Surrendering to Homeschool - Lizzie Young

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.”

William Shakespeare

Really, Liz? A Shakespeare quote to start a homeschool blog… Typical! But seriously, let's replace the word “Greatness” for “Homeschool”. Some are born into homeschooling - it's all they know, so it's all they teach! Some achieve the concept of homeschool - through a decision they make for their family, I’d confess to be in that category! And some - like many displaced school kids in your homes right now - have homeschool thrust upon them! Whatever category you may have tumbled into, it IS doable and you CAN see Greatness come out of it! 

To begin, let's first get our hearts around the concept before putting our hands to the books! As we scratch the surface to this beautiful journey of teaching your kids at home, my prayer for you is that you would be full of the peace of God, while being equally awakened to the wonder of Heaven as you see through the eyes of your child each day.

SURRENDER

The first step in this beautiful journey of shepherding your kids learning, is this wonderful word we all know and love: SURRENDER! Much like marriage, pregnancy, being a new parent, or any form of change, the first step to conquering it is to surrender to the season! The more you fight, the more it hurts. But how often have you seen in your own life that when you die to Self, the very thing that was so difficult, suddenly becomes easy to embrace. Romans 12:2 says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So as you renew your mind in this area, it's time to realise you have EVERYTHING already within you to teach your child, God has equipped you and entrusted you with this season of their lives and what a beautiful journey of discovery this will be! 

Before we go any further, a warning: It requires you to get into the dirt. The comfort, and the sadness, of mainstream school is that parents can get very disconnected from the learning process, due to the convenience of others being the main influence in their children’s education. Whereas the beauty, and the sacrifice, of homeschool is you’re involved every step of the way. 

The first couple things you need to ask yourself are this: What is the vision for your family? Is it to harbour a household of peace and love? Is it to fill your children with the tools to equip them in a life of integrity and moral characters? Who are you raising in your home? Is it doctors and lawyers? Worshippers? Disciples of Jesus? Who are they and what is their gift to the world? All of this plays into the decision you’ve made, and will be the Creed, so to speak, of the “WHY” of your homeschooling. Any time you’re discouraged, tired, find yourself repeating “WHAT - IS - 5 - PLUS - 2 ?????” for what feels like the thousandth time (been there!), you return to the Why. Why are you doing this? Who are you raising? What do you have to give to the little world changers who look up to you and love you so much… With this Why, we press on! 

So How Do I Do This?

 STEP ONE: BREAK OUT OF THE CLASSROOM

This is an awesome one because it’s where you find you aren’t bound to your own experience of a school room! The mistake we make is assuming we have to make it look like a traditional classroom, but you get to CREATE the space! Know yourself and know your kids! What do YOU love? Do you appreciate literature? Or are you more creative, and like working with your hands? Are you quite structured, or are you more free-flowing? What quirks and gifts do you have that you’d love to pass on to your kids? Whatever it is for you, incorporate it into your daily routine! Make sure the curriculum you choose has plenty of what you enjoy, so you’ll be just as excited to get into it as your kids are! The purpose of this is to create an atmosphere where it's easy for you to teach, and easy for them to learn! Break out of the classroom mindset and discover what works for you!  

STEP TWO: FIND THEIR LEARNING STYLE

I found this SO helpful when starting the homeschooling journey, as I caught myself getting so frustrated that my child wouldn’t sit still while I was trying to get her to answer questions! Little did I know that the WAY she learns best is completely different to the way in which I was trying to teach! My husband too encountered this as a child, and where he has been mistakenly diagnosed with ADHD as a student because he couldn’t sit still in class, it was actually that he was a TACTILE learner, meaning the way he best caught information was to touch it and to feel his way through! WHAT! Mind blowing! Here is a quick breakdown of some of the different learning styles, see if you can match your child to one even now! 

Visual - they learn best through visual stimulation, through books and photographs or TV, and they love beautiful things.

Auditory - they catch onto rhymes quickly, or will retain information best when put to a song.

Verbal - loves using words, either speaking or writing.

Logical - this learning style is more mathematical in their thinking and reasoning.

Tactile - love to get their hands all up in the mix! Tasting, touching, and being hands-on is the best way to help this style to flourish! 

There are more, I greatly encourage you to find them, and through it, discover more about your kids! 

STEP THREE: CHOOSE A TEACHING STYLE

Now that you know the way they learn best, here is where you decide what is the best way to teach! Choosing a teaching style is how you can bring the uniqueness of your family into your homeschool. 

Some examples are:

- online schooling

- unschooling, which is completely being lead by your child and their desire to explore

- traditional homeschooling, which is books and literature

- unit studies, where all lessons are based around one central theme

And many others! 

Much like the choice of schooling can affect the decisions kids make growing up, the choice of curriculum can affect their outlook on life and how they will choose to learn in the future! 

STEP FOUR: SET UP YOUR SPACE

Personally, I function better when a space is inviting (visual learner over here!), and all that I need is within reach! Make sure your space is conducive to learning and free from distractions for both you and your kids! Do what works for you, choosing a time where you’re not distracted! I find that mornings are best for us as everyone’s minds are super active. Some days if everyone is super fidgety I’ll send them outside to run around before we start! 

Tip on Teaching Multiple Ages:

What we do for this, having each of 3 kids one year apart in learning, is that I will set up two of them with independent work to start with (usually the 2 oldest), and spend 20 mins with each one by one explaining the lesson and working through the teaching part. We take a break between subjects to reset, and most days school is done, start to finish, by lunchtime! 

Finally, as I wrap this up, the kindest thing you can do for yourself and your kids in this journey is to discover the Selah. Have grace on yourself. Be flexible. Plan for breaks. Go outside for a walk in the garden, have a cup of tea, and remind yourself you are amazing, your kids love you, and you are their biggest inspiration! 

Written By Lizzie Young

Lizzie is married to Blake Young and mother to Keilani, Zion and Shiloh. She lives in Gaborone, Botswana and is on team at Kingdomcity