How We Homeschool

Every homeschooling family is different. Curriculum, styles, schedules, programs, activities, the possibilities are endless and can be overwhelming. Not every plan works for every family. You have to think about what your homeschooling goals are, and what tools/techniques you will need to help you get there. Are you a structured family, one that thrives with a consistent schedule? Are you more flexible and free-spirited? Are you morning people or night owls? Just as every individual is different, so is every family. We had to consider many of these things and decide what approach to take and how we were going to do this homeschool thing.
Some parents opt for an 'unschooling' approach, in which learning is driven by the children. Not every child is ready to learn how to read at the same age. This also allows children to pursue their own interests. There is no testing, grading, just living life and learning as it happens. The notion of this was intriguing to me. 'Unprogramming' our kids from public school was important, but because they began their school lives in a structured environment, we felt that retaining elements like a daily schedule, assigned work, and feedback was important. However, for the first year that we homeschooled, I refrained from grading anything formally.
Many homeschool associations or co-ops are formed by groups of parents that share the same world-views; Christian and secular groups are common. Most of these students follow a prescribed curriculum, with textbooks, workbooks, assigned reading, tests... all of which you can find in a public school setting, but centered around a specific approach. While it is nice to know that 'school-in-a-box' was available, we did not want to be confined to a certain regimen and standard. In addition, many pre-packaged curricula were far out of our budget and price range.
Online school is another option. Through our state, there is an online public school option, free to any student. However, though the child is at home, it is still public school, with a set schedule that needs to be met, a teacher who has set expectations... none of which we wanted.
We have found a nice mix options for a solution that seems to work for us. In our state, our only legal requirements are to record 180 days of schooling, which must include the following subjects: Reading, Writing, Math, Science, and Social Studies. For middle and high school students, Reading becomes Literature and Writing becomes Composition. We found a Homeschool Association that is very casual and welcoming of non-traditional school. I set about finding resources that would aid us in teaching age-appropriate subject matter. The state's education resources gives guidelines for each grade level, which is a nice target to let us know what they might otherwise be learning in public school, but we don't stick to the exact same material.
To achieve our 180 days, we school formally 4 days a week, Mon-Thurs. We give a week off during Thanksgiving, when my mother visits so they can have quality time with her. We also have the week between Christmas and New Year's off, just depending how the calendar falls, so the boys can enjoy their holiday and gifts. (We tried schooling during this time our first year, and they were far too excited to concentrate.) This allows for a month break which we take in June as our 'summer vacation'. The boys go back to work the week after the 4th of July.
I spend a lot of time before our school year begins putting a plan together for the upcoming year. I focus on each subject and lay out a curriculum to follow, most of which I put together myself. We have experimented with different resources, and now that I have a middle schooler and one right behind, we use some additional online programs that cost a small fee. I also pick up the occasional workbook, and subscribe to some sites where I can download worksheets. I figure we would be spending at least that much in school fees and gas costs transporting our children, may as well put those saved funds towards their education.
I will go into detail about how we approach each subject (and it is constantly evolving), but we incorporate many of our daily activities into our schooling, so not everything happens in a 'classroom' setting. Trips to the grocery store become talks about nutrition and budgeting. Caring for our animals become science lessons, which we pass along to visitors. Working at our small business and farm become lessons about entrepreneurship. We take day trips to libraries, museums, parks... The boys enjoy this most because we classify them as 'field trips', something that public school has set to the wayside due to budgeting restraints, safety concerns, and the need to focus on academics to meet standards. Yet another freedom we enjoy as homeschoolers.
What about socialization? There is that question again... When we are working, our children come along and interact with our clients. Often, there are other children present, and we allow them to go off and play nearby. When we are shopping, we encourage interactions with people we come into contact with, like cashiers. When we are on field trips or 'scheduled fun time', we run into other families and the boys socialize then. We also open our farm to visitors, or when customers visit and bring children, off they go again. What we have discovered is that the layer of shyness that had begun to encompass them because of the rules placed on them in public school began to fall away. We are recognizing their unique personalities, and they are beginning to shine. They have plenty to talk about with other people, and they are not afraid to voice their opinions, but they are very respectful at the same time. We are able to incorporate the best of our values and make all of our time together of the highest quality. This is something we were never able to do before, with all of the constraints on our time.
So this is how we roll... How do you homeschool?