As a longtime homeschool mom, now retired, and former homeschool group leader, one of my passions is encouraging others in their homeschooling journey and sharing a vision for family, parenting, and educating that is different from the "norm" in our society.
Just like anyone, I made plenty of mistakes and had plenty of doubts along the way, but my five children are now all grown, all college grads, and all thriving. As I look back, I am grateful to God for providing vision, direction, and encouragement, so I could then share it with others.
I considered myself an eclectic and (mostly) relaxed homeschooler. "Eclectic" means I used curriculums and materials from a variety of philosophies and styles - Charlotte Mason, Classical, unit study, traditional. And I used a relaxed approach in how I applied them in our homeschool.
Relaxed homeschooling isn't a method, a curriculum, or a philosophy. It is more of a mindset.
It is the idea that you are a family first, not a school.
You are a mother first, not a teacher.
You educate your children in a home, not a classroom.
Your husband is a father and your partner in parenting and raising your children, not a Principal.
You have individual, affectionate, personal relationships with your children, not your students.
God didn't create schools, he created families and communities as the perfect place for the training and nurture of children. He gave the job of raising and educating children squarely to the parents, not to the government or the church or any "experts".
Having a relaxed homeschool mindset means you see educating your children as an extension of parenting them.
You don't necessarily have to make lesson plans or purchase teacher's manuals, although you could.
It isn't necessary to test or grade your children, to teach every subject the public schools teach, or to try to be like a public school at all.
You don't have to select one particular curriculum or have everything set up and in place on day one.
You don't need to begin each day with taking attendance or divide your school day into fifty-minute segments.
What you need to do is establish a lifestyle of learning in your home, and participate in it with your children. You need to understand each of your children as individuals with unique abilities and interests, strengths and weaknesses, learning styles and personalities, and tailor your parenting and educational decisions around helping them grow and develop into the best person each of them can be.
Relaxed homeschooling views homeschooling as a marathon and not a sprint. It balances academics with things like character development, spiritual growth, life skill training, physical health, nurturing relationships, and emotional development.
It promotes the attitude that learning happens all the time, and for your whole life, not just during "school hours" or "school years".
It looks for ways to spark real learning in daily activities as well as special events, versus artificial learning which is not connected to life.
It invites exploration, imagination, and experimentation.
It rejects a rigid, stressful, cookie-cutter approach to educating children.
Does this sound like a lot of work and responsibility? Yes, it is. It is another aspect of parenting, which is also lot of work and a lot of responsibility. It can be frustrating, challenging, and exhausting at times, but also exciting, gratifying and immensely rewarding. It will drive you to your knees daily, which is where God wants you anyway. It is a way for your family to get the best of you, and you get the best of them - not the leftovers at the end of the day. You get to really know each other and build a bond based on shared experience. I can't think of anything more important that I could do.
This is her family.
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