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!!!