have been established you and your child can add some of their interests into their day. As the parent you have the ability to add any subject matter that you feel would be a great life skill to develop. Also household chores and home improvements are great to incorporate into your child's day. When we work together as a family to clean our home and work on big projects, it brings us closer together and we learn how to plan and start, gather materials, communicate, and execute to finish a project. For us, this is the best part of homeschooling. This is where the most hands on learning occurs. We talk about specific areas of interest and have the opportunity to dive in. We think of a question, a need of the family, and or a problem; Then we do some research by way of books that we have or borrow from the library, internet searches, and Youtube. Once we have a footing on the subject we get hands on with a connecting activity. We have watched our children become more resourceful and deliberate with their everyday actions.
When we are willing and open to learning about the interests of our children they become just as enthusiastic on the subjects that we as parents introduce to them....
Being part of the world
Children will grow according to their environment. When a child is placed in the limited space of a brick and mortar school, they are limited to those four walls and what could fit in them. Every once in a while a school is allotted the opportunity to go out into the real world through a field trip. Through homeschool, we have the opportunity to allow our children to grow and learn as part of the actual world. Our best days have been spent visiting Museums, libraries, Farms, National Parks, open public lands, rivers, lakes, the woods, factories, small businesses, and community events. Our children have lasting memories and experiences that will stay with them for a lifetime. There is no better way to learn and grow than as a family. All of our children's most memorable moments will be with their siblings and mom and dad. These pillar moments will mold them into well rounded individuals who value family.
You are the best and most qualified to educate your children. Find your reason for Homeschooling and the rest will become clear. The best resource your children have is you!
-The Palacios
Check back soon for our next topic...... Homeschooling a High schooler!
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