Back to Homeschool Challenge – Day 1
Up until the last minute, I knew exactly what our first challenge would be… You know it, I know it… We should discuss organization, right? It’s at the core of keeping things running smoothly during the year. But then much to my surprise, an idea popped into my head. I realized there was something more important to tap into first… and this post kind of wrote itself!
Cartoon graphic purchased from canstockphoto.
Today’s task shouldn’t take long, but I think it’s important to acknowledge the homeschool journey we’ve embarked on.
Let’s face it, we homeschoolers are a lucky bunch. We live in a country that allows us to homeschool. We see it as our right and our responsibility to educate our kids.
We’re passionate… and we’re also immensely fortunate.
We have the financial wherewithal to make homeschooling work.
We have an unprecedented number resources available to us personally and as a culture. We can access experts through books, video, blogs, documentaries, social media, and more.
We can visit places that people of other times never imagined… we can “visit” the bottom of the ocean because of the funding people have poured into creating and sharing their video footage. We can look into the edges of space through NASA’s free public website. Not to mention the field trips we can take easily by popping into our cars and visiting the local attractions.
So, as we begin to gear up for an amazing, incredible year… I challenge you to take a few minutes to *really* look at the times we live in and the reasons to be grateful for our homeschooling journey.
Feel free to print out the colorful little pdf I created below to add to your Homeschool Organizational Notebook. 🙂
Passionate Homeschoolers (free printable)
I actually enjoyed thinking and writing down my thoughts. I jotted a few things that I don’t normally acknowledge along this homeschool journey of ours… I’ll share a few of my thoughts below, though before you read what I had to say, you might want to print this out (or jot things down in your own homeschool journal) so I don’t influence you. 🙂
- We’re so lucky to homeschool for all those reasons I mentioned above. I feel grateful to be living a place that allows us to homeschool. I love and appreciate the independence we have to create our learning experiences. I love that we can create our curriculum. I love that the world is our oyster!
- We are able to homeschool because… it boils down to this… that I have an amazing, incredible, supportive Hubby — Tony. He’s my everything. He’s an amazing Dad. He might be away from home working through much of the day, but he is always here on the homeschool journey with us. He’s involved, wants to know what we’re doing, what cool things we’ve learned. He prods the kids and challenges them. He cheers us on. Often, he picks up the slack. He’s been my ear (sometimes literally -haha– since I had those 6 surgeries and went deaf in my left ear a couple years ago!!) and my shoulder to lean on. He’s been the person to sweep the kids away to give me a “break.” And of course, this blog and this business wouldn’t exist without the support and help he’s given over the years!
- Homeschooling will be great for the kids this year because we can delve deeply into foreign languages and music and art and the sciences and history — as well as the basics math, writing, reading, etc. We can let the kids explore and find their passions. We can tweak the curriculum to make the most of opportunities around us.
- Homeschooling will be great for me because I get to watch my kids grow. I get to experience the ah-hah moments. I get to cheer them on when something they dreaded becomes something they love!
- We are amazing because… we love each other. We are a family.
I am lucky because I have a greater, wider homeschooling family to connect with — YOU — my dear Reader! Thanks for joining us today! ~Liesl
Are you getting ready for the new Homeschool Year? These posts might be helpful:
If you are still in the Planning Stages of your Homeschool Year, you might want to check out this free resource:
Homeschool Planning for Next Year (Free Planning Pages): Homeschool Vision Planner
I shared these free Homeschool Planning Pages that I use as I try to figure out our long-range homeschooling goals. This post shares share the process I go through as I plan out the next year… I shared the planning pages that I’ve been using the past few years. I like having colorful planning pages to work on. This isn’t really a weekly/monthly planner, but rather a homeschool vision planner. This 30+-page pdf is currently FREE to download! Let me know if it’s helpful! ~Liesl
Free Homeschool Planning Pages (Homeschool Vision Planner)
You might also be interested in these FREE Homeschool Curriculum Resource Guides:
If you are looking for more practical homeschooling tips, you might be interested in our Homeschool Planning Series with tips on Creating Your Homeschool Curriculum. We have three (of four) free resource guides available for K-1, Grades 2-3 and Grades 4-5. (The Grade 6-8 Resource Guide is mostly finished. I hope to share that early this next Fall 2017.)
Creating a Homeschool Curriculum: Kindergarten, Grade 1 This FREE 50-page Resource Guide has been created to answer some basic questions: What subjects should I cover? Where do I start? How do I know what to teach. It offers topics, units and hands-on activity ideas that might appeal to your kids.
Creating a Homeschool Curriculum Grades 2-3 FREE 30-page Resource Guide
This guide is a starting point for choosing the material you might want to cover in your homeschool. What subjects, units and topics should you cover in Grades 2 and 3? Where do I start? This resource guide will offer suggestions on what topics and hands-on activities might be engaging for your kids at this age.
Creating Your Homeschool Curriculum – Grade 4-5 FREE Resource Guide
As many of you know, we started a Homeschool Den Chat FB group last January.We take a summer break, but so I’m not posting at we’ll resume regular posting toward the end of August. This is a closed FB group to share what’s working (and what’s not) in your homeschool. It’s a place to talk about the ups and downs of homeschool life.
• Share what’s working in your homeschool.
• Get inspiration from others!
• Talk about homeschool strategies that work.
• Learn from one another.
Find out more about the Homeschool Den Chat Group here.
See you again soon here or over at our Homeschool Den Facebook Page! You might also want to check out some of our resources pages above (such as our Science, Language Arts, or History Units Resource Pages) which have links to dozens of posts. You might want to join our free Homeschool Den Chat Facebook group. Don’t forget to check out Our Store as well. 
~Liesl
I’ve chosen not to use pop-up boxes at this point, but you can click here to Subscribe to our Homeschool Den Newsletter! Newsletters will resume in the Fall.
Happy Homeschooling! ~Liesl
