Homeschool • Page 3 of 5 • Most Important Work

How to Overcome the Top 10 Fears to Homeschooling

Reading Time: 5 min 32 seconds

What scares you when it comes to homeschooling? Is it the fear of failing? The cost? Or something else? When you start to entertain the possibility of homeschooling, it can be a daunting process. You don’t know what you don’t know, and that can be overwhelming.

Before we talk about breaking down the top ten fears of homeschooling, we need to take a look at the foundation of homeschooling, which are your family’s values.

Instead of focusing on your fears, ask yourself the question: What are my family’s values? What life do I imagine for my child?

Your values are CRUCIAL to not only deciding whether or not to homeschool, but how and what you teach, and your overall learning environment. Family values serve as building blocks to everything else.

I would encourage you to sit down with your spouse or a friend and write out your family’s values. They don’t have to lengthy or eloquent.

They can be as simple as:

A value of close family relationships
A value of encouraging a strong relationship with God.
A value of fostering a love of learning
A value of taking initiative, problem-solving, and out of the box thinking

Once you settle on your key values, you can begin to address your fears of homeschooling.

Disclaimer: Homeschooling is not for everyone. You must decide what type of education is best for your family.

1. I Am Not Trained As A Teacher

2. I Would Go Crazy Being At Home With The Kids All Day

3. I would Mess Them Up

4. What If I Failed

5. I Don’t Have Enough Patience

6. I Couldn’t Leave My Career

7. I Hated School

8. I Could Never Afford it

9. It’s Just Too Overwhelming

10. I’m Not Organized Enough

1. I Am Not Trained As A Teacher

Rest assured you do not need to be trained as a teacher to be qualified to teach your child. You have been teaching your child since they were born. You taught them how to walk, how to talk, their ABC’s, and how to share (okay, that’s an ongoing learning experience). You don’t need to start anything new, you just need to continue loving them, fostering relationships and a love of learning in your home.

2. I would go Crazy being at Home with Just the Kids all Day

Are you stuck at home now all the time? Unless you have an infant most likely, you are taking advantage of playdates, Storytime at your local library, and trips to the park. Nothing changes when you homeschool. You don’t cloister inside. You take advantage of the many opportunities homeschoolers have to learn, grow and explore the world.

Yes, as with any job, there are tough days, or days when you can’t get outside, and that’s when you continue to employ self-care practices. Throughout the day you take a couple of minutes to yourself, when your spouse comes home you go take a walk, go shopping, read a book or go out with friends. Taking care of your overall mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health is important no matter what job you hold.

3. I would Mess Them Up

Seriously, who knows and loves your child more than you? Who wants them to succeed more than you? We all want good things for our kids. We know their strengths and weaknesses, and unlike a teacher who has to manage twenty needs at once, we can tailor our teaching style to our child’s specific needs. You are the most highly motivated teacher out there.

4. What If I Failed

You need to know that just like traditionally educated children your child will have gaps in their education. It’s not failure on your part, it’s just life. You could teach everything there is to teach and some of it will go in one ear and out the other.

In homeschooling, you are not teaching just to get through the curriculum, you are fostering a love of learning in your child. If you focus on encouraging curiosity, exploration, and initiative, your child will the tools to not only fill in any gaps but the sky’s the limit on what they could add to the world.

5. I Don’t Have Enough Patience

Let’s be honest, every mom feels inadequate and like there is never enough patience to go around. That’s parenting in a nutshell, right?! As a parent (and a homeschooler) your patience is tested and it provides daily opportunities for growth. You can do it! You are doing it right now just by being their parent.

6. I Couldn’t Leave My Career

What are your dreams for your kids for the future? What are your family’s values? Those are the questions you need to ask yourself. Homeschooling doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to leave your career but it will mean sacrifice and adjustment.

There are tons of homeschool moms who still have a career while teaching their children. That’s one of the perks of homeschooling, it’s flexible, you don’t have to stick to typical eight to three pm schedule. There are parents who homeschool at night, or who trade off responsibilities during the day. You just have to find what works best for your family.

7. I Hated School

Homeschooling is not public school at home and it also looks different for every family. You can tailor homeschooling to your personality, your schedule and the needs of your family. You will need to incorporate your states homeschooling laws but other than the environment, and daily schedule is up to you.

I would encourage you to sit down and put to paper why you hated school. When you put it down on paper it’s amazing that what looks insurmountable is really not as big as you thought.

8. I Can’t Afford It

Homeschooling will take sacrifices. However, with the benefits of local libraries, free field trips, co-ops, second-hand curriculum, and scholarships, you can homeschool very affordably.

Take a look at your budget and ask yourself what do you really need and what can you cut out to make homeschooling doable for your family? Make a plan that will move you towards homeschooling.

9. It’s too Overwhelming

Many first-time homeschool moms feel like they need to plan their homeschool year down to the minute only to find out on day two that their plans are not realistic, AT ALL. I have never had a homeschool plan (even a basic one) that I didn’t adjust a lot.

You are not committing to teach your child at home for life. You are just responsible for planning this year. That planning can be as loose or as detailed as your personality warrants.

10. I’m Not Organized Enough

No one is. Seriously, there is not one homeschool mom that thinks that she is organized enough. Your children are living, breathing, human beings with different interests, strengths, and aptitudes. You can have an AMAZING homeschool plan only to have it fall apart when you realize your child needs more or less time with that particular subject, or there is a family illness, or a major life change.

You don’t have to be super organized to homeschool. What you do need to be able to do is to recognize the needs of your child and adjust your expectations accordingly. Your goal is to foster a love of learning, not to finish every textbook to the detriment of your child.

Are you wondering HOW do you actually get started homeschooling? Join our community of moms who want to invest in the lives of their children through homeschooling. I also created a How to Find Excellent Curriculum checklist (grab it below) to help YOU on your journey.

You Got this Mom!

What about you? What is your #1 concern when it comes to figuring out this homeschooling adventure? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

What You Need to Know the Good and Bad of Homeschooling

Reading Time: 4 min

You can’t believe that your precious child is almost ready to head off to school. It feels like you just brought them home from the hospital, and were up all night just trying to get them to go sleep.

Now your baby is all grown up and you are in the throes of trying to figure out the best type of education for your child. You want them to not only thrive in school and you also want them to grow up to be a well-rounded, functioning member of society.

As you start to research you keep hearing about this thing called homeschooling. You initially dismiss it, with an I could never do that shake of your head. But as you get deeper into the research process, you come to the place where you want to explore all your options.

I agonized over the decision of whether or not to homeschool. I remember the process like it was yesterday, feeling overwhelmed with this enormous weight of responsibility.

Choosing to homeschool (or attend public or private school) is a big decision but we are going to walk you through the process of discovering:

1. What is Homeschooling?

2. The Good and Bad of

Homeschooling

3. How to Decide if Homeschooling

Is Best for You

1. What is Homeschooling?

Home Schooling is more than teaching your child at home. It is a way of life. If your only exposure to education has been in a corporate setting, it might be helpful for you to think of homeschooling as private tutoring (with a lot of snuggles, family adventures and laughter thrown in).

You do not need to have a teaching degree in order to teach your child. You do not need classroom management skills because you don’t need to worry about the needs of twenty children, just your own.

There are an estimated 2.3 million childrenhomeschooled as of 2016 survey by the National Home Education Research Instituteand that number is growing each year.

Each family chooses to homeschool for a variety of reasons, such as religious views, financial reasons, to spend more time together as a family, to allow the child to pursue opportunities, or because they live in a school district not known for its high-test scores etc.

Homeschooling looks different for each family. Some choose to participate in an online school, or 2-3 day a week co-op, and others learn at home using a variety of sources. You can tailor make homeschooling to fit your child’s needs, your teaching, and your family’s lifestyle.

Here is a fun list of people who have homeschooled throughout the ages and went on to accomplish some pretty amazing things.

A number of our Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson,& Abraham Lincoln.
Leonardo Da Vinci
Claude Monet
Alexander Graham Bell
Thomas Edison

Orville and Wilbur Wright
Charles Dickens
C.S. Lewis
Beatrix Potter
Louis Armstrong
Misty Copeland
Tim Tebow
Walt Whitman
Winston Churchill
Mozart

“Thank goodness I was never sent to school: it would have rubbed off some of the originality.” Beatrix Potter

2. The Good and Bad of Homeschooling

As with anything, there are pros and cons to homeschooling. You just need to decide if the pros outweigh the cons for YOUR family. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but to serve a starting point.

The Pros of Homeschooling include:

A personalized education,
One on one time with your child
Flexibility
You get to be the primary influence in their lives
Foster a love of learning
You are not restricted by a school calendar
Freedom to explore and develop your kid’s interests
Build strong family ties

The Cons of Homeschooling could be:

You are primarily responsible for their overall education
Could mean a sacrifice of a career and a second income
The financial costs of homeschooling (the state does not pay for homeschooling)
Time spent teaching your child

I would encourage you to sit down with your spouse (or trusted friend) and create your own pros and cons list. Take some time to discuss the sacrifices that homeschooling could entail for you and your family. Don’t worry about trying to come to a decision, just focus on getting it all down on paper.

3. How to Decide If Homeschooling Is Best For You

So how do you know what type of education is best for your family? I am not going to lie, this was a very tough decision. This is a choice that takes time. You can’t rush it, even if you think you already know what decision you are going to make.

Here are five steps I learned after going through the process:

1st- Spend Time in Prayer

Talk to God about your thoughts, concerns, and fears. Ask him for the wisdom to make the best decision for your family.

2nd- Write Down Your Values

What is important to you and your spouse? Does homeschooling move you towards or away from those values?

3rd- Get advice from People You Trust (and who know you well).

You will get conflicting viewpoints, so limit how many people you talk to, and remember that at the end of the day, YOU have to live with your decision (not them).

4th- Consider your Child’s Personality (learning style, & your personality)

This should be considered but should not be the sole determining factor in the overall decision.

5th- Take It a Year at A Time

Sometimes we can make the decision to homeschool seem so much bigger than it actually is, you are not committing to homeschool for life, just next year.

Are you wondering HOW do you actually get started homeschooling? Join our community of moms who want to invest in the lives of their children through homeschooling. I also created a How to Find Excellent Curriculum checklist (grab it below) to help YOU on your journey.

You Got this Mom!

What about you? What is your #1 concern when it comes to figuring out this homeschooling adventure? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

How To Homeschool When You Wake Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed

Reading Time: 5 min 28 sec

We have all had those mornings where we oversleep and wake up to our kids’ incessant demands for food, justice, and love all at once, and at an unmistakable roar. We stumble to the coffee maker and pray that the coffee will be made at lightning speed as we listen to that roar turn into a circus. We wonder why is there SO MUCH NOISE at 7am?!

We dream of someone else sweeping in and taking over the chaos so we can catch a breather. Unfortunately, a large majority of the time, that sweeper is us. We heave a sigh and pray for patience and the strength to make it through the day. As a mom (and primary teacher) it can be a bummer to know that you set the tone for the day.

Our kids can pick up on our moods through walls and at

opposite ends of the home.

They can internalize our grumpiness, our stress, and our impatience and it will come out in undesirable ways. The Ron Hall quote, “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” can be infuriatingly accurate.

So how do you homeschool on days that you just want to curl up under the blankets, put a pillow over your head, and restart the day? How do you not just survive but redeem a lousy day?

We are going to be talking about eight tips for salvaging those grumpy days.

1. Keep The End In Mind

2. Focus on the Have-To’s

3. Follow a Rhythm

4. Go Outside

5. Focus on Relationships

6. Utilize Digital Resources

7. Take Time for You

8. Simple Meals and Fun Treats

1. Keep the End in Mind

We need to begin with the end in mind. If we want to homeschool long term we need to be proactive in practicing self-care. As a homeschool mom, it can be easy to fall into the trap of just going, going, going each day, which leads to a burned out, irritated mama.

We need to keep our long-term vision in place and understand that there are days when we need to give ourselves the gift of rest. I would rather move slowly and practice self-care than burn out and ship my kids off to boarding school.

2. Focus on the Have-To’s

For those days when you can’t stay at home, I would encourage you to eliminate as many outside activities as possible. Your kids would rather have a mom who is loving, kind, and present then a mom who is biting everyone’s heads offs as you rush, rush, rush to activities.

There are some things that we are not in control of and can’t be postponed. However, you would be surprised at how many things we can adjust with a little creative thinking. I know you were planning to visit the library, grocery store, and soccer practice today but can they be postponed until tomorrow or next week? Will the world come to an end if your child misses one piano lesson? Ask yourself what has to happen today and eliminate the rest.

3. Follow a Rhythm

On those tough days give yourself room to move slowly, whether it’s taking time to sip your coffee (instead of gulp), or by taking an extra-long shower. If you have older kids tell them to go play quietly in another room and with littles allow them to play in a pack n play. Your goal is to give yourself grace and space to wake up and move throughout your day.

Kids thrive on predictability. Instead of removing all structure in favor of a lazy day employ the joy of a rhythm. A rhythm has the benefit of a structure without set time limits. Who wants to be constantly chasing a schedule all day when you are already feeling out of sorts? Give yourself permission to move slowly and rest of a rhythm instead of a schedule.

4. Go Outside

One of the best ways to reset the day is getting outside. Even if you don’t feel like moving (I know that feeling), push yourself, and get everyone out the door. It will be worth it!

Go for a walk, visit a park, hike a trail. Time outside will increase your energy, decrease your stress, and burning your kids excess energy, sounds like a win, win to me!

5. Focus on Relationship

Focus on savoring relationships instead of trying to knock out accomplishments. Do something fun together. Engage in a hobby or grab the art supplies and head outside.

Today, I would encourage you to save your strength by avoiding areas of contention and set yourself up for success. You can do this by thinking outside of the box. If you know that math will be a struggle, grab a board game. Snuggle on the couch and read a stack of your favorite picture books, or write a letter to a family member, instead of a reading or language arts lesson.

You can still homeschool by utilizing alternative resources to accomplish your objectives. Focus on relationships instead of crossing off to do’s and it will transform your day.

My Favorite Picture Book Series:

The Katie Series by James Mayhew (Art)
The Sir Cumference Series by Cindy Neuschwander (Math)
Magic School Bus Series by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degan (Science)
Ordinary People Change the World Series by Brad Meltzer (History)
Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo (Language Arts)

My Favorite Games: See this post for more game schooling ideas

Quoridor– Logic (WE LOVE THIS GAME!)
Story Cubes- Language Arts-Imagination
Wildcraft- Science Study of Herbs
Ticket To Ride First Journey – Geography
Sum Swamp– Money Bags– Clumsy Thief– Math

6. Utilize Digital Resources

Give yourself the gift of letting your children learn from someone other than you. Remember today isn’t every day, and your mental health is crucial to the long-term sustainability of your homeschool.

Take advantage of some of the amazing learning resources via apps, audiobooks, videos etc. Some of my family’s most favorite memories are centered around listening to an audiobook while coloring or painting.

Here are some of my favorite apps:

Reading Eggs/Math Seeds
Piano Maestro (Free)
Duolingo (Free)
Rosetta Stone (Check out this post to check out if you can get this program for free)

Here are some of my favorite videos:

Here are some of my favorite audiobooks:

Also, my all-time favorite resource for slow days is Around the World Stories. You can check it out here!

7. Take Time For You

While your children are engaged in an activity (or taking a nap), take advantage of the time by replenishing your soul. Spend time with Jesus, read a book, engage in a hobby or build a nap into your day.

Taking time to participate in activities that recreate you

is crucial to your overall health.

8. Simple Meals and Fun Treats

I pull out the crockpot or fix easy dinners on tough days. This is not the day to be spending an hour in the kitchen trying out a new recipe (unless you love to cook). Bring out the taco soup and spaghetti!! Or call your husband and tell him its a Chipotle night! 🙂

Don’t forget the snacks! Yummy snacks like a cup of hot chocolate, fresh chocolate chip cookies, or warm banana bread can add some fun (and amazing memories) into your day.

Do you want more practical tips, AMAZING resources, and support on your homeschooling journey? Join our community of moms who are pouring into the lives of their families through homeschooling. Grab your free 10 Tips to Finding Excellent Curriculum checklist (get it below) to help YOU on your homeschooling journey!

What about you? What are your favorite tips for homeschooling on a tough day?

Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

How to Homeschool in a Small Space

Reading Time: 4 min 58 sec

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to homeschool in a small space? I don’t know about you but sometimes while homeschooling our homes can eerily resemble an episode from Hoarders. Cramped living spaces filled with old curriculum, books, paperwork, supplies, and projects seem to spread like a virus to every nook and cranny.

You sit down to homeschool your child, only to feel frustrated with your inability (and your child’s) to focus due to so many distractions. You organize all of your supplies only to find after a couple of weeks that the clutter has returned.

Your home is supposed to be a retreat but all you see is an endless to-list and an organizing nightmare. You feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and hopeless. You wonder if it is possible to homeschool in a small space without clutter spilling out of every drawer and cabinet!

Every homeschooling parent dreams of perfectly organized spaces where you have plenty of room to spread out and everything you need is always right at your fingertips. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t matter if you have a small or large space. It’s about the practical steps you take to control the clutter.

We are going to be talking about eight practical steps you can take to create a stress-free learning environment:

Stop Saving for a Rainy Day

2. Go Digital

3. Something Borrowed

4. In Plain View

5. Establish a Daily Habit

6. Avoid Sales

7. Utilize Media

8. Only Amazing Resources

1. Stop Saving for a Rainy Day

Do you ever keep resources just in case? You bought a math book, tried one or two lessons, you weren’t thrilled, so you put it back on the shelf, in the hope that it might miraculously be a good fit later down the road.

“If you’re not using the stuff in your home, get rid of it. You’re not going to start using it more by shoving it in a closet somewhere.” Joshua Becker

Let me be honest, if you haven’t used it in the last six months most likely you will never use it. Take a good look at all of your curriculum, whether its books, textbooks, handouts, projects and remove everything you haven’t used in six months. * You might be surprised at how many just in case, books and resources take up precious space on your shelves.

Good intentions do not create an organized stress-free home.

*This does not include staples (such as reading or math books) that you will use to teach your next child.

2. Go Digital

Do you have folders crammed full of handwriting samples, artistic masterpieces, math tests, and brochures from every field trip you have visited in the last six months?

I stumbled on this hack out of necessity when my second (of two) homeschool drawer was crammed to overwhelming with past paperwork. My good intentions of putting my paperwork into sheet protectors never ever happened (can anyone relate?).

Maximize your limited space by utilizing a scanning app to save every document (no drawer required). I have loved the flexibility and the price tag (its FREE) of the Genius Scan App. I scan every document and then upload them directly to the computer. It makes creating a portfolio a breeze (almost) every year. Say Hello to Empty Drawers!

If you find a better app, please let me know!

3. Something Borrowed

One of the ways we can run out of space so quickly is storing that reading or math book for two years until your next kid is ready for it. Did you know that the library is a gold mine of FREE Resources that… wait for it… YOU DON’T HAVE TO STORE!

I am talking about more than the lone textbook you found on your last library search, but a vast amount of material that will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Check out this post 10 Library Hacks to the Hidden World of Free Curriculumfor step by step instructions.

4. In Plain View

An important aspect of homeschooling in a small space is being able to see everything at a glance. When organizing DO NOT stuff drawers or place items behind each other hoping to maximize space.

Take time and evaluate your materials. Here is a good rule of thumb when evaluating your materials

Keep the Best (Is it portfolio worthy?)
Remove Duplicates (Do you really need 8 pairs of scissors?)
Get Rid of all of those Scraps of Paper and Trash
Keep Only what you Love and use Regularly
Store the Same things Together (ex. Keep all pencils or library books in one spot)

5. Establish a Daily Habit

It is imperative when homeschooling in a small space to establish a daily practice of purging and placing everything back where it belongs. It might seem like an obvious suggestion until it comes to putting it into practice.

We choose to declutter at the end of every afternoon. I set a timer for ten minutes and we run about the house putting projects, books, and supplies away in preparation for dinner. Find a rhythm that works for you whether its right after school, late afternoon or during the evening, the point is to do it every day.

6. Avoid Sales

I don’t know about you but I can get a little carried away at those curriculum and library sales and start treating it like I am in the snack aisle of my local grocery store. I come out cash poor, regretful, and wondering where I am going to put all this stuff.

“It’s not a good deal if you don’t need it” -Unknown

Impulse buying can keep our homes, finances, and mental spaces in a place of chaos and clutter. Avoiding window shopping will go a long way in keeping your home free of mess.

7. Utilize Media

Get rid of some of those big heavy textbooks and utilize your digital resources. Not only can you purchase amazing apps and programs but I was shocked to find Rosetta stone language programs, math tutoring, and streaming documentaries (and that was just the tip of the iceberg) for FREE on my local library’s website. You can check out this article for step by step instructions.

8. Only Amazing Resources

Think of yourself as a curator of the best homeschooling resources. Only allow learning tools that you truly LOVE to enter your home.

“Your home is a living space, not a storage space.” Francine Jay

You do this by borrowing, researching, and committing to return items that do not fit your family’s needs. This step takes intentionality and commitment as there is always the pressure to find that perfect resource FAST. This step will play a huge role in allowing you to homeschool in a small space with peace.

So how do you find those AMAZING resources? Grab your free 10 Tips to Finding Excellent Curriculum checklist (get it below) to help YOU on your homeschooling journey!

What about you? What is your #1 concern when it comes to figuring out this homeschooling adventure?

Please feel free to leave me a comment and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

How to Avoid these Five Homeschooling Mistakes

Reading Time: 5 min 22 sec

Are you a new to homeschooling or in the thick of figuring out how to start? Are you dreaming of newly sharpened pencils, child prodigies, and Von Trapp family adventures? We are going to come alongside you on your journey and talk about the five common mistakes first-time homeschoolers make and how YOU can avoid them (and save hundreds of dollars).

I have spoken with a lot of new homeschool parents over the years who are overwhelmed, frustrated, burned out and about five minutes away from shipping their kids off to boarding school in Switzerland. They start to wonder about their ability, sanity, and if homeschooling is really doable for the average mom.

Homeschooling is very possible but sometimes we can unintentionally shoot ourselves in the foot by making decisions out of a lack of experience. We need people to come alongside us and help us through the minefields of those early days so that we can go back to enjoying those amazing family moments.

We are going to be addressing these 5 common homeschooling mistakes today:

1.Homeschooling without Direction

2. Duplicating School at Home

3. Bowing to a Teaching Philosophy

4.Requiring Too Much Too Soon

5.A Boxed Curriculum is the Answer

1. Homeschooling without Direction

We have an endless supply of amazing resources for homeschooling mamas and their students. It can get very easy to get caught up running to the latest teaching philosophy, schedule, curriculum, or activity hoping that it will solve all of your learning woes. Now I am all for exploring new teaching resources (We love you, Life of Fred) but it can get very exhausting and can give your kids whiplash if you don’t have a roadmap in place to help you figure out if that latest thing fits your family.

You need to know what your vision and values are because they influence the goals and atmosphere of your homeschool. You can’t set or accomplish your goals if you have no idea what you are aiming at.

For instance, does your vision for the future include children who grow up to be lifelong learners, self-starters, out of the box thinkers and mighty followers of Jesus? Does one of your values include forming quality family relationships?

If so, the decisions you make, your teaching style, activities, schedule, curriculum choices, and atmosphere all should flow out of your vision and values. They are a roadmap to a successful homeschool and when used properly, can help prevent burnout. Do not move forward without taking the time to talk over your vision, values, and goals with your spouse or a friend.

When things get challenging, instead of completely changing direction, and giving into fear and self-doubt, you can rest in the knowledge that you have an overall plan in place. By establishing your vision, values, goals, and atmosphere ahead of time it allows you to not have to make big decisions in a time of crisis.

2. Duplicating School at Home

You have just decided that you are going to homeschool and you are scared but also super excited. You rearrange your home, choose a homeschooling room, and rush out and buy (borrow or steal) desks, chalkboards, and inspirational posters for the walls. Three days into your homeschool adventure you realize that no one wants to sit at cold, hard desks when they can be snuggling on the couch reading books with mom.

Homeschooling is not public school at home. Homeschooling is a way of life. If your only exposure to education has been in a corporate setting, it might be helpful for you to think of homeschooling as private tutoring (with a lot of snuggles, family adventures and laughter thrown in).

Homeschooling is not just when you open your “school books” but all throughout the day, at the grocery store, gardening, listening to audiobooks in the car, while doing the budget, and fixing the sink, you are giving your children the benefit of real-world experience.

Save yourself tons of money, homeschool regrets (and your children a lot of frustration) by taking advantage of the benefits of teaching your children at home; one on one time together, comfy couches, and real-life learning to find out and own what works for you and your family.

3. Bowing to a Teaching Philosophy

As you start to research homeschooling it can feel like there are HUNDREDS of teaching methodologies out there. You are told that time in nature, memorizing information, giving them time to play, structure, no structure, textbooks, only living books, experience, and facts are crucial to your child’s success in life.

The options can not only feel overwhelming but restricting to a new homeschool parent. You get sold on a teaching philosophy and jump in 100% only to find out that it doesn’t quite fit your family. I have seen moms ignore the downsides (every philosophy can have negatives) and keep pressing on only to feel miserable because it is not a perfect fit.

You can save yourself time, energy, frustration, and money by realizing that you will need to adapt any philosophy to your family not your family to the philosophy. This is where knowing your vision, values, goals is crucial to setting the tone of your homeschool. Listen to your mom instincts, and don’t feel pressured to teach in a certain way if it doesn’t fit the needs of your family.

4. Requiring Too Much Too Soon

You are excited to get started on your homeschooling adventure. You sit down with your five-year-old and dive into your new stack of curriculum. The first couple of days are wonderful, and things are moving along brilliantly until suddenly they aren’t.

Your child whines when you get out the books, you find yourself constantly encouraging him to do one last problem or activity. You just find yourself working harder than they are to complete your list of studies for the day. You feel frustrated, demoralized, and you wonder if this homeschooling really works in real life.

Save yourself (and your child) frustration, by focusing on your values (strong family relationships, fostering a love for learning, character development etc.) instead of focusing on checking “educational” boxes.

When you have a ten-thousand-foot view of the future, you won’t get hung up on whether or not you completed the allotted math problems for the day.

Enjoy these early years, they won’t last forever. Encourage your child’s curiosity and rest in the knowledge that they are constantly learning by living life with you at the perfect pace for them.

6. A Boxed Curriculum is the Answer

You spend hours researching a comprehensive curriculum, you want to make sure that every base is covered, and that your kid won’t end up going to college, not knowing how to do long division. You find a curriculum that you think will be a good fit, shell out a couple hundred dollars, only to find to out that you love the math, are “ehh” about the social studies, and absolutely hate the language arts program.

It is rare (and I mean RARE) that a boxed curriculum will meet all of your needs. You know your child, you know their strengths and weaknesses, you know the vision and values of your homeschool, and you are the best person to hand select curriculum. Save yourself hundreds of dollars (do you see a theme here) by choosing the best resources for your child.

When you handpick curriculum, not only is it a smaller monetary investment but if it doesn’t work, you aren’t stuck with it (trying to get your money’s worth) or desperately scrambling to replace an entire curriculum midway through the school year.

Are you wondering HOW do you actually find a great curriculum for each subject? I created a How to Find Excellent Curriculum checklist (grab it below) to help you on your journey.

You Got this Mom!

What about you? What is your number one frustration when it comes to figuring out this homeschooling adventure? Leave a comment, and don’t forget to follow Most Important Work on Pinterest!

$How to Stop the Tears with 50 Out of the Box Math Resources$

How to Stop the Tears with 50 Out of the Box Math Resources

Reading Time: 4 min 40 sec

I hated math after second grade. Math in K through 2nd-grade was full of fun pictures, simple problems, and little challenges that grabbed my interest. 3rd-grade hit and so did purely text-based learning, and my joy of problem-solving DIED!

If your child is anything like me, math can feel overwhelming, and it can be a struggle to draw connections between solving difficult math problems and how that info will be used in real life. It’s frustrating to teach a child who obviously would rather be doing anything else (even visiting the dentist) than spend time learning math.

My overriding goal is for my kids to fall in love with learning. No matter their strengths and weaknesses I want to encourage them to wrestle with all aspects of education. I do that by not sticking to one way (a math textbook) of communicating concepts but by taking a multi-tool approach. Imagine teaching your child math concepts through playing a game, reading a story, listening to music, beating levels on an app, mastering brain teasers, or by solving a problem in a real life application?

There is a self-motivation that arises when kids make direct connections between what I am learning today, and if it can be applied directly to my life. Who doesn’t want to practice logical thinking, if they know it can be used to win at a game or to make purchases with their money?

Creating an atmosphere of fun, family relationships and multi-tool approaches allow you, as the parent to foster a love of learning at home.

In this article, we will be talking about:

How to Make Math Fun
How to Make Math Practical
How to Make Math a Treat
How to Make Math Unforgettable
How to Make Math an Adventure

Make Math Fun

Forget math drills and grab a board game. As your child practices their math skills, your family builds lifelong memories, and connections are drawn between math and FUN! I have seen a significant improvement in my children’s math skills and abilities to think logically after playing these board games!Here are a couple of math board game suggestions to get you started:

Quoridor(pronounced like Corridor) blew me away, with its modern, well made, wooden set. You want to leave this game out as a decorative piece, it’s that impressive. This game is a little on the higher end of the price tag, but WELL WORTH IT (I have already bought it to give away as gifts)! It takes anywhere from ten-twenty minutes to play the game so it is easy to use when you only have a short window of available time. I have seen a significant improvement in my children’s ability to think logically after playing this game!

Quoridor Logic
Math Dice Jr. Math
Rush Hour Logic
Brain Builders Logic
Sum Swamp Addition
Money Bags Money
Sequence Logic
Clumsy Thief Addition-Money

Make Math Practical

What seems to be the biggest hang-up with Math curriculum is the question, “How does this apply in real life?” This issue seems to grow throughout upper elementary years and beyond. Here are some amazing alternatives to traditional textbooks. What I appreciate is that children get to see immediately a direct correlation between math concepts and real-life application.

9. Life of Fred Series

Is an amazing alternative to a traditional math book. Written in story form, it follows the adventures of a 5-year-old prodigy named Fred who shows children how math applies to real life. At the end of every chapter, there are several math questions that pertain to the lesson for your child to answer. My children love this series and beg for more “Fred, please”! There is an elementary, middle school, high school series, and college.

10. Bedtime Math Series

Bedtime math is a three-part book series aimed at Pre-K- 2nd-grade students. This book is full of funny questions designed to make math fun for kids. I love that each question only takes about 5 minutes to answer so it’s easy to add to any part of your day. The genius of this series is that it offers three difficulty levels for each problem so the whole family can participate together.

11. Logic Lollipop Series

I started Logic Lollipop in 1st grade and Pre-K for my kids, and they fell in love with the books. What makes Logic Lollipop unique is that it is picture based book instead of text-based. This makes this series perfect for pre/beginning readers. I appreciated the program because it helped my children develop their critical thinking skills at young ages. There are three books in the series and are targeted to K-2 grade students. Love it!

12. Logic Safari Series

Is the next series following Logic Lollipop. It is text-based and builds upon the skills in the Logic Lollipop series. I would read aloud the problem aloud and have my children give a verbal response. There are three books in the series and they are targeted to 2-6 grade students. It is definitely challenging but my children have enjoyed working their way through the problems. These books teach kids to look at life logically and have helped my children understand math in a whole new way.

13. Math Skills Workbooks

If you worry that your child isn’t getting enough “real” practice, grab a workbook. These workbooks are affordable and they offer a great overview of the math skills per grade without a lot of unnecessary busy work.

Make Math A Treat

Math Seeds is by far our favorite math app. It is so engaging and fun that my kids beg to play “just one more game”. Math Seeds has really transformed my children’s math aptitude. Using challenges, games, songs, and tests, it teaches core math skills to kids ages 3-9.

We bought the program for my oldest, but my youngest who was in Pre-K at the time, got a hold of it, and after playing for several months ended up skipping K and most of 1st-grade math due to using this program.

Love it! What’s also great is that you can use it for two weeks for free and find out if it’s a good fit for your family! Win!

14. Math Seeds

Make Math Unforgettable

You know when a song gets stuck in your head and you just CAN’T GET IT OUT?! We have found these CDs to be a great way to memorize the multiplication tables. They are so much so that our kindergartener couldn’t help memorize them without even realizing it (she will thank me later). Each cd has a fun beat and perfect for taking advantage of time spent running errands in the car (we all have had those last-minute milk runs).

15. Multiplication “rock”

16. Multiplication Songs

Make Math an Adventure

Who knew math could be so fun? What I love about the power of picture books is that kids connect the warm feelings of snuggling on the couch, experiencing the magic of adventure with math! These are some of our favorite math picture books. Bon Voyage!