It has recently occurred to me that I’m closer to the end of my homeschooling journey than the beginning . In reflection I asked myself if there are things that I would do over if I had the chance. As I look back over all the years, the answer? Why certainly, yes!
Starting early on, I regret not following the advice of many veteran homeschool moms who suggested to me when I first started homeschooling to allow my preschooler more freedom. Freedom to explore and play. Freedom from excessive workbooks and seat work. I was very fortunate that my firstborn didn’t mind workbooks or sitting with me at the table. But in retrospect I see the value of allowing him to have more free play. He did have hours of building Legos and K’nex, blocks and running outside. I’m sure had I allowed him more of this free play it would have helped him to be more creative in his approach to building and problem solving. I would also given myself the grace not to feel that I must finish every page of every workbook. I know that doesn’t happen in public school, so I can’t explain why as a homeschooler I felt the need to do it! This was just extra stress that neither parent nor child needs!
If I could do it over again, I would avoid comparisons like the plague! I ran with a circle of very artistic and crafty moms, who in turn had very artistic and crafty children. Being a little more logic minded myself, I gave birth to a very logic minded child. He was so much to this extreme that we used to call him “the one crayon kid.” Any coloring page or art project that he had to do, he would pick up one crayon, usually in medium blue, and use it for the entire picture. There are many art pages in his memory book in this lovely shade of blue! While this is an endearing tale, it makes a point that not every child is artistic, crafty, into the arts, or will be into the arts. I also tortured said child by making him do arts and crafts every year until the 6th grade. Thankfully the light went on and I realized that no matter how many art classes I put him in, or how many arts and crafts we did at home, he just wasn’t going to like it. And you know what? That’s okay! My logic minded son turned into a great young adult without loving arts and crafts. So while it appears I did not scar my child, I could have saved both of us years of stress and not tried to make him like art like the other kids.
Along those same lines, is introducing another language. Again, in my homeschooling circle was the prevalence of teaching Latin at an early age. And while it seems like a good idea, it doesn’t work well for every household. I’m very fortunate my children don’t have too much memory of how this went down. But I remember it quite clearly! I spent so much time trying to learn how to pronounce individual sounds in this forgotten language so I could at least guide my children as they listened to the audio. The kids did not enjoy listening to it or trying to learn it either! And, can I confess something? I still can’t pronounce the sounds correctly!
As a longtime homeschool mom, I would strongly suggest to you that if a trustworthy mentor gives you some well-meaning advice about a situation in your homeschool, I would weigh it carefully before discarding! You might just save yourself some time, money, and sanity from someone that has been there and done that!
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