365 Things to Avoid while Homeschooling
#29 Worrying too much about "holes"...
It's a thought that keeps homeschooling parents up at night-- what if there's some crucial piece of information we forget to teach? Will our kids' future be ruined because we never taught them about semi-colons, or Mayan history?
#28 Assuming homeschoolers are all alike...
either that all homeschoolers are like you and your friends, or that all OTHER homeschoolers are like the first few homeschoolers you meet. We are a diverse group! Because homeschooling is not a mainstream activity, we tend to be a group that has doesn't necessarily go along with the mainstream in other ways, but we stretch across the political spectrum, come in all faiths and degrees of religiousity, come in every color, parent in many different ways, and have all kinds of families.
Homeschooling is a big tent!
#27 Forgetting about that science experiment your kids started 3 weeks ago...
the one where they wiped damp bread on various surfaces, and then put them in baggies and stashed them under the sink so mold could grow. Boy did mold grow. {shudder}
#26 Expecting any two kids to learn in the same way or at the same pace...
It's only natural to expect that your second child will love learning to read the same way that your firstborn did, or that the science program the family at park day raves about will be a big hit at your house, but, life's not that simple. Unfortunately different kids will do best with different approaches, but luckily, you can let each kid learn in their own way.
#25 Planning to homeschool for free...
If you are on a tight budget, and just don't have money to spend on homeschooling, the last thing I want to do is make you feel bad about that-- you're doing the best you can, and I'm sure your kids are doing well. This post is for people who are making up a homeschool budget for the first time-- if you are able to set aside some money for homeschooling, please do.
Over the years I've heard people say over and over again that you can homeschool for free, but I think it's largely a myth, and sometimes a harmful one.
#24 Expensive curriculum
Especially if you are new to homeschooling. There are lots of publishers promising to solve all your homeschooling problems, but don't rush to click 'buy"!
#23 Trying to be someone else when you homeschool.
We all have an idea of how a homeschooling parent ought to be. Maybe she's an efficient and joyful homemaker with lots of energy and a passion for literature, or maybe she's an all-giving earth mother who is endlessly creative, and always knows the right thing to say or maybe she's something else. Whoever she is, if we buy curriculum and plan our days around what *she* would enjoy and excel at, we're going to make the real people in our lives crazy.
#22 Keeping your social circle too small
It can be easy to fall into always spending time with a specific small group of families when you homeschool. But there are two problems with that-- the first is that you can end up depending on these families so much that you have trouble pulling away if the kids grow apart, and the second is that you miss out on the broader perspective you might get from spending time with a larger group.
#21 Trying to make everything a teachable moment...
We've all done it-- our kid asks us a simple question, and we try to build a spontaneous unit study around "why some apples are green" or "why are they called flip-flops?" In our head's we're thinking what a wonderful fun lesson this is, and how great it is to work chemistry and history and literature into one amazing lesson (or maybe we can stretch it out over a few weeks!) Meanwhile, the kid is making a mental note to never ask another question again.
#20 Boring educational games
We love games in our house, but don't do a whole lot of "learning games" because too many of them are developed by people whose definition of "fun" is "better than just drilling with flash cards". So, if you were going to drill with flashcards, by all means, do the "game" instead, but if you're looking to have fun with your kids, don't restrict yourself to games that are sold as "educational".
