Here is the follow up email that I sent to a dear friend who was asking about homeschooling. Check out the first email, How to Start Homeschooling – My Letter to You, Part I. I hope you find both of these letters helpful and encouraging. Enjoy!

Dear Friend,

It sure sounds like you are well on your way! If there’s anything that I am personally learning through homeschooling it’s that this is a marathon, not a sprint. There are days when my daughter pushes my buttons and my son begs for attention and the baby is crying, and I think, It would be so much easier to send you to school. But then a day or two passes and she comes to me and we talk about something we’ve studied and I realize just how nurturing this form of education is. It’s amazing how much they retain and how aware of their learning process we parents become.

It’s also so encouraging to me to see my daughter grow in maturity through homeschooling. Two of the benefits of homeschooling are encouraging the love of learning and teaching children to become self-motivated learners. I see both of those in my kids. Other than when my daughter is trying to push my buttons (She’s really good at that! Probably because she’s mini-me. :) ), she looks forward to school. And when I tell her that her schoolwork has to be done before she can do something else, she applies herself quickly and well. I realize in those moments that we are moving in the right direction. I really believe it’s as much of a learning process for me as it is for her.

You asked about music. I don’t do a formal music study yet, but music is very much a part of our home. My husband always has music praying, and he is always introducing various music to us. I have  introduced some classical music using the Charlotte Mason method. Check out this plan from Simply Charlotte Mason. (I love their stuff.) I tried to do this plan last year, but I’ll be honest, it fell by the wayside with everything else that I was trying to do. One thing I have done this year that seems to be working really well is starting the day with praise and worship. I have a kids’ worship album and we sing and dance to two songs to start the day. I turn it up as a way to signal that school is starting. After P&W, I read from the Bible and then pray. I was just trying to think of ways to teach the Bible and Christian principles in a kid-friendly way. They really like it.

You also wondered how your preschooler would respond to the new schedule. I’ll tell you, I involve my son as much as possible in our school. I bought him a school folder and bought a couple of workbooks and coloring books from the Dollar Store. I keep them hidden so he can’t see or use them outside of school. He is the first to race to his seat and ask if he can open his folder. So far it’s working out well. I also try to incorporate games and group activities that focus on him (like singing the ABC song or doing puzzles). My daughter joins in, or she works on her handwriting during these times. I do the same with the baby by introducing activities and play time that focus on him. When you find out what works for your family, please share with me. I want to keep things fresh and interesting.

Let me know how things go. And let me know what you find works or doesn’t work. I really like to hear others’ experiences.

Blessings!

Gena

Photo: Raise Your Hand by romainguy