Not Nice Spice
Here I am, four months later finishing a collaborative series that should have taken four weeks. Time management has never been my strong suite, and to anyone who gets to check off their “to-do” list, well I bow down to you, bravo! For the rest of us, with hiccups and little hell raisers, just know that life isn’t measured by lists and societal accomplishments. That has been the biggest lesson I’ve taken from homeschooling thus far. The beauty of a student-centered environment. The peace of mind knowing that the wiggle worm and girl with the dancing feet won’t have to check it at the door. I’m filled with the utmost gratitude having learned from these mamas that there is no perfect path. Homeschooling allows each family the freedom to truly see their children, in all their grit and glory, and speak life into all of it. I won’t lie and pretend that I still don’t absolutely crave alone time. But truthfully, I had that problem when Stud and I first married—HA! Dying to self is no easy feat. Thankfully our home and homeschool community all hold these values, and as I lift my husband, children and neighbors up (be it with a hand written note, coffee date, special lunch, thoughtful gestures, a listening ear, a tender heart and open doors) they in turn do the same for me. What keeps me going is the growth. It’s created a beauty and a fullness I couldn’t have expected. NNS: One of my biggest concerns when Stud and I start to chew on the notion of homeschooling was managing school age children with littles. We’ve learned so much from advice and feedback from big families like yours. What are the ages/grades of your children?
NNS: I love learning the “whys” behind each homeschooling family. There never seems to be two alike! Although we started homeschooling because New York State removed religious freedoms for public and private school children, we’ve fallen in love with it for so many other reasons. What were some of the biggest reasons you started homeschooling? There is an endless list of all the reasons we choose to homeschool but a few of the biggest ones are:
NNS: We never knew how many decisions we’d have to make when we pregnant with our first! Stud and I are almost always on the same page, from big to even small decisions. Homeschooling wasn’t a hard choice but it did take some adjusting on both our parts. How did you and your husband manage the decision to homeschool? At first, my husband was very much so against homeshooling. He has worked in the education system for 11 years and had not been impressed with the homeshool children he came across during that time. But, through prayer, conversations of years of waiting, God aligned both our hearts in the matter and he is fully on board and supportive of homeschooling. NNS: Thankfully my children are young enough to not fully understand that there are different schooling environments. I’m leery of conversations when they’re older and that they’ll view it as “missing out.” How have your children responded to schooling at home? They haven’t really known much else other than homeschooling, and we talk about the blessings and privilege of it that they get to experience it and live that out each day. They know all the positive benefits of it and are grateful to have slow mornings and lots of play-time. NNS: One of the things I’m grateful for are all the little moments (and some big ones!) that I get to witness while learning with my children. We easily mark every new skill in their first year and forget that these milestones continue to happen well into their older years. What do you hold dear while teaching your children? I cherish seeing my children grasp a concept, learn something new, be excited about understanding something, and following their passion and presenting their creations to me. I cherish that we get all day, every day together because this time with them is so short and I didn’t want just nights and weekends with them. NNS: I’ll never forget an Instagram story where one of the littles had taken off a poopy diaper and it trailed through the house. You managed it without missing a beat! Something I am learning to embrace. What has been the biggest stressor while having to be a mom and teacher? Trying to help everyone. They all seem to need my help at the exact same time and the toddler is screaming and the baby is wanting to be held. And those periods of time can be overwhelming and I often fail in my behavior during them but I always seem to learn a new lesson myself and grow a little more patience. There’s no magic remedy to be everything to all of them all at the same time, so that is where grace comes into play. NNS: When we realized what our learning environment should look like, we switched around the bedrooms and dedicated a room for toys, books, art and anything else that they’d delve into. Since we had set aside a few pretty pennies for private schooling, we used it to invest in a space personalized for our children. It’s worked out really well for our family. What does your schooling space look like? We mostly do all our schoolwork at the dining room table. Sometimes, it’s on the floor, or in a separate room at a desk but most often, we gather around our table and do our work all together. When I teach certain lessons family style, we cozy up on the floor or couches together too. NNS: One aspect that I love are co-ops, however with very small children I’ve learned that less is more. Do you participate in a co-op? We are not part of a co-op. NNS: A huge selling point, in changing how we school, is the flexibility to schedule learning that best suites each child. How do you manage your schooling time? We normally do actual schooling lessons between 1-3 hours, depending on the day and what we have going on. There is a lot of other free learning and life learning beyond that with play time, music lessons we have on apps, art, online skills classes, coding and typing. We area planning on hitting the road in the winter and will be schooling as we travel too. NNS: I’m less inclined to include technology in aspects of schooling at such a young age. Do you find it necessary for your family? We have paper and pen curriculum and everything in printed format. There are just a few things that are done digitally but I limit that quite a bit. NNS: Stud was initially concerned about opportunities to participate in team athletics, but after the fall season decided less is best for now. Do you have the kids in an array of activities? We don’t do many extracurricular activities because we don’t want to have a busy schedule. If the kids are interested in a sport, they will do a short session with a community team. This may shift and change as they all get older but for now, we like to have a lot of open space for family time and other activities. NNS: I already see how I’ll be tweaking things throughout the year. Theory and practice are very different, especially since each child learns in their own way. If you could change one thing, what would it be? Not having the pressure for it to look like everyone else or traditional schooling for the first few years. It took me a while to find my own flow and what works best for our family. NNS: Homeschooling is nothing that I thought it would be! What do you wish you knew when you started homeschooling? The great variety of curriculums, there are so many resources and so many options for homeschoolers these days. Find a curriculum that fits your teaching style and your kids learning style and to take it a year at a time. You can change things as the need arises and create an atmosphere and structure that works for YOU. Our biggest learning experience has been seeing them love learning and approaching teaching them in a way that was well received. We get the opportunity to do custom teaching for each child’s needs and that is a gift!
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Kate FrancesWhen you don't know what else to do, then it's time to write. Then write a little while longer for good measure. Archives
February 2020
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