Homeschool Journey

 

We officially started our homeschooling journey August 2025 for my 6 year old (1st grader) and my 4 year old (TK). It was something that God directed me to do and I walked in obedience. I still have doubts about my capability and my patience. Sometimes I find myself reading all these homeschool blogs, comparing my lack of preparedness to theirs and feeling so "behind", because we don't have the homeschool set up, or the fancy curriculums, or just a separate area for homeschool. Although I find myself going down that hill, I remind myself of God's love, mercy, and grace during it all. I know that we will each find out what works for our environment and for their learning styles. I remind my boys how homeschool is a team effort, I cannot teach if they aren't behaving, and they cannot learn if mom is not prepared. So to kick this off with knocking out the doubts and fears, I must turn to the positive and blessings God has provided thus far. 

I have done a lot of research and seen a lot of videos from creators regarding their recommendation for curriculum, I know there is more I haven't seen, but I'm learning as we go. I started off my 1st grader with the free curriculum from The Good and The Beautiful for Math and Language Arts. It was a good way to get started, and see what it looks like. I have a Ecotank printer, so I just printed off 2-3 lessons for the week, but my son was going through them seamlessly. I started looking into Singapore Math, and decided to purchase a curriculum because his math level was more advanced than what we were reviewing. To even add to that point, the first one I purchased wasn't his level either so we had to scale up one more time. I believe we are at the difficulty level he requires at this age. 

For Language Arts, or Phonograms, I learned about the company Foundations of English. We have switched over to this curriculum, and I can see why homeschool families think this is one of the best, if not the best, phonogram curriculum. 

For science, the first two weeks we learned about Marine Biology. I created this fun "science" wall for them and we learned even more about sea animals plus the depths of the ocean. I was able to take them to the La Jolla Birch Aquarium, I printed off a questionnaire I generated via chatgpt. Small wins, but it was a great kick start to homeschooling. 

As far as a routine or rhythm, we start our day based off of when I wake up. So bad, I feel guilty every morning. So I want to kick start that back to starting school promptly at 9AM. We have been starting 930 or 10AM. I make us all get ready before we even head upstairs. That is restroom, brush, change, cleaning beds, fix hair, lotion and clean up room. It's a routine I want my boys to get use to so they can know that getting yourself cleaned up and ready before starting the day is the most important part to starting the day. Eventually I want to implement morning prayer, before all the getting ready begins. That is truly the most important part of the day, thanking God for waking us up. 

I am still looking at social studies and more science curriculum, but I am not stressing myself out because I don't want to force anything because that's how "school" does it. I want our homeschool environment to find the routine that works with their learning style and level. 

A creative idea I have implemented in our homeschool is a character study. Which ties into history, reading, and comprehension. Each week we review a character from the Bible or someone prolific in history and learn about them. I want to expand on these lessons to make hands-on activities to help solidify the knowledge even more. At the end of 4 weeks, Leo (1st grader), must select 1 of the 4 characters to present a speech about. I need more visuals to help them really remember and understand the significance that person had on the world or with God.