Aprendemos Academy

The Friday Meme over at Heart of the Matter, What I wish I had known my first year of homeschooling.

I wish I had known…

To relax.  That school doesn’t have to be school at home.  That if he isn’t grasping the concept, we can give it a few days and try again in a different way.  That TV and Computer games can indeed be useful.  That my own attitudes about a subject would be projected until my kid, whether I told him how I felt about it or not.  That it’s perfectly ok to not just think outside the box, but to throw the box in the trash altogether.

Our first year out, we tried a big box type curriculum.   Actually, I think everyone needs something like that their first year out.  This homeschool thing can be scary.  Especially when the one who is trying to implement it is one who was raised in the “Sit down! Shut up! Listen here!  Do your workbook!” type school environment.  You can find lots of information about allowing your child to “deschool,” but mom and dad need to “deschool” also.

Homeschooling is fun.  But scary.  Trust me when I say you are not the only one who fears failing your children.  you are not the only one who wonders if everything truly will come out right in the end.  You are not the only one tempted by the big yellow bus.  You are not the only one asking yourself, “Am I doing enough?”  or “What grade level is this for?  Is he ready for it yet?”  “How do I teach this?” And you are definitely not the only one thinking, “I can’t do this!”

You can.  And you can do “it” better then some stranger who doesn’t know your kid from Adam.