We (& New Homeschoolers) Need Your Help!
We are busy putting the final touches on our 2012 Complete Curriculum Kits and that means we are ready to revise the Student Folders. One of my favorite parts is including tips and quotes from homeschoolers like you. Not only are they fun for us, but imagine how helpful and encouraging they can be to the brand new homeschooler! Need a jump-start?
- What is the one thing you wish someone had told you when you started homeschooling?
- My favorite thing about homeschooling is…
- The funniest thing my child has said is…. (Be sure you include your child’s age!)
- What would you say to the mom who is afraid she can’t homeschool?
We look forward to reading all your comments – and for this special drawing, multiple comments are encouraged if you have more than one entry to share. Each will be treated by us as its own entry, so post away, you just might be quoted! Two winners will each receive a $25 Timberdoodle Gift Certificate!
Pictured: Our Warehouse Manager Nehemiah reads to his youngest daughter, Eliana
Enter the Drawing
You can enter one of two ways. Option one is simple, just leave a comment in the white box at the very bottom of this post (below the Facebook comments) with your favorite tip, best advice you’ve received, or funniest kid comment. Or, if you prefer, you can enter using the PunchTab Widget below. The advantage to PunchTab is that you will be able to accumulate multiple entries, but if it doesn’t work for you please don’t despair; leaving a comment will enter you just as surely, and it only takes one entry to win! Drawing closes Monday, January 16th at noon PST and 1 winner will be drawn. You’ll have 48 hours to claim your prize! (Troubleshooting information and fine print about Timberdoodle Drawings can be found here.)
And the winners are:
Jill Hardenburg Dominguez who said the best part of homeschooling is “Spending most of every day with my fabulous daughters, watching them learn and grow, and learning and growing right along with them.” and Faith Salmon Larson who shared this funny story: “When my son was smaller (4 maybe?) He loved looking at all the white blossomed trees around where we lived. We told him they were called dogwood trees. Weeks later we were driving down the road and he yells out “mommy look at that red tree! Is that a catwood tree?? To this day he still calls them that! (hes 10)” Winners, would you email me at Joy@Timberdoodle.com so that I can email you your gift certificates?
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There are two things that I typically tell new homeschoolers: You can do a better job than any other school because your interests in your child exceed others’, and The biggest way to avoid burnout/frustration is to find out yours and your child’s learning style!
Homeschooling can feel intimidating at first, but once you see your child flourish and you gain confidence, everything falls into place.
Your decision to homeschool isn’t permanent. If you say you’re going to homeschool that doesn’t mean “I’m going to homeschool K – 12″. Many people are intimidated by the long run. I encourage people to make their decisions one year at a time. Or even one semester at a time. THIS year we are homeschooling. When next year comes, we will see where we are at. This mentality helped me just get started by focusing on kindergarten. Here I am today homeschooling 5 kids from 1st grade through 11th grade. If you had told me that 12 years ago, I never would have believed I had it in me, but one year at a time, it kept being the right decision for us.
What I wish someone had told me at the beginning: There is no “one size fits all” curriculum or method of homeschooling (even within the same family) – what works with one child may not work with another. But because you know your children better than anyone else, you are equipped by God better than anyone else to teach them!
It’s okay to change your mind. If you’re hesitating, just try it. You can always change your mind. Public and private schools happily accept kids any day of the week, any day of the year. You’ll probably like it. And if you change your mind, don’t beat yourself up about it – there are many reasons why it may not work and that’s okay. And don’t be discouraged if it didn’t work the first time. Life changes. Feel free to even try again later.
You do not need to have a teaching degree or college degree to be a good teacher these days. The resources and curriculum available are amazing. Go to a homeschool conference, find a homeschool group and ask questions. Homeschool families are usually happy to share what they’ve learned. The curriculum is all different – TRULY FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU – your teaching style and your child’s learning style.. I thought I had to buy curriculum that mimicked the public school style I grew up with – I was duplicating how I was taught. My kids and I were bored out of our minds. Daily lesson plans for every subject were not for us. We followed our children’s interests and learned so much more quickly and it was much more interesting. Halfway through the year we read through where our kids are “supposed to be” and may tack on a few extra things to get them covered, but for the most part their natural curiosity helps them cover a lot of required things without us even thinking about it.
Go to a Homeschool Convention! You will learn a lot about curriculum options and be encouraged when you see the sheer number of attendees to know you’re NOT alone (among other things).
Homeschooling can be an almost incredibly efficient way for children to learn. Watch for your child’s interest to spark, and be ready! A kid who is interested and asking questions will learn as much in 15 minutes of focused time as they could have learned with a semester’s worth of busywork. Of course, your job as a homeschooling parent includes putting lots of potential “sparks” into your child’s life!
There is no perfect curriculum.
If you have a year that feels like a homeschooling fail, it might be the curriculum, not you or the kids!
My favorite thing about homeschool is having my kids with me.
Remember, nobody loves your children as much as you do. That makes you the best teacher for them!!!