In this coaching course, you'll...
- Explore deschooling principles and benefits
- Reflectively assess your homeschool, perspectives, and beliefs
- Imagine and assess your homeschool atmosphere
- Define your schedule by your family's rhythm
- Learn how to wisely purchase and use curriculum or resources
- Address common challenges and dismantle unhelpful mindsets
- Receive coaching support to overcome obstacles
- Cultivate a purposeful, tailored education aligning with family values and each child's uniqueness
Does this resonate?
I want to move toward child-led learning, but I have a hard time letting go and moving away from a schooled approach.
How do I get those schooled mindsets out of my homeschool??
I love this homeschool life but I've always got someone telling me what I'm doing isn't good enough.
If it's not a family member sharing their concerns, or a random stranger questioning why the kids aren't in school, it's ME wondering if I think I'm doing this homeschool thing good enough.
My instinct is to script the day.
Why can't my kids just want to get into rhythm with my intentions? I want the best education for them. But they are either lazy, disinterested, or unwilling to do it how I want to do it.
Is this your experience too?
- The pressure to conform to traditional school methods, even though your kids aren't in a traditional school.
- The pressure to conform to how your local homeschool community is doing homeschool.
- Feeling bound by your internal school taskmaster, who wants you to let go of your plans and expectations, but just doesn't know how.
- Or confident in front of others, but occasionally having existential crises in the middle of the night: am I really doing this homeschool thing good enough??
- Intimidated (or avoidant) in discussing your homeschool choice with others.
- Knowing you are consistently comparing your homeschool (or your kids) with others.
- Wondering why one of your kids just won't do things the way you've planned them?
- Wishing that one kiddo would do it like their sister (or brother) because your life would be a whole lot easier if they did.
- Afraid for a child's future, because they just won't...(you fill in the blank).
- Spending money on curriculum, resources, or extracurriculars that you later realize weren't the right choice and you'd like to know which ones are already.
- Frustrated with your kids because they won't go along with your homeschool plans without bickering, complaining, or fidgeting?
- Stressed that you can't get it all done.
- Know that you want a homeschool driven by curiosity, play, and maybe even fun (dare you even declare THAT), but you honestly don't know how to DO that.
Perhaps you initially intended to provide a personalized, enriching, and fulfilling educational experience for your kids: that was the goal.
But now you can see that it was a lofty goal, and to try to accomplish it has just reaped frustration, doubt, and possibly even burnout.
I get it.
I've been there.
My story...
I created a whole lot of busy work until I was clear on what I thought an education was and how it served each of my kids.
I filled my days, my kids’ days, with a whole lotta activity. A veritable private school in my living room.
It was challenging to let go of the practices I learned from how I was conventionally educated.
Confessional: it wasn't just the kids that were miserable, I was too.
I included everything I knew I could include:
- Latin, French, Italian, Swahili, Spanish (dependent on our present travel adventures)
- Math workbooks & Logic
- Economics, current affairs, politics
- Chemistry, geology, astronomy, biology, botany, microbiology, human physiology, animal husbandry,
- Nature study, with drawing pencils on a picnic blanket,
- Violin lessons, piano lessons, theatre programs, choir, ballet, contemporary dance, jazz dance,
- History readalouds, accompanied by history summaries,
- Expository essay writing, research writing, magazine article writing, NaNoWriMo every November,
- Drawing, design, painting, impressionism, classical music,
- Reading reading reading LISTS
I could go on and on and on here…
I had GREAT expectations (and I got a GREAT education! Oh, and the kids probably learned some cool stuff too).
But it was too much.
I wasn't happy, neither were my kids.
My homeschool goal was to give them a private school experience, NOT look into their eyes and listen to who they were and what they needed at this point of their life and what they needed for where they were going sometime in the future.
Their home education wasn’t always about THEM, but it definitely was about my expectations and beliefs (& sometimes other people's expectations too).
I know that you need to be really clear on what an education is anyway, so you can create an individualized education that will raise your children up to do what they were meant to do.
And the natural byproducts? FREEDOM and PURPOSE.
All my deschool transitions throughout my homeschool years have helped me do this:
- Freedom: Breaking free from the absurdities of traditional schooling, and even "expected" homeschool approaches, allowing me to facilitate a home education that served the kiddos in front of me. And they enjoyed it more! AND I ENJOYED it more.
- Confidence: Feeling confident in my homeschooling approach didn't just make me feel more at ease myself, it also made me more confident as an individual. And guess who else became more confident? Yeah, you guessed it, my kids.
- Purpose: Rediscovering the purpose behind my decision to homeschool and more cleanly implementing my reasons into my actual homeschool days and making sure our learning environment aligned more consistently with our family's values, which made it so much more purposeful.
The Deschool your Homeschool coaching course is the bridge between your current homeschool experience and freedom.
Imagine if...
*You felt confident in your homeschool choice.
*You didn't default to feeling not-good-enough.
*Your family life (& your personal life) felt more purposeful.
*You felt more free.
*Your homeschool worked for you & your kids.
*Your schedule could be defined by your family's rhythm.
*Your activities could be guided by the people that are within your homeschool.
*You saw learning opportunities everywhere.
*You saw your homeschool intention beyond a philosophy or a curriculum.
*You could move at the flow of seasons in your family life.
*You could purchase and use curriculum or resources wisely.
*You were able to fuel and facilitate your child's natural interests.
*You could enable a learning process that was useful for the specific children in front of you, not an "ideal homeschool child".
*You were clear on the answer to "what an education is anyway".
*You could see the connection between curiosity, play, and a real education.
*You understood that all of life was a learning journey and we'll all be on it all the time and we only need to be clear on what our kids need today.
You can reimagine your homeschool life!
What will help transform your homeschool...
- Before you begin the next section...
- Your schedule is defined by your family's rhythm
- The homeschool stuff you buy
- There's not one right way to do this homeschool thing
- Your activities can be guided by the people that are within your homeschool.
- You saw learning opportunities everywhere.
- You saw learning opportunities beyond a homeschool philosophy or a curriculum.
- You could move at the flow of seasons in your family life.
- You could purchase and use curriculum or resources wisely.
- You were able to fuel and facilitate your child's natural interests.
- You could enable a learning process that was useful for the specific children in front of you, not an "ideal homeschool child".
- You were clear on the answer to "what an education is anyway".
- You could see the connection between curiosity, play, and a real education.
- You understood that all of life was a learning journey and we'll all be on it all the time.
- When we meet in coaching...
- Before you begin the next section...
- Some common challenges...
- What do homeschoolers want to deschool from?
- We have to be taught to teach our kids.
- A homeschool methodology
- The right curriculum
- Your activities can be guided by the people that are within your homeschool.
- You see learning opportunities everywhere, not just in school subjects.
- The way you do what you do changes over time.
- There is no average student.
- We assume kids should always be busy.
- We assume that kids must have a constant exposure to new things.
- We assume that kids need to identify in a particular grade.
- We assume kids need teachers to learn stuff.
- We assume learning comes best through lectures, textbooks, and testing.
- We assume kids need to learn certain things at certain times.
- We assume kids typically are at the same developmental level to receive knowledge bits at similar times.
- We assume there are only certain times of the day that kids can learn.
- We assume there are really only certain subjects that are considered learning.
- We assume that children don’t know how they should be educated.
- We assume a home education needs to be pre-planned and that can’t just happen as they go.
- We assume that our kids' peers are their most important attachments.
- Assume that someone else, a prescribed system, developed by the experts know better than parents, how to advocate for an education for our children.
- We assume that schools don't have educational gaps.
- We assume that there is a certain time in life to learn and there is a certain time in life to produce.
- We assume everyone needs a base knowledge.
- We assume there is only one way to get a base knowledge.
- We assume that base knowledge has to be learned in sequence.
- A base knowledge learned in sequence is remembered because we tested.
- We assume that because we tested, kids know. Even if we know that they don’t care.
- Assume that imparting anything to kids is a good done for them.
- When we meet in coaching...
Here's what others have to say...
"Let’s face it. Homeschooling is hard. And amazing. There is elation and devastation – all in an average day. Teresa comes alongside to help you navigate your relationship with your homeschooling. Not to fix you, but to sufficiently assist you in detaching your identity from the activity so that the activity is elevated to new heights.
Why homeschool coaching? Teresa helps you poke through your assumptions and inner narrative to help you parent and educate gently – not only for your children but for yourself. She matches your pace to co-create sustaining practices for life and the long haul."
--Diane, Graduated Homeschool Mom of 3 & Coach
"Speaking with Teresa in the first minute revealed to me how much I can accomplish when I take a deep breath and speak my desires as a mother aloud. She showed me the clarity I needed was within me all along and aided me in a practical, actionable way that is something I can start applying that day. Which, I did. The peace that comes with sharing space with her provides a presence that can be extended to yourself long after the call. I highly recommend working with her!"
--Mina, Homeschool Mom of 3
Hey homeschool mama,
It's easy to get caught up in the latest learning trends, even if they are trends fueled by our homeschool community.
It's easy to create a school in our homes.
It's easy to make a homeschool reflect what we think will please other people's opinions on what an education should be for our kids.
Why I think deschooling matters?
You want your homeschool to be a place of freedom and purpose, for you and your kids.
Your goal in homeschooling wasn't to take the kids from "the system" so you could recreate your own version of a "system" in your home.
(ps I did do this, and many homeschool families do this, or at least we try, until we discover how NOT workable it is...)
I think deschooling is a highly effective tool that helps us release doubt, uncertainty, and that not-good-enough feeling.
Say whaaa?
A tool that brings freedom and purpose and releases us from those feelings?
Now I am NOT saying we'll never feel those feelings: you're a human being and humans feel all the feelings at times.
Deschooling helps us (& our kids) zero in on the most important elements of learning: enabling tools to live our lives on purpose.
I've been learning about learning, learning about living with my kids, and learning about what an education is anyway.
And it isn't what I thought it was.
(You too?)
Turns out, I didn't need to have a teaching degree, I didn't need to lesson plan every homeschool day, and I didn't ever need a report card (well, one year I did, because the kids asked me for one!)
I've had to address boredom, motivation, schedules, curriculum choices, and the unhelpful, oxymoronic word: homeschool.
Would you like me share what I've learned so you can be at ease in your homeschool with confidence and clarity too?
YOU CAN REIMAGINE YOUR HOMESCHOOL LIFE!
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I access the journaling notebook?
There is a downloadable PDF journaling workbook within the course. It may only be used for personal use, not recopied for other uses but your own.
After the course can I join group coaching sessions?
There's nothing like joining other mamas to establish a camaraderie and connection. (Or you can find a friend to join you in group coaching sessions.)
Can I purchase coaching sessions beyond this course?
Absolutely! If you want to continue our mentoring, I'd be delighted to continue in one-on-one sessions. Connect with me here to learn more here.
