Choosing homeschool curriculum is one of the most challenging tasks for a home educator, especially for someone new to homeschooling. I want to give homeschooling families sanity when it comes to choosing the right curriculum.
The Right Homeschool Curriculum Fits Your Intentions
In How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum, author Amy Michaels says that curriculum choices should help us meet our intentions for a student. If we intend for a child to learn to love reading, we will choose a different English curriculum than we would if we want a child to learn to write impeccable book reports.
Of course, before we can choose that right curriculum, we have to be clear about what our intentions are. What do you want your child to learn, experience, and feel in the study of each subject? Be clear about why you have those intentions too. If you are hoping to impress an anti-homeschooling relative with a child who is a top speller, you may be disappointed with the other effects of your choice (i.e., a child who dislikes spelling because of the emphasis put on it).
The Right Homeschool Curriculum Engages Your Child at a Higher Level
Students can be induced to regurgitate facts and perform well on tests with enough practice. But if your intention is for your child to love learning, you’ll be dissatisfied with a curriculum that merely asks for facts.
As homeschoolers, we have the opportunity to look for curriculum that provides opportunities to use facts in real-world applications. Our kids will be motivated and inspired to keep learning when they can use them in games, puzzles, and conversation. We are then asking our kids to think and not just recite.
Our students can take their learning to an even higher level with curriculum that asks them to create projects that demonstrate learning. Writing papers, creating posters or videos, and teaching others will cement the lessons they’ve learned for the long haul by demanding high-level thinking skills.
The Right Homeschool Curriculum Fits Your Unique Family
Your friends may rave about the reading-based, online, or activity-rich curriculum they’ve found, but there is no other family quite like yours. Learning style, teaching style, time available, and budget will all impact your choices.
Putting together a list of the characteristics of each curriculum choice is time consuming to say the least! That’s why I’ve created a features list of the best homeschool science, language arts, and math curriculum for you.
But even these lists won’t help you if you don’t know which of these characteristics matters most to you. My favorite part of the book How to Choose the Right Homeschool Curriculum is help in creating your unique rating form. Once created, you’ll be able to use it to evaluate the curriculum you already own as well as potential choices to determine if they are the right choice for your family.
When you know your intentions, when you look for curriculum that engages students at higher level thinking skills, and when you create your own rating rubric, the process of finding the right homeschool curriculum for your family is much, much easier!
Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #1: Not Purchasing Materials Ahead of Time
The first mistake veterans don’t make is not purchasing materials ahead of time. Few things can make back-to-school more stressful than having no idea of the tools you’ll be using. Veterans know to start the research process early and to take advantage of discount pricing many vendors offer. Securing your materials early allows you to do some critical planning for the year ahead. While I don’t recommend planning your entire school year lesson my lesson, I do recommend that you review your materials so you can plan your students’ time accordingly.
You’ll want to make sure you not only purchase curriculum but any supplies you need. Now is the time to buy school, art, and science supplies so you’re not missing sales or having to pay for expedited shipping.
If you haven’t begun the process of choosing curriculum, don’t worry. I have guides that well help you choose the best science, language arts, and math curriculum for your family.
Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #2: Not Having Your School Space Prepared
The second mistake you don’t want to make is to not have your school space prepared. If your children don’t know where to look for their daily schedule, their individual books, or their materials, you’re going to be stressed because your kids will be stressed.
Your primary school storage space does not have to be IKEA beautiful. But it does have to be user-friendly. Make sure your children can remove books from the bookshelves and colored pencils from their container without creating a mess. Make sure that even the laziest child or teacher can replace materials easily. My kids’ books don’t look as neat piled on shelves as they would in bins, but my kids are more likely to put them back on the shelf.
If the thought of organizing your school space sends you into a panic, commit to spending just five minutes a day there until it’s ready. I promise you that you will make progress even at this rate. Begin by removing things that don’t belong because you aren’t using them. Don’t worry about selling or even donating at this point. Just put them out of sight for now. Remove everything from one bookshelf or cubby at a time and clean it. You will do better if you replace things without purchasing containers to begin. I had a mountain of plastic containers at one time. You definitely want to see what you have before purchasing new organizing supplies.
Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #3: Not Making Back-to-School Special
Normal kids resist back-to-school. Even though they’re likely bored with a vacation routine, they will complain about having to do traditional studies.
Whenever we have to do hard things, a great strategy for motivating kids is to look for a way to make it fun. Back-to-school is a fantastic opportunity to model this. I have surprised my kids on the first day of school for many years now. The anticipation of the surprise tends to block out any negativity. Believe me, it will reemerge later, but my back-to-school surprises get us off to a great start.
Some ideas for you to consider are a special meal, a field trip, and games. Some moms like to make a special breakfast treat just for back-to-school. It might be pancakes in a special shape or cinnamon rolls that take forever to bake but are so delicious. You might consider taking the kids out for breakfast. I took mine to Waffle House and they loved it.
Another idea for a back-to-school surprise is to not do school at all. One year I surprised the kids by taking them to a local theme park that was still open. That is one of our favorite memories. If you’d like to make this idea more educational, consider taking the kids to a park as I did one year. We took out paddle boats and got some exercise after enjoying a picnic lunch.
Still another idea is to make back-to-school special with friends. Plan your back-to-school with another homeschooling mom. You could have a whole day of fun activities like an egg toss or water balloon fight. This is a great idea if your local support group does not offer a back-to-school party like mine does.
Finally, you could give your kids new school supplies in a fun way. Send them on a scavenger hunt to find them.
New homeschoolers are often most concerned with curriculum and forget that they will have to plan lunches for their kids. And when you’re caught up in the school day, dinnertime arrives quickly. No matter how wonderful your school day was, dinner chaos has the capacity to end your day on a sour note.
Pretend that you are going to have a new baby even if you aren’t. Homeschooling is your new baby. You will be teaching your children full-time. Spend some time making plans with shopping lists for quick, popular meals. In your meal planning, make sure you include meals the kids can help you make. If your child can operate a can opener, he or she can make chicken tortilla soup for the family.
1 (10 ounce) candiced tomatoes with green chile peppers drained
1 bagtortilla chips
1 bagshredded cheddar cheese
1 containerlight sour cream
Directions
Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, chunk chicken, black beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.
Amount Per Serving (6)
Calories: 214
Protein: 17.2g
Sugar: 2.7g
Carbohydrate: 27.2g
Fat: 4.9g
Cholesterol: 32mg
Sodium: 1482mg
Fiber: 6.7g
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If you’d like to make cooking a part of your homeschooling this year, consider the excellent Kids Cook Real Foods curriculum.
If you’d like to take meal planning a step further, get some meals put into the freezer. The easiest way to freezer cook is to make multiples of meals you’re already preparing for your family.
Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #5: Having Unreasonable Expectations for the School Year
If you are a newer homeschooler or just more of a dreamer, it’s easy to have high expectations for the coming school year. A child’s newly discovered special need, the toll of seasonal affective disorder, or the flu bug that hit hard last year are long forgotten. They won’t be an issue; you’re sure of it!
To some extent our idealism serves a good purpose. It gets us back in the saddle and homeschooling again. But in another sense, our overly optimistic expectations set us up for discouragement. I’m certainly not advising you to consider everything that can go wrong. It’s important that we have a positive outlook on what we and our children can accomplish in the Lord’s strength.
But this year, let’s be sure that our goals and expectations can be met. What would a normal, somewhat lazy teacher and students be able to do given your commitments and lifestyle? If you have a learning center on Monday and you’ve never been able to get school started up again when you’re back home, don’t plan to do school at home on those days. I know, it’s heresy. I would much rather have you be disappointed in having lower expectations now than disappointed by having your unreasonable expectations unmet later. Plan to do less so you are more likely to achieve your goals. It’s better to do more than you planned than less. Make your homeschool plan easy for your kids and watch their motivation soar.
In addition to keeping our expectations in check by having reasonable goals, each week of your homeschool, consider any obstacles that will stand in the way of you getting things done. I prompt homeschooling moms to consider this in the Organized Homeschool Life Planner. I ask them to not only consider what may get in the way during the upcoming week but how they will overcome that obstacle. For example, if you’re going on vacation this fall, plan for how to transition the kids back to a regular school routine. It won’t happen automatically.
Back-to-Homeschool Mistake #6: No Plan to Keep the Momentum Going
We homeschooling teachers tend to be pretty good at planning those first days or weeks of school. We have our curriculum, space, meals, and reasonable goals in place if you’ve been following along. Now we have to have a plan for keeping our homeschools running smoothly.
You need a chore plan. Any chore plan will work, but you need a way of making sure that your kids are helping you maintain your home. Public school kids have to clean up too. In a previous episode of The Homeschool Sanity Show on organizing, FLYLady gave us wise advice for cleaning up after every subject. Make that habit a part of your day in addition to assigning regular responsibilities.
Even when you assign chores and clean up as you go, you still need a plan for maintaining your home and life. Without one, there are things you’ll never get to that can make your homeschooling a lot less enjoyable. You may have clutter hotspots, upcoming holidays to plan for, or finances that need attention. Without a plan for when and how you will address these other areas, you can quickly find yourself overwhelmed. Take the time to create a plan for giving these other crucial areas attention or use the plan I’ve developed. Check out The Organized Homeschool Life book and Planner.
Conclusion
If you avoid these six back-to-school mistakes, you are well on your way having a peaceful and blessed back to homeschool. Have your curriculum, school space, special back-to-school surprise, meal plan, reasonable goals, and maintenance plans ready. That is my prayer for you.
When you’re searching for the best homeschool math curriculum, you have your work cut out for you. Unless you landed here!
As a homeschooling mother of 19 years, I know that one of the most time-consuming tasks in homeschooling is researching curriculum. So I am saving your sanity by providing you with not just my top picks but a PDF of the top homeschool math curriculum options for every grade level. You can easily find the style of teaching, difficulty level, and time requirement that you’re looking for. You’ll easily see the best features and common criticisms of each. Plus, you’ll have access to the links to the best reviews. You’re welcome!
Download a List of the Best Homeschool Math Curriculum
Click the “Best Homeschool Math Curriculum” image below to request your complete list of the best curriculum. When you add your email address, you’ll also receive the Sanity Savers newsletter and updates on the schedule you request.
The Best Homeschool Math Curriculum According to My Family & Friends
Math wasn’t a particular struggle for my kids, so my choices reflect this. I did include friends’ top picks that include options for those who find math more challenging.
This curriculum helped my younger kids learn their math facts and operations better than anything else we’ve tried. And we’ve tried a lot of things! Save $5 on one volume with code SANITY5 and $10 with code SANITY10 for orders over $140.
I used Horizons for my young elementary students before I found Learn Math Fast. I like that it’s straightforward, covers a range of introductory math, and does not have an inordinate number of exercises.
My first exposure to Mr. D Math’s online, interactive math courses was when my high schooler took ACT Math Boot Camp. I have since enrolled two of my children in Algebra I and one in Geometry and Algebra II. I have a third student taking Algebra I in the fall and another son is taking Pre-Calculus. We are big fans of Mr. D as a math teacher. I have never once heard him be anything but energetic and enthusiastic when teaching my kids. I wish I could say the same about me!
My kids love the no busywork, easy-to-understand algebra and geometry lessons in Learn Math Fast. Be sure to use code SANITY5 to save $5 on a single book order.
I’m facing a number of transitions in my homeschool this year. My oldest son has graduated from college and is living at home while working his first career position. Deciding what his responsibilities will be and adjusting to his schedule is a transition. My third son graduated from high school and will be leaving home for college in August. I am losing my experienced drivers! My 16-year-old will be driving and attending community college for dual enrollment classes for the first time. He is also working his first job. My daughter will begin high school courses in the fall. And my youngest will be a true junior high student as he will begin seventh grade work. I have more transitions I could tell you about, but that’s enough to get us started on this topic.
“I needed to let go of some homeschool materials.”
I have three kids whose records I no longer need to keep.My college-age son was studying for the LSAT and decided he did not want to go to law school. Those materials can go too. My younger kids’ books can move to different bookshelves.
I came across many books I hoped to use in my homeschool but didn’t. I realized that many of our science materials could be sold or given away because I won’t be teaching some labs at home in the future. I moved favorite children’s picture books from one storage location to another and found myself reminiscing about the days when I enjoyed reading them to my children. As a side note, I’m keeping them for my grandchildren. Lest you think I’m hoarding irresponsibly, these books fit on a single bookshelf.
I’m not going to lie. I was feeling sad. I was tempted to boo-hoo all over my schoolroom. But then I realized I needed to approach the transitions I’m facing in a different way. My focus on the past was making transitions difficult for me.I thought about all the things we’ve done before and told myself that homeschooling would never be that good again.Can you relate? It really doesn’t matter what kind of transition we’re making. If we focus on the past and tell ourselves that the past will always be better than the future, we will have a difficult time making a transition.
The second thing I did, that was causing me grief making transitions, was to focus on my failings. I thought about the curriculum I shouldn’t have purchased. I thought about the books I should have used. And I thought about the time I mismanaged. I was angry at myself and discouraged at the thought of going forward. I was stuck thinking only about what I hadn’t done to meet some high standard.
How to Make Homeschool Transitions Smooth
To make smooth transitions, whatever they are, stop focusing on the past and look to the future. I adored having little ones. I loved babyhood, some aspects of toddlerhood, the preschool years, and the elementary years. But the middle, high school, and adult years have blessed my socks off too. I love the people my children are and are becoming. I tell my kids it’s like the preschool them visited for a while and now they’re gone. I do miss them, but this young adult person who has taken up residence in my life is every bit as much a joy. I’m looking forward to seeing my oldest grow in his career. I’m looking forward to having two of my boys at the same college and watching my new freshman enjoy college life for the first time. I am excited to see my 16-year-old develop maturity by working and taking college classes on his own. I am looking forward to seeing my youngest two kids develop their own independence. I’m looking forward to coaching them in their education more than teaching them.
Focusing on the future positives of my transitions steered me away from tears and toward joy. Right now, consider what you have to look forward to with the changes in your life.
The next thing I did to cope with my transitions was to focus on what I have accomplished, rather than what I haven’t. I realized that I have successfully brought three of my children through their K-12 years. They are great kids. Not once have they come to me and demanded to know why I haven’t used certain curriculum, taught a certain class, or kept a particular homeschool schedule. They are happy and doing well in their studies and work. Even if you feel you’ve been a failure you will be able to think of many ways you have succeeded. To make a smooth transition, stop focusing all of your attention on your weaknesses and begin focusing on your strengths. My weakness is trying to do too many things and then dropping some of them. I’m not going to worry about that going forward. Instead, I’m going to focus on my strengths, which is choosing and teaching important and fun lessons to teach my kids.
Thinking about my strengths helps me feel positive about this upcoming school year. Right now, consider your strengths and how to make the most of them in your homeschool.
If you want to transition well this year, I have another suggestion for you. That is to trust God. I remember another transition I faced years ago. Would I put my oldest child into preschool? That is what I wanted to do. I wanted to have time to parent my toddler and baby and get my act together at home. I was sure if I put my kids in school that I would have the time to write and speak as I believed God was calling me to do. God had another plan. I did not see how it would work, but it obviously has. Homeschooling grew to be the work that met my deepest needs. I grew closer to my children, I got to teach, which unbeknownst to me is what I was made to do. And it led me to doing writing and speaking that have blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. When I consider that I didn’t want to homeschool, I feel like a fool. I should have trusted God. He loves me and He doesn’t want to harm me. He has a plan and a purpose for my life that is good. It is the same for you.
Thinking about God’s faithfulness to me through the years helps me to feel better about the transitions I’m facing. Right now, prayerfully commit yourself to trusting God with your transitions.
Conclusion
If you focus on the future, focus on your strengths as a homeschool mom, and focus on God’s faithfulness, you can make transitions in your homeschool be much smoother. As you work through the transitions, remember that your children are watching. Your kids are also facing transitions. Will we model for them how to focus on the future, focus on our strenghts, and focus on God? Our kids’ current transitions are just one step in their journey. They will face many transitions ahead, some of them a lot more challenging. Let’s show them how it’s done.
Comment and let me know what transitions you’re facing this year.
When I began homeschooling, I didn’t know what apologetics was. I didn’t know how important it was as part of my children’s Christian education. Learning apologetics myself grew my faith and changed my life and my homeschool for the better. If you’re new to homeschooling or to the faith, I have a treat for you! I interviewed Dr. Georgia Purdom of Answers in Genesis and she had so many helpful suggestions. As a fellow homeschooling mom, she is a fantastic resource. Listen to the podcast by clicking the button above, or read my summary of our interview below.
Dr. Georgia Purdom
Dr. Georgia Purdom earned her PhD in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University. After teaching as a college biology professor for 6 years, she joined Answers in Genesis in 2006 where she serves as the Ministry Content Administrator in addition to being a speaker, writer, and researcher. She also directs AiG’s annual women’s conference, Answers for Women, bringing relevant apologetics teaching to women. Dr. Purdom and her husband Chris have been married for 21 years and have a 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth. Georgia enjoys homeschooling her daughter and serving in children’s ministry in her local church.
What is apologetics and why does it matter for Christian homeschoolers?
Apologetics is knowing what you believe and why you believe it. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you.” Science confirms what we believe. We have a reasoned faith.
The rest of the world is teaching apologetics too, but it doesn’t start with the Word of God. They teach evolution and millions of years — man’s ideas. These ideas can be very convincing. It isn’t enough to read the Bible to our kids and send them to Sunday school. We have to be quipped to respond to kids’ curiousity and to take advantage of teaching moments.
What’s the best way to begin teaching apologetics to young children?
First, don’t be intimidated. You aren’t teaching science. The world confirms what the Bible says. Teach them the 7 C’s of history. Genesis is the foundation for our faith.
What about teaching apologetics to older kids? What should we do when our child asks a hard question we don’t have the answer to?
Kids should understand the teachings of evolution. Be discerning about presenting materials that teach ideas contrary to the Bible. Discuss why these teachings are wrong. If you don’t have the answers, don’t panic. Be honest. Say, “I don’t know,” then find the answer and follow up. Use the Answers in Genesis website, our online bookstore. You can call customer service! Most importantly, trust that God’s Word is true.
What are the best resources for teaching apologetics in the homeschool?
Apologetics in your homeschool is a powerful way of growing in your own faith. What resources have you used to teach apologetics? Let me know in the comments.
Do you have worries that keep you from homeshooling? If so, you’ll want to listen to the first part of this article. Once you do, you’re ready to read worries 6-10.
That’s a real worry. If your kids won’t obey you, you’re in trouble. You won’t be able to get them to do schoolwork, chores, or the things that will keep them safe and healthy. So how can you homeschool if your kids won’t listen to you? If that’s your worry, homeschooling isn’t the issue. If you send the kids to school and they won’t obey you, how will you get them to do schoolwork, chores, or the things that will keep them safe and healthy?
At one time, school teachers were able to discipline students. That’s no longer the case. Teachers’ hands are often tied in even depriving students of privileges. If there are no consequences in the home either, kids may continue to be defiant and suffer the results of an undisciplined life. If you don’t discipline your child, no one else will.
If you worry that your kids won’t listen to you, you should worry! But only if you aren’t willing to change that immediately. Require obedience. If your kids openly refuse to do homework or chores, remove a privilege that matters. In the article I wrote on the top question parents ask me, I give you some ideas. But just to repeat, wait until your child asks for something — a snack, game time, a visit with a friend. The answer then is no. When your child asks why, explain that they didn’t obey. Let them pitch the biggest fit, but the answer is still no. You can switch the order for kids who aren’t openly defiant and refuse to grant privileges until the schoolwork or chore is done. Stop worrying that your kids won’t listen to you and start making discipine a key part of your homeschool today.
#7 My kids will be unhappy being homeschooled and will want to go to school
Let’s first discuss the worry that our children will be unhappy being homeschooled. I had this worry for years and it was completely unnecessary. Here’s why:
It’s normal for kids to be unhappy doing school. It’s normal like it is for adults to be unhappy going to work. Work is work! But kids and adults alike are unhappy in their free time too. We get bored doing the same things. It’s not as exciting as we would like it to be. But for some reason as homeschool moms we think our kids have to be Disney-World happy in their education all the time or we’re failing. Wrong.
My kids, like kids who go to public or private school, don’t like some aspects of school. They complain. They try to put it off. That makes them normal. It doesn’t mean I’m doing anything wrong. In fact, it means I’m doing something right. I am disciplining them in the habit of learning and studying. This is not to say that I don’t think learning should be fun. That’s a soap box for me and why I created Grammar Galaxy the way that I did. But discipline must accompany fun in a child’s education. Don’t worry if your child doesn’t like homeschooling. Ask children who go to traditional school if they like it. Most of them will look at you like you’re crazy and say no. You don’t have to frantically pursue fun classes and curriculum in an effort to make kids happy in their homeschooling. Most likely it won’t work anyway.
But what if the unhappiness gets so bad that your child wants to go to school? Listen to the podcast episode I did on this situation. I lived through my child wanting to go to school and actually attending public high school. I wrote about the unexpected positive results from that experience and interviewed my son for the podcast as well. He just graduated from college, by the way, and is starting his career in sales. We are so proud of him! My son’s desire to go to school was not because I failed in homeschooling him. In fact, he has said that he loved being homeschooled. It served him well until he needed the opportunities available to him in high school. None of my fears about him going to school were founded. That experience was one of my sons attending one school and I can’t generalize my experience to you. However, worry doesn’t serve any good purpose.
So my daughter, who will be a high school freshman, told me she was wanting to go to school. I dropped her off to shadow for the day and I wasn’t worried. I had had a good experience with the school with her brother. But I was sad. So much so that I prayed for peace. God gave that to me immediately. I felt at peace when my daughter said she had made the decision to start high school there in the fall. A few weeks ago, though, she told me she had changed her mind and wanted to continue homeschooling. I immediately realized what a waste my anxiety and upset would have been. No wonder the Lord immediately gave me peace. Stop worrying about your child being unhappy and start homeschooling.
#8 Your kids won’t have enough friends as homeschoolers
I have to admit that I’ve worried about this a lot. At the beginning of my homechool journey, all my homeschooling friends had girls and only girls while I had boys. I worried that they would have no male friends. Years later my homeschooling friends all had boys and there were few girls for my daughter to be friends with. I worried that we wouldn’t know where to make friends. Then a P.E. class led to friendships that led to a co-op in my home. Then those kids graduated, moved, or quit homeschooling, and I worried that my younger kids would have no friends. And I haven’t been alone in this worrying. My husband is an extreme extrovert and worries when the kids don’t have as many homeschooled friends as he thinks they should. He has wondered if the kids would be better off in school.
If you share this worry, let me share some things to reassure you. God knows our kids need friends. He promises to meet all their needs. If He is calling you to homeschool, He will provide your children with friends. These are some of the ways God has provided friends for my children: new neighbors with kids, Sunday school, youth group, sports, homeschool classes, reaching out to our local homeschool group, online friendships with my friends’ kids, and jobs.
If you’re saying BUT right now, I get it. I’ve been in a place where my kids hadn’t made friends in these ways, or more specifically what I considered to be enough friends. I’ve had the opportunity to see my adult introverted son’s friendships develop. Until he was a teen, he had very few friends of his own. Most of them were his brothers’ friends. Now that he is in college, I am amazed by the number of friends he has. What’s interesting is that he never once complained about having too few friends. Nor was he affected negatively because he didn’t have dozens of friends as a kid. If your child has a close friend or two and is happy, you do not have anything to worry about.
If your child wants more friends, I recommend praying together first. Then look for them in one of the ways I mentioned previously. Be patient. Friendships take time to develop. Stop worrying about your child’s friendships and start homeschooling.
#9 Your finances may not allow you to homeschool in the future
Worrying about what-ifs robs us of joy and opportunities now. Early in our marriage, my husband’s fellow sales reps told him that the company he worked for was on the verge of being sold, meaning he would be out of a job. We worried about it. If that happened, we worried about paying our mortgage and me not working. We worried about it for 15 years when the prediction finally came to fruition. The company was sold and my husband was out of a job. But within a week, he had another job that was far better than the one he’d worried about keeping all those years.
This is not to say that we won’t have a time that we have to work and homeschool or even give up our homeschooling because of finances. But worrying about it now will make homeschooling miserable. I know many homeschooling moms who have homeschooled their children on a modest, single income. They didn’t have all the luxuries we are told are musts, but they had the precious experience of teaching their children at home. Homeschooling can be very inexpensive and it is possible to earn an income while you teach. So stop worrying about finances and start homeschooling.
#10 Homeschool haters
The final worry I’ll discuss is about homeschool haters. I did a podcast episode on handling them that I recommend to you. If we worry about people who aren’t supportive of our homeschooling, we give them power. They feel emboldened to continue attacking our choice. Protect yourself legally. I recommend joining HSLDA. Follow your state’s law to the letter. Then kindly set boundaries with people who attempt to interfere with your family’s choice to homeschool.
If you persist in attempting to win a hater over, you’ll likely continue to worry. I have heard from my listeners about family members who continue to hate on homeschooling even after their children have graduated and are successful in a career. If our happiness in homeschooling depends on pleasing anyone else, our happiness won’t last for long. Appeal to the Lord for protection from those who would give you grief. Then stop worrying about homeschool haters and start homeschooling.
Conclusion
No good comes from worrying. Use the time and energy you are spending on worrying to get on with the business of homeschooling! If you need help with worry in general, listen to the podcast episode called Help for Anxious Homeschoolers.
Which of these five worries has been the biggest problem for you? Comment and let me know.
I’m a Christian psychologist turned homeschooling mother of six. My life can be a little crazy, so I look for sanity-saving ideas to use and share. I hope you’ll read my About page to learn more.
