I looked at the calendar and realized that this time last year, we were considering it. We were about to rock our own world, in making a very hard, scary choice – one I never saw us doing- for a major lifestyle change.
And then off the cliff, we went for it, whole heartedly.
Homeschooling been this process of finding the raw, exposed, not-so-pretty places that need a lot of work in our family. Of being challenged, and learning along the way that we daily need a whole lot of grace, wisdom and energy… for a year filled with lots of honest to goodness uphill battles… and love.
It’s a lot of things. But the blessings that return, are kind of amazing.
While some are celebrating the return of school, we’re gearing up and putting on our game faces because it’s just the beginning. Emotions run the gamut with this weird mixture of hope and excitement, and if I’m being completely honest, a little dread. Because no one ever said it came easy. We’re bracing ourselves for the harder days. If you’ve been there, you know it’s tough sometimes.
And then there are the other days that come along. When it feels like the heavens have opened, the angel choirs are singing and the brains have clicked. Unicorns are prancing in the heavens with rainbow butterflies that have come together in glorious sky writing to announce what amazing parents we are. And what brilliant children we have. They’re gifted and incredible, and clever and duh… Products of all the hard work we’ve put into this.
Not really. Kidding. Kind of. Shhhh.
Just roll with it.
We all know it really has nothing to do with me, but my point? We all need those pick me up moments in parenting.
It’s all a part of the process of what makes it better. What keeps us going.
What inspires us to inspire them.
I was that mom. The one who planned to keep going through the summer, with a few, lightly placed, clever activities. Each week. I did pretty well, ’til about may late June when I basically stopped caring threw all the papers in the air in a proverbial forget this, and decided Mom needed a break, too.
Summer can do family good.
To our credit, we did work a little on and off, but it’s been a rocky start. Isn’t it always, no matter your education of choice? One I wasn’t really ready for.
And then yesterday, we had one of those unicorn sky writer moments. Where you realize you really do love this.
So I came up with these simple little incentives, and thought if anyone else is having a bit of a, uh, fun start like us…
Whether you magnet school, public school, charter school, private school, un-school… sometimes we have those moments where we have to buckle down and we don’t like it very much.
If they need a little motivation, these are here to use them however you wish. Whatever works for you.
We have little boxes with their names on them. They can earn a star, or they can have one taken away. And when they’ve earned a certain {pre-disclosed} amount of stars, they may collect a reward {based on previous conversations with the parental units}.
This gives them a few goals to work toward. A little motivational reminder when we don’t really feel up to doing all. Of. The. READING. {See: twelve sight words but oh my sweet mama we JUSTMAYDIE} I get to remind her she reeeehhheeealllly wants her ears pierced… so she has to earn it.
It’s the little things.
Want them? They’re super fun. Get ’em here.
And just know we’re with you.
We’d love to hear how it’s going from you guys with the beginning of school, no matter what you’ve been up to this year.
Or if you have any questions, shoot away!
Have an inspired day!
PS. Show us the freebies! #thehandmadehomefreebies on instagram. Show us how you’re using them – we’d love to see!
Laura says
We have completed 3 days of my 16th year homeschooling, and it is going swimmingly! It helps that the kids are older (Duh!), and that we have developed a routine that we can fall back into with a minimum(?) of complaint. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this and spend my days with these sweet little people. And sometimes I hide in the bathroom for 10 extra minutes. Nothing’s perfect all the time! Enjoy your adventures in the one-room schoolhouse, and I hope Princess Petunia gets those longed-for earrings soon! (We DIY’ed the ear piercing here. That was something!)
ashley @ the handmade home says
I totally hide in the bathroom. And play on my phone. Shhhh. ;}
Now that your kids are older, can I ask what grades they’re in? Do you guys do a co-op? I feel like once they’re more independent it has to get better. We’re struggling through the whole reading thing right now, but getting into a routine will help. It’s year to year, but I’m always interested to hear from people in co-ops. I worry about things like algebra. ;}
julianna says
I know this question was directed at Laura, but I wanted to tell you to look up Classical Conversations. It’s a great way to have community and a little accountability. You’re still the teacher, but you meet once a week with other parents and kids; and, as your children get into writing longer papers, they’re Essentials program is phenomenal. I used to teach middle school English and I love this program. Don’t sweat Algebra! There are lots of options : ) Be encouraged!
Laura says
Our oldest is 20 and graduated from our homeschool. The other 3 are 12 and 9 (girls) and a 7 year old boy. They are in 7th, 4th, and 2nd grades. I have not done a co-op yet. When our oldest could have gone, the other 3 were little, and I couldn’t fathom having to teach or help set up/take down every week. I also tend to be a homebody and so do my oldest 2, so they weren’t really interested in going to take swing dancing at a co-op (No joke! My son’s friend took it!). We use Saxon Math, and they have CD’s for 4th grade and up that have the lesson and practice problems and extra help, so we used that for the more advanced math. I used Sonlight for a couple of years with #1, but I didn’t want to read all of the same stuff again when the younger bunch was ready for it. We use and have used a variety of things- Notgrass American History, Sequential Spelling, Truth in Science, Bob Jones reading and spelling (past years), Apologia science (past with oldest). I think you keep taking it year by year. If you get to something that you know that you and Jamin won’t be able to teach, the right resource will come along. But you are a long way from that happening! And yes-they are becoming much more independent and self-starting. Hallelujah! We use a variation of the box system that I saw at The Pleated Poppy. Each kid has an Ikea Trofast 6-glide tower with 6 drawers. Each drawer has one subject’s paperwork and workbooks for the day. They get up and start on Handwriting Without Tears (Love it!) or math. As we finish a subject, I put the papers in their notebooks and put the next day’s work in the drawer. No massive planning sessions on Sunday night anymore! Routine or a rhythm, but not strict scheduling, works best for us. Sorry this has turned into a novella, but you did sorta ask! You are doing a great job, and I am confident that it will get easier and more natural all the time. And I’m really glad to know that I’m not the only one who thinks the bathroom is a great place to play on the phone for a few minutes!
ashley @ the handmade home says
I LOVE hearing what other people are up to, especially those that are ahead of us. Thanks so much!
Rach says
Oh thank you…it’s our second week of home schooling (9 yrs, 7, & 4)
And yesterday was one of those “what am I doing…no seriously” days.
This is perfect timing and just the right motivation for our house! : )
Thank you for sharing!
ashley @ the handmade home says
You’re right where we are, Rach. {9, 6 + 5 = close enough} the stars have helped. Hopefully they will work for yours, too! ;} Glad to know we’re not alone! It’s totally worth it, but we definitely have those days! HA!
Anna @ A Good Home says
We’re public schoolers with a little episcopal preschool thrown in for good measure. Our daughter started 1st grade 3 weeks ago (what?!) and our son just started preschool (he turned 4 last weekend). They both LOVE school. As in, our son gets annoyed that his drop off time is about an hour after his sister’s so we have to come back home in between. He wants to get there asap. Our daughter evens says she wants to do more homework. Oh Lord, that she would still feel like that in high school.
Leslie @ House on the Way says
I love this idea! Such a great way to get them motivated and inspired. Thanks for sharing.
Dee Ann Sikes says
My daughter is in public school and just started Kindergarten. I never realized how much my heart would be in a different place all day wondering what she is learning and is she making new friends. We are slowly getting into this new rhythm along with soccer practice and games swirled in. I am a high school teacher with new students, new classes and curriculum. Just trying to survive, learn the kiddos names, and learning the new curriculum along with the students (Business Law).
ashley @ the handmade home says
I can only imagine, Dee Ann! It sounds awesome though! Hang in there! ;}
Becky {Milo & Oats} says
Oh my word! Love these! We could all use a little motivation from time to time:-) Thanks!
Jen Spadaro says
Thanks so much for these. I quickly hit print, cut them out and started using them. Sometimes instead of over-thinking it’s good to just try it out. So I told my little girl Kennedy (who will be 4 in Nov & who is home schooled) that if she got all 12 stars that we could watch Frozen. Well…she was thrilled. She doesn’t watch a whole lot of tv, so this is a nice treat for her.
I decided to give stars out quickly at first and have the prize not be as big (like ear piercing) so she would quickly see how rewarding the stars are. She got stars for obeying immediately, cleaning up her toys quickly, going potty before nap. And..here’s the kicker. She had 4 stars, but earned another 2 before naptime, so she was adding 4 + 2 on her fingers to see how many stars she has. Bonus for this home schooling Mama : ) Thank you so much for making & sharing these!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Such a smart mama! So glad they are working out nicely for you! I love this! ;}
julianna says
My kids are older, and our first incentive is: if they get they’re assignments completed with excellence for each week for a month, they’ve earned a trip to the trampoline park. Woo hoo! Little do they know, I’ve been wanting to raid one of those places since I first heard of them : ) I think the collective effort helps at this age because they all want to do it and it depends on everyone’s cooperation, so they encourage one another and the younger (more talkative-ahem) is less likely to bother his older brother who has far more work to do if he knows it’s for his own personal gain.
susan says
This was the first time in 12 years of homeschooling that we took a full summer break, and honestly it was me that needed it more than the kids! I have a 12th, 10th, and a 9th grader this year. Last week was the first time we sat down together before the kids scattered to tackle their work and it was bittersweet – the 12th grader could only stay for our communal “coffee talk” for about 10 minutes before she had to leave to get to her community college class or her job. Oh how those changes are tugging at my heart! As for your question about co-ops, we haven’t done any traditional co-ops but my kids have taken classes offered by friends (biology, history, poetry, etc.), and it’s been a great experience. Once we hit algebra my younger two kids thrived on Teaching Textbooks – it’s a CD-based math program that they both enjoy (and they’re in no way math lovers). For middle and high school science you might look at Landry Academy, my kids have thrived with their online classes (which also offer a lot of interaction) and their in-person Intensives have been great as well. What I love most about homeschooling is the flexibility – yes that can also be a barrier when kids get resistant (which we ALL go through I can assure you!!!) but overall it’s such a beautiful addition to our family life, I can’t imagine not having homeschooled them all these year. Keep up the great work!
ashley @ the handmade home says
I love this. Something tells me I’ll be coming back to these comments for reference, later! ;}
Verity says
So i have been thinking about homeschooling my 4 kids for a while now, they all have a very visual way of learning and the school they are at right now is very academic and it’s just not working for them! But i live in England and home schooling is very rare and looked upon weirdly. I also have my worries that they won’t develop the skills to interact with other kids, and that they are too young? So i have identical twin girls who are nearly 7, my little man who is nearly 9 and my eldest girl who is 11 and going into secondary school next year! I need some mummy advice!