A couple months ago, our Bible study small group met for lunch. Two friends began asking questions about homeschooling. They each have preschoolers, are considering homeschooling, and had tons of questions. How do you do it? What curriculum do you use? What about socialization? Ha, I’m really not sure if they asked that one, but it’s pretty common. I told them I should just blog about it and answer all their questions. They agreed, so here it is. Better late than never, right Lindsey & Katie?
Just pray! There are so many reasons to pray for our kids. But I’m mostly suggesting you pray for yourself and your spouse. Pray you and your husband can be in agreement about your educational choices and decisions. Pray daily for God’s love to flow through you onto your children. Pray that your life will point your kids toward Christ. Don’t forget that your children are your first and most important ministry. Homeschooling is just an opportunity to spend more time in that ministry.
Just Breathe! This is always included in my advice to new homeschoolers. All the choices and all the ‘what if’s’ can be overwhelming. The best thing we can do is just breathe–inhale, exhale–and take one baby-step at a time.
Just play! Yes,play is learning. It is NOT wasted time. It is NECESSARY for children to learn and develop and be happy, healthy, well-adjusted little humans… I’m thrilled to see articles like The Joyful, Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland proving my point. Oh, and just so we’re clear, play is NOT watching TV or playing games on any kind of screen. No, the kind of play that kids need is outdoor exploration, using their imaginations, playing pretend, creating things, discovering things, and doing most of that on their own. No helicopter parents, please. Let them get dirty. Let them fall down. Let them make mistakes, and figure things out. They’ll be better people for it.
Just Read! Books, books, and more books! Take your kids to the library. Our library has a wonderful weekly story-time that all my kids have been a part of during their preschool years. Let them choose some books for themselves while you choose great classics, and read to them every. single. day. If you want your kids to love to learn, teaching them to love books is essential. The infographic at readaloud.org gives great information about the importance of reading aloud just 15 minutes a day.
Just do it! One step of faith at a time in the right direction. Trusting daily, walking daily, loving daily, learning daily. That’s how it goes, and before you know it, you will have graduated your first-born, and you’ll wonder where the time went and wish you could do it all over again, so you could savor the moments more completely. Ask me how I know…
So, was this post helpful? Still have questions? Leave me a comment, and let me know what you think.
This post is linked up over at the Hip Homeschool Moms Blog Hop. Check it out for more homeschool inspiration!