Homeschooling Shifts: Fewer Philosophies, More Practical Approaches

[@wendycarter9508]

Thanks Pam! Going on our 6th year of homeschooling and love all you pour into homeschooling, without adding stress to my mess! We got side tracked into a certain popular homeschool philosophy that my kids ended up not liking at all, so circling back to their interests and doing less lesson planning myself. Refocusing on our vision and our why was very helpful. Truly appreciate all you do.

[@heatheraz4680]

We just completed our 5th year. Started the July of 2019. When I started I just wanted an open and go type curriculum to make sure we "covered everything". I researched curriculum. I never research the different methodologies. Over the years we have changed things. I put together our own courses for a few subjects. It feels pretty rewarding. My oldest is a 10th grader now. For instance my daughter loves everything equine. So I have created a thorough Equine Science course that she will take each year of high school. I love the flexibility we have and that my children are learning so much better at home!

[@lisetteslean8515]

My daughter loves everything equine. Could you share some resources. I would love to put something together for her 10th grade year coming up. Thank you.

[@heatheraz4680]

@@lisetteslean8515 we are doing a semester class through OutSchool. I found on thrift books and equine science book. We will be going through that this year as well. Then we have a horse and she has a couple different mentors she works with. We also go to different open house type events at vet hospitals. This last year we were able to go to UC Davis for a symposium. She learned so much that day. She was able to practice how to administer vaccines and when it was time to give some to her horse then vet supervised and allowed her to give the injections! I will also have her do a couple research papers on different topics she is learning about.

[@PamBarnhill]

@@lisetteslean8515 We just had a big conversation about this in our free homeschool community. I would invite you to join and use the search bar. Some good info was exchanged! pambarnhill.com/join-the-community-2/

[@lisetteslean8515]

@@PamBarnhill thank you! I will check it out.

[@heidiking2849]

These observations are SO insightful. Our co-op and local homeschool group has changed so much over the years, and I keep trying to nail down why. I think this potpourri of changes in the overall homeschool culture are exactly what is going on, and speaks well to what folks are looking for these days. Thank you for articulating this so thoughtfully & clearly.

[@tonyadams399]

I have seen this too but couldn't nail down why either.

[@JoyfulNoiseLearning]

Great video, Pam! I completely agree with your observations about the current state of homeschool families. This was really interesting! I am a bit sad that more people don’t know ant to learn about education philosophies, that was one of my favorite parts when I first started homeschooling since I was a former teacher, but it makes sense that a lot of homeschooling families don’t have time. They really do just need to do what’s best for their family and may have been pushed into homeschooling unexpectedly.

[@Mariadejosejesusymaria]

Lord , give me the grace to homeschool my teen son, that his dad approves it snd undertands its the best choice . Please .

[@YogaNurture]

I was JUST telling my friend that I wanted to step away from all the philosophies because they were a burden on my mind and start focusing on which curriculum I really want that crosses my t's and dots my i's. I was so split between Classical and Charlotte Mason, which each contain wonderful practices, but have a lot of purists pulling a tired mom one way or the other stating that they are the best. I lean on the fact that I was educated with PACES and other traditional textbooks and my success was more about our attitude toward learning and our focus on Godly habits then it was on the method.

[@PamBarnhill]

I would suggest instead of focusing on curriculum you focus on YOUR vision for education. Curriculum is just the tool to get there.

[@megnlu]

I think KZbin has gone further than listening...now they're reading our minds😂 JK, I know the Lord is bringing me what I need exactly when I need it🙏🏼💕😭 I've been bogged down with what method is THE best method. I hear things like if your kid doesn't learn to read til age 14 it's ok. I'm starting to panic that my 8 year old is barely reading CVC words 😱 i don't know. Just so overwhelmed with it all, especially having a high schooler this upcoming year. I don't want to do it wrong & have regrets 😭

[@katie7748]

​@megnlu They actually do read minds and have for a while. Tons of proof if you know where to look, but be warned: once you see, you cannot unsee.

[@megnlu]

@@PamBarnhillI know this has nothing to do with this video really, but thought you may possibly have some direction. My oldest will start high school in the fall 😭💔 his goal is to play baseball in college. My husband & I are tryi g to figure out...quickly, what to do. He's used to very competitive play & most homeschool teams are not even close. We are praying about if we should put him in a Christian private school. I of course do not want to give up homeschool, but I also do not want to jeopardize his chances of being recruited. This is SO HARD🙏🏼 Thank you in advance for any advice you may have to offer 🥰

[@YogaNurture]

@@PamBarnhill That is another things that has taken me years to learn, and which I'm still learning. It's hard to shift from completing curriculum with finishing the book in mind to using it as a tool to present concepts (or skip them!) and practice them as we see fit.

[@momofmany6619]

I am so excited to see Citizenship Together!

[@EnglishwithGabby]

Spot on! I’m a college professor in NYC who also homeschools and I’ve met so many working parents who are homeschooling! Thanks for this video

[@Spurz166]

I am one of the newer homeschoolers. After my son had to be home we realized how much he was just being pushed through. He has special needs and was in an "exceptional children's" class in public school since pre K. He is extremely smart but due to his sensory needs and being selectively mute was being placed in a classroom with children of all different types of abilities. Subsequent to the pandemic and him being sent different "packets" and meeting with his teacher online we realized he was being taught at a kindergarten level when he was technically in 4th grade. That just completely blew my mind! Still does! They were teaching a very intelligent and capable 4th grader kindergarten lessons because of the type of class he was in! I know that some of those children were at that level but some obviously were not including my son. Now of course i dont think he was always being taught at such a lower grade level as in the beginning of his public school career we did have some veey amazing teachers. However we had always noticed he was not being given work that really met his intelligence level especially the higher the grade level. Anyway short story long, I have found it difficult even after 4 years of homeschooling to step away from the scheduling and planning as if he were still in public school. Any more tips on how lean into a more organic style of homeschooling?

[@PamBarnhill]

I would encourage you to go through my free vision workshop. pambarnhill.lpages.co/vision/ It's only by thinking about what's important to you about education that you can begin to replace what you know with something new.

[@sarapayne9445]

We just finished our official first year homeschooling. We had a rocky start with the passing of my mother in law but I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly we got just the essentials done. I mean one hour and we were done with “school work”.

[@PamBarnhill]

Nice! Yes, homeschooling can be efficient!

[@LlamaMamaAlpaca5]

Wow. Insightful. I definitely saw a few of these come up in the community this week.

[@YasminB-u9d]

I am one of the covid homeschoolers and I can report that the purists are alive and well and will scold you if you step one toe out of the CM method. (I love CM by the way, but my kid needs spelling help and I might not have 12 years to homeschool and hope that my child learns to spell just from dictation... You get the idea.) I'm just one data point, but I over-research curriculum to the point that borders on time-wasting because I want to see it ALL 😬 I also view curriculum programs as just the "spine" to which I can add or subtract anything I want.

[@PamBarnhill]

You are not the only data-point in over researching 😂 The struggle is real.

[@megnlu]

Charlotte Mason didn't even have children 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@katie7748]

​@megnlu It's...interesting...how many "experts" on children and children's authors didn't have children. Another fun rabbit hole :-/

[@PamBarnhill]

​@@megnlu I wouldn't hold that against her here. She was running a school and perfectly capable of thinking big thoughts about education. I think there is tons of value in her 20 education principles. It's the people who try to blanket apply everything she did legalistically to a homeschool family who are the issue-not Mason herself.

[@megnlu]

@@PamBarnhill I really didn't mean that in a negative way. Just that possibly we homeschoolers shouldn't be trying to replicate what she did in a classroom what we should be doing at home.

[@ezekielfenjavandehei3189]

I was public schooled my whole life so I was shocked to find there were so many philosophies and then I was shocked to find how many have a sort of culture to them. Also people who can be very judgemental about what curriculumor philosophy you lean towards. I specifically don't say what curriculum or philosophy I like or use until I feel comfortable with someone.

[@cooker-q4x]

Would you care to expand on why you’re seeing more and more parents not having the time to research and plan as we did in the beginning? You repeated, “Parents don’t have the time…” several times and I’m curious what reasons you’re seeing for this.

[@annai157]

I'm surprised that you endorse 1 1/2 of education for a 7 year old. This is against the law in many states (when we started, our state required 900 hours a year - which is a lot more than 1.5 hours/day) . Having homeschooled for a long time now, I cannot imagine getting "everything" done in that little time. We have never had a year with fewer than 900 hours - most years, we've gone substantially over.

[@PamBarnhill]

I stand by that endorsement, but we may need to define terms. 1.5 hours is direct instruction (sitting at a desk, doing "schoolwork"). When you count your educational hours, much more than "schoolwork" counts. Things like Morning Time, reading aloud, outdoor play, chores, outside activities like field trips, classes, etc., all the little art projects you do, nature walks, storytime at the library, co-op, even documentaries, podcasts, and Wild Kratz. I don't include those things in the 1.5 hours a day. Homeschooling is a lifestyle. Learning is a lifestyle. Almost everything you do in a day counts towards that 900 hours. Not just the time you spend sitting and doing "schoolwork."

[@annai157]

@@PamBarnhill Agreed! It never occurred to me to consider part of the day's instruction to be "not schoolwork" It is all educational - and I log it all as such😊