Monday, August 16, 2010

So Now What?


Welcome back to another year of The Blog Cruise
I had a lot of fun with this last year and I am looking 
forward to participating this year as well.
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You've made the decision to homeschool. Congratulations! So now what?

Homeschooling really is a way of life - a lifestyle. I would warn you that it's very hard to separate your "school" time from your "home" time especially since they are occurring in the same place! Even if you have a dedicated school area (lucky you if you do!) - don't try to keep learning separate from every day life.

Go easy on yourself - especially this very first year. You don't need to teach everything your child needs to know in the first day. You have time - lots of it actually. Use it and you'll be just fine.

Have fun. That probably should have been the first thing I told you. Teaching your child that learning is fun and enjoyable makes it that much easier on both of you.

Let them lead. Use their interests and expand on them. Learning occurs anywhere and everywhere. Don't limit it to "school time." Use those moments while you are out and about and they are curious to sneak in some more learning.

Don't worry about gaps. Everyone has gaps in their education. Everyone. I never had geometry and I went to public school for thirteen years - including kindergarten. If you teach your child how to learn and how to find the answers, there isn't anything they will lack ever.

Above all - pray. Follow God's leading in what you teach, how you teach, and how long you teach. You can't go wrong if you do that.

6 comments:

  1. grown up commenting.... lol.... sometimes i check my feedjit feed, on my blog just to see if there are other grown ups out there....lol

    great advice! being easy on ourselves is the hardest lesson to learn, but once you are, the joy in homeschooling takes over!

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  2. Yes. Above all, pray! Thanks for the great advice.

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  3. Thanks for the encouragement! See you on deck! ;-))

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  4. Great advice. And first things first....pray!

    God's Blessings

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  5. Great advice! You made some great points! Thanks for participating in the Blog Cruise this week!

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  6. Great advice and sure to be an encouragement to those just starting out!

    I've given you an award! You can check it out here:
    http://chatterandclatter.blogspot.com/2010/08/ive-been-triple-awarded.html

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Oh thank goodness! I'm not here all alone. Thanks for leaving me a comment. It helps that I'm not always talking to myself. Right? Hello?