Homeschooling parents, do you wonder if you are covering everything that your child needs to learn? Do you worry about not doing enough? I know I do! This is something that I think all of us think about!

I have been thinking about this post for awhile, but I was putting off writing it until we got our standardized test scores back. We got them back, and Aidan and Gresham both scored at or above grade level in each of their subject areas – *whew!* So now that I feel like I have at least some measure of credibility, here are a few thoughts on this topic. For reference, my kids are entering 8th grade, 5th grade, 2nd grade, and preschool (2 kids) in the fall.

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Homeschooling: How do I know if we're covering enough?

Ask yourself – Am I being consistent and diligent with our homeschooling?

There are always going to be interruptions, and you’ll make yourself miserable if you beat yourself up over every hour missed because of a repair person in the home or a sick child. However, interruptions can cause you to accomplish less than you think you are if you’re not careful.

What has helped me? Planning our homeschool assignments a week at a time for better consistency.

For several years, we used a daily checklist system. This worked well until I took on the LEGO book project this past fall. I quickly decided that I needed to become VERY organized, and I started planning Gresham’s school (4th grade) a week at a time. We will never go back to the old way!

This year I will probably make a template on the computer, but last year I just drew the charts on paper each week. I planned a four day school week, with Sunday afternoon being my scheduled planning time. We have found it to be unrealistic to plan five full days and actually stay on track. You have to run errands sometime! We made Fridays our catch up days, and Gresham used Friday mornings to finish up anything that wasn’t complete for the week or correct things that needed fixing.

Homeschooling: Am I covering everything that my child needs to learn?

Aidan is taking three classes at our church’s homeschool co-op this coming school year (writing, algebra, and general science), but I will be creating a weekly assignment sheet for him (and Owen) this year as well. We’ll just fill in his assignments from those three classes along with vocabulary, history, and literature assignments from me.

Why did the weekly assignment sheets make such a difference? The weekly plan made it much easier to keep going even if something happened like the toddler getting sick or having to run an extra errand. Gresham could keep working with or without me. Plus, we had a plan for when we would catch up if we got behind. The end result was that Gresham covered much more ground this year than he would have if I had not been organized. And all it took was about an hour of time on Sunday afternoons.

Here are the subjects we cover.

We live in Texas, a state with very few requirements for homeschoolers. If you’re in a state with strict regulations, you might need to cover more than this. But here is what we do…

K – letter recognition, phonics, counting, simple addition, lots of reading out loud, handwriting, science read alouds

1st grade – phonics, handwriting, vocabulary, reading, math, science, history (optional)

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – handwriting, grammar (we use Rod & Staff, but it’s not for everyone – kind of dry), vocabulary (Wordly Wise), reading, writing, math, history, science

In 5th grade I like to add in geography.

I could write a separate post on junior high – if I get time I will!

Extras to cover: art, music, typing, world cultures, foreign language

If you are in survival mode (new baby, illness, etc.) focus on language arts and math! Science and history are easy to catch up on later. Do you really remember what you did in history/social studies in 2nd grade? I don’t! During rough times, focus on language and math skills, and facts can be learned at any time later.

Standardized Testing – Don’t make it a bigger deal than it needs to be, but the experience can be helpful.

Aidan and Gresham both took the Iowa Test of Basic Skills in May with our homeschooling group at church. If you are not part of a co-op, you can give the test at home and then mail it in to be scored. You do have to go through a process to be approved as a tester (we went through Bob Jones University) and I believe you have to have a four year college degree to give the test.

I feel like the two main benefits to testing are giving your child the experience of taking a test (which includes the benefit of realizing they need to take school seriously) and using the results to pinpoint areas of weakness. One of the boys was relatively weak in basic math computation (50th percentile, so not dreadful, but we’re not shooting for just average when we know he can do well). My husband suggested adapting our ticket system for math assignments so that any of the boys can earn two tickets for an A, one for a B, and none for a C. They also do corrections if they make either a B or a C. I have already seen an improvement in accuracy and eliminating careless mistakes!

I administered the first grade test when we did the testing at our church, which involved reading most of the test out loud. There were definitely some goofy questions and some hard-to-understand questions, so take the results with a grain of salt. But I still think there is a benefit to the accountability that testing provides.

Bottom Line: There will ALWAYS be more that you could cover! No one does it all, not even public schools. Teachers have to juggle disruptions, kids with special needs, record keeping, assemblies, etc. so no one does a perfect job. If my kids entered public school right now, there would be some “holes” in their learning (things to catch up on). But guess what – if a public schooled child entered our homeschool, he would have some holes in his learning also! Each school or homeschool covers different things at different times and that’s okay.

Ask yourself, “Are my kids doing a good job at the things we ARE covering?” Are they learning to push through something hard and get it done? Are they learning diligence and responsibility? Are they mastering the art of learning? Character is more important than the amount of facts learned.

Also, don’t forget the benefits of homeschooling! There is time to learn at the child’s pace, go on field trips, volunteer, and learn for fun. Learning how to learn is so much more valuable than filling in a certain number of workbooks anyway!

More Homeschooling Resources:

Should I Homeschool My Kids? Thinking through the decision.

Planning a Homeschool Routine When You Have Multiple Children – Do I teach them all together? Separately? What does a day look like? This post answers those questions.

3 Comments

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  1. Nilsa Maldonado-Mendez Aug 26, 2017

    Phew! and thank you!We do live in a highly regulated state (NY) so hence the perennial dilemma! It' always good to hear from other homeschooling parents about how OK it is not to strive for "perfection". Ahhh (sigh of relief)

    Reply
    1. Sofia Aug 23, 2019

      Yes. Of course public school kids would have holes if they joined our honeschool. ? Never thought about it the other way around!

      Reply
  2. Jenny Feb 1, 2018

    Ugh. I stress. Majorly. My daughter is on grade level for reading and she seems to be ahead of the curve for math, but I feel like I am missing something. It's only the first of February, we are supposed to get 180 days, and I don't know what else to teach her in those areas unless we move ahead. If we move ahead, I worry that I am pushing her too hard... Is that stupid?

    I even bought the Homeschooling Year by Year book. I haven't covered almost any art and not much history, so I can go back and do more of that, which we would all love. But I think I plowed through too much of the basics without spreading it out or something. I don't know. I worry that I am not teaching the right math solving strategies or something.

    I tried following a boxed curriculum, but my kids were bored with the math and language arts lessons in it. We bought an inexpensive curriculum and it was way too easy. (This isn't just that I am one of those parents that think my kids are geniuses, either. The curriculum had kids learning their numbers and counting for grade 1. So, it wasn't really a fit for us as my 1st grader had already began doing simple addition and subtraction problems when she was in public school in Kindergarten.)

    Is there ever a time when you stop vascillating between all out panic that you aren't doing enough and all out panic that you are pushing them too hard? Because right now, there seems to be no sweet spot!! Please tell me that as we gain experience, this gets easier.

    Reply
  3. Fam Bless Aug 5, 2018

    Do you keep all the work they have done throughout the years or do you just get rid of them? I have been holding the books my kids have done and they take too much space, should I get ride off them? I live in Texas that doesn't require much.

    Reply

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