Dos and Don'ts for a successful homeschool experience #12

The following DOs and DON'Ts for a successful homeschool experience are being presented in a series to allow for digestion and discussion. After homeschooling/unschooling my own children for over 22 years I've discovered what worked and what didn't work for us was universal. Feel free to add your comments and concerns or ask questions.



#12 DO have fun, be silly and encourage each other in your family and your homeschooling community to lighten up. Laughter IS the best medicine. Throw off the shackles that prevent you and your children from enjoying the simple and silly things in life. Homeschooling shouldn't bring you to tears over unfinished lesson plans or workbooks. If your homeschool feels like you're living and learning in a pressure cooker then it's time to unwind, relax and unschool. Parents need to de-stress before they can create a happier learning environment for their children. Learn to eat healthier to regulate your body's physical and emotional state. Learn better personal financial habits so you're not so stressed over money. Finally, enjoy some adult humor (not raunchy) and fun so you'll be more relaxed around your children. The sky won't fall in on you if you have a glass of wine during some down time, a date night with your spouse, or even if you watch some adult humor on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson or Little Britain.   

#12 DON'T get bogged down with record keeping, grading, and other things that public schools do. If you're doing these things, no matter what your state regulations are, then you're schooling at home NOT homeschooling. This is where the term homeschooling rears its ugly head. For lack of a better word we sometimes use the word homeschooling interchangeably so the novice homeschooler or parent will know what we're referring to. Many of us purposely didn't do school things with our children and we spent much of our learning years out and about in the world. When we use the familiar word homeschooling we're also referring to unschoooling, deschooling, home-based education, free range learning, open source learning and a myriad of other ways of educating.

We veteran homeschooling parents may have begun our journey for academic or religious reasons but when we crossed the finish line and look back we can see what homeschooling is truly about. It's all about freedom and liberty. We homeschoolers are fulfilling the dreams of America's founding fathers. We are pursuing our God-given and unalienable rights. Sure, we kept the drawings, writings and creations our children produced over the years but we didn't consider it record keeping and it certainly wasn't offered up to officials for scrutiny. How would you like someone to grade your housekeeping? The few times we graded our children's work we did so to show them how and why it's done in public school. In your homeschool every child is a Valedictorian!  Don't bury your homeschool in unnecessary paperwork just to satisfy the authorities. Chances are it isn't required and you certainly don't want to offer up information about your children that is, quite frankly, none of the state's business.

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