How Do You Measure Sucess in Homeschooling?

The below question has been ask of me often this year.

 

“Could you share in a post sometime how you have such success in your homeschooling”

Wow that is a humbling request! How do you measure your success as a homeschool teacher, mom, and wife?

This is our 17^th year as a full time homeschooling family.  When we started  it was because I did not like the school that my child would attend. He had asthma. His school did not have air conditioning or fans.  His room was small and crowed with only one teacher. We enrolled him in private Christian school. At the end of the summer my husband lost his job and we had to withdraw from the school before we had even begun. Thus began our homeschool journey. Being Christians we opted for the religious exempt option with out really thinking how this would impact us years down the road. Our faith became as much of our homeschool as breathing.

So I want to start this a bit backwards.

Our oldest has graduated from community college and continues to pursue his education. He also holds an almost full time job in his choice of profession. (He is in the computer field) He plays piano for Sunday morning worship at our church.  He is Ninety percent self taught on the piano. His joy and passion shine through.

Our second oldest is in his senior year and has worked nearly full time since September. He is an accomplished musician. He owns 4 guitars. (Three he purchased himself) He is 100 percent self taught. He plays for both the youth band and on Sunday morning.

Our third is just starting her high school career. She is gifted in architecture. It is a passion for her. She spends hours reading, learning, and drawing up house plans. She also has a passion for using her voice for the Lord.

Our fourth is in junior high and a budding artist. She loves anything oriental. Her goals are to be an artist and a missionary  to China.

Why am I telling you where my children are in the present? Because all four of them were educated by the same teachers ( mom and dad). Their teachers often made poor choices over the years, did a lot of learning along the way, and found joy in the journey.

Our kids are each unique individuals who love the lord with all their hearts, know how to learn, and embrace challenges with a can do attitude.

So how do I measure success?

Let me pose a question. Why do you homeschool?  What is your purpose for your child (ren), your family? Do you gauge your success by academia success or by your child’s ability to figure out how to learn about something? Is your child passionate about something? Do you leave room for the passion to grow? Is your school time separate from home and family or a part of it?

I love  Belinda’s web page.  http://www.lifestyle-homeschool.com/

Here are some things I do to stay on track through out the year. Notice I said year...not Sept to May..not 180 days...but year. We measure our childrens birthdays by the whole year...we should measure what they have accomplished the same way.

Pray and Seek the Lord often concerning each of my children.

Plan ahead. Scope and Sequences are everywhere on the net., in books etc. We loosely follow one . ( on each child not as a group) 

I do open ended lesson plans and schedules. This frees us up for life happenings and bunny trails. Be realistic when you do your schedule.  Allow room for “stuff” that  just happens. Schedule non school school days. ( fieldtrips, do nothing days, craft days ect)