In May we closed out our 20/21 Homeschool year.

I feel like I would if I ran a marathon- sore, exhausted, and out of breath, but so happy to have reached the finish line. I was telling my fellow homeschool mom friends that I was a little dissappointed because I really wanted to finish the homeschool year strong. I had typed out plans and had the best of intentions, but life inevitably interrupted. My friend reassuringly told me that she believes “finishing at all is finishing strong”. I receive that encouragement.

I took countless photos and wrote out so many memories along the way. It really was a wonderful year full of priceless moments and lessons. Here is a look back at my first try at homeschooling.

We started out with a bang at the beginning of August. I wanted to start early to allow more flexibility for breaks.

One of my favorite parts of Homeschooling was getting to do so many field trips!

We were somewhat limited because of Covid, but we did more than if they had been in public schools which is zero (unless you count the virtual ones). My favorite field trip was to Heritage Village where we learned all about Ohio in the 1800’s.

The curriculum we used was Miacademy. I mostly did my own teaching and lessons, but the kids used Miacademy for their core subjects. I was able to get our subscription for free because I contacted the company and told them I was interested in writing about our experience on my blog. This took a lot of courage for me to ask and I was fully prepared to be declined. They wanted to work with me though and it it was so rewarding! That’s just one of the many areas of growth for me throughout this experience.

One of the other really cool things that I loved about homeschooling was collaborating with other families.

We got to do a lot of activities with the kids’ cousins/grandparents and some of our other homeschooling friends throughout the year.

I have two favorite homeschooling lessons that we did and they were actually back to back. One was learning about Indigenous People on Indigenous People/Christopher Columbus Day.

We did several crafts and activities that week along with multiple field trips. It was so cool.

My other favorite lesson was when we had an election the week before the real election to learn all about the process. We had a campaign and took a vote for what we would eat for breakfast. We worked hard, laughed hard, learned a bunch, and ate some yummy breakfast (monkey bread for the win).

I can’t post about homeschooling without including a chalkboard pic. I wrote a whole blog post all about the chalkboard.

One thing I never blogged about, but it was really fun and educational was when we did a week on healthy lifestyle choices.

I guess I already said that I had two favorite lessons, but can I make it three? We went to Jungle Jim’s super market and explored a variety of foods from around the world.

We each picked out an exotic fruit that we wanted to try and learned all about each one as we sampled them. My favorite was the Kiwano Melon from Africa. It had a unique jello texture inside and a mild citrus flavor.

The school year wasn’t without its challenges, but I got to know each child’s learning style more than I every knew before. We bonded and grew not just academically but in a variety of ways. After it was all said and done we have decided that it’s time to go back to public school. I love homeschooling. I see the benefits and I may come back to it someday.

I feel empowered to know that I did it once I could do it again. Not right now though. I love our school district. I see the benefits there too and with most of the pandemic stuff behind us I am ready, and the kids are ready, to go back this fall. Look out Kindergarten, 3rd grade, 5th grade, and 8th grade… HERE WE COME!!!

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