We’re known for being adventurous. A kayak trek to a beautiful waterfall, hikes to the edge of a gorgeous overlook, even our big move from New Jersey to Tennessee. But this time, we’ve taken a different kind of leap. After nine consecutive years of having children in public school, we made the decision to homeschool.

Homeschooling has come up here and there over the years but for one reason or another, we always said it would be impossible. There were signs that things were amiss in my children’s educational experiences time and time again. My oldest couldn’t understand the basics in math due to her learning disability but still, her grades were too high for us to be able to receive extra help until very recently. She kept being pushed through without her needs being met. Some of my other children were advanced and grew incredibly bored in their large classroom settings.

But, could I really teach the kids everything they need to know? How could I juggle the education of so many kids? Would I completely burn out? No, better not, let’s keep doing what we’re doing. Until…

 

The Decision to Homeschool

We bought a home in a different county and we just couldn’t bear to part with the county we live in. We applied to keep the kids at their public school and in the programs and athletics they were enrolled in already. As we waited for the decision to be made by the powers that be, we talked more and more about homeschooling.

My husband was still nervous about the effects that homeschooling would have on their education so he decided to do a little test. How many states are in the US? “Twelve?” What is the capital of the US? “I think it’s New Jersey?” Followed by math questions with similar answers. It was clear that we wouldn’t exactly be doing a detriment to their learning process.

When we received the call that our application to stay with the county was denied, it was settled. Homeschooling was right for our family and now was the time.

 

Jumping In With Both Feet

Within days of declaring that we would homeschool, I was in full-on research mode. In Tennessee, there are several different ways to go about homeschooling and we chose to go with an umbrella school with whom we report our attendance and grades twice a year. They don’t handle the curriculum or the teaching, that’s up to me.

So the next step was the curriculum. I’m the only one of my friends who didn’t previously homeschool so I had a lot of people offer to let me look over their curriculum to help me decide what would be right for us. There are options that are fully online, completely paper workbooks, or a mix of both.

For my older two kids, I opted for Power Homeschool, which is a fully online and secular program. All of their classes are within the Acellus program and it keeps track of their grades, attendance, time spent on each lesson, etc. There is a small monthly fee for this program but overall, I thought it was pretty reasonable! The kids think it’s a bit on the boring side but as a starter, I think it’s what we need. I sometimes supplement with free curriculum from Easy Peasy All-in-One.

With the little ones, I wanted something that would let me interact with their learning more. I was torn between Masterbooks and The Good and the Beautiful but eventually went with TGTB. This program is almost exclusively done through course books with a few apps/videos thrown in. I think that the photos are vibrant and overall, it is very interesting and keeps the kids’ attention.

You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do! My youngest daughter was not in the mood for school one day, so I broke out the puppet I had when I was a kid and he became a math tutor!

I’m especially enamored with the history and science lessons because they are done as a family. Their curriculum is for K-8, with special additional worksheets for the 7-8th level to make it a bit more advanced. We gather around as a family and do science experiments or talk about historical events. The Good and the Beautiful actually offers a lot of free curriculum via PDF so while we waited for our printed curriculum to arrive, we started on their free Marine Biology science book, which we printed at our local library. At some point soon, we’ll visit the aquarium as part of our lesson!

A shark at the aquarium made completely of litter that was found in the ocean!

 

What About the Social Aspect?

This is a question that I think especially stands out in my mind as a mom who went to public school. So much of my socializing was done at school, whether I was supposed to be focusing on my lessons or not! I have run a local moms group for the last three years so we do get a great deal of socializing done but not during school hours. So I was on the hunt for more!

As it turns out, my area has OODLES of options. We have co-ops, which are very official and structured. Co-ops are where the parents get together and teach some classes to the kids once a week or so. For my first year, co-ops may actually be a little too structured for me while I’m trying to find my footing as a homeschool mom!

There are also social clubs that are a little less official and structured. Those are my favorite right now! We joined a group that has so many different clubs and events. My son loves his Pokemon club, which meets once a month. My oldest is eager to get involved with the cooking/baking class that will start meeting next semester. We missed sign ups for the art club this semester but we’re eager to join that one next round! The group we’re in also has social groups just by age group so, for instance, my teen goes to the teen club where the teens actually volunteer to do things to help the community. It’s INCERDIBLE!

The groups and co-ops also organize things like homecoming, prom, graduation, and holiday parties. We are working on a homecoming dance and spirit week as we speak!

 

Homeschooling is going to be a wild ride with ups, downs, and everything in between but I’m in for it and look forward to sharing more of our journey as we muddle through the beginning stages!