Many of you have for the first time considered homeschooling.  The choice to move to homeschooling is a tough one.  And having a little guidance from those who have walked this path can help!   I’ve reached out to a few moms who are passionate about homeschooling!  Over the next few weeks, each one of these moms will give you some insights from their own journey.  I am hoping this will help those of you who are considering homeschooling.  This week, we feature Brandi Murr.  So, let’s get some more homeschooling tips from moms!

Meet Brandi Murr

Brandi is the mom of a bubbly and smart 5th grader, who is now back in the public school.  Her background is in elementary education, so she has an understanding of what goes into educating kids.  In this case, the choice to move from public education to homeschooling was driven by the pandemic.  “Before the 2020-2021 school year started, there were many uncertainties about the coming year.  Would school be fully remote, hybrid, in person, or something else? The prior school year ended as fully remote.  This was not the best option for my 3rd grader!  As the summer came to a close, my daughter wanted to know what would 4th grade look like. We couldn’t give her an answer from the school’s perspective, those decisions were fluctuating.  The only way that we would be able to give her a definite answer, was if we homeschooled. She couldn’t choose on her own and was growing more anxious with every day. Finally, my husband and I made the decision for her. We would be doing homeschool and her anxiousness disappeared!”

The “Why”

The “why” behind the decision to homeschool is pretty important.  Jerica talked about that last week and Brandi agrees,  “Be convicted. Embrace the reason you are choosing to do this.  This will be the foundation that you design your homeschooling around and it is what you will remind yourself of when others question your choice. If you are starting out with something good, but too general, such as: “It’s the right thing to do,” or “I feel called to do it,” get more specific. Once you know your reason, you can start aligning your choices correctly.”   

Obviously, Brandi’s “why” was tied to what was happening with the pandemic.  Her daughter’s best interests were at the core of her “why.”  Spend some time determining your “why” and then write it down!  Post it somewhere so you’ll see it every day.  You will need this little reminder to keep you focused, especially on harder days!

Expect Changes

Expectations going into homeschooling can be varied.  But Brandi says one thing you need to expect is that changes will be necessary and healthy!  “Be okay with making changes as you proceed through your year, especially if you have never done this before. Curriculum costs money, but if it is not meeting your child’s needs, give yourself permission to change it. Family dynamics and needs change, be flexible. Go in knowing that you won’t be perfect, but give yourself time to improve and adapt. Teachers attend conferences and workshops to keep learning. As your child’s teacher, strive to become better without being weighed down by self-criticism.”

Flexibility is key!  Brandi even instituted teacher-student conferences! “My daughter loved our teacher-student conferences where we looked at what was going well and what needed to be improved upon. When we communicate well, we all feel part of the process, when your student feels like they are part of the process, good things happen!”

Learning Style is Key 

Once she framed her “why”, her second priority was understanding her daughter’s learning style.  You can go online to see what style your child falls into.  Here are the main categories:

• Verbal
• Visual
• Musical/Auditory
• Physical/Kinesthetic
• Logical/Mathematical
• Social
• Solitary
• A Combination of 2 or more

Brandi advises, “Once you understand your child’s learning style, you can look at homeschooling methods and then look at the curriculum that fits in with your child’s needs.  My daughter is a combo Auditory and Kinesthetic learner.  The homeschool method that best fit her was the Charlotte Mason method in homeschool lingo.  (Others are Classical, Montessori, Unschooling, School-at-home, Unit Studies and Eclectic).  Be ready to do a lot of research!  You’ll look into your state’s requirements, learning styles, curriculum, homeschool groups, etc. If you have someone you trust, who has done this before, ask for input while you dive in!”

Brandi’s Curriculum Favorites!

One caveat Brandi offers, “For every year (other than the Covid years) there are homeschool fairs available for you to preview curriculum and ask questions. I did not have that opportunity, so my choices should not be seen as the best of the best, but they worked for my daughter.”

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using one of these links. Please see my disclosure for more details.

Social Studies

For our Social Studies curriculum, I selected Notgrass History’s Our Star-Spangled Story. This is US  history taught from a Christian perspective. Some of the compelling features were the timeline book and the literature recommendations.  We learned about US history through both resources.  Having the timeline helped solidify her understanding of the order of events. The literature helped her learn that history is not just dates and events, it’s about people!

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Math 

We had a math series that we loved, Master Books: Math Lessons for a Living Education. This series really resonated with my daughter.  It hit her learning style PERFECTLY!  Each lesson had a story with it.  She was even excited about math!  But, when my evaluator looked over what we were doing, he suggested I use the same curriculum the school was using.   This would ensure that our daughter would be on the same page as her fellow students the following year when she planned to return to public school.  So, sadly, we didn’t continue with this curriculum.  

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Science

Berean Builders is a science series that is full of experiments, which we loved, called Science in the Beginning.

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Spelling 

For spelling, we used Spelling Power, which she loved.

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using one of these links.  Please see my disclosure for more details.

More Tips from Brandi

  • You Can Do This! – Don’t expect this to be easy!  Although homeschooling was hard, it was worth all of the time and tears, mine and hers!  On the flip-side, you can find a way to do this, don’t be intimidated! Don’t be over-ambitious in the beginning, you can always add more later.
  • Keep the Right Perspective – Remember your child’s learning is not part of your identity.  Your worth or self-esteem should not be based on their performance. 
  • Plan! – Each week, set aside time to plan.  Each night before school, get your class set up, including work to do if you are not there. Be sure to put a date on everything!
  • Find Support – Have a support group of friends who you can be honest with.  You’re going to want and need to speak to other adults!  You need to be able to share without fearing judgment or shaming.  If you can, try to be a part of a homeschool group.

As you can see, some moms use homeschooling for a season while others take a long haul approach.  The take-away  is that homeschooling offers flex when your family needs it.  A big thank you to Brandi Murr for sharing her thoughts and experiences!  

I have more ideas!

Maybe you’re not homeschooling but still looking for resources on how to teach the Bible to your children.  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter!  You’ll get great resources sent straight to your inbox!

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