Homeschooling 101 self guided

Tens of thousands of families have recently become interested in homeschooling. If you are:

• curious if homeschooling is right for your family
• already experimenting with homeschooling but interested in learning about the range of approaches
• sending your kids to traditional school, but want to be more involved in their education outside of school hours
• a new parent trying to consider the range of possibilities for your child's education

Then this class is for you!

Over five sessions you will hear from various homeschooling veterans about their approach and philosophy, mistakes to avoid, and how to do homeschooling in a way that fits best with your family.

This asynchronous course is self guided. The course will be facilitated by Dr. Ashley Colby of Rizoma School.

Each session will be taught by a veteran homeschooling parent with a different orientation, including:

• Classical
• Traditional/classroom model
• Unschooling
• Waldorf and Montessori inspired Project Based Learning
• Charlotte Mason with an emphasis on practical home economics

By the end of this course new homeschooling parents will:

• Have a clear reason articulated for choosing homeschooling for their family (can be especially useful to new parents choosing whether or not to homeschool as their children age)
• Identify the homeschooling approach(es) that most resonate with them
• Have a plan for implementing homeschooling within your own family - managing around work and other family activities
• Know the best tried and tested resources for each philosophical approach
• Be aware of how a typical day would look across approaches, to be able to fit into family life
• How to avoid the worst pitfalls many new homeschooling families face
• Know all the tested tips for a smooth journey into homeschooling and adapting throughout your child's life

Instructors:

Linsey Knerl is a homesteader, mom of six, and the author of Homeschool Hacks: How to Give Your Kid a Great Education Without Losing Your Job or Your Mind. She runs her own B2B content company, Knerl Family Media, with her husband, and enjoys incorporating family learning opportunities into everything they do. 

Roxanne Ahern is a homeschooling mother of 5 girls. Her family of 7 grow food and raise animals on their homestead in the Southeast. She also writes and consults about gardening, permaculture, and regenerative homesteading. Her book, “Holistic Homesteading: A Guide to a Sustainable and Regenerative Lifestyle” will be available in September.

Kim Ellis: I am an Army wife and teacher with two grown kids – one girl and one boy, two years apart. Before embarking on our homeschool journey, I had a B.S. in Conservation Biology and an M.A. in Education. As an Army family, we moved frequently, adapting to new circumstances. Without meaning to, my kids and I experienced German schools, U.S. public schools, private schools, and homeschool. We participated in homeschool co-ops, public school choir, community orchestra, community sports, and debate with Dad. There were many successes and blunders along the way. I believe there is no harder job in life than staying married and raising kids. Hats off to you for considering homeschool. It’s not for everyone, so I hope a little probing will help you determine whether it is appropriate for your family and what approach will suit you best.

Lindsay Rainey is a certified teacher turned home educator and a mom of two. She has over 8 years of experience as a home educator and several more in the classroom.  Believing that interests lead to deeper learning, she endorses a self-directed, project based approach to education. She’s experienced how providing choice in the learning process removes the friction between parents and kids and leads to better outcomes. She is an expert in finding resources and crafting open ended projects that free kids to learn in ways that work for them.

Phillip Mott is a homeschooling father to three and a monthly contributor to First Time Parent Magazine and FatheringTogether.org. He runs Kids Are People and Self Directed Community, two online groups for parents who are practicing and supporting each other in a non-authoritarian approach to educating and raising their children.

Session 1 with Linsey Knerl - overview of course, with some focus on Classical Education:

• Reasons to homeschool (rundown of why people consider it to help parents feel validated in their own choices)
• Homeschooling myths (things parents will inevitably hear that are WRONG and shouldn't discourage them from trying it out)
• A typical day for a working/homeschooling family (share a quick day-in-the-life, letting parents know that flexibility is key)
• First steps for homeschooling (Share my standard advice for taking time to learn about your kids, try curriculum before you buy, and finding people LIKE you, who share YOUR values, before you step into any program or materials that are costly in terms of time or money) 
• Parents will leave the session feeling empowered, ready to take actionable next steps, and be slightly more protected against the nay-sayers who WILL come out of the woodwork to criticize their decisions. (It's often family members who can be most discouraging during the initial homeschool announcement, so we want to arm parents with kind but firm ways to set boundaries that don't risk important relationships.) 

Session 2 with Kim Ellis - Traditional Classroom approach to homeschooling:

• Philosophy: Classical Christian Education
• Schedule Your Day: For Type A Personalities
• Count the Cost: Time & Materials
• Know the Law: Every State is Different
• Find Community: Extra-Curriculars & Co-ops
• Know Your family: Think Outside the Box 

Session 3 with Philip Mott - Unschooling:

Honoring the Learner - Many parents have visions of a self-motivated learner working hard to meet their goals but we aren't always aware of the ways we get in the way. In this class we'll review the many barriers to independence and discuss ways that teachers and parents honor the learners in their classrooms. 

Session 4 with Lindsay Rainey - Project Based Learning with a mix of Montessori and Waldorf, but also Unschooling:

Why a self-directed, project based approach to learning?

Learning is different when you choose it. When you have a choice about what you do and you know you can stop, your relationship to what you’re doing is different. Learning flows better. Additionally, there isn't a set of magical information that, once memorized/understood, constitutes a complete education. There’s always something more to be learned. The internet is an endless source of information and it’s more important to know how to create, build, and share that info, than to memorize it.

A self-directed, project based approach to learning allows children to learn by doing - not the ‘kid’ version - the real thing. This approach allows children to utilize their endless curiosity and fosters an intrinsic motivation to learn and allows home educating parents to stop being the enforcer when it comes to their children’s learning. This (course/class?) will show you how to implement this approach with your own children.

Session 5 with Roxanne Ahern - Charlotte Mason with a special focus on homesteading and practical skills:

Charlotte Mason believed education was not just something that happened in a classroom, she said it was, “an atmosphere, a discipline, a life.” She aimed to cultivate wonder and ignite a love for learning. She viewed children as whole persons, not merely vessels. She believed in cultivating good habits and attention to excellent work, and also that young people should have plenty of free time to be outdoors and pursue their own interests. Her approach appeals to me because the methods feel intuitive and uncontrived, it also lends itself beautifully to homestead/farm life.

There is a sliding scale fee available upon request! Email Ashley at ashley@rizomafieldschool.com for information.