Let’s play a game: “2 Truths and 1 Lie.” (Although we do have a caveat before we start, it is never ok to actually lie. ;))

Here’s how it works... we’ll share two surprising facts and one lie about homeschooling, and then you have to decide which “fact” is actually a lie. Ready? Put your game face on!

Fact: Homeschooling is fun. Growing in your relationships and being able to positively influence your children in every aspect of their development really is enjoyable. Sure, there will be hard seasons throughout your time together but the overall experience is well worth the effort.

Fact: It is easiest to walk your homeschooling journey alone so you don’t have to conform to any schedule or routine.

Fact: Perfectionism can hinder your homeschooling. Expecting and waiting for the perfect curriculum, for your house to be spotless and for your kids to always want to do their assigned work without complaints, all while telling yourself if your life isn’t IG perfect, you are a failure will kill the joy and love in your home.

Ready to learn which “fact” was actually a lie? *Drumroll please!*If you guessed that it is easiest to homeschool alone was a lie, you win this round! While we think going with the flow can be good, we’ve yet to experience one homeschooling family that didn’t benefit from having a routine that brings them out of the home to interact with friends and take a load off a parent for at least one subject as a welcomed part of the week. We are so thankful that we can help provide these homeschooling benefits to our families. Your turn! What’s a fact about you that people often think is a lie?

As we start to settle in for the winter, it is a good time to take a few quiet moments to sit down and really look at our homeschool routines, ideas, and accomplishments for the first part of this school year. It is always best to focus on the positives but as you look back, we also need to take the time to review the things that might not be working the way you had planned.

Now, before we get much deeper, know that there are going to be periods, hopefully just a day or two but they can last longer, where your child (or yourself) are disgruntled or overwhelmed about learning in general. Take these times to either push them beyond their comfort zone to growth in a fun way or let them just sit on cruise control for a short time to help them rejuvenate. We all need brain breaks every once in a while!

One word of caution , there is so much chatter about the “kind” of homeschooler we identify with. Are you involved in CC (Classical Conversations), unchoolers, part of the wild and free movement, school at home, ect.? As you sit back at ponder (hopefully with a steaming cup of coffee or tea), all that really matters is if you and your children love the way YOUR family is choosing to learn. Are you satisfied with their growth? Are you encouraged by the way they are excited to learn? If the answer to these questions is a resounding yes, keep up the good work mama! If not, then it might be time to take a look at how you are choosing to go about your days.

Traditionally, homeschooling goes through stages along with your children's development. In the early years we get to play with lots of paint, sounds, construction paper, glue, and glitter. The laminator is your best friend during this period but the pieces of cut laminate sheets are more like your worst enemy. Then you transition into the upper elementary age to middle school. Your kids still want to paint and do art but the projects get more involved and the mess is a little more manageable because hopefully, they are learning to clean up after themselves just a bit. It is during this stage that you may start to question, as your child's primary educator, if you have what it takes to finish out the next stage.. high school. As you transition into high school age, you move into transcripts, testing, upper-level math, and lab sciences. Some families will choose to completely stay their own course for all of the high school learning and might even decide to never take the SAT or pursue higher formal education in the form of college. That is totally ok! Trades are on a comeback and our children will be able to support themselves just as well, if not better, by learning a trade than if they become a degreed professional. For those families that do decide that college is the best path for their child/ren, the reality is that they will need to know how to take notes, study for tests, handle the nerves of testing, write formal essays, do higher-level math and so on.

You can be prepared for both high school options at any age by asking yourself these questions:

Are the decisions I am making today helping or hindering our goals for our homeschool journey?

Are we growing closer as a family and to God through our homeschool journey?

Can I see growth, even incremental, in my children’s abilities mentally, spiritually and physically?

There are undoubtedly many more questions you can ask yourself but these will give you a good indicator as to what path you are currently on and if you need to just stay the course or look to alter your direction.

Just as you are looking at your family’s routines, priorities, strengths and weaknesses, we are also looking at ours at Cedar Hill Academy. We feel like our true gift to our families is having learning options for upper elementary to high school students that engage, teach and encourage them to love learning. Yes, even what some feel are harder subjects like math and science. Experiment days are definitely a favorite with the students and who knew a game of faction spoons could draw so many laughs! We are loving our Saplings class and feel like it is going beyond the classroom teaching skills and abilities that you can only get with a personalized education. During our first semester, the sapling students have built life-size teepees, a longhouse for the winter, fires (with of course s’mores), dioramas, scale models of the early Lewis and Clark forts, gone on nature hikes collect local plants, identifying and drying them and so much more. The students are also loving the read alouds and outside free time that we take each learning period. Growing a family or a business are both works in progress, but if we keep our ultimate goal in mind, we know we will succeed together in both.

Over the next few weeks, we want to give you tools to help set your homeschool goals that are based on scripture that really work! We have said it before and will say it again, progress over perfection conquers the homeschool day. We would love to hear from you. What are some struggles and some wins you have had this year?