5 Homeschooling Mistakes NOT to Make

5 Homeschooling Mistakes NOT to Make

#Homeschool

These are things that can make it hard for you from the start. Do not make these mistakes. We're still recovering from these. Homeschooling provides a lot of freedom. BUT unmanaged freedom can tend towards chaos. I highly recommend learning from my mistakes and sculpting your freedom like a well-formed masterpiece so you don't end up with a chaotic mess. I love me some freedom! anyone who knows me will tell you there is nothing more then I love than the freedom to live life on my terms. That being said... set your terms. What are you doing with your freedom? How are you individually structuring your life into the life you want?

- Not De-schooling

I made this mistake! I was eager to hit the ground running! For a lot of reason, I pulled Jareth from school the second day of second grade with almost no preparation and no time to mentally prepare. I believed wholeheartedly and still do in the choice I made BUT a big mistake I made was thinking "I decided to do this 3 days ago, We just got off vacation between grades we can launch right into this! No Problem!!" I wish I had taken an extra month of downtime to gather resources! There are some amazing free and low-cost resources out there but there was no way to have the time I needed to make a stable plan to look at what they all were and mold a structure to work with. I couldn't afford boxed curriculum and if your there and you have been there that's FINE! You CAN create a curriculum. Embrace the information age! also, there are less expensive workbooks and un-schooling (Learning from living... My ADD ensures we get NOTHING done and no learning takes place unschooling.

I work best and my son learns best with some level of structure. BUT I've seen it work great for others.) Take the time for you and for your kid to get used to the idea of what you're doing and plan how you want to do it. Structure. Your. Freedom. Your. Way. But yes establish your structure and figure out what works for you and your

- Not Having A Schedule Plan

I knew 4 things when I started homeschooling. I needed to learn: Rapid skills acquisition, Time Management, Speed Cleaning, And marketable skills I could use from home to create the life we wanted... I don't want to be cocky enough to say I'm a master at any of these things. But I've come a long way! Ticking is my best friend "What am I doing? When am I doing it? What will Jareth be doing when I'm doing that?" Plan it out! it might seem overwhelming REALLY overwhelming but it's vital. I offer this reassurance... I do this as a single mom. You CAN get it together and you will. Tweek it til your good find ways to get the kid on your team when you can.

- Not Setting Yearly Goals

I don't think we accomplished anything the first couple years. I wouldn't really know if we did though! If you don't set a standard of what accomplishment would look like to you, You can never know when you've reached it! Set. Goals. if possible set S.M.A.R.T goals (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) Know what you want to achieve, How you will know when you achieve it, what actions need to be taken to achieve it, and WHY it matters that you achieve that specific thing? How is it relevant to your life to meet THAT goal this year or for your kid to meet that goal.

- Not Having A Homeschool Planning and Managment System that works for you. Do The Research.

- Free Resources, are often free for a reason.

You pay in time, or you pay in money. Those are your choices.

You should understand is going then. It took me about a year to accept this reality. Free resources should supplement low-cost resources that's what you have and do that you need to find time to put it together. This why I wish I'd taken deschooling a prep time! Don't panic. I've been doing this going on 6 years now. LOL You will not feel fully confident til year 3 and even then you'll have your moments BUT it will be worth it. Avoid a wasted year though. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.

Even if you've made all these mistakes take comfort! I have too! It can be sorted out. At least you may now have an idea of what needs to be done. Where should you go from here? Make an execute a plan. You're gonna rock this thing.