RAR # 159: 10 Homeschooling Mistakes I’ve Made (so you can avoid them)

Recently, I posted on social media about my oldest daughter becoming our first homeschool graduate. I’ll admit to being a proud mama. I think for a lot of us homeschooling our kids, we hear that it works, we are told colleges want homeschoolers-- are actively seeking out homeschoolers-- but we still are a little nervous. We wonder if we’ve prepared them well, if this grand homeschooling experiment is going to work out. So when my oldest daughter was not only accepted into every single college she applied to, but received generous merit-based scholarships at each one, as well, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. At the end of that post about my oldest daughter graduating, I left a little note for homeschool mamas, letting them know that all the lessons, conversations, books, essays, projects, field trips, the good days and the hard days -- all of the WORK of homeschooling, is completely and totally worth it. Worth it in a way you can’t really see when you’re in the middle of it, but that’s crystal clear when you’re at the end of the road, looking back. Your homeschool does not have to be impressive. You can be ordinary. So can your homeschool plans. So many of us worry that we aren’t enough, or that our families aren’t the extraordinary type. But most of the homeschoolers I know don’t feel like they’re rocking homeschooling. They don’t feel like they’re doing an amazing job. They sort of feel… ordinary. I know many of you are considering homeschooling for the first time, and I know that you don’t think you can do it. You think you’re not enough. You think it will be too hard. Maybe you did some distance learning through your school last spring, and you’re ready to throw in the towel on the idea of homeschooling. Since many of us will be home educating in one capacity or another in the coming school year, I want to share 10 homeschooling mistakes I’ve made over the years (trust me, there are plenty more- but these are the 10 that I thought would be most useful to you as you set out on a new school year.) You can learn from mistakes. This is a podcast episode, so click the play button below to start listening. You can also grab the full transcript at the top of this post. Listen to the podcast episode: In this episode, you'll hear... why your ordinary homeschool is more than enoughthe two most powerful tools in my homeschooling tool kit10 homeschooling mistakes I've made (so you can avoid them) 1:24First homeschool graduate3:34Distance learning is different4:36Mistake #1: I thought curriculum choices made a huge difference7:07Mistake #2: I overplanned9:19Mistake #3: I underprioritized reading aloud11:58Mistake #4: I didn't combine my kids for enough subjects16:04Mistake #5: I thought our homeschool needed to be extraordinary18:45Mistake #6: I tried to make my homeschool look like a classroom20:42Mistake #7: I prioritized my role as teacher over my role as mom22:27Mistake #8: I compared my kids to other kids23:26Mistake #9: I thought I could do a better job homeschooling with more25:07Mistake #10: I was too hard on myself31:24We won't regret this32:49Let the Kids Speak Links from this episode: The RAR Quiz or text QUIZ to 33777Pam Barnhill on skill subjects versus content subjectsRAR Premium More support for your coming year: RAR Premium is the best place I know for homeschool professional development, key resources like Family Book Clubs, writing workshops taught by some of today's best children's book writers, and support for your whole year. In RAR Premium, want to help your kids fall in love with books, and help you fall in love with homeschooling. You'll also enjoy: Water your bamboo - How to focus on the process (not the outcome) in your homeschoolHow to fold poetry into your routineHow to choose books for your kids