Not-Real School

We homeschool.....well, the three youngest are anyway. For awhile they couldn't grasp the idea that homeschool is still school, but just at home, hence, their description of it not being "real" school. This fall will be our 6th year of homeschooling, but, in terms of experience, we're still newbies.  We started with our Princess, who was experiencing some bullying, which was affecting her learning. After getting nowhere with the school administrators, we pulled her out of public school. That was 6 years ago and we've never looked back.

We will "officially" have an 12th, an 9th, and a 5th grader coming this fall. I say "officially" because people tend to ask "What grades are they in?" when I mention we homeschool. However, their different learning abilities often put them either below or above their corresponding grade level; it really depends on which subject you ask about.

With 3 different kids and 3 different ways of learning, it's been somewhat of a struggle to find the right curriculum. During the first year of homeschooling, it was just Vanessa, so we did a lot of worksheets and reading. When Jeff joined us, we did more hands-on activities, as well as tons of arts and crafts. And, when Ethan decided he wanted to learn at home, it was computer activities for him. I really had to shake myself from the "public school" mindset and accept that my kids learned in different ways.

In the past, we tried the unschooling method, where everything they learned was interest-led. Again, I had to divorce myself from the whole "There's no worksheets or tests; they're not learning anything!" thought, and trust that they were actually learning. It's been really hard. But, even though it seemed like they had spent hours on the computer watching Netflix and YouTube, they definitely were learning: Vanessa taught herself how to make dollhouse furniture from recyclables, and clothes for her My Little Ponies, and improved on her drawing; Ethan furthered his knowledge about military weapons and warfare, as well as creating mods for some of his favorite computer games; and Jeff taught himself addition, subtraction, and some simple multiplication, and also worked on his footwork and speed for soccer, which left his coach very impressed.

My kids, however, are not self-motivators, so getting the day rolling took forever. I liked that this method was so flexible, but there are some things that I feel is necessary for them to know, so for this coming year, I think the curriculum will be more of a mix between unschooling and traditional learning (workbooks and the like). We're still trying to find a good fit for us in terms of curriculum, so we're a work in progress.