What I've Learned

After over 9 years of homeschooling, I have learned so much about the process.  I have streamlined just about everything we do and realize that we don't have to do anything the way others do unless it directly benefits us.  It's so much better to create your own mold and evolve into your own style.  Here are some other things I've learned:

• I've learned to buy some curriculum a year ahead so we can use it for 2 years. We just go a little slower that first year, then finish quickly the second year.  This saves money and time.
• I've learned that while a homeschool group can be a wonderful thing, it gets dull after a while.  The older my kids got, the more they just wanted to hang with the 2 or 3 close friends they've made from those groups.  Also, really good (teen) classes, field trips, and activities are a lot less frequent so you start planning more of your own activities with just the close friends. 
• I've learned that so much more understanding, enthusiasm, and retention happens in 60-90 minutes of formal instruction rather than in the 4-8 hours I see frequently happening in the middle and high school homeschooling years.  
• I've learned that outside activities (sports, arts, religion, field trips, hanging with friends, etc.) are very important and make for a more well-rounded kid.    
• I've learned to savor this precious time with my kids.  They really do grow so fast.  K is less than a year from starting her dream career.  She is at one of the best cosmetology schools in the country.  She already has a few job offers from major NYC salons, and pending offers for when she gets her license in a few months.  J is graduating LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in less than 2 months.  She has amassed $15000 in scholarships and grants for 4 semesters at a performing arts college and will be living on Manhattan's Upper West Side in the fall.  And W, whom I've been homeschooling since Kindergarten, is now a teenager taking 4-5 MMA classes a week, has a keen ability for computer programming, software, hardware, and gaming, and who has such a healthy and bright outlook on life.  He has pushed hard through his dyslexia and hardly any of it is noticeable anymore.  He is now doing most of his academics independently and his entire curriculum and output are on or above grade level (well, spelling is almost there, lol).  I only see great things happening for him.  I know I will look back at this time and know it was the best of my life. (Not that things will all be downhill from here, but having my whole family together and seeing them take steps to begin their adult lives is the most incredible, precious thing there is to me)