My Advice to a New Homeschool Mom

What advice would I give to a new homeschool mom? I don’t know everything there is to know about homeschooling, but I’ve learned a few things, and I’m still learning all the time! Keep reading to see what I consider the “start-up essentials” . . .

My Advice to You, a New Homeschool Mom

I’m so glad to hear that you want to homeschool your children — that’s wonderful! I have been homeschooling my own children since 2013 (ten years so far), and I was even homeschooled myself for all the grades except kindergarten. I then went on to complete a year of community college, which I attended full time and received honors both semesters for near-perfect grades. Soon after, I left college to become a housewife, which is what I’ve been doing joyfully to this very day.

My mother, however, always had a part-time job while she was homeschooling us, so I know that mothers who work outside the home can be succesful at homeschooling, too!

Here are a few tips from my own homeschooling experience that I can share with you. Let’s begin with curriculum, since that’s what most of us seem to want to know about first.

Christian Homeschool Curriculum

There are many companies which design and sell Christian homeschool curriculum. Here are just a few (though there are probably hundreds), starting with what our family is currently using, and then briefly listing a few others about which I’ve heard or read good things.

Our Family’s Main Curriculum Choices

• Sonlight (This is our family’s main curriculum for Bible, history, language arts, and science. It is a literature-based, multi-subject integrated approach. They offer material in every school subject from a large variety of sources/companies. Much of their excellent materials have been created directly by them, while additional materials come from other homeschool providers. You can customize your basic History/Bible/Literature [HBL] course by adding on additional subjects which are all available through their website. Our family has consistently enjoyed this “real book” educational style throughout our years of homeschooling thus far. We have read — either together as “read-alouds” or solo as “readers” — a great quantity of award-winning, quality books.)

• Alpha Omega Publications / AOP (We use their self-paced booklets called Lifepacs for language arts for several of our children [though a few of them are still using Sonlight’s language arts]. I needed the children to do more of their work on their own without my involvement, so I swapped the Sonlight language arts for this self-directed course. AOP also offers courses in Bible, history & geography, math, science, and various electives. Besides the self-paced Lifepacs, they have a teacher/parent-led workbook curriculum called Horizons, an online subscription program called Monarch, a fully-accredited online private school/homeschool option called Ignite Christian Academy, and a family-based curriculum named Weaver Curriculum which uses the same Bible theme as a foundation and then allows you to create individual lessons for each student.)

• Math-U-See (This program, which uses math manipulatives [plus other great resources] for a “build-say-write” approach, is also available through Sonlight; we obviously use this for math, but Math-U-See offers programs in spelling, writing, and grammar, as well. These are all available under their umbrella company, Demme Learning. I also highly recommend Mr. Steve Demme’s materials from his website Building Faith Families; these are not “school” materials, but are meant to help build up Christian family life. We purchase our consumer math program, Stewardship: A Biblical Approach to Personal Finance, from this website. Mr. Demme’s books about his personal journey as a husband, father, and entrepreneur are also great! I chose Math-U-See for our children because I wanted them to have not just a math program, but a mentor, and I have been very happy with that choice.) 

• the 101 series (Highschool science program which offers General Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I’ve been using this with our older children, and there are several things we really like about it: [1] it doesn’t cost too much, [2] it is visually rich [each course is based primarily on DVD instruction, in addition to the printed material], [3] you don’t have to buy expensive textbooks [you print out the accredited guidebook, plus quizzes and tests, from the digital PDF’s], [4] no need to purchase exotic material for labs, since you can do them with things you already have at home or are easily obtained from the store, [5] it is easily customizable to the student’s interests, since research projects often involve their looking for books from the library that they choose themselves, and [6] it is multi-child friendly, meaning that the materials can be used again and again — what you print out for one child can be re-used for the next, except for the quizzes and tests, unless you choose to do these on another sheet of paper. Oh, and did I mention that it is from a biblical, young earth, perspective? All wins, for our family!)

Other Christian Curriculum Choices

• Abeka (I used some of the books from this traditional textbook company when I was a homeschool student; very good quality.)

• Master Books (I’m considering using some of their creation science courses for our children, though they have a complete range of subjects to choose from.) 

• Christian Light Publications (I’ve heard good things about them from others. After browsing their site, I’m interested in purchasing a few of their story books for our family; it seems like they would teach valuable life lessons.)

• ACE (A lot of people like their PACES, similar to AOP’s Lifepacs.)

• Answers in Genesis (Has some excellent science and worldview curriculum, plus a ton of other apologetical resources.)

• Cornerstone Curriculum (Another one I used as a homeschool student; classical education method.)
  
• Tapestry of Grace (Four-year repeating program you can use with all your children at the same time; classical; integrated.)

• Generations Curriculum (Strong emphasis on biblical worldview. I’m thinking of buying some of their books as supplements to our Sonlight curriculum. Homeschool Summits, which is a sort of online “convention” I’ve enjoyed in the past, is a project of Generations and CHEC.) 

• Robinson Curriculum (I love how this father really kept things simple when he homeschooled his six children by himself! Pros: Low cost and low teacher involvement. Books are wholesome. Cons: You have to print most of the materials out yourself, though they do recommend a printer and provide links to helpful videos which show you how to bind the books. Also, it might be hard to get your kids interested in some of the older books [just taking a guess on that one, since we haven’t used their books yet.)

• Spalding Education (Strong phonics program using the “writing road to reading” approach. I’m planning on integrating some of thier materials into the language arts programs we are already using for our younger students.)

• Memoria Press (Classical; emphasis on the “Great Books” of Western Civilization.)

And there are so many more! You can find a lot of homeschool resources in one place at Christian Book. 

I recently bought this book from Zsuzsanna Anderson, which she wrote and uses with her children. It’s called Around the World: Country by Country. She uses various homeschool resources, actually. You might check out her YouTube channel. Her book uses more of an integrated approach, like Sonlight (see top of first list, above). Basically, you study one area of the world at a time, one country at a time, until you’ve gone around the whole globe (more volumes are supposed to be published soon). You check out books from the library using her list, so you can save a lot of money that way! Some books are more appropriate for younger children, some for older; you check out the ones you want. Since this curriculum uses “real books” and covers history and science, all you have to add is Bible, math, and language arts. You can find these individually from one of the companies I listed above.

Here’s another homeschool mom I like:

Raising Arrows

She has so many good ideas, and she talks about the pros and cons of different things she’s tried with her ten children. 

I hope I haven’t overloaded you! I just wanted to give you some ideas to get you started. Now I’d like to give you a few practical tips for your homeschool journey.

Keep Things Simple

However, there are a few things I’d like to add that are more important than the curriculum company you choose to use, or even academics in general.

What’s More Important than Curriculum?

The most important part of homeschooling isn’t the curriculum you choose. I hope that takes a load off your shoulders, because when it comes to curriculum choices we homeschool mothers can start to feel overwhelmed! We want to make the “right” choice for the good of our children. We don’t want to mess up their chances for a good education. But, there are some things which we should take care to make a greater priority than homeschool curriculum. What are they?

Put God and His Word First

After all, why do we learn to read? Isn’t it primarily so we can read God’s Word for ourselves? The Bible can be used for reading practice, just have your children take turns reading it out loud. You can use it for writing practice as your children copy passages for their copywork. And of course they’ll learn a lot of history — what God considers the most important aspects of history, since this is what He decided to preserve for us. The Bible says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Academics are helpful, but we also need to have godly knowledge/wisdom to know how to correctly apply what we are learning so that it will be truly useful to us and to others. That wisdom comes from God’s Word.

Have you ever noticed that the Bible doesn’t say, “Thou shalt send thy children to school”? God doesn’t tell us to teach our children math, or science, or English, or social studies; what He does do is tell us that we shall “teach them [God’s words] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). If we teach our children all the academics but fail to teach them God’s Word, we’ve failed them by not following through with one of our most urgent responsibilities as Christian parents.

Make Character Training a Priority

I said to my husband the other day, “No school expects its teachers to bring their own children to class with them. They don’t have to teach a class, tend to the toddler, nurse the baby, cook, and deal with misbehavior all at the same time and all by themselves. These women go to class, and they teach. Simple. So if we here at home don’t get all the schoolwork done in eight hours (it sometimes takes about 12, a full day), it’s because you have one woman doing it all.” Thankfully, he understood and has been helping me when he’s able. But, isn’t that true? We have a lot to deal with. (And I understand that public and private school teachers do have a lot to deal with, too, but I think you get my point.)

Sometimes, we don’t feel like we’re accomplishing much. Yep, I know that feeling! Does it help to be reminded that our children need to know how to behave more than they need to know how to spell (for example)? Or let’s put it another way: our children need to learn how to behave so that they can learn how to spell. Learning can happen spontaneously, as if often does; but much of education (especially higher education) involves self discipline. In order of importance, then, self discipline comes first, for without it, not much else can happen.

Be enouraged that even if you don’t check everything off on your school chart for the day, if you’re helping your children learn good behavior, you’re actually accomplishing a lot! And remember that good behavior takes time to develop, so please don’t feel that if your children aren’t perfect in this area, you’ve failed. We all have ups and downs. When we have downs, we just try again the next day. Not all days will be “downs.” Over the long run, if you keep trying, your children will learn (both how to have good behavior and the necessary academics). Have grace for yourself. Oh, look at that: your character is being trained, too!

Remember Practical Life Skills & Relationships

Your children need to develop real-life skills, too, and home is the perfect environment for these skills to be learned! Things like knowing how to cook, clean, organize, and be responsible are essential tools one must have to be able to function well in adult life. Even if you don’t get to the math on a certain day (you can get to it the next), if you helped your children learn how to dust, vacuum, sweep, or any other practical thing, you have taught them something extremely useful — good job! Listen, have you seen young adults who are slobs and don’t know how to do much of anything for themselves? Why do you think they turned out that way? My point exactly.

Another thing your children need is . . . you! And family! They need meaningful relationships. Social interaction happens naturally and effortlessly at home, especially if your children have lots of siblings. My grandma’s prime concern when my parents started homeschooling us was that we wouldn’t have enough social interaction and (I guess) would develop into social cripples. Ha! Thankfully, I do know how to talk to people tolerably well. I’ve seen teens who attend public school who are much worse in the social-interaction department than any homeschoolers I’ve ever known.

I’m not saying that children don’t need any social interaction at all except for family; I’m just saying that I think the need for social interaction can be unrealistically overemphasized. Homeschool mothers shouldn’t allow themselves to be guilted into dashing from activity to activity with their youngsters. Children need stability, rest, and quiet just as much as they need excitement and new experiences. Actually, I think they probably do best with more of the former than the latter. There is a balance we must try to achieve, and this may be slightly different for different personalities and different ages.

Very young children don’t require a lot of outside social interaction, but as the years go up, the need also goes up, as well. So, as your children near adolescence, be looking for activities outside of the home to involve them in. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be every day; it just has to be something they’re interested in that will engage their interest, help them meet up with friends, and get them out of the confines of the the house for awhile. (This is from my personal experience. I used to think that even teens could get by with mostly being at home because as a teen I enjoyed being home a lot. But alas! My own children have shown me that I shouldn’t expect them to be me-clones.)

Home is a great place to develop emotional intelligence, as your children work through sibling and parent/child issues. It can also be a stable and healthy place to open up about their troubles, learn healthy ways to manage conflict (both inner and outer), develop compassion, and a host of other necessary qualities. And you, dear mother, are one of the most qualified people in the world to teach them these things!

What Makes Homeschooling Worth the Pain?

I’m not gonna lie: there will be days when you will wonder if homeschooling is worth it. There will be days when you will want to give up, throw in the towel, call it quits! What can keep you going when you feel like that?

I’ve had days like that, too; here are a few things I’ve done that might help you.

I posted Deuteronomy 6:4-9 on our wall, which reminded me of THE most important reason I was homeschooling — to give my children a firm foundation on God’s Word:

I also taped up Noah Webster’s definitions of educate and education to give me additional perspective on what a proper “education” should look like (it’s not all about the academics . . .):

When I feel overwhelmed, I go to God — I don’t give up. You may be interested in reading:

A Must: Self-Care for the Busy Mom of a Large Family

Never forget: what you are doing by homeschooling your children is so valuable! When looking at your homeschool journey from a bird’s-eye view, all the irritations and frustrations will fade from view, and you’ll see clearly the big-panorama view of children who were given a chance to be home with their family and who learned to make God’s Word the basis for everything in life– an opportunity that many children are not able to have. What a unique privilege you are giving them, and it is something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives!

On your hard days, remember that God understands what you’re doing through and is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15, KJV).

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16

Hope that helps! Feel free to send any more questions my way!

From . . . . Jessica

• If you are a seasoned homeschool mother, what advice would you give to a new homeschool mom?
  
• In your opinion, what should be our homeschool priorities, listed in order of importance?
  
• What would you say to a mom who is feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, and burnt out?
  
• Do you have any helpful suggestions for curriculum, time management, planners, character development, chores, parenting, or anything else?