Questions For Those Considering Homeschooling - Step 1

I hope that as you considered your own education and school experiences in Step 0 that you have started to form you own definition of what education and learning mean to you. We're going to put that to the side for a moment to take a step back and take a curious posture as we look at our own family as they are right now.

When you're planning a trip you want to consider your family's interest, the developmental stages of your child(ren), and places you want to go as a family. I once visited a family member with my active almost two-year-old who took us out to eat each day to several nice restaurants with cloth table clothes, fine food, and no booster seats. In a different season of life this would have been a treat, but instead it was a stressful week trying to rein in my little one as to not disturb the experience of fellow diners. I might have enjoyed seeing museums and touring historical sites, but my toddler liked the park best. Now that they are a little older, they can sit (relatively) still in a restaurant, and enjoy some museums. I look forward to how this will continue to develop, while enjoying the current season.

So let’s look at our own families, and each child. Each person is unique in their strengths and weaknesses, and how they fit into the family. Your child may not learn the same way you do. Two of your children may prefer two very different environments. All of this needs to be balanced. To do homeschool together is to do life together.

Your Child

1. What interests your child? What brings them joy?

2. What activities does your child pursue on their own?

3. What has your child already learned from these activities?

4. When and on what does your child focus for long periods at a time?

5. When do they have a hard time focusing?

6. What natural giftings does your child have?

7. What is your child’s learning style? (auditory-listening to verbal information, kinesthetic-hands on with all senses included, visual-graphic depictions, reading/writing-written information and note taking)

8. How do you see your child learning already?

9. Does your child thrive in highly structured environments or free flowing?

Family life

1. What do you enjoy doing with your kids?

2. What would a perfect day look like for your family?

3. What would a perfect day look like for your child?

4. What rhythms do you already have established as part of your day/week?

5. What rhythms would you like to incorporate?

6. What traditions do you want to include in your family life?

7. What character traits do you most desire for your child?

8. What habits do you view as important?

9. What about your child irritates you?

10. Does your family thrive in a highly structured environment or free flowing?

There is a delicate balance between the needs of the individual child and the needs of the family. This can become even more tricky the more children you have. Homeschooling allows you to tailor more to those individual needs and also provides challenges in having multiple needs to be met. This is also a beautiful opportunity to really hone in on what you would like your family to be about. A life change this big is a good time to reset and start new rhythms, habits, and family traditions. These are some of the most important questions you will answer.

In the next step we will consider the benefits but also the cost of making this journey.