Hi friends! I thought it would be interesting to make a list of all the things we do not do in our homeschool. But I want to start by saying that just because we do not do the below, does not mean they are wrong. These are just things that are not important to us or do not work well in our unique homeschool. Each and every family is different and what works for one family is not always a good fit for another and vice versa. So please take what I am sharing with a grain of salt. After all, we are just getting started in our homeschooling journey and some of this may change in a year or two! I imagine that we will constantly be growing and shifting and trying new things. But as it stands with two kids 3 and 5, this is what we do not do at the moment.
1 // We don’t use a homeschool room
We have a room that I store all our homeschool things in but we hardly ever sit down there to do school. I use this tote system and we carry these to wherever we feel like schooling (which usually ends up being the dining room table, floor, or couch).
2 // We don’t have long sit-down lessons
We spend about 20 minutes or so on reading/phonics and then another 20 on math (our two main subjects) and the rest of it is here and there. We will read picture books together throughout the day. We will do a science experiment if we feel like it. We will watch a documentary. We will play educational board games, bake, go outside, talk about history, do geography-style puzzles… there is so much learning happening in our day! But as for sit down “table” type of work, we like short lessons that get right to the point and do not drain either of us. My priority is not finishing the curriculum, but making steady progress every day.
3 // We don’t follow a schedule
We have a natural rhythm to our day but not a rigid schedule. I don’t make my kids to the table by a certain time. I don’t make them do chores or even get dressed before we do anything. We wake up naturally, eat breakfast and read books together, then sometimes we start lessons if everyone is eager or sometimes they go off to play and I get work done or cook. Sometimes we stay in our pajamas and sometimes we get dressed (depending on how the rest of the day looks). Some days we have friends over bright and early and in that case, we will do school in the evenings. We live our life and fit school in around it, not the other way around. That is the beauty of homeschool. Maybe as they get older or ask for more structure, we will modify. But for now, this works.
4 // We don’t limit screen time
We don’t sit in front of the TV all day long. In fact, I don’t turn it on really until later in the day, and that happens naturally because we are busy doing other things or playing outside. We use screens for movies, documentaries, and especially YouTube when we are learning about specific topics. My daughter also loves Reading Eggs and Mathseeds on the iPad, which she gets time for each week. I think screens have a time and place. Technology is here to stay and I like to model healthy usage for my kids.
5 // I don’t create lesson plans
Book lists? YES. Yes yes yes. I love a good book list to cover a topic. But lesson plans? Not so much. We use open-and-go curriculum for language arts (All About Reading) and math (Math with Confidence), so everything is already “planned” and we just do the next lesson. The rest is a whole lot of books, projects, interest-led activities, etc. I have an birds-eye view of how I would like the year to look in terms of topics with my trusty book list and then I plan from behind (which means I write down what we do each day AFTER the day is done).
6 // We don’t take summers “off” entirely
Learning is happening every moment of every day. Instead of taking 12 weeks off in the summer, we just shift things around. In the summers, we still work on reading continuously. For math, we play a lot of board games. For science, we do a ton of messy experiments in the backyard. We get outside a ton as a family and learning about nature and lifecycles happens naturally. We still read picture books every single morning. When learning is natural and fun, it really doesn’t feel like “work” so we just keep going. When we need a break, we take one. Will this change as they get older? Possibly! Maybe my kids will want a longer summer break and then we will revisit. But at these ages, they really like our rhythm and having structure!
7 // We don’t participate in a co-op
We have not yet found a co-op that feels like a good fit and while this bummed me out at first, I am at peace with it. Since my girls are young, I like being home with them and them with one another. I like fostering their sibling relationship first and foremost. We have homeschool friends we see on a weekly basis for playdates/projects/crafts and we regularly get out by going to the library, stores, park, visiting grandparents, etc. This feels like just enough for us. Will this change in the future? Possibly! I think as they get older, we will want to connect with more people but at this stage, it feels right to be home together. I do not think a co-op is the end-all-be-all for socialization.
8 // We don’t have a 5-day school week
We do school Monday – Thursday for the most part and Fridays are left for board games, chores, running errands, appointments, or just relaxing. My kids are at the age where they also will randomly want to do “school” on a Sunday. So we really don’t follow a 5-day week in the typical sense.
9 // We don’t do formal nature study
Nature is a priority in our homeschool because my kids are interested in it – anything animals, plants, lifecycles is fascinating to them. Instead of a formal study, I will jot down seasonal topics and create a book list (as you can see here). Then I’ll find some documentaries/episodes that may go with the topic. We will get outside. I’ll reference our Slow Down curriculum (by A Year of Learning) to see what ideas are in there for crafts or activities and then we will pick and choose what we want to do. I don’t make them journal or watercolor like you see a lot on Instagram (though it looks so lovely!!) unless they want to. We keep it light and fun! If we are going out in nature, we are there to just be and enjoy it.
10 // We don’t do all the subjects at once
I don’t believe it is important to do every single subjects every single year. Cramming it all in is only going to muddle what is important. Instead, we follow rabbit trails and focus on what my kids are interested in. In the future, I can see us doing science for a term and then history for a term and then switching off so we can dive deep and focus. Maybe one year we do artist study if my kids are interested. Maybe they aren’t and instead we do poetry. Or maybe music appreciation. Or more nature study. Or drawing. These are all beautiful subjects, but just not all at once. Changing it up every few months will also keep things interesting.
So what DO we do? Here’s a post sharing what we do prioritize in our homeschool. I hope this gives you a better sense of our relaxed homeschool style. If you have any questions or want to discuss anything and everything homeschool, feel free to message me in the comments or directly on Instagram. I’d love to chat. x
