In our first year of homeschool life, we had six kids under the age of eight. Those early years of homeschooling were full and busy. We loved the four-day schedule that came with our History / Bible / Literature program because it allowed us to keep a weekly play date or other outing. Life was great until it wasn't and I had to consider breaking up with our homeschool schedule.
Continue readingThe more organized my homeschool is, the less time and money I waste. First, I don't waste time looking for things because I know exactly where they are. Second, I don't waste money buying again what I already have but can't find. I confess that I am happier and calmer when everything is in its place. However, I have noticed two big homeschool organization myths that many moms hold. I’m here to bust these myths and encourage you if you want to be more organized.
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How do you know if a college student was homeschooled? Is it easy for college professors to spot a homeschooled college student out of a crowd of co-eds?
Unfortunately, stereotypes still linger when it comes to homeschoolers. Some college faculty and students may think they can pick out a homeschooled student a mile away.
But in a recent informal survey of college professors asking about their experience with homeschooled students, I loved what one professor pointed out: I don’t know which students were homeschooled unless they tell me.
It’s obvious, but still a nice reminder. If your student goes to college, they will not wear some I was homeschooled label everywhere they go. Colleges realized years ago that homeschoolers were ideal candidates for admission, and today’s campuses have homeschoolers all over the place, just blending in and doing their thing.
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If part of you wonders if your children will be prepared for college, be encouraged to know that thousands of others have been. If you and your student both see college as a goal, homeschooling can actually give your children a distinct advantage in preparing for college.
When you homeschool through high school, you can give your student an education tailored to their unique struggles and gifts, freedom to pursue their interests, one-on-one tutoring, and flexibility to pursue real-life learning through internships and volunteer work.
In fact, a recent study found that homeschoolers tend to outperform their peers in terms of college GPA and graduation rates. These findings don’t surprise me at all. For years, I’ve had the chance to interview our Sonlight scholarship winners, who demonstrate the range and depth of college preparedness among homeschooled students.
Now, can I guarantee that every homeschooler will excel in college? Of course not. Each student is a unique person with unique circumstances. Some students are unusually intelligent. Some are willing to focus their energy on academics. Some would prefer not to play the “game” of school (like one of my sons, who is now a successful businessman). Some don’t need to go to college to do what God is calling them to do in life. But in general, of the homeschoolers who pursue a college degree, most of them are thriving at school.
Beyond reminding us that only the Admissions Office knows who was homeschooled and who wasn’t unless the students tell, those college professors shared other helpful thoughts about students who they knew were homeschooled. Seven professors, from public and private universities responded to the survey. The responses are very encouraging, and align with what I’ve heard time and time again.
I noticed a few themes in their answers:
In general, these professors love having homeschooled students in class. Their homeschooled students tend to be the most engaged, respectful and curious students in the classroom.
If you’re torn about homeschooling in high school, know that it can often work beautifully. Check out Why in the World Would You Homeschool High Schoolers, and consider reaping the rewards of the educational foundation and the open communication you’ve worked so hard to cultivate over the years. Many, many Sonlight students have excelled in college on their way to becoming the people God created them to be. Your student can, too!
If you have questions about how to best prepare your own student for college, don’t hesitate to contact a Sonlight Homeschool Advisor, or look at our College Prep offerings today.
Yes, I have a No Toy Policy. Before you think we have read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and have gone over the Feng Shui deep end, let me share an observation that happened about sixteen years ago while visiting a new friend.
As we were enjoying our coffee, we heard a toy avalanche from the other room. The boys had dumped two huge tubs of toys to find matching tractors to play with. If you have ever owned a toy box, you are familiar with this horrific sound.
My friend just shrugged at the overwhelming mess. Her son was the first grandchild with an abundance of uncles and aunts. This extended family was as excited about this little guy’s birthdays as he was; milestone events were typically celebrated with a pile of toys.
My friend couldn't see a way out of this toy-dumping merry-go-round without breaking everyone’s hearts. As we cleaned up the mess, I knew this was a problem I did not want to have in the future.
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With any number of kids, there is the potential to get overwhelmed with heaps of junky plastic baubles. Besides the clutter, there are also many toys on store shelves my husband and I did not want to bring into our home because of the messages they send to our children. After talking it over, we devised our No Toy Policy.
We called the extended family and explained how we wanted to choose the quantity and kinds of toys that entered our home. We requested everyone please refrain from large gifts and enlisted their help to curate our high quality toy collection together.
Our families were very happy to help us create the home environment we desired. As we have stood by this No Toy Policy for the last eighteen years, we have been grateful for its main four benefits to our family culture.
There were years that were lean, and years that were plentiful, but the kids didn't notice the change because we were consistent in our giving habits. Because they were getting fewer typical toy gifts, we could choose to give higher quality playthings. We found that these gifts lasted a long time and were well loved because there were fewer distractions. In a home with ten children, I am amazed to say that many of the toys we have bought over the years are still being enjoyed by the younger children.
We do have hearts; we didn’t leave grandparents out of the loop when it came to gift giving. We looked for gifts that family members could give to all the children as a unit. Typically, these were experience oriented gifts:
When at all possible, we asked for or purchased a pass that included grandparents or a guest in order to include extended family in our family outings. As a bonus, these trips often connect to our Sonlight studies, so we are taking field trips while bonding as a family.
Grandparents aren't always going to like your requests, and since they birthed you or your spouse, they deserve a little give and take. For example, there was the year my husband’s mother revolted against the No Toy Policy. That Christmas morning she presented each child—bless her soul—with an electronic toy of some sort. Each toy was about the size of a laundry basket and had seven flashing lights which responded to touch with accompanying sounds. Her living room felt like the mid-way at the State Fair, minus AC-DC singing Thunder Struck.
I got the message that Grandma was sick of buying jeans and jammies, so we got creative.
The following year, we searched the Sonlight catalog for items that would complement our History / Bible / Literature and Science programs for the oncoming year. We created a wishlist of extras so when a family member asked for gift suggestions we had a convenient list ready. (Create an account here on Sonlight.com to make your own wishlist which can easily be emailed to grandparents or to yourself.)
Sonlight offers art kits, a microscope, summer reader packs, and more. By sharing these suggestions, our family avoided toy overload, got to experience new hobbies, and Grandma was very happy about the new arrangement.
Because homeschooling is a priority in our life, we make smart financial choices to accommodate this learning lifestyle. To stay at home and educate my children, I gave up a full-time income. Saving money is also part of our homeschool lifestyle so that we can both make ends meet on one income and also invest in a high quality literature-based curriculum.
Recently, I read an article where parents responded about their common Christmas spending habits. They stated that they spent from over $100 to upwards of $800 on each child. That same year, we had purchased gifts for twelve of us at just under $600, total. It was one of our most fun celebrations.
Because of our No Toy Policy, we are forced to shop wisely. Compared to many families, we spend far less on holidays and birthdays, but we have never stopped having great celebrations.
Curating our children’s interests was a skill we developed over the years. And while we said no to waste and clutter, we said yes to high quality books and learning tools that we will cherish for years to come. The result was meaningful gift exchanges and increased gratitude.
Homeschooling is about enjoying your home as much as it is about educating your children. Our No Toy Policy might seem over the top at first glance, but I am sure you have seen homes where toys rule the day. They are quickly broken and discarded.
With fewer toys, our kids create, find, and build their own fun. We saved money by using our season passes to get out, play, and learn. We have explored extensive learning topics with Sonlight electives and we were stretched to get out and try new things as a family. Our No Toy Policy has served us well and matched our family culture that values people over things, experiences over clutter.
To see our recommendations for books, learning tools, and science kits, order a complimentary copy of your catalog today.
If you are hoping to use a literature-based homeschool curriculum, the cost can at first seem to be an obstacle. When money is tight on a single family income, your favorite homeschool curriculum can feel like an extravagance. You may start to question if purchasing a literature-based curriculum is really the best option.
Our family has experienced rough financial years where I had to scout out deals, get creative, or scale back on extra subjects. Usually we had a budget planned for homeschool curriculum, but just as spring rolled around, a major appliance broke or my husband's hours at work were cut. No matter what your budget says on paper, it's hard to shell out the big bucks for curriculum when the family car breaks down. I understand the challenge.
There have been better years, as well, when we have successfully saved for our big curriculum purchase. On those years, we had margin even for extras so that my budget-savvy husband didn't even break a sweat at the homeschool convention vendor hall.
Either way, whether a rough or fantastic financial year, there is one curriculum choice where I have never compromised. A literature-based homeschool program has been my foundation every year since my oldest was in preschool. Even from the those first years of homeschooling, I saw the financial value of sticking with a literature-based curriculum like Sonlight.
When my oldest, Dreaming Daughter, finishes her curriculum, I simply put the books and Instructor's Guide back on the shelf to be used for my next child. Once the new school year rolls around, I have to purchase a new program only for my oldest. The younger children use the hand-me-down History / Bible / Literature programs already in my home library.
My two younger children, Tenderhearted Boy and Wild Little Girl, are close enough in age that I can combine them and use one program for both. This choice means big financial savings for the family and time savings for me.
If the time ever comes when you are truly finished with your curriculum and ready to say goodbye to the beloved books in your literature-based program, you can pass them to another family who will get more years of use from them. Unlike so many consumable curriculums that are only worth a trip to the storage box or garbage can at the end of the year, a literature-based curriculum never becomes obsolete. Quality books can always find a second life in a new home library.
One year I was blessed to have my parents hand down their Sonlight books to use with my kids. It was a financial blessing to me, and it blessed them to discuss favorite stories with us as we went through the year. In turn, I have loaned our favorites to friends, enriching their homeschool experience.
Maybe you want an updated Instructor's Guide or need new consumable pages for your Science or Language Arts. The advantage to choosing Sonlight as your literature-based curriculum is that you can purchase a brand new guide for 50% off. Some years I have chosen not to update to a new Instructor's Guide at all. When I have chosen to update, I was ever so grateful for that huge discount.
With a literature-based approach to homeschooling, you purchase very few consumables. Most of your subjects are covered via conversations about a book. Instead of filling pages in a workbook that you will toss in April or May, you are building connections with your children. In upper grades, children may have papers to write, but every single book can be enjoyed again as part of your home library.
How valuable is your time? With four little kids to raise, a husband busy with work, and a home to keep, my time has become more valuable by the year. Thankfully I don't have to spend time planning my year because Sonlight does that for me. Once the books are organized on bookshelves, I am ready to go. I have more time to meet the needs of my family.
I save even more time because I can teach some of my kids together with a literature-based program. When we sit down for daily read-alouds, I get a two-for-one deal on my time— two kids hear the same lesson each day.
Our choice to use Sonlight has allowed me to support my husband in a huge way as he worked two jobs for over a year. We had three kids under the age of five when he started his own business! His new venture was difficult enough without adding one more thing to my plate. Even when money was tight, we knew there was value in having my year planned, teaching some of our kids together, and building a home library of amazing titles. Looking back, we can agree that Sonlight was a lifesaver for us during those years.
There is no question that purchasing homeschool curriculum is a big financial investment. The real question is this: Is the curriculum worth the cost? Before you invest in anything, you have to see the value in it to make the commitment. In my experience, there are huge financial benefits to choosing Sonlight as my literature-based curriculum.
What are the goals and values you hope to get from your curriculum this year? Once you narrow down those objectives and find a program that fits, you will know it makes financial sense to invest in that curriculum. For me, that's Sonlight.
Sonlight can work for you, too! Try three weeks of any Sonlight Instructor's Guide for free. Click here to get your taste of our literature-based curriculum.
My eyes reluctantly opened. For a split second, I wondered if I would feel different today. But at that very moment, the smallest whisper of anxiety washed over me. I knew. That day the same black cloud would hang ominously over me just as it had the past month. There was nothing that I wanted more than to pull the covers up over my head and pretend that the day hadn’t come, pretend that I had no responsibilities.
My feet hit the floor heavily. I barely managed to trudge to my dining room table, the spot where I had perched every day for the last thirty days. I almost didn’t sit down. I almost turned around and went back to my bed to pull the covers up over my head. I knew what waited for me at that table. I would sit there, zoned out as often as possible, and then, when someone tried to talk to me, I would cry. I didn’t want to cry again. I had cried enough. I would sit there and watch my life happen without me. I would wish that I could get up and serve my family like I had done every day faithfully for the last nine years. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I knew I couldn’t run away forever, so I sat down at my spot at the table. At least there, my kids would remember what I looked like.
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You see, we had just made a life-altering decision. We had adopted a child from our state's foster care system. It was something that we had wanted to do for so very long. Two years before, we were inspired to adopt when we enjoyed Sonlight History / Bible / Literature B & C and read about Gladys Aylward and George Mueller.
It had taken two years to get through the adoption process from start to finish. The waiting seemed like forever. But, once we finished our paperwork, we were quickly matched with a waiting child, and he was living with us full time within two weeks. My life had rapidly changed, and I don’t handle change all that well. I quickly spiraled into what I now know is post-adoption depression.
I had always been so happy. I was one of those almost obnoxious people who smiles constantly for no apparent reason. This depression was a total shock to me and my family.
I can remember sitting in my spot at the table across from my oldest son, asking him through tears, “Are you okay?” He looked at me with big eyes and said, “Mom, I’m okay. We’re all okay, but are you okay?” He was barely nine years old. Of course, the tears started flowing. It pained me to know that my child knew that I wasn’t okay.
Finally, my husband, who had been a champion for our family during my dark days, carrying so much of the daily load, sat down in the chair next to my spot at the table, and said, “We’ve got to do something. We need you back.” I knew he was right. I had been present in body, but absent emotionally for far too long.
I needed help. We needed help. My family needed me back.
The first thing that nudged me forward was the realization that it’s okay to not be okay. I had just gone through a major life change. My life looked completely different within the span of one month. It was okay for me to need more time to adjust.
Then, I sought God. I didn’t feel like it, but I did it anyway. As a result, I found that while I truly trusted God, I wasn’t practicing it. I knew that God had led us to adopt, and I knew that despite the way I felt, I wouldn’t have changed the decision we made. I knew that I would have been miserable to know that I had a child out there that wasn’t under our roof.
Although my heart knew that we had done exactly what God wanted us to do, my head was working overtime to give all the reasons why it was a terrible idea. At that point, I realized I needed to change my thoughts. So I decided that every morning, when my feet hit the floor, I would repeat, “I trust You, God” as many times as I needed to. Any time during the day, when I felt the familiar palm sweats of anxiety rising, I would simply state, “I trust You, God.” Before long, I began to remember that God is in charge of my life, and he was unfolding this beautiful story in a way that only He could.
My sister gave me some of the best advice. She had been through postpartum depression, and she knew what I was feeling. She said, “I’ve been there. Depression stinks, but it doesn’t last forever. Just do the next thing.”
So that’s what I did.
I didn’t think about the future. I didn’t consider my to-do list. I just did the next thing that was in front of me.
The more I applied this principle, the more I realized that I had actually gotten a few things accomplished. That felt really good, and it encouraged me to do the next thing, and eventually, over time, I fell back into my regular routine.
Using a curriculum like Sonlight made homeschooling through depression easier since I didn't have to make lesson plans. I just opened the Instructor's Guide and did the next thing, not worrying about staying on schedule.
My family needed me, but the smallest tasks seemed monumental during these dark, foggy days of depression. So I knew I had to put a few things on autopilot. The key here was minimizing the number of decisions I had to make each day.
Our menu was one of those things. My husband helped me to create a simple weekly menu. No new recipes—just old favorites.
Not having to make those daily decisions took a huge burden off my shoulders, and there was a surprise benefit…my family loved it! We still use this menu system today.
When you are facing depression while homeschooling, it's okay to scale back in every area. Cut back your homeschool subjects to the three R's. Let your kids work as independently as possible. Allow older kids to take care of some of the read alouds. Or take a break altogether. That’s okay too.
Very few people knew that I was depressed. Even fewer knew the extent to which I was depressed. I was very good at putting on a good face when I needed to. I wish I hadn’t been so good at it. I wish that I had let more people in to see the mess that I was. But God was good. He sent help that lifted my spirits at strategic points in my depression.
Once, our dryer broke and someone from church came over and picked up all six loads of laundry, took them home, washed, dried, folded, and delivered them back to me. That was like a breeze on a hot summer day to my weary soul.
Others spoke encouraging words when they didn’t even know that I needed them so desperately. People messaged me and checked on me. During this season, I sent my youngest child to a baby-sitter during the day. As much as my family and friends rallied around me, I still felt that I needed more. So I sought medical help. If you are struggling, there is no shame in medication or counseling. In fact, it’s a wise thing to do.
I gave myself lots of grace during this time…buckets of grace. I gained 30 pounds that first year after our adoption, and I wanted to be mad at myself, but I just couldn’t. Not counting the calories of everything that went into my mouth was one of the ways that I survived that year. Now, two years and several pounds later, I am finally on the road to get my health back on track. But I don’t resent those pounds. I look at my extra fluffiness as battle scars from the season of depression that I actually survived. Give yourself grace.
I’m on the other side of my battle with depression now, but I’ll never be the same person that I was before my depression. I’ve decided that transformation is not a bad thing.
I no longer look at people in the same light. I have so much more understanding and empathy for others. I’m now able to look into the eyes of someone who is in the depths of depression, and say, “I’ve been there. It stinks, but it doesn’t last forever. Just do the next thing.”
I now get the privilege to walk with others going through the same struggle and understand exactly what they need. I am so glad that I no longer see the world through rose-colored glasses. Now I see the hurt and the sadness, but even better, I see the beauty rising from the brokenness. And I must say that joy has never seemed sweeter than it does today, after experiencing its long absence.
There’s no ten-step program to homeschooling with depression. Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that simple? But there would be no growth, no dependence on God, no renewed sense of joy if there were. The truth is that life deals us unexpected blows on a regular basis. And no matter what, you just keep going, trusting God to make your story—with all its crazy twists and ugly turns—beautiful for His glory.
Simplify your homeschool and reduce the burden of daily decision making. Try three weeks of any Sonlight Instructor's Guide for free. Click here to get one for any level, preschool through twelfth grade.
As far back as I can remember, I was one of those voracious readers who read everything:
I read literally everything. I clearly remember being excited to turn four, because then I could read four verses from the KJV version of the Bible each morning instead of just three. (I now realize how abnormal this was.)
Because I read so early and because we were a missionary family living abroad, I very quickly ran out of children’s books in English. So I read a lot of books beyond my age—difficult books intended for adults, dealing with slavery and martyrdom and theology and other tough topics most children aren’t grappling with.
While I’m not sharing those specific books with my own little girl, I don’t regret reading them. But I find myself drawn to Sonlight, because Sonlight doesn’t shy away from books with difficult topics. Unlike the heady books I stuck my nose in as a child, Sonlight uses kid-friendly books to gently introduce tough topics in non-anxiety-inducing ways. These books are my favorite—the ones which weave a redemptive thread through tragedy, create beauty from ashes, and lift up our hearts in the process.
Books which deal with difficult topics are important because they cause us to look up and away from ourselves, and give us a little nudge out of any selfishness which might have settled down around us. When we read books in which the main characters combat grief, hunger, or other struggles, our gaze is lifted outward. It's almost impossible to maintain a self-centered or entitled point of view if we are consistently being challenged by ideas and experiences—literary or real-world—which encourage us to look beyond ourselves.
Difficult books give us a better understanding of what life is like outside our own comfort zone. Reading allows us to put ourselves in the place of the main character—for example, to feel a tiny taste of what it must have been like to be unjustly uprooted from the community and endure the shame of internment at Manzanar. The impact of what we read stays with us for a lifetime, long after the last chapter has ended.
Books set in times gone by have a way of encouraging gratitude by reminding us that the ordinary things in our lives actually quite luxurious. In times when we're feeling overwhelmed by the size of the laundry pile, we can remember Wanda Petronski's single, threadbare dress in The Hundred Dresses. Suddenly, folding multiple clean outfits invokes gratitude, not disdain.
These books help us shut down self-pity and battle a sense of entitlement by asking us to rethink our sense of normalcy. On those tiring days when caring for children feels like herding cats while running endlessly on a hamster wheel—we can think back to Twenty and Ten, and breathe a prayer of humbled thankfulness that we are not sheltering children in wartime. Reading about suffering puts our own woes in perspective.
If George Müller can sit down to an empty breakfast table and genuinely thank God for food that's not even there, we can be content with what we have. As a child, I thought of George Müller every time I didn’t like the dinner my mom made, and as an adult, I am gently reprimanded when I think of him and realize I am in no place to complain about having to go run grocery errands.
The best books don't paint an inaccurately rosy view of life, but rather equip us to the challenges which will inevitably come our way. If Joy Riderhoff can turn her years-long illnesses and disappointments into an opportunity to serve, we have no right to whine about the temporary inconvenience of allergies or a stuffy nose. (Guilty of that one!)
No matter our age, we can gain a helping hand from stories like these. We don’t have to read only challenging books, of course, but we shouldn’t be afraid of them. We shouldn’t fear exposing our children to a bit of tempered, age-appropriate suffering via the written page. Widening our awareness of the world and opening our eyes to problems far larger than our own helps keep the ungrateful heart at bay.
And in the end, by God's grace and with His help, may we (even in the truly tragic and heart-rending trials and tribulations) be able to say, "our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV)
All for His Glory!
Curious to see what this type of education might look like for your family? Go to SmoothCourse to explore your options.
