How I Homeschool

So I have always loved the idea of homeschooling, but I have also known that I am not exactly cut out for it. It seems that homeschooling is for organized, focused people, and I am pretty scattered and easily distracted. But I also feel like it is a parent's responsibility to make sure their children receive a well-rounded education.

I love the idea of public education. I think it is spectacular that every child in the United States has the right to learn a wide variety of subjects from well-trained professionals. But like most generalized things, there are problems with public education. I wish that elementary school children had more time to play and used their play to learn new things, that teachers were paid more, class sizes were smaller, there was a greater emphasis on things that could contribute to self-sustainability... I could honestly go on and on. But with that said, I am a fan of the American public education system. I am also a fan of there being other options like the Montessori and Waldorf methods, various other private and charter schools, as well as the option for parents to homeschool their children and all the variations that come with this option.

All of this being said, I wanted to prepare my 3 and 4-year-olds for Kindergarten. The idea of homeschool pre-school was very attractive to me. First of all, this year or more of school is not required. I also have a baby at home and my husband and I want to avoid the extra expenses of childcare that would come with me joining the workforce outside the home. This opens my family up to a great environment for trying homeschool pre-school.

Because of my views on education, I wanted to preemptively supplement their public education. I know they're going to be working on things like letters, numbers, basic reading, etc. So I didn't want that to be my primary focus. "Learning" something you already know leads to boredom at school. I decided to look at my own childhood education and give them things I don't necessarily remember getting in school. This in combination with the way I like to organize my life and make goals and my schedule was born.

Download here: McHubbard Academy Homeschool Pre-school Schedule

One big thing I wanted to do was make sure I was giving my children exposure to the world. I don't know if I'll be able to take them to live in a foreign country the way I was able to, but I want them to know the world is out there. I don't want them to be completely Western-centric or think that our current day in age has all the answers. I'm hoping to give them a general understanding of the world, history, science, culture, music, and the world around them.

Here's a basic breakdown and explanation of my schedule. It's a work in progress, but it's been helpful.

Title	Emphases	Lazy day ideas	TV day ideas	Monthly goals
Messy Monday	Art: Making art, learning art history, drawing/coloring. Colors, shapes, art supplies, types of art (food, textiles, visual, etc)	Play with blocks	Bob Ross	·         Make something ·         Look at art ·         Learn a new medium or skill
Technical Tuesday	Science and Life skills: Learn how to do things around the house, cooking, cleaning, hygiene, experiments, nutrition	Set the table, do chores, clean something, put laundry away	Scientific documentary (BBC Planet Earth, Edge of the Universe, Natures Weirdest Events, Planet Earth II, The Beyond, The Search for life in space, The code, Inside Einstein’s mind, BBC Life, BBC Chef s Science), Nailed it, a wrinkle in time,	·         Cook something ·         Clean something ·         Learn skill ·         Experiment
Waltzing Wednesday	Music: Listen to music, note flash cards, numbers and counting, classical music, popular music, music history	Kids in the house while I teach music lessons	Little Einstein’s, leap, sing,	·         Listen ·         Theory ·         History ·         Make music
World Sleuth Thursday	Social Studies and Family History: American Girl, history spotlights, languages, geography		Watch Carmen San Diego, Historical Documentary (Ken Burns : the west, Martin Luther, American Experience: Tesla, secrets of great British castles, raiders of the lost art, warrior women, tales of Irish castles), the little prince, the guardian brothers, cocoa, Moana, Tarzan, the star, the minimighty kids (French), zak storm (French), mini wolf (French), seven and me (French), Pororo (Korean),	·         Place we could go in the world ·         Time in history ·         How family (history) fits
Field Trip Friday	Get out of the house: go to park, go to pool, go to a museum, go to the library, go on a walk, ride bikes	Go to the store	Walk around the building or play just outside the apartment	·         Library ·         Thrift Store ·         Museum ·         Park ·         Pool
Daily
Language and literature	Exposure to various languages and classic literature	Play audiobook		·         Learn a new language ·         Exposure to classic literature ·         Letters and Numbers
Physical Activity	MOVE 😊			·         Wii Fit ·         Exercise video on YouTube (yoga) ·         Play Play Play!!!

Our hopes and dreams for this blog

The other day I was at Barnes and Noble trying my hardest to find a book on Bauhaus design. I'd been scouring amazon.com for weeks and couldn't find what I was looking for. I decided that I'd take my kids out to the bookstore and try there. I wanted something pretty specific: a book that would give information about Bauhaus in a way that was highly informative but also kind of fun. I wanted photos of the school, the teachers, the students, pieces that came out of the school and pieces that inspired the Bauhaus design aesthetic. And if there were ideas that could spark creativity in children, that would've been a major plus! But alas, I couldn't find that book.

My two oldest children working on paintings for gifts

In frustration, I called my mom, the woman who not only raised me but who has also become my best sounding board, brainstorming partner, and closest professional relationship. I told her that I wished I could find a series of books that tackled artistic topics in a way that could help children and adults alike learn art history, principles of visual art, and ideas for art projects in the way I wanted. As we spoke I thought that there must be someone else out there who wanted the same books I did.

My mom at the piano and my dad and I singing a duet at my high school senior vocal recital

After some long conversation (let's be honest here, most conversations between my mom and me are long) we decided that if anyone could try to write this book series, why couldn't that anyone be me? I have a passion for art, especially art history, and have been teaching art and art history to homeschool children for two years. But, under the inspiration of my amazing mother, rather than jump right into the herculean task of trying to write a book, why not start small? Like with a blog?

I loved the idea! There was one problem tho: I tend to get easily distracted by new projects I come up with all the time and needed someone to keep me on task and work alongside me. I needed a partner, and who better to ask than my mom?

A few quick illustrations I did to go with the program of the premiere of a musical written and directed by my mom  that I also collaborated on

We have been working together on art and music projects my whole life. I honestly can't remember a time when we weren't working on something. I started piano lessons with her when I was four,  and have been collaborating with her on art projects four about as long. I even remember winning a regional art competition for a program that was featured at the symphony when I was nine.

A scene from Amahl and the Night Visitors directed by my mom. Many of my family memebrs were in the cast, myself included

Over the years we have worked together to prepare auditions, prepare and program large recitals, and take on large drawing projects (many of which she has assigned me for various events). This grew into us working together on projects in a much more professional colleague type capacity. Together we've written and produced a musical including designing and creating the set pieces, written and illustrated a Spanish children's book, put on numerous and varied shows for audiences all over the United States, and most recently created the McHubbard Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts, a program that teaches children and adults various musical and artistic skills as well as theory and history.

My hope is that this blog will not only serve to be the starting point of a book series but also as a way for us to share the things we teach in addition to the things we've discovered while teaching them. We do not consider ourselves experts in the fields of music or art, these are just things we are extremely passionate about and have studied for years in both formal and casual settings. Our biggest hope is that we can inspire others to make, create, do, perform, study, and learn something that will enlighten your life in a way that music and art have enlightened ours.

About us:

I am currently a mom of three children 3 years old and younger (Diana - age 3, DC - age 2, and Chuck - 2 months). I will have been married for 5 years in December. I am finishing my last 3 credits of my Bachelor of Arts in Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance at Utah Valley University through the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith. (I am a few credits shy of a minor in Art History, but I decided to forgo the minor and just graduate due to me having been in college for far too long with not a lot to show… yet😉.) I have been teaching voice lessons for 8 years, art classes for 2, and piano for 1. My favorite art to study is Modern Art and Roy Lichtenstein is my all time favorite artist. My favorite composers are Mozart, for his piano Sonatas, and Gounod for his vocal music. However, when I'm listening to music it's usually Top 40 or Classic Rock.

This is my mom, Lynda. She is currently working on her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas. She has a Master's Degree in Latin American Literature, has taught everywhere from the elementary level to the university level (mostly in higher education.) She has years of experience teaching music, Spanish, and English as a second language and has taught all over the world.