Responses and suggestions from other home educators – Children under 12
What advice would you give to someone home educating children under 12?
Coffee.
If anyone is looking for a fantastic program, we used the coach house. This program is Tailor made to suit your child.
Teach them to make coffee.
Homeschooled our kids taught my daughter to make cappuccino at the age of eight. Golden years.
Get outside and explore as much as possible. Spend your time on the couch sharing great books and stories together. Focus on the relationship (with you, with others, and with themselves) above everything else, and remind yourself that these moments really do go by in the blink of an eye.
Have fun and everything falls into place.
Opportunities over options.
Just relax – provide opportunities and the learning will happen.
Let them know it’s okay to make mistakes and that we all learn from this except when you’re making a cappuccino for daddy then there can be no mistakes.
Play together. Give them plenty of time and space to do their own things.
Take deep dives into passions and books and YouTube series. Take walks together, even if it’s just around the block, and watch the seasons change.
Don’t feel pressured to do all of the group activities if it doesn’t suit your family – introverts are allowed to homeschool too.
oh I needed this! I am a big introvert and don’t handle social gatherings all that well, but then I look at social media and it seems homeschoolers are all out doing groups and great adventures and we are not.. we are a big family (family of 7) and we just happy hanging out together but I often feel guilty I’m not taking them out to all these groups.
Have fun.
Embrace a natural curriculum. You need to ensure you’re incorporating all KLA’s but learning should be engaging. Maths concepts can be taught through cooking, science concepts through gardening and observing insects etc.
Join an online support group.
Don’t push for school style learning blocks of time everyday if your kids don’t flourish with it and it’s always stressful. Try smaller tasks throughout a whole day.
Have fun!! When you’re fun, they’re fun and you learn so much more.
Make each day an opportunity to expand your relationship and keep each other honest in the learning process. As we are so close to our kids it presents unique challenges. My daughter and I had some challenges on days where we were just not connecting at the start of the day and teaching felt like hell. But by the end of the day we had come full circle and great accomplishments were made including overcoming the bad start to the day. Each day we gave ourselves and each other a mark out of 10 for the day and our parts within it. As teacher and student. I have nothing but adoration and regard for what we managed to achieve together. Also go on lots of field trips and make them opportunities to draw routes, and landscapes and write about the the trip. If you rarely if ever go on a bus, then Bus rides to places you’ve never been on a bus can be great fun and enjoyable learning. Get creative and treasure your opportunity to set your child on the best path possible. You get one chance. Good luck..
Have fun and make lots of memories!
Always relationship and connection, obviously, but otherwise I’d say let them have a real childhood and just do life together! Life is learning.
Let it be fun.
Let them play.
Enjoy every moment you have with them. (This stage goes way too fast.) Don’t get too stressed by the areas they need work on, things are better sorted out slowly and patience will bring great rewards. Sow into their character more than their academia. Read great books aloud with them with great underlying messages. Take note of their gifts and interests and build them up in them. Give them a sense that they can do anything they put their mind to. Understand that when you muck up in front of them or lose your temper because you’re overwhelmed, that you have just opened up a wonderful opportunity to model humility and the value of saying sorry. Even if it doesn’t always feel like it, I promise you that when they are older, and you see the fruits of your labours shining through in their lives, it will be a choice you will not regret.
Get them involved!! Ask them what they’d like to learn and follow their lead!
Do it…awesome.
Be consistent, have a plan for their educational growth, don’t let unnecessary outside things change your school schedule. The child needs to know that their learning is important to you and you are willing to make sacrifices of your time to assure that they are learning.
Encourage and give space for your kids’ interests and passions.
Don’t be hard on yourself or on the little learners. Expectations should be a guide and not a mission….and most importantly be sure to fill your own cup too.
Use their interests!
Teach them how to learn and then step back and throw whatever resources and opportunities you can towards what they are passionate about.
Don’t do it … (Joking)
Have fun and encourage them to do it at there own pace..
Don’t question your choice, you will see the fruits when they are ready!! They pick up more than what they express.
Read together. Learn together. Play together.
Less is more.
When in doubt check: are they Laughing? Loved? Learning? If yes to all, all will be well.
Forget everything you think you know about ‘school.’ Learning can be as natural as when you taught them to walk, talk, eat etc. and YouTube and the library are your new best friends.
