(I’m so excited to announce that it’s my turn to host a giveaway for HEAV (Home Educator’s Association of Virginia)!
Each year the bloggers are blessed to be able to give one winner a full FREE family registration to convention ($79 value).
Think you can’t enter the contest because you have already registered and paid for this year’s convention? No problem! If you win my contest, HEAV will reimburse your registration fee…they are THAT awesome 🙂 !
How do you enter you ask? It’s super easy! You’ll have three chances by leaving a comment on three different posts.
Today is your first chance and today’s question is:
What is the best advice you’ve ever received regarding homeschooling?
I can’t wait to hear your answers and share them with my readers. I think it’ll be a blessing to everyone!
Ready, set, GO!!!
(Winner will be announced April 12th)
Homegrown Hatfields 
The best advice I got was to go slow and steady. Homeschooling is a marathon, not a race.
Don’t compare…..anything! Whichever method, curricula, etc. works for one family or student may not for another.
I don’t know if it’s the best advice, but something I strive for is to not compare my homeschool journey to others. Every child and family is different so what works for some will not work for us.
Wow! So many things. I think the best would be to do what works for you and your kids. Don’t feel like you have to stick with something if it is not working. Homeschooling allows for the freedom to to do this!
One of the best pieces of advice that I have received is that no matter how a child is educated (be it public, private, or at home), there will be gaps in his education (just like there were in ours.) The beautiful thing is that I get to teach them to be lifelong learners, so that they can fill in those gaps themselves. This relieves some pressure and brings great freedom and perspective for the long haul.
To take it one day at a time and not to compare yourself or your kids to anyone else.
Don’t worry. You can do anything this!!!!! I believe in you.
Not to stress! Homeschooling is fun and there’s no wrong way to do it!
All your kids really need to “get” is numbers and language (writing). Get those two down and the rest is considered bonuses. I was stressing myself out about what my kids would “need” to be successful after high school. My daughter is at college and is doing wonderfully because her curriculum in high school focused on math and language. We want to foster self-learners. If they can master numbers and language they can learn anything!
Don’t stress out! Be consistent, but let your kids go at the best pace for them. (even if it takes them a tiny bit longer than a sibling)
Every child is different. What works for one child will not work for another. So do not compare your family to others- or think your way is the only right way!
Enjoy it! Simple as that….what a blessing it is, take time to enjoy it!
Know what you want your children to leave your home with, and enjoy the journey to get there WITH them.
Relationship before schedule/curriculum!
Best advice I got for our first year was to not stress. To enjoy! Now we live by that.
Wonderful advice to me was to learn my child’s learning style before investing a lot of money into curriculum.
Don’t stress the little stuff!!!
Write out your mission statement so that you don’t loose sight of why you are doing this and what is the most important thing for you to teach.
I was told go to the HEAV convention and to find a support group. Those two things helped to show me I am not alone. The convention was bigger than I could have imagined and let me see and touch the curriculum and stuff. And my support group is made up of wonderful people and we have created opportunities for our kids that I could not have done alone.
Do not spend a lot on books. You’re going to change your mind…A lot!!
Take it one at a time. One year. One month. One week. One day. One hour. One minute. They don’t have to know as much as you do by tomorrow. They just have to know more tomorrow than they did today!
I received lots of great advice, but the best would have to be to record in a journal why I felt called by God to homeschool and what I hoped to achieve in the endeavor so that years ahead I could refer back to them to encourage and realign myself if I got off track of my goals; and if anything or anybody gets in the way of achieving those goals they have got to go! 🙂
You can do this. The end result is worth it.
Not to try to recreate the public school classroom at home but to be relaxed and flexible!
Heather
thriftschooling at gmail dot com
Best advice I’ve received is to not compare our school days to public school.