November is just around the corner, ya’ll! It’s hard to believe that we are already moving into our 4th month of this school year and I already have big changes to share. Thankfully the changes are, what I consider to be, very positive and don’t effect my flow but actually even eases it quite a bit!

If you’ve been following my blogs or Instagram, you know by now that in my many years as a homeschool mama I’ve spent quite a few of them partnered with a public Charter School in Cali. I always loved the additional support I was able to receive AND the additional funding that we were able to use to enrich our extracurriculars. However, anytime such resources are available at no cost and partnered with the government, essentially, (as the public school system has a lot of requirements in regard to what each grade level is expected to have been taught or tested on) there are always some strings attached. I found it mostly manageable for the past handful of years but recently reached a point on a personal level that forced my husband and I to reassess the process in which our initial choice to homeschool (as a registered private school) had become less about the freedom to teach our children how we always dreamed, but had turned into how we HAD to follow (and bend) some expected rules. In the end, we happily have unenrolled our 3 younger homeschoolers (our high schoolers are within <2 years to graduate so we are are prayerfully keeping them put in the Charter still). The peace that has finally followed that tough decision has brought out such a positive new joy in homeschooling again and has been nothing short of a big, beautiful blessing in the last couple weeks! So, if you’re also struggling with a similar predicament in your homeschool journey, and are looking for some closure to a impossible decision here is your push to know that however scary big changes appear, the Lord with happily walk with you through it and into a “happier ending” then you’ll ever be able to create even if you tried! Furthermore, if you hold true or feel the tug to remain in a hybrid schooling situation, He can and will assist you daily in that process to be able to create an experience that will work perfectly for you and your family! So please don’t ever think that what I share that works great for us, will also work for you, but be encouraged that no matter what, moving forward with God’s leading and wisdom will never disappoint.

All that said, I get to share the changes that have ensued over the past 14-ish days, if you care to stick with me and read further. They aren’t “major” changes but are different enough to be a breath of fresh air to what was quickly starting to turn into an exhausted, pessimistic view of our journey that I had begun feeling about 7-8 weeks into the fall start of the school year. Don’t get me wrong, I stand 100% behind every plan I put out into the open as I saw it truly being doable and very enjoyable for many school years! I had found a way to partner with the public school system that still stuck to our guns and beliefs and gave me the ability to “school” from our biblical worldview. The main reason we discontinued was due to the pressure that State Testing was reflecting in our children and the Teacher Meetings and check-in expectations that were a requirement every 3-4 weeks were dimming their excitement to just learn more interest-led, as opposed to a chore and checklist they had to mark off. The moment I saw a discontent in my kids was the moment we knew we had to genuinely figure out a way to get the spark and love of schooling at home back, and more importantly, the WHY of why we have made the sacrifices to allow for this lifestyle we desire for quite some time. Hopefully this all makes sense and isn’t just a long winded babble 😉

Without further ado, let’s get into the specifics of the changes we’ve been able to implement that have brought so much renewed fun in learning, as of late:

1. We are less “following a plan” so much as using the original plan for the year as a moldable outline. I’m able to cut out some content that I hadn’t wanted to spend so much time on teaching or completely rework how those topics will be touched on in general. I can focus on remedial work in MATH, especially, without feeling the pressure to push them into “grade level” work that was the box the school needed them to fit into. And so, in this house, just this one change has completely stopped the tears that one child in particular was feeling when being told her math knowledge was not at a place it “should be.” We’ve been able to trial and error many different options in the last 2 weeks and have realized that her particular need in this subject is to repeat past grade level skills by using concentrated math review worksheets to really drill in the memorization of fast math, along with fun digital play using a blend of Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool and Math Mammoth resources, as well as Prodigy Math. The biggest win has been that I can break up each worksheet into a shorter amount of problems in one sitting without feeling like she wasn’t spending the needed amount of time spent on the subject to placate the Charter School’s expectation. When she shows a smidgeon of frustration or misunderstanding we can literally stop and rework the lesson into a much easier to understand way on HER SPECIFIC LEVEL. Which is one of the most beneficial positives of homeschooling anyway! How much better off would children be if they had 1 teacher who was ONLY focused on them and their needs the way a Mama Bear is every minute of every single day! No breaks or holidays, AND without an added entire room of 30 more students that a teacher may only be able to spend a few hours a day with, 5 days a week, discounting multiple distractions!? How did I forget this!? She’s already thriving in this one subject more in the last 2 weeks then she had been the prior 7 weeks of the math we were trying to keep up with. She’s happily going over her allotted timer time and even asking for it in her own free time. That just makes my heart so overjoyed!

2. HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY. Initially I had wanted to use a faith-based curriculum called Winter Promise but after reviewing what their scope & sequence was in reference to the school system expectations this year, had ditched that plan and chose a Beautiful Feet Books plan focused on CA history for my 4th grader, and pulled together eclectic resources for my 1st and 3rd grader. My son was doing the work just fine in his BFB guide minus his complaints about the reading assignments that were much more nonfiction than he’s used to. Audiobooks were usually the happy compromise and he was staying on track. However, we’ve now turned this subject into a family subject and are utilizing the fun Winter Promise Hideaways in History plan that is going to do a brief teaching of the different periods of time over the year, starting with Ancient History, before moving into a more topic specific plan next year (probably U.S. focused). History, especially in working with the public school system, is so broken up! There is no rhyme or reason to this subject I’ve learned, in the elementary years, and so my 3rd and 4th graders have been taught certain U.S. specific tidbits over the years but I really want to focus on it chronologically to give them a firm understanding on where everything started from Creation until now. They are enjoying so much the storybook lesson readings and fun hands-on activities from the curriculum! It’s been so easy to work in short, quirky YouTube videos and songs while learning about Ancient Egypt. They love waking up and having this subject together and it’s creating memorable conversations throughout the days even, them being able to discuss the same things learned with each other. I see their imaginations in playtime expanding already! Haha! We are still working in the same Timeline work I had originally planned using Draw and Write Through History & Draw. Write. Now. Art programs. I’m also able to pull from the eclectic, grade-specific lesson plans available on my Etsy when we come across those specific topics in Hideaways schedule. We’re also still trucking through our 50 States study and I’m happy to relay that all 3 of them have not grown tired of learning about a new state 1-2 times a week. (For more info on my original plans and resources, refer back to my previously blogged curriculum picks for this year)

3. LANGUAGE ARTS. I have more resources in this subject than any other, most likely due to my personal affinity and love for English. So honestly I’m just cycling through all of the resources I currently have, not following a plan, and doing a different topic cycled in loop fashion. Writing focus some days, grammar most every day, reading always but doing more read-alouds so they can also relate that with each other and complete assignments as a team. My 1st grader is still learning to read, but until she gains her independence in that, my 3rd and 4th grader are currently in the BraveWriter Dart highlighting the book titled Skunk & Badger. It’s going so well! Formal Handwriting practice is expected every other day at least, and copywork and dictation is becoming a favorite of mine and of ours together. & Spelling, with the ones who struggle with it… I plan on doing a YouTube video to show more of how this is working in our homeschool soon so keep watch for that!

4. SCIENCE continues to be a favorite of my kids, despite it being my least favorite subject personally. Haha! So I’m still pulling from their Science plans (also available on Etsy) where they fit in, to relate to what they read about in books or History. In Skunk & Badger, Badger is a geologist, for example. So we are now focused on a Geology unit study and will work through that until complete and/or another interest comes their way! Also, I still plan to keep a big focus on a Nature Study approach in Science this year. Last week we had a fun time at the Zoo perched in front of the Anteater exhibit, sketching and enjoying learning more about that particular animal. This subject is slowly turning into a family subject, just like History.

Last one. 5. ELECTIVES. I have so many high hopes and desires in this area. So I’ve put together a list of (at least) 15 things I want to incorporate one+ times per week. This week we spent 2 days on Art (because the 1st day was so successful they wanted it again the following day. Score!), and 1 day on typing practice. I will also share my other elective picks and how I loop schedule them in an upcoming video. I’m even contemplating starting a foreign language, because you know, we don’t have enough on our plates, and why not!? 😉

Thanks for reading through this. I hope you are encouraged or leaving this (long) read with a helpful hint or idea! If you have anything at all you would love to share or ask me about please comment or send me a message through the Contact Me page and I’m more than happy to hear from you. Happy Friday!