In the '80s, I was an elementary school student. In kindergarten we learned our letters and numbers, very basic sight words, and spent most of our half-day of school learning through play. Being a nun was the only requirement needed to teach in Catholic school. That nun told my parents I wasn't good a student and I wasn't meeting the academic expectations. Needless to say, I was only in Catholic school for first grade. Second grade. I ...
Homeschooling
Our Favorite Preschool Resources
My baby is not a baby anymore. At 4 years old, he has been asking to start school, so this year we are homeschooling preschool. This has been a bit of a culture shock for me. We started our homeschool journey with kindergarten and first grade, but we were part of a cyber school so I didn't have to think about curriculum. With 4 years of homeschooling and more than a decade in public school teaching under my belt, this was my first time looking for preschool ...
Homeschool Goals
At the start of January, as I was reflecting on my goals for the various facets of our life, homeschooling was a primary focus. We currently homeschool our three children who are 5-11 years old. I know they won't be little forever, but I want to enjoy them as much as I can during this season of our lives. Homeschooling is one way I get to do that. I love homeschooling, but there are several things I know I can do better, and it has become my goal to improve our homeschool experience. ...
Top 5 Homeschooling Posts of 2018
November marked the end of 12-months of homeschooling for us even though we are in our fifth year of schooling at home. I've shared a lot of our experiences during the past year from our experience leaving public school to my struggle going to a homeschool convention and trying to find where I now fit as an educator. With more than 25 homeschooling posts, here are the top 5 based on their popularity among Happily Homegrown readers. ...
Ready to Start Homeschooling? Steps to Take for a Midyear Transition
After a horrible public school experience for our oldest son, we decided to start homeschooling. I had actually made the decision in February of that year, but we waited and dealt with the aggravation and issues at the school until the end of the school year. In all of the educational decisions we have made, that's the one I regret the most. I didn't know we could withdraw midyear and start homeschooling right away. I didn't have a homeschooling mentor to tell me it would be alright. So for ...