5 things we learned from our first year of homeschooling. l Life with ZG l Homeschooling Blog

It's a wrap! Zoe officially finished Kinder 2 curriculum and now promoted to Grade 1. Last Saturday was Zoe's commencement exercise and she's was so happy and proud when she heard her name while I put her medal and handed her certificates.

If you've been our reader for a while, you know so well that character building and her love for learning matters most for me than her academic grades. For her to graduate K2 with flying colors while enjoying her childhood is such a great bonus.

It's our first year of officially homeschooling so let me share 5 things we learned from our first year of homeschooling.

Build a routine or schedule.

During our first 2 months, we tried our best to stick to a schedule. But having a structured schedule is just not for us. So instead of schedules, we build a routine instead. No particular time of the day for certain tasks so there's no need to rush just to keep up on your schedule as long as every task should be done in a day.

How about you and your children? Do you have a structured schedule or routines?

Be flexible.

Flexibility plays a very big role in homeschooling. For us, it's one major key to surviving homeschooling. (Here are 3 tips to survive homeschooling.) As not everything we planned will go smoothly. So we need to be adaptable. You can change your curriculum if it doesn't work for your child. You can also change your teaching style base on your child's learning style. Answer this quiz if you don't know your child's learning style yet.

Run at your own pace.

Remember to not compare your homeschooling journey to other families. Each child is unique and no one is left behind. Comparing will only pressure you and your child and it won't help with your homeschooling journey.

Just enjoy.

Don't stress over small things. Take it one day at a time. You can also do one subject at a time. Whatever works for you and your child. Don't get pressured with the deadlines. And it's okay to take a break.

If I can give our 1st year of homeschooling a song it'll be Butter by BTS (Yes, both of us are Army. Hello if we have an Army reader). Why Butter? Because thank God our 1st year of homeschooling was smooth like butter. We finished the K2 curriculum in just 5 months and we did mastery for the rest of the months while waiting for her monthly exams. How about your journey? What song can you compare it to?

Play is also part of learning.

I always got this question a lot especially when Zoe is younger. "Why is she always playing? Is she learning?" Play plays a very huge part in Zoe's childhood. And when I say play, it's either she's doing some puzzles, drawing or painting, creating something out of ordinary things or blocks, clays and other sensory toys, pretend playing, and a lot more. Not playing with gadgets. So let them play because it's an essential part of their day and they're learning from it.

I can still list some of our takeaways during our first year of homeschooling but I'll leave you guys with just 5 top lessons that we learned based on our experience. I hope you got something from it and if you find this post helpful. Don't forget to share it with your friends and family. I'll see you guys next school year and I'll be sharing more resources/worksheets next time.

Stay safe and healthy!

Love,

Mommy Gen and Zoe.

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