Best of RAR: 5 Homeschooling Mistakes I've Made (so you can avoid them)

04/27/23 • 25 min

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I’ve been homeschooling for a long time, and just like every other homeschooling mom I know, I’ve made a ton of mistakes.

When I was new to homeschooling, I craved the insight of people who had been doing it for a while:

What do you wish you did more of?

What do you wish you worried less about?

What would you do differently if you were starting over again?

These are the kinds of things I wanted to know.

At the time I’m airing this particular show, I have two college students who were homeschooled the whole way through. Our third child is about to graduate this spring and will also head to University. And then we’ve got three more -- ages 11, 9, and 9. And yeah... we’re doing things a little differently this time around.

A couple of years ago I shared on this podcast some of my mistakes in homeschooling-- and they all remain true. So, it seemed like a good idea to talk about those mistakes again.

Over this episode and the next one, I’ll be sharing 10 mistakes I’ve made in my homeschool -- five in this episode, and five in the next.

If you heard these a few years ago when I first aired them, you might have a new take -- after all, you’re new in a new season of life than you were then. And if you haven't heard, I hope you enjoy.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

What really makes a difference in the quality of your homeschool (hint: it’s not agonizing over which curriculum to use)
What I wish I’d known then that keeps overwhelm at bay now
Why it’s okay for your homeschool to be ordinary

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/5-homeschooling-mistakes/

Join us for Shakespeare Summer!

I’ve been homeschooling for a long time, and just like every other homeschooling mom I know, I’ve made a ton of mistakes.

When I was new to homeschooling, I craved the insight of people who had been doing it for a while:

What do you wish you did more of?

What do you wish you worried less about?

What would you do differently if you were starting over again?

These are the kinds of things I wanted to know.

A couple of years ago I shared on this podcast some of my mistakes in homeschooling-- and they all remain true. So, it seemed like a good idea to talk about those mistakes again.

Over this episode and the next one, I’ll be sharing 10 mistakes I’ve made in my homeschool -- five in this episode, and five in the next.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

What really makes a difference in the quality of your homeschool (hint: it’s not agonizing over which curriculum to use)
What I wish I’d known then that keeps overwhelm at bay now
Why it’s okay for your homeschool to be ordinary

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/5-homeschooling-mistakes/

Previous Episode

RAR #225: It's Just Data (What your data is REALLY telling you about your homeschool)

Join us for Shakespeare Summer!

Why do we make things mean more than they actually mean?

We all do it.

We realize a kid doesn’t know how to tie their shoes at age 12, and we tell ourselves we’re forgetting to teach SO MANY IMPORTANT THINGS.

We feed our kids frozen pizza for dinner twice in a week and think it means we don’t care about their health.

We sleep late and tell ourselves we’re lazy.

We have a late reader and think it means we’re not good at this “teaching reading” thing.

We make things mean what they don’t mean ALL THE TIME.

And today? Today we’re gonna talk about it.

I’m sharing something we’ve been talking about in Circle with Sarah, which is our homeschool coaching program in RAR Premium. Recently I did a couple of episodes on why we need to keep data in its place in our homeschool and not make things mean what they don’t mean.

I wanted you to hear it, so I’m sharing those two episodes in one RAR Podcast for you here.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

Why you have to learn to separate the data from your self-worth and value
How to make use of what the data is actually telling you
Journal prompts to help you suss out what the data is telling you and what you’re making it mean

Learn more about Sarah Mackenzie:

Find the rest of the show notes at: https://readaloudrevival.com/its-just-data/

Next Episode

Best of RAR: 5 MORE Homeschool Mistakes I’ve Made (they just keep comin’)

Join us for Shakespeare Summer!

Two weeks ago I shared the first 5 of 10 mistakes I’ve made in my homeschool -- believe me, I’ve made many, many more than that!

But I’m highlighting 10 that stick out most prominently to me.

So in the last “Best of Read-Aloud Revival” episode, I shared the first 5 and today I’m sharing the next 5.

Hopefully, hearing these will keep you from making the mistakes I have. Homeschooling is a joy and a gift and it’s hard and wonderful and messy and effective -- it’s all of those things at once. I can promise you won’t get it perfect, and I can also promise that you don’t NEED to get it perfect.

In this episode, you’ll hear: