I have had the homeschooling bug for over a year now. There have been so many great posts on Dallas Moms by our contributors and guest authors with such great information:
A Day in the Life of a Homeschooler
Adventures in Homeschooling (in Dallas)
5 Pros and Cons of Homeschooling
I also have several friends and family members who love to homeschool their kids! I really feel like it is the right fit for us.
But now that I know I definitely want to do it, I need to decide HOW to start and WHEN!?
My son is 4½, which means that most of his playmates are prepping for kindergarten right now. Their mommas are going around to schools and signing everyone up. Friends and family are starting to ask my son if he’s ready for school and where he’ll be going.
When we explain that we are going to homeschool, I get some questions about what we’ll be doing. Most are fascinated by it and genuinely curious. We also have lots of friends with wonderful suggestions about programs and co-ops they use and love!
Since I started thinking about homeschooling a while ago, I felt like I had all the time in the world to decide what to do and plan it all out. And then I realized that he’s almost 5! I’m running out of time!!
Then, I calmed down. He’s not 5, he’s ONLY 4½. Soon he’ll be ONLY 5. I don’t need to panic just yet.
One of the reasons I want to homeschool is to make our lives easier. And with everyone prepping for school, I feel like maybe it’s just too easy. Can that be right? But it is! He is still a kid, and the absolute best way for him to learn is through play. (Which is what any homeschooling mom will tell you to do if you ask for a curriculum for your preschooler!) Play! Play! Play!!! And then go read some books together. And then play some more!
In my panic, I did buy some workbooks and we signed up for ABC Mouse. We also have some learning apps on the iPad. We like Dora Letter Tracing and Endless Reader. When he wants to play a game or watch videos on YouTube, he has to do one of his learning apps first. We do the workbooks and ABC Mouse only if he’s interested or bored, usually 3 times a week max.
While I feel like this is a good introduction to “school time,” I am being careful not to push it.
They are only little once.
They only get to play in the mud, pretend to be knights and fight dragons, ride their bikes around the block, and build forts in the living room for a short amount of time. Why ruin that with a workbook?
That being said, I have done some research on curricula and there is a store in Lewisville, The Home Educators Resource—I haven’t visited yet but plan to—where you can review and buy different options. But the biggest wealth of information I’ve found is from a homeschooling Facebook group I joined. It’s a closed group for anyone who homeschools or wants to, where moms discuss and review curricula and lesson plans and ask for suggestions on a daily basis.
Between that and other DM contributors offering suggestions, I’ve decided to start in the fall with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I have all summer to pick a math curriculum that I think will work for him. I’ll probably head to the Lewisville store for that. And I might try to find a subscription to art projects or science projects that we can do together; one we’ve used and liked before is Kiwi Crate and one I’m excited to try is Green Kids Crafts!
In the fall, all that might change, but for now I’m going to take a breath, quit stressing, and play, play, play!
Are you in the early stages of preparing for homeschool?
Share what you’re doing to help prepare for your “first day!”
Hey Amanda, can you share or email me the FB group you mentioned? I live in Wylie and would live a good resource for curriculum.
Good thing I read my post first 😉 *love, not live
Hi amanda, I really liked your post. I have a company of homeschooling in Mexico. I want your permission to translate it in spanish. Can this be possible?
Please email [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help with your request!