We are in our fourth year of homeschooling, and it is always changing! Not just is the homeschooling community but it our home too. Each year I’m a little more confident in what I’m doing, a little more sure of my choices. Then my kids go up a grade and everything changes a bit again. I think that is part of the beauty of homeschooling, it is changing, hopefully for the better, all the time.
How Homeschooling Changes All the Time
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When my girls were younger I focused on reading. We read a lot, spent a lot of time at the library, plus they were always looking at books on their own. Nothing there has changed, but we have certainly added to it. Just like everything else that changes, there are more people homeschooling in Canada each year which makes for more resources coming available for Canadians, as well as more opportunities for meeting other homeschoolers.
Getting Online
This year we are using computers a lot more than we have in the past. We have been using Reading Eggs for years, but that was the extent of computer/online learning for my kids for the most part, we just never found something that we loved or stuck with.
This year Austin is using Teaching Textbooks, plus she has started practicing typing. It’s funny to watch this kid type. She does great, but you can definitely tell she doesn’t spend much time on the computer.
There are a lot of different online options, from unit studies completely online to full homeschool programs online like K12.
Scheduling – Together and Not
I have each day written in my Happy Planner. But as my fourth grader (nine year old) is getting older, she’s able to get things done faster than her sister. Instead of holding her back I have given her her own schedule. She can move through her day’s work get it all done and move on in her day. Go play with Lego, where she spends most of her time. Or play a video game. Another thing that has changed, she actually plays video games, something she always deemed too hard and wouldn’t even try.
Homeschooling has been the best solution for our family, and even though when we first started this journey I was only taking it year by year, I definitely think it is something we’ll be continuing to do for our children’s education. Once they get to high school things will change again… I’ll out source it because that is one area I know I won’t be comfortable teaching. I’m already out for math, thankfully Teaching Textbooks has it covered.
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