Hot Mess but NOT Intimidated

Even though we're homeschooling this semester/year/pandemic, I stayed in the Facebook group for complaining concerned parents in our school district. Between comments on FB posts in the group and a few things I've heard from friends who decided to homeschool like we did, there is a LOT of misinformation (and some blatant lies) being told and assumed about homeschooling. And honestly, I'm super pissed about it. I'm sure people are trying to be helpful, but instead, they are using scare tactics to intimidate parents from making the decision to homeschool. I, for one, will not be intimidated by people who may or may not have or currently work for the district giving me "advice" on homeschooling and the "rules". 

(PLEASE NOTE: We are in Texas, so these are Texas Homeschool Requirements. Please make sure to check the requirements in your state. Here is a great resource: https://homeschoolstatelaws.com/) 

Minformed #1: [an actual comment on a concerned parent's post on the extensive at-home learning schedule] "Please, for the [...] counselors, make sure you are enrolling in a [sic] ACCREDITED program. Because if/when you re-enroll in public school the credits will not count and they will have to retake classes and the grade they are in may change to a lower level grade"
Truth: NO! No state requires that a homeschool program, curriculum, or diploma be accredited. There are public schools that aren't "accredited". Curricula aren’t accredited because they aren’t schools or colleges. Curricula are learning resources or lesson plans; curricula are not institutions—so, they can’t be accredited! Would you call a textbook publisher and ask them for accreditation? I didn't think so
Transferring back to public school from an "accredited private school or accredited online school" is still no guarantee of grade placement or credits toward a public school diploma/graduation. The district may or may not recognize the accreditation agency that accredited your learning program or private school, so accreditation alone offers no guarantees. The district MAY have a list of pre-approved online schools or private schools from whom they will accept credit, but that doesn't mean its accredited. More about accreditation: https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/is-your-curriculum-accredited-does-it-matter/ 

Misinformed #2: You have to come to the school to fill out withdrawal forms for your child(ren). 

Truth: Again... NO! And not just no, but DO NOT! If your child is already attending a public school you must officially withdraw your child by sending a withdrawal letter to your school/district. If the school asks for additional measures: do not go to the school. Instead, respond by email or mail with a letter of assurance. Basically, this letter says "I promise I'm going to teach my kids. Stop asking me for stuff. Buh-Bye" 

Misinformed #3: My kid's school requires a report card.

Truth: Again, nope. The Texas Homeschool Law does not require you to keep records of your homeschooling, although the state of Texas encourages it. If the school asks for it, you can simply say "I do not have those records since there is no state requirement to keep them." But if you want to keep a record, go for it! It'll probably make returning to public school (if that's your plan) an easier transition. There are all sorts of homeschool report card templates out there, find one you like and use that. It doesn't even have to be anything fancy. 

Misinformed #4: The school/district needs to know my plan/lessons/curricula/grades.You have to check-in with the school/district every 9-weeks.

Truth: No, they don't. The school district also has no authority to approve (or disapprove) curricula used by private schools (including your homeschool). There aren't any reports about your homeschool or curriculum that you are required to share — either locally or on a state level. Straight from the mouth of TEA - "The TEA does not regulate, index, monitor, approve, register, or accredit the programs available to parents who choose to home school."

Misinformed #5: Colleges don't want homeschooled kids. / They're going to have such a hard time getting into a good college.

Truth: My kids are still in elementary so I'm not worried about college just yet, and I went to public school (whose counselor ended up telling me I was too dumb to go to Texas A&M). BUT Beckie was homeschooled and has some personal insight on this one...Beckie here! I was homeschooled from 7th grade and through high school. When I was looking at colleges, there were many scholarships specifically made for homeschoolers. In fact, I ended up at my university partly in fact because they had a recruiter dedicated to looking for homeschoolers and offering them scholarships. So, I guess we were doing something right!

And here are a couple of the websites I visit to find the answers to questions I (or my friends) may have:

Texas Homeschool Coalition - Requirements to Homeschool in Texas - https://thsc.org/requirements-to-homeschool-in-texas/

TEA & Homeschool - https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/general-information/finding-a-school-for-your-child/home-schooling

Homeschooling in Texas - https://nickitruesdell.com/homeschooling-in-texas/?fbclid=IwAR3jfnmOELsSoy5CL87KYbV2FJUMM3eKOTYNJtHL-muiQzD9lPQqaKgDQFs

Homeschool Mom: https://www.thehomeschoolmom.com/

And lastly... if you're just overwhelmed or confused or feel attacked, JUST ASK US. We may not be experts, but we can help you find the right answer (or at least articulate a snarky response). 

How to Find the Perfect Homeschool Curriculum

TLDR: Don't.

I may be having a small homeschool freak out.

Is an online program the better option?

How do we do online curriculum when 3 kids need to log in? Have different school times per kid? Do I need 3 computers? Do I need to find something else?

These are just a couple of texts I (Dayna) sent to Beckie this weekend. Thanks to FB I've seen a number of friends start homeschool already. We haven't. Honestly, I haven't done much planning other than picking the curriculum we want and buying a couple of workbooks and fancy pencils (you know the ones). When I first asked Beckie about lazy curriculums, she mentioned Easy Peasy. Easy is the lazy mom's magic word. So after checking it out, we decided on that curriculum. But now I'm having second thoughts and we haven't even started. I feel a LOT of pressure for EP to work out because I talked it up to a friend who decided to use it with their kids. So, I'm afraid of looking like a failure. 

I've become so comfortable with lazy homeschool that now I'm afraid it's going to become "stressed out because I've done nothing" school.

BECKIE, HELP!

I had a week until I brought the girls home and I had to decide on the right curriculum. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the freedom we have in Texas, where we have so many choices and only have to teach certain subjects "in a bona fide manner."

Except that I also hated it.

The choices paralyzed me!

Because it had to be perfect. I had just spent months trying to convince my husband to get on board with homeschooling, so I had to prove it was the best choice.

On top of that, Wolf is scary brilliant, with literal dreams of taking over the world someday.

The world map in Wolf's room, complete with invasion plans for every continent.

I know Sloth will grow up to be a successful naturalist, like Jane Goodall. And Monkey really gets math -and enjoys it! Next Albert Einstein. 

I had to jump start their futures! It had to be perfect!

But there were so many choices. Many of which cost a lot of money. I knew Wolf was only going to fight me on everything anyway. I really didn't want to pay $300 for a guaranteed daily fight. I mean, I could have that daily fight for free!

So I reached out to an online community and asked for their favorite curricula. 

I was hoping for answers, but instead I got words and letters that made no sense to me:

Ambleside

The Good and the Beautiful

EP

MB

K-12

And then came this comment:

"First, consider which teaching philosophy you follow, then find a curriculum that matches."

...A WHAT?

Not another rabbit hole!

My head already hurt. I was running out of time. I needed to find the perfect curriculum and fast!

Except that I didn't. 

My friend Jessica, a homeschooling mom of many, had once told me that the strength of homeschooling is the relationship between parent and child.

When she first said it, I thought it sounded true, but I didn't fully get it. Now, knee-deep in the world of homeschooling, I totally understand.

Yes, curriculum is important. 

BUT. What is more important is the environment. If they have sleep, food, and water; if they feel safe and secure; if they know they are loved and supported, they will be ready to learn.

When a child has their needs met, anything becomes a learning experience - board games, nature walks, cooking experiments!

So if you are where I was when I had a week left to plan and organize; if you're feeling the pressure of finding the perfect curriculum to prove to yourself and the world that you can do this; if you're struggling to find the books that will challenge your kids to be as great as you know they are, give yourself a break.

Don't worry about finding the PERFECT curriculum, find A curriculum - whatever works. You can change it at any time. Choose the curriculum that feels right for now.

Then focus on setting up the right environment:

-Make sure they get daily exercise, good food, good sleep.

-Give them quiet time, outdoor time, and daily exercise.

-Love them.

And the rest will follow. Because once their needs are met, they will WANT to learn. And once that happens, you won't be able to stop them.

In case you need a rundown of all your overwhelming choices...

 

There Are a Million Ways to Homeschool

I bet most of us have the same thought when we contemplate the possibility of homeschooling our kids: "I can't do this!"

When I first started, I thought there were two kinds of homeschoolers:

One was a sheltered family, holed up in a cabin in the woods where the girls weren't allowed to cut their hair, and no one was allowed to voice their opinions or watch TV.

The other was a pinterest-perfect home classroom with an expensive curriculum, well-behaved kids, and a calm mother who never lost it.

I was neither of those. So it seemed impossible for me to imagine what our home school would look like.

I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a curriculum that Wolf would only fight me over anyway. So while I was preparing to take my kids out of school, I found some free sources. (Listed at the bottom) Then I planned my own lessons -based on the TEKS- and researched through Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers.

Sounds like a lot of work, huh? And it was. And guess what. 

It sucked. 

One or two weeks in and Wolf and I were butting heads. Sloth was sobbing through her math lessons. And Monkey just wanted to go play. I lost it. There was yelling, whining, and tantrums. And sometimes my kids would do those things, too.

They were NOT magically loving my homemade curricula! They were NOT miraculously keeping up with my projected lesson plans! My checklist became a mocking reminder of how I had fallen short every day.

Then I remembered a personal rule of my parenthood: However much time, energy, or money you put into anything is inversely related to how much your kids will appreciate it.

So we had a meeting. The girls and I talked over what worked and what stressed us out. Surprisingly, they didn't want to scrap everything.

Monkey: I like when you read books to us in the morning and ask us questions about it.

Sloth: I like when you cuddle with me during math.

Wolf: I like when you tell me what I have to do each week then let me decide when I do it.

I listened, we changed things. And suddenly, it was easy!

Aside from listening to my kids, I also changed the way I kept track of things. Instead of a checklist that didn't always get checked, I kept a blank planner and wrote down what we actually did: 

-One day, Sloth found a dead, but intact dragonfly in the backyard and held a science lab for an hour. Then she conducted an online search for dragonfly-related information. I wrote this down as "biology lab"

-Wolf requested every library book on -you guessed it- wolves, including books from the adult section. I wrote this down as "researching for an oral report."

-Monkey counted the cards out when we all played a game. I wrote this down as "introductory lesson to division."

I found that homeschooling does not have to be controlled and pinterest-perfect. It can be relaxing and -dare I say- lazy!

So now, sometimes our schooling looks like well-behaved children who wake up early and attack their lessons and chores, finishing everything before noon. Sometimes it looks like everyone dragging their feet until I realize we need a lazy day, so we all watch a documentary and discuss it. Sometimes it looks like Wolf blaring her music at 9pm while she finishes 3 days' worth of work in 30 minutes!

So as you plan what your school will look like, remember that a cute home classroom with bookshelves, desks, and chalkboard walls are just as good as a couch and a kitchen table (or in our case, the living room floor.) What matters is that it works for you and your kids.

Your school will look different from traditional schooling, other homeschooling, or even what it looked like the day before!  And when you accept and embrace that, you will find that homeschooling can be very successful, peaceful, and also lazy!

For further reference: 

Teaching from Rest - a great book about not flipping out.

Easy Peasy All-in-One-Homeschool - free online, multiple subjects from K-12

Khan Academy - free online programs

Free Forest School - a free outdoor meeting with many franchises, meetings often include natural science lessons