Homeschool Tip #1 Know Your Homeschool Philosophy and Own It!

Be Able to Define Your Philosophy of Homeschooling

The majority of parents who home school their children know why they home school and what they hope to accomplish by it, or they would not be home schooling. However, after interacting with hundreds of home school parents over the last two decades, I have come to the conclusion that a large portion of these same people cannot clearly define their personal home school philosophy, and if they do, they do not really know how to put it into action. When I look at home school successes and failures, this seems to be the sticking point. 

I believe the reason why many home school parents struggle and eventually quit is because they do not understand that every home school program, every textbook publisher and every online home school school has a philosophy with a stated outcome. These parents purchase hundreds of dollars worth of textbooks or invest in online programs. Once they dive in, they find the method does not work with their child, or they do not agree with the stated outcomes.  Frustrated, they give up.  

I experienced this early on in my home schooling experience when I bought a pile of 1st grade textbooks from one of the few publishers available to home schoolers at the time. I purchased the books at the recommendation of a friend who had home schooled her children. Within the first few days of going through the program, my child and I were daunted by the amount of busy work there was, and I felt it was off balance.  Too much time was given to fringe topics and not enough time on the basics. In order to complete the program, we were going to have to spend 5 to 6 hours a day doing school work which I believed was far too much for my wiggly child.  In the end, we cherry picked through the books, and some of them were never touched.

After a few more experiences like that, I sat down with a pen and paper and wrote out my philosophy of home schooling. Using my notes, I applied that to my textbook selections. It was a great start, and when I stuck by it, we succeeded.  When I wandered from it, we struggled.  It also minimized unnecessary purchases and the stress of opening a book only to discover it was useless. 

Own It!

Having a well-defined home school philosophy is no good unless you have the guts to make it your own and stick with it. Public school moms and teachers, relatives (especially grandparents and in-laws) and other home school parents all have an opinion on how they think you should be educating your children. When you know what you believe, you can smile and say "Thanks for the advice." and then do what you know is best for your child. 

~Joy