In the Homeschool Flow #5
A weekly letter from our homeschool to yours.
I’d been anxiously anticipating this past week for months, not sure of what to expect.
My oldest son went to TWEEN camp.
I know, I know. That doesn’t seem like the kind of thing to get anxiety over, and truth be told, it wasn’t the camp itself. It was the idea that my youngest couldn’t go with him. For a week, he’d be having serious FOMO of all the fun his brother was having without him, including the last two days, where he would stay in an Airbnb in another town, having a giant sleepover with friends!
So, I planned a week full of stuff for the two of us to do. Turns out, we had a blast. My youngest had a relatively easy sleepover with a friend (his first ever without his brother interfering). And the week has been one we’ll all remember for different reasons.
Lesson learned: It’s healthy to give your kids that separation from each other, especially when they do so much of life together.
I’ll report back next week on how the weekend goes once the two are reunited. I’m anticipating LOTS of stories, a healthy dose of envy, a honeymoon period of playing together, and then quickly back to the normal sibling love/hate relationship as they get back in their groove again.
Lately, I’ve noticed a LOT of questions popping up in Facebook groups about how to start homeschooling.
One parent in one group said, “I’m new to this group and joined because I want to homeschool, but am trying to figure out how.”
Another parent in another group said, “I am very, very new to homeschooling. I have a 2nd grader and a 3rd grader that I'm starting this adventure with. Any tips for beginners?”
This was me last September when I was rallying all the homeschooling moms I could find to let me pick their ear, soak up their wisdom, and figure out if I was cut out for this life. (I already knew it was the right decision for my kids).
Fast forward to today. If you get me in a private conversation about homeschooling, I’ll strong-arm you into it (just ask some of my friends who I’ve convinced to leap into this BEAUTIFUL life).
And I know there are lots of you reading this or talking to other parents out there who are in the same in-between decision space right now. So I made a reel about it.
(Side note: This reel is on my NEW Instagram account, so if you haven’t followed yet, I’d love it if you came and said hi between newsletters over there).
If you’re feeling any kind of uncertainty heading into your first year of homeschooling, know this — you will figure it out.
Your routine might not look like the same one you start out with…
Your curriculum might change as you see what your kids resonate best with…
Your family dynamics might change as you get deeper into the unschooling process…
… but you WILL figure it out along the way.
Shameless plug: I built the Homeschool Flow community to be a safer space than a Facebook group, where you can ask questions, gather resources, share ideas, and connect with other parents on this journey. If you or a parent you know wants more support deciding to homeschool or starting to homeschool, come inside for less than a cup of Starbucks a month!
This past week, we attended a Lake Day with our co-op. The kids played King of the Mat on a giant floating mat (my son’s personal favorite), we had a watermelon eating contest, and we tie-dyed some shirts!
The tie-dye process was made patriotic to prep for the upcoming 4th of July holiday week, and it’s something fun you can do with your entire family, too.
Grab some $3 shirts from Walmart, rubber bands, and red and blue tie-dye. Then, carve out time this week to soak, squish, and squirt your way to some fun!
Bonus: Wear your tie-dye shirts for a watermelon or hot dog eating contest on the Fourth!
I LOVE a good Charcuterie board.
I also LOVE a good themed food.
And I really LOVE an easy to prep platter for sharing with friends.
This idea from Our Winton Home checks all those boxes.
One question I get a lot is, how do you make money while you homeschool?
Another question I get often is, how do you find time to work?
Finding the time to work is easy for me. I’m a morning person. I wake up before the sunrise and get my creative juices flowing. But that’s not the real time-hack.
When homeschooling, it’s CRAZY hard to stop what you’re doing to log into a meeting. That’s why I’ve intentionally shifted almost all of my contracts and clients (I only have a few that I love) to working asynchronously, or without meetings.
They often love it because there isn’t another meeting on the calendar that could be solved with a Slack message.
I love it because I get to work when I’m the most productive and creative, giving them better results.
When my kids go to jiujitsu or an extracurricular, I check in throughout the day and make sure they always know what I’m working on.
The result: No meetings. Lots of communication and updates. Even more productivity and positive results. Everyone wins.
If you’re a freelancer or wanting to earn some freelance money, working asynchronously is the way to go.
I’ve thought about putting together a course on how I’ve designed this business model.
Spoiler alert: GET THE CAMPER!
That’s it for this week! Unless… you’re a member! Upgrade to paid and let’s keep the conversation going.
~ Kimberly
P.S. Do you manage a co-op, formal or informal? If you bring in 5 moms, you all get a 50% discount inside the Homeschool Flow.