By Sravya Rao
To start thinking of Homeschooling can be scary and overwhelming. With a little effort and organizing, it's very possible to homeschool your kids.
My decision to homeschool our kids came very early. Our daughter was only one when I decided we wanted to homeschool her. My previous experience as a teacher helped me and made the process smoother than expected.
Right now we have two children, a 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl. We never followed a curriculum but focused primarily on Maths and literacy daily.
I plan the day in advance and brief the kids on the next day's activities so they know what to expect while also helping them be prepared for it. That way they always have something to look forward to the next day.
Monthly Themes
We also did certain themes for the month. Simple and easy-to-grasp themes for young learners include plants, spiders, dinosaurs, feelings, fairy tales, and friendship.
Weather Guessing
One activity that's been there every day is how they can look at the sky and make a guess for the day’s weather. They were very keen to do simple experiments like sink or float and the volcano.
Online Resources
There are a lot of free printable resources available online or you can also purchase books for that age if you want more structured homeschooling.
Why I Choose To Homeschool
One of the main reasons I chose to homeschool them is because I wanted to spend a lot of time around my kids and I believe that once childhood is gone, it's gone, so I want to make the most of what I have right now.
1. Safe Learning Space
The kids feel safe in their environment and do not have to worry about how they look or if anyone is going to bully them, plus they get way more freedom.
2. Separation Anxiety
Kids should not have to go through separation anxiety. I figured out early on that kids learn more when they are relaxed and feel safe.
The comfort they get while they are homeschooled and knowing that their mom is around them to do things together is reassuring.
3. Less Structure
I won't deny the freedom and less mental load you have to deal with when you homeschool your kids.
There is no set structure, you are the Queen of your planning and can modify the days as you progress. You can take as many days off as you want and no one is questioning you.
Here is what a typical day looks like for us.
I wake up early to make sure things are set before the day begins.
Bathing is a mandatory part of our routine in the morning as it enhances the mood and brings positive energy. They have a hearty breakfast to begin their activities for the day.
We mostly do Maths in the morning as it requires lots of focus and attention. We do a bit of revision and then move on to learning a new topic/curriculum.
To help them get into the spirit of reading we do some fun activities like flashcards or matching the words with pictures. They have their lunch before moving onto the theme for the week.
If they are super tired I give them some time for a nap as it also gives me time to recharge and be ready to do the next activity when they wake up.
After reading, depending on how tired they are, we head to our local library to exchange the previous books and bring on some new ones for the week.
Here's an example of how we covered the food theme
Since food is part of our daily lives they were super curious already. I incorporated art into it as well by painting a few pictures of food on the window with bright and contrasting colors.
We would go to our supermarket and pick a variety of foods and then segregate them into healthy, occasional, and unhealthy.
Additional Daily Activities
Watching rhymes and TV shows on healthy eating boosted more confidence in them.
We were lucky to understand composting at our community park and how you don't need to throw everything into the bin!
As with anything you choose there are some difficulties in homeschooling too. Homeschoolers may lack good socialising but that can be minimised by choosing a peer homeschooling group.
I have found taking my kids to the local library and community programs has helped them to socialize and be independent when they go to the outside world.
Take Care Of Yourself Too!
It is important that you take enough breaks for yourself when you are homeschooling your kids as you need to put in a lot of energy both physically and mentally.
There have been a variety of studies that have been carried out that show homeschoolers score no less than traditional schoolers in academics and socializing.
To summarize, my tips to help you homeschool easily are planning your day in-advance, sticking to a schedule, and finding your peer support in homeschooling groups.
