How To Home School
“Oh, magic hour, when a child first knows she can read printed words.”
— A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Why Homeschool?
For us back in 2000 the answer was simple - we wanted to be with our kids. Circumstances today are more complex but the choice of whether or not to home school may be even simpler now.
We homeschooled our 3 kids for 13 years and my husband and I agree it was the best thing we ever did.
Can you do it?
Everyone wonders, “can I do it?” Yes! Of course you can.
Parents are their kids’ first teachers, and never stop teaching them. You already are doing it, you’ll just be expanding what you now do.
How would you do it?
There are many ways to homeschool, from very formal instruction programs like the Calvert School program, to “unschooling” where there is very little structure. You get to experiment and choose what works best for your family. One size does not fit all.
We leaned towards more structure in our curriculum and focused on fundamentals like math, english, science, and history. We wanted them to do well academically, but our primary goal was to wind up with curious kids who loved to learn, and who would remain lifelong learners.
My Resume
As you can see from this website, I am in the fitness and wellness business. I’ve also worked in the insurance industry and started my own insurance agency. But what I’m most proud of on my CV is being a mom to my 3 kids.
At 59 I can look back and consider what things in life I might change. I’d never change the decision to home school.
The oldest started in 5th grade, the middle one in 1st grade, and the youngest was just 3 when we began 20 years ago. I taught the youngest two how to read. We had the opportunity to all read the same books and we traveled often. Our first trip was to Costa Rica for 3 weeks. These shared experiences brought us very close together.
The kids all went to the University of Maryland and excelled there. Now the oldest is a front end designer at a tech company. The middle one is a wellness coach, and the youngest is in the insurance business like her dad (and granddad).
How Can I Help You?
I will coach you in a group or privately on the nuts and bolts of homeschooling so you can get started. I’ll provide links to resources (curriculum guides, textbooks, how-to books, online documentaries, field trip ideas). I will help answer your questions and allay your fears (“what about socialization?", oh my!)
Homeschooling is very different from traditional school. There are no set hours or days. You make the rules. You are the teacher, but you may choose not to teach like a traditional teacher. We relied on the excellent teachers that wrote the books we used, and we were always there to answer questions and help overcome problems. Our kids mostly taught themselves with the help of the books and other materials.
I am forming parent group zoom classes now. I’ll present “how to” topics in these meetings to start and there will be discussion and question and answer sessions. Each class is $25.
I can also work with you privately but recommend the group meetings because you will learn a lot from each other.
Email me for more details and a welcome phone call: beth@bethgrahamwellness.com
Please share this with anyone who might be interested. Thank you!
WARNING: Please don’t leave this page thinking that everything went perfectly when we homeschooled. Don’t think I was confident. I was scared. It seemed like a huge responsibility and the thought of messing up my kids was always on my mind at first. Still I knew it was right for all of us and I leapt into the uncertainty. I’m so glad I did.
Simplify.Connect.Enjoy