Three Habits To Break Now That You Homeschool
Let’s talk about three traditional school habits to break now that you homeschool. Whether you homeschool your kids from the beginning, or you are transitioning from institutional school to homeschooling, it can be so hard to break traditional school habits when we create a schooling program for our own kids. To this day, I still find myself occasionally falling into these habits, and I need to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be this way. While there are many habits that we need to put aside when we homeschool our kids, let’s talk about three big ones.
Number one, grade levels. In society, we as parents will state what grade level our kids are in when asked. Grade levels are an institutional school concept. Rather than tailor our kids educational program according to a grade they fall in age wise, we should tailor it according to what level they are on academically. For instance, if you have a six year old, who would traditionally be in first grade, academically, they may be on a first grade reading level, but on a second grade math level. so, rather than keeping that child on a first grade level in everything, personalize and create their educational program according to where they are academically. When kids learn this way, they thrive and fall more in love with school, because they are learning in a way that best fits them.
Second habit to break is, having our kids learn only with kids their own age. As adults, we interact with people of all ages. We should be teaching our kids to do the same. Kids in institutional schools are only interacting with kids their own age for 13 years including kindergarten. I feel that is a huge disservice to the up bringing for our kids. We need to teach our kids how to interact with others at all ages. I find when we do that, it gives the older kids an opportunity to act as a mentor to the younger kids, and it gives our younger kids an opportunity to learn how to speak to someone who is older, and not shy away from that opportunity when it presents itself in every day life.
The third habit to break is, testing your child to measure the information they know and/or are retaining. When I homeschool my children, I rarely give them tests. It’s not because I disagree with them, but I feel there are better ways to see if your child is understanding concepts being taught. When I was a child in school, I would study and feel like I was prepared to take a test. When I got my score back I would be thoroughly disappointed in how I did. I was never a good test taker. I think many kids fall into the same category. They can study as hard and as much as they want, but when it comes to the pressures of test taking, they do not perform well. With that being said, it really demonstrates how important and valuable it is when children have a a personalized educational program designed especially for them and their specific learning style.
Now, don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself falling back into these habits. It takes time to adjust our thinking and go against what society has ingrained in our minds about schooling. When you truly take a look at how institutional schools function, and how homeschooling typically works, your eyes will be open to the benefits that home education has to offer. Regardless, if you are new to homeschooling, or seasoned, we all need these reminders every once in a while. Take it day by day and allow yourself grace as you yourself are adjusting to a new way of thinking.