Our Step by Step Guide on getting started
We love homeschooling our boys and we understand homeschooling is not for everyone. Whether you choose to send your kiddos to a traditional school or pick a homeschool curriculum, we support you being intentional with those decisions and doing what’s best for you and your family. We also understand some children learn differently and can be difficult to manage, see more on managing the difficult learner here.
We decided we wanted to homeschool our boys. Right now, we have a kindergartener and a preschooler with our 18 month old just hanging around in the background or sleeping during school time. I find that having a smaller and younger child at home can be challenging while trying to teach your other, older kids, but like all things in life you learn, adjust and adapt with what you have. Read more on getting organized here.
When we first started homeschooling, the beginning of the year was a challenge. I didn’t know where to start or how to build a curriculum or keep a portfolio. We were lucky to have friends ahead of us in the journey to teach and answer all of our crazy questions. Most are not this lucky and they do not have a resource to go to. I decided to write out a quick guide for anyone wanting to start the journey of homeschooling. When I first started out, I would have loved to have a step by step guide to read!
Curriculum
Let’s start today by diving into curriculum. This is where most of us start. There are hundreds of curriculum out there. We picked ours based on friends advice and recommendation, what our kids needed and ease of the materials. In addition we wanted to find a curriculum with an emphasis on the Christian faith without avoiding the difficult topics and teaching kids about the world. You can find a ton of free resources online for curriculum’s. Check out this list. You can compile your own curriculum or choose to buy a whole curriculum that comes with all the resources you need.
We decided to mainly use Sonlight. I appreciated they were a Christian based group that still taught non Christian theories and opened up the topics for discussion with your kids. This allows you to tailor the lessons to what you want and need for your kids.
Our Studies
Sonlight: Geography, Science, Language Arts
Singapore math: Math
Veritas Press: Reading
Doulingo: An easy to use foreign language apps for adults and kids alike. We’re currently learning Spanish.
PE: Hello they’re boys. There is not a time where there bodies are not moving
Field Trips: I plan these based on what we are learning in the lessons that week. I usually plan the whole year and do a mix of bigger trips, like the Aquarium, with easy trips like visiting a green house.
Science Projects: I use two main kits hen coming up with science projects. An awesome book called 365 Science Projects, I love the lay out of this books and how you can easily find a topic to go with what the kids are learning. The other kit we use is called a kaboom kit. This cool science kit has lots of resources and the materials to make things explode, which is right up my boys alley.
Are you ready to pick out a curriculum and get started? I hope this has helped to lead you on the right path and as always write your questions below. I’d love to help you on your way.