Summary: Recently, I posted on social media about my oldest daughter becoming our first homeschool graduate. I’ll admit to being a proud mama. I think for a lot of us homeschooling our kids, we hear that it works, we are told colleges want homeschoolers-- are actively seeking out homeschoolers-- but we still are a little nervous. We wonder if we’ve prepared them well, if this grand homeschooling experiment is going to work out.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> So when my oldest daughter was not only accepted into every single college she applied to, but received generous merit-based scholarships at each one, as well, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief.<br> <br> <br> <br> At the end of that post about my oldest daughter graduating, I left a little note for homeschool mamas, letting them know that all the lessons, conversations, books, essays, projects, field trips, the good days and the hard days -- all of the WORK of homeschooling, is completely and totally worth it. <br> <br> <br> <br> Worth it in a way you can’t really see when you’re in the middle of it, but that’s crystal clear when you’re at the end of the road, looking back.<br> <br> <br> <br> Your homeschool does not have to be impressive. <br> <br> <br> <br> You can be ordinary. So can your homeschool plans. <br> <br> <br> <br> So many of us worry that we aren’t enough, or that our families aren’t the extraordinary type. But most of the homeschoolers I know don’t feel like they’re rocking homeschooling. They don’t feel like they’re doing an amazing job. <br> <br> <br> <br> They sort of feel… ordinary.<br> <br> <br> <br> I know many of you are considering homeschooling for the first time, and I know that you don’t think you can do it. You think you’re not enough. You think it will be too hard.<br> <br> <br> <br> Maybe you did some distance learning through your school last spring, and you’re ready to throw in the towel on the idea of homeschooling.<br> <br> <br> <br> Since many of us will be home educating in one capacity or another in the coming school year, I want to share 10 homeschooling mistakes I’ve made over the years (trust me, there are plenty more- but these are the 10 that I thought would be most useful to you as you set out on a new school year.)<br> <br> <br> <br> You can learn from mistakes. <br> <br> <br> <br> This is a podcast episode, so click the play button below to start listening. You can also grab the full transcript at the top of this post.<br> <br> <br> <br> Listen to the podcast episode:<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> In this episode, you'll hear...<br> <br> <br> <br> why your ordinary homeschool is more than enoughthe two most powerful tools in my homeschooling tool kit10 homeschooling mistakes I've made (so you can avoid them)<br> <br> <br> <br> 1:24First homeschool graduate3:34Distance learning is different4:36Mistake #1: I thought curriculum choices made a huge difference7:07Mistake #2: I overplanned9:19Mistake #3: I underprioritized reading aloud11:58Mistake #4: I didn't combine my kids for enough subjects16:04Mistake #5: I thought our homeschool needed to be extraordinary18:45Mistake #6: I tried to make my homeschool look like a classroom20:42Mistake #7: I prioritized my role as teacher over my role as mom22:27Mistake #8: I compared my kids to other kids23:26Mistake #9: I thought I could do a better job homeschooling with more25:07Mistake #10: I was too hard on myself31:24We won't regret this32:49Let the Kids Speak<br> <br> <br> <br> Links from this episode:<br> <br> <br> <br> The RAR Quiz or text QUIZ to 33777Pam Barnhill on skill subjects versus content subjectsRAR Premium<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> More support for your coming year:<br> <br> <br> <br> RAR Premium is the best place I know for homeschool professional development,
