• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

BJU Press Blog

  • Home
  • Shop
  • Shaping Worldview
  • Simplified Homeschool
  • Successful Learning

Megan

When Homeschooling Gets Hard

October 6, 2020 by Megan

don't quit when homeschooling gets hard
Some days, I’m not sure that I can do this homeschooling thing. Some days, I want to quit.

Homeschooling is really, really hard. It might not look hard when you are browsing curriculum catalogs or listening to a veteran homeschool mom on a podcast. But just about any homeschool mom has had the moment—the moment when the task of homeschooling is so overwhelming that she wants to quit entirely. I’ve had that moment. I’ve had many (hundreds?) of those moments. But before you give up homeschooling, consider the following.

Be encouraged for the homeschool hard times…

Filed Under: Successful Learning Tagged With: give up homeschooling, quit homeschooling, when homeschooling gets hard

Tips for Homeschooling Multiple Children

September 15, 2020 by Megan

homeschooling multiple children at the same time
When I started homeschooling four years ago, I wasn’t homeschooling multiple children. I had one student and a toddler in tow. It wasn’t hard to get through our homeschool day. My biggest stresses usually came from the toddler when she was grumpy or getting into things. Since then, I have added two more students (and another toddler), and now things are definitely a little more challenging. Not only am I trying to keep the toddler out of trouble, but I am also trying to teach and/or manage over 20 homeschool courses. Next year I will add another student, and my head is already spinning.

Read more…

Filed Under: Simplified Homeschool Tagged With: homeschool, homeschooling multiple children, video courses

Always, Yet Never Alone: Homeschooling During COVID-19

August 18, 2020 by Megan

when you're dealing with homeschool loneliness
I am always, yet never alone. That’s my life as a homeschool mom in this strange and troubling COVID-19 world. When my governor closed all essential businesses back in the middle of March, my world came to a screeching halt. No more in-person music lessons. No more dropping off my kids at my local gym’s childcare program so I could get my 30 minutes of exercise. We don’t have anymore church fellowships or ministry obligations or homeschool group get-togethers. My husband continued to go to work everyday just as he had before the pandemic, but I suddenly found myself basically confined to my home all day, every day. I was confronted with a deep homeschool loneliness.

But I am not confined alone…

Filed Under: Shaping Worldview Tagged With: covid-19, homeschool, loneliness

Resources for Homeschool Projects

July 14, 2020 by Megan

resources for homeschool projects
Projects, activities, and labs all play an important role in homeschooling. Sometimes we use them to help us assess whether or not our child truly understands a concept. And sometimes we use them to build a deeper understanding about a concept. But homeschool projects can be challenging, because, in order to do them, we have to have the right materials. That means that we have to plan ahead to make sure that I have everything we need. And sometimes getting those materials can be difficult and expensive. If you are like me and have multiple school-aged children, you may be tempted to skip those projects all together. [Read more…] about Resources for Homeschool Projects

Filed Under: Simplified Homeschool Tagged With: activities, homeschool, Labs, projects

Homeschooling vs. Crisis Schooling

June 2, 2020 by Megan

truth about crisis-schooling
On March 16, 2020, both public and private schools in my state were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No longer would the yellow school buses rumble down my street. No longer would I have to dodge school car-lines on my way to an appointment. When my fifth-grade daughter heard the news, her reaction was jubilant: “Now every kid in the state is a homeschooler!” Not exactly. Every child in my state was now being schooled at home. But there are big differences between being schooled at home and being homeschooled. Many are calling the new situation “crisis schooling”—parents simply trying to continue their child’s education during a time of crisis. Most families probably have no long-term plans to continue educating their children this way.

But perhaps you know a family who is—or was—considering homeschooling their children and is now uncertain what homeschooling is all about. Now is the time to share the homeschooling vision with them. Here are some specific things that you may want them to know about the difference between homeschooling and crisis schooling.

Homeschool parents are in charge of their curriculum.

In a crisis schooling situation, the parents are not really in charge of their child’s education. The school is. The school decides what work students complete. It chooses the curriculum. The parents are facilitators.

If the child is enrolled in a public school (or any of the free online public school options), the situation is even worse. The government is in charge. And the curriculum it chooses is not “religiously neutral”—it is often at war with God’s law. This curriculum teaches the children of our nation that God is not Creator, that there is no absolute truth, and that there are no moral absolutes.

One of the great blessings of homeschooling is the fact that I, as the parent, get to be in charge. I get to choose my child’s curriculum. One of the main reasons that my husband and I have continued to use BJU Press Homeschool curriculum is that their curriculum aligns with our values. Every single textbook gives me the tools to shape my child’s worldview according to the Bible.

As a homeschool parent, I also have the freedom to make adjustments to my curriculum to meet the needs of my family and the learning needs of my individual children.  We can go at our own pace. We can add or omit assignments. Homeschool parents are not the slaves of the curriculum we choose. We are the masters of it.

Homeschool parents are in charge of their schedule.

Not only do I get to be in charge of my curriculum, but I also get to be in charge of my schedule. Of course I have to meet the attendance requirements of my state, but no one dictates a start date or an end date for me. I can choose to follow a traditional school-year schedule or homeschool year-round. My children can do their lessons in the morning or wait until later in the day.  I can even take a two-hour break for music lessons in the middle of the afternoon.  The flexibility of homeschooling is wonderful.

Homeschool parents are in charge of their children’s socialization.

One of my crisis-schooling neighbors told me the other day that I was lucky that I was a homeschooler before the COVID-19 crisis. “Not much has changed for you,” he commented.

He was wrong. It’s not normal for me to go weeks on a single tank of gas. I, like most homeschoolers, am not an isolationist. I just like the freedom to choose the company my children keep. My children may not have been surrounded by other children on a school bus or in a classroom all day, but before the current crisis they had plenty of social interaction—with people of differing ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Homeschooling provides wonderful opportunities for relationship-building. We have the time and the freedom to get involved with church ministries and community outreaches. We meet people with shared interests as we pursue our children’s gifts in music, art, sports, and other hobbies. Plus, the homeschooling community itself is a pretty close community. I would be lost without the support of my local homeschool friends.

Homeschooling to me means freedom—the freedom to parent and educate my children according to my values. It is a not a freedom that I take for granted, and I am thankful for those who have worked hard to win me this freedom. I fear that our freedom to homeschool may be challenged in the near future thanks to the confusion between crisis schooling and homeschooling. So be sure to share the vision of homeschooling with others. Help them understand what homeschooling is all about!

Filed Under: Simplified Homeschool Tagged With: crisis-schooling, homeschooling

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Page 4
  • …
  • Page 21
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

As parents, teachers, or former homeschool students, we are passionate about homeschooling from a biblical worldview. We hope these teaching tips, fun activities, and inspirational stories support you in teaching your children.

Email Signup

Sign up for our homeschool newsletter and receive select blog posts, discounts, and more right to your inbox!

Connect with Us!

                    Instagram     

Read Posts on Specific Subjects

Early Learning
Foreign Language
History
Language Arts
Math
Science

Footer

Disclaimer

The BJU Press blog publishes content by different writers for the purpose of relating to our varied readers. Views and opinions expressed by these writers do not necessarily state or reflect the views of BJU Press or its affiliates. The fact that a link is listed on this blog does not represent or imply that BJU Press endorses its site or contents from the standpoint of ethics, philosophy, theology, or scientific hypotheses. Links are posted on the basis of the information and/or services that the sites offer. If you have comments, suggestions, questions, or find that one of the links no longer works, please contact us.

Pages

  • About BJU Press
  • Conversation Guidelines
  • Terms of Use & Copyright

Archives

Copyright ©2019 · BJU Press Homeschool