Encouragement Archives - Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

Strength-Based Homeschooling: 5 Reasons Why It Really Works

June 13, 2019 By Shawna Wingert

Working to your child’s strengths can improve retention and build a love of learning. Discover the benefits of strength-based homeschooling.

Written by Shawna Wingert of Not the Former Things.

Before I was a homeschooling mom, I worked in corporate training and development. My job was to help companies identify talented individuals within their organization and teach them to leverage an individual’s strengths for better performance.

One year, I was asked to attend a training session at Gallup. This multi-day intensive was all about using individual strengths to improve overall ability and performance. Based on their book StrengthsFinder 2.0 and a ton of Gallup research, the key takeaway was: Teaching to an individual’s strengths exponentially increases productivity and learner satisfaction.

Surprisingly, I also learned that when a person is allowed to progress in a way that is ‘strengths-based,’ her overall capabilities and performance increased, even in the areas that were weaknesses.

5 Reasons Why Strength-Based Homeschooling Really Works

After completing the training, I saw the research prove itself again and again in a corporate setting.

Then, I started homeschooling my boys. [Read more…]

How to Find Homeschool Community and Support

June 6, 2019 By Erin Vincent

Homeschooling can be lonely without a strong support system. That’s why it’s so important to find your homeschool community. If you’ve ever struggled to find your tribe, you’ll appreciate the tips Erin shares.

Written by Erin Vincent of Nourishing My Scholars.

Have you had trouble finding a supportive homeschool community? You are not alone! I am right there with you! Finding supportive homeschool groups can be hard, especially if you’re an introverted homeschool mom like me.

We homeschool parents carry loads of pressure to be perfect and to do this homeschool thing right. We need allies, cheerleaders, and friends to support us on this educational journey. But finding our homeschool community and support system is frequently easier said than done.

How to Find Homeschool Community and Support

Finding A Homeschool Community

To find your homeschool tribe, you’ve got to put yourself out there. Repeatedly! That’s hard. So is rejection or feeling like you don’t belong. It may take a while to find your tribe, but when you do, it is so worth it! [Read more…]

Yes, You Can Homeschool Your Child With Special Needs

May 16, 2019 By Shawna Wingert

If your child has learning challenges, homeschooling may seem intimidating, but you can homeschool special needs! In fact, it may be the ideal setting.

Written by Shawna Wingert of Not the Former Things.

Seven years ago, my son was diagnosed with autism. We had already been homeschooling for more than a year. That was a decision that we made based on many of the same reasons that ultimately led to his diagnosis.

As a former special education teacher, I was confident in our decision to withdraw him from public school. So, I was surprised that almost everyone else saw it differently.

“When will you be putting him back in school?” his doctor asked as if it were a given.

“You’ll need the services only the school system provides,” a well-meaning therapist repeatedly told me.

“Maybe this is just too much for you to take on,” my family said, worried about my son and me.

Seven years later, I am grateful to say that homeschooling was one of the best decisions we ever made for my son’s development and education. [Read more…]

5 Important Skills You Need to Develop as a Homeschool Parent

December 20, 2018 By Alicia Hutchinson

Homeschooling? What homeschool parent skills do you need to develop? Alicia shares 5 crucial skills all homeschool parents need.

Written by Alicia Hutchinson of Learning Well Community.

Homeschooling has been possibly the hardest and most rewarding venture I’ve ever taken on. There’s no doubt that I am not the same person I was when we began 11 years ago. People tell me all the time reasons they could never homeschool.

“I don’t have the patience.”

“I’m not organized.”

“I don’t feel smart enough to homeschool.”

5 Important Skills You Need to Develop as a Homeschool Parent

Guess what. There’s no magic Fairy of Patience delivering an unending supply to homeschooling parents. And there’s no Merry Maids team showing up daily to keep things neat and tidy and organized. Sorry.

Homeschool moms are amazing, but we’re not supernatural beings. We have to work at those skills and character traits constantly.

The following five skills are important for every homeschooling parent to develop. I don’t want to make homeschool parents feel “less than” or guilt. We have enough of those feelings all on our own. But it’s also wise to continuously search ourselves and be the best versions of ourselves we can be. As I’ve homeschooled through the years, I’ve realized some skills that have helped me be a better homeschool mom. [Read more…]

The Best Things for Homeschooling Moms to Stop Doing

December 13, 2018 By Amy Dingmann

If you’re a homeschool mom trying to do all the things, relax! Let Amy show you the three best things for homeschooling moms to STOP doing right now.

Written by Amy Dingmann of The Hmmm…schooling Mom.

As homeschooling parents, we’re busy. Amen? And not only are we busy, but we often feel like failures. We believe we aren’t doing enough, doing it right, or doing what we should be. Because what we’re doing isn’t the same as Magical Suzy Q Homeschooler who keeps a Pinterest perfect house and does all of the things.

Because you have to do all the things, right?

Things for Homeschooling Moms to Stop Doing

With the decision to homeschool—and the busyness that comes with it—it’s simple to get caught up in the craziness of all the things we “have” to do.

But let’s talk for a minute about all those things you have to do because I’d like to give you some relief. I want to talk about three things you can stop doing when it comes to homeschooling your kids.

Things That Don’t Benefit Your Kids Educationally

Regardless of where you fall along the gamut of homeschooling methods, it’s safe to say that you’re hoping to get something “educational” out homeschooling. Academics and education may have been the whole reason you chose to homeschool. Or you may want your kid to have enough time to dive into and learn about the things he loves.

Despite our reasons, we find ourselves fixating on where we think our kids should be academically or educationally or even the level of interest they should have in all the things. We won’t let go of that one curriculum that we hate, but everyone else loves. Or we obsess over the new method that everyone is talking about.

Pinterest tempts you to change the entire set up of your school day. Talking to your best friend entices you to revamp your entire schedule to the one that works perfectly at her house.

Sometimes those changes, methods, or ideas are amazing and offer you a break or different perceptive on your homeschooling life. Sometimes they do benefit your kids.

But sometimes they don’t.

And you need to know that’s okay. You do not need to continue to plod through a homeschooling approach that isn’t working or a curriculum your family hates.

Promise. In ten years, you will look back and say why did we stick with that for so long when it wasn’t even helping?

I mean, who is the boss here?

Things That Don’t Matter to, Help, or Strengthen Your Family

A large part of the awesomeness of homeschooling is the way our family relationships grow within it.

So, guess what. If something about homeschooling works against that? Stop doing it.

I know families who decided to homeschool so they could spend more time with a parent who works a crazy schedule.

Those same families get caught up in we have to join all the co-ops and all the extracurriculars and all the things that come along with a thriving homeschool community. And those kids end up seeing that parent with the crazy schedule the same amount of time—or less—than they would have if the kids attended public school.

The beauty of homeschooling is that every family is different. Celebrate that! Concentrate on the things your family needs. That’s why you chose to homeschool, right? It’s what your family needed.

Stay true to that.

Trying to Do Everything

Mama, listen to me. You were never supposed to “do it all.”

Yes, life with kids is busy and messy. And there is So. Much. To. Do. You can easily get overwhelmed as a mama, homeschooling or not.

And yes, we need to do the dishes, pay the bills, and drive Junior to music lessons. Someone has to vacuum before the dog hair takes over the house and plan the menu for next week and, holy moly, were we supposed to be a practice at 5?

Life is crazy busy, but maybe we’re not busy with the right things.

(I know that for some of you, that phrase just made your skin crawl. But hear me out.)

Here’s the thing. Life is supposed to be busy. Life with kids, life in relationship with other people, life as a spouse, life as a homeowner, life as a responsible and caring citizen of the world is supposed to be busy and messy. And if someone told you otherwise, they l-i-e-d to you. They lied to you a lot.

But.

I’m not sure what it is about women, but a vast majority of us tend to cram way more into our lives than we can safely or sanely handle at any given point. Like an overloaded plate of Thanksgiving dinner, we’ve got a river of gravy dripping off the side and a couple of dollar buns toppling off a mountain of mashed potatoes. We can’t carry the second plate of dessert because it’s too small for the three pieces of pie we stacked on it.

Y’all, we’re filling the plates of our lives with things that shouldn’t necessarily be plopped on them right now.

Y'all, we're filling the plates of our lives with things that shouldn't necessarily be plopped on them right now.

Do Make Choices

I’ll repeat, life is busy. At every stage of parenting, you will be busy with different things. The busyness of toddlers is different (not less) than the busyness with teenagers. And at those various stages of busy-ness in your life as a parent, you can accomplish different things.

Dig deep into your soul and figure out if the things you’re busy with right now are the things you’re supposed to be busy with.

Is it the best time to serve on the council at church? Be on the board of directors for a local non-profit? Volunteer to take over Thursday night distribution at the food shelf? Write a book about your life experiences growing up off-grid? Foster animals for a shelter? Provide 24-7 drop off daycare for your sister?

If it is, great! Fabulous!

But it might not be the right time. We can be busy with helpful, amazing—even sacrificial things—at a point in our life when they’re the wrong things to be busy with.

So, let’s reiterate:

Life. is. busy. So very busy. And…

…Sometimes we add things to an already busy life that aren’t ours to add at the time we try to add them.

Try These Tips

Start small. Decide what matters to you and your family. Figure out the things on your to-do list that make things happen within the boundaries of your life together.

Research ways to make those things happen as effectively as possible. Look up organizational and time-saving tips to make the best use of your time.

Consider if, at this point in your life, you can honestly take on more. Is right now the right time to do that thing? And in saying yes to that thing, what will you be saying no to?

Mamas, it’s not our call to do it all. It’s our call to do the best things at the best time.

You’re a homeschooling mama. Have you forgotten the power in that choice?

You’re a fish that swims upstream. You’re a warrior. Stand up for the decisions you made. Be strong about the things you can stop doing.

What is something you’re doing that you need to stop doing right now?