TWM, November 2024

From mainstream teacher to homeschool mama: our first year of homeschooling.

Hey mama,

I wanted to share with you something a little more personal today -- Our homeschooling journey thus far.

I get lots of questions from other mothers about the prospect of homeschooling and I wanted to share with you our personal journey and why I still continue to advocate for it.

From mainstream teacher...

I was a primary school teacher for 5 years, teaching at two different Christian schools.

I loved being a teacher because I grew to love the children I taught.

However, over time I realised that my educational and philosophical values weren't aligning with my teaching.

I was disciplining boys who were constantly fidgeting and distracting others, when they were only 6 or 7 and probably just couldn't sit still for that long.

I was teaching a one-size-fits-all lesson for everyone in the class with very little differentiation in ability and interest.

Lessons were at times too long and children got bored and disinterested.

These are just some of my observations from when I was a teacher.

Fast forward to my daughter starting Kindergarten last year. We sent her to one of the Christian schools I taught at (and the school that I myself and my husband attended and met at!).

She thrived in school. She loved her teacher and her friends and she seemed to be thriving academically, too.

But something inside of me felt off. In the last few months of the school year, I felt weary. School drop off, most of the day gone and by the time I picked her up from school, it was almost dinner time. She was exhausted, I felt like I hadn't seen her or spent time with her all week and the cycle continued.

And as much as the school does as best as they can to involve parents in their child's learning, I felt like I only got a glimpse of what she learnt. I wanted more.

...To homeschooling mama

When I had a serious conversation with my husband about all of the reasons why I wanted to homeschool, it seemed that the decision had been made.

More freedom, flexibility, more time back, more time to learn what they love, more time to be a kid.

While it can be all-consuming and challenging at times, I have learnt to take the pressure off myself and my children. We have lots of breaks in between lessons, we spend lots of time outside, we visit our homeschool co-op every week and meet with other homeschool families. It has been exactly what I hoped for and more!

Many people ask me, 'surely it's easier for you because you are a trained teacher?'

However, I actually think the complete opposite. Homeschooling is not replicating the school system in your home. It's actually schooling in a whole new way, which means I have had to unlearn so many things as a teacher.

For example, like the structure of our day. Instead of doing literacy first, then maths and then other units like science or art at the end of the day, I have watched how my daughter engages in these lessons at different times of day and have adapted our structure to fit her learning needs.

That is the beauty of homeschooling - you can do it in whichever way it will fit your family!

Now, I don't write all of this to convince you. I know there are many mamas who don't want to homeschool for various reasons. However, I know that there can be misconceptions about homeschooling and I wanted to share our journey so far for any mothers curious enough.

If you want to learn more

I've got a whole growing homeschooling category on my blog, so feel free to check it out for homeschooling ideas, a day in the life and more: homeschool blog.