Homeschooling: How We Began

When people hear about our lifestyle one of the very first comments is usually, “But what about your kids and what about school?” Well, the most simple answer we can come up with is that we homeschool, or roadschool if you will.

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Roadschooling has become a new commonplace term when describing our type of situation. More and more families are hitting the road full time whether it be for work, long term vacations, or even as part of family therapy. What better education for our children than to see the country, meet new people, and explore the various locations my husband’s job sends him to? They may not all be glamorous but they can all be great experiences.

There is a vast collection of homeschooling methods nowadays. There’s all online, all workbook, free range, child led, teacher/parent led, and so many variations in between. That’s just a few samples without going into the specific approaches such as Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Waldorf, etc. Parents can order full curriculums, individual books, or just let the child’s surroundings be their guide. “Homeschool” is probably the most broad category I’ve ever heard of and it can be overwhelming for those just starting out.

We were somewhat lucky that I started staying home when our oldest was 14 months old. I felt that if I was home then I needed to be teaching and guiding her. Around the time she reached 18 months we started doing small crafts or science experiments in addition to reading together. We played games, I started looking at homeschooling preschool, and I began wondering how to really get started.

From there we developed a very relaxed foundation that grew into a slightly structure system. The thing to remember is: it worked for us but you’ll have to find what works for you. As our children have grown and changed, so has our system. We take weeks off at a time and let them show us when they are ready to get back to a routine. Don’t worry, you’ll know. You know your children better than anyone and always remember that.

Remember it, even in your most panicked, weakest, and chaotic moments. These moments will pass and each day, week, or month is only an all too short stage of life. In the Line-Life we have a saying, “This too shall pass, until the next storm.” Take it all in, learn from it, and move on stronger until the next challenge comes along. You are strong. You can do this.

We did a lot of story times and a lot of Pinterest activities. Preschool should be fun and exciting. At this age, it isn’t all workbooks and structure but instead hands on and interactive. Field trips are one of my favorite things about traveling. When we were home we participated in Little Sprouts at the Botanical Gardens, story time at the local libraries or Barnes and Noble, and met friends for play dates all over the place.

Going on the road meant we found ourselves visiting new children’s museums, wildlife reserves, parks, the beach, and other fun places. One that I shared here was our trip to a wildlife reserve that turned into a week long lesson plan using a few things from the gift shop. Another was our time spent at North Texas Jellystone Park. If you’ve been to a museum, zoo, aquarium, etc with me then you know I’m always looking for something unique to add to our list or collection. It’s become a passion!

Soon, I will share what we’ve chosen for our 2015-2016 curriculum. We’ve been approved through the state of Arkansas and Aryanna officially starts Kindergarten on July 1st, 2015. This year, I’ll work hard to bring continuous updates of what we do throughout the weeks. You can see where we succeed, where we fail, our meltdowns, and the fun we have along the way. Maybe this will help you decide if it’s something you would want to do. Maybe you just want to laugh as we share our slices of crazy. Whatever your reason, we’re glad to have you joining in on our adventure as we step into the world of legally homeschooling!