Teaching Multiple Ages: Homeschooling Me - Learning to be Flexible (part 8 in a series)
Originally published in 2014
At one point in time, I had a high schooler, a middle schooler, a child in elementary, and a child in preschool. We hadn’t exactly planned it that way, but that was the reality of it. I’m not going to lie to you. There were days when I couldn’t figure out what “stage” of life I was in. Most of my friends had kids that were all fairly close in age, so from my perspective, they were in a specific stage of child-rearing. I, however, felt like I was all over the place with children so spread out in age.
There was no way I could teach four different levels of every subject. It was out of necessity that I went to an integrated format whenever possible. It was out of sheer necessity and the need to keep my sanity that we began to immerse our entire family in the same historical time periods for our study of history and in similar literary selections for our study of literature. Sure, the approach was adapted to fit the needs and level of each child, but I didn’t have to juggle multiple history and literature texts. The decision to approach history and literature in that way was in and of itself REVOLUTIONIZING for our home. It relieved so much stress.
When I needed to spend individual time with one of the boys, I usually “assigned” an older sibling to read to our younger boys, play an educational game, or watch an assigned video. Audiobooks and stories were also great ways to keep my younger children occupied when I needed to work with one specific child. Did it always work? NOWAY! Another challenge of homeschooling a wide range of ages is the need for one-on-one time with each child. Once again, this necessitated me studying each child and finding out what their"hot button" areas of interest were. This allowed me to take advantage of unexpected one-on-one time with them that might happen in the car, at a doctor's office, etc., and allow me to start up conversations based on their area of interest. In addition, I also LOVED to go on "dates" with my boys and include an activity that they LOVED to do. It could have been going to the hobby shop, launching model rockets, going to a pottery store and painting pottery together, going to a baseball game or doing any number of activities that they were interested in. This gave me a chance to just be the "mom" instead of always the teacher.
This brings me to a vital principle of teaching multiple ages. When teaching multiple ages, you can feel stretched very thin...so thin, in fact, that you feel like you are having to homeschool 24/7 just to get the basics done with your children. May I make a suggestion? Stop, breathe, and take time to just be the "mommy"...to have fun with them...to relax with them...to ENJOY them. Don't get so busy teaching that you forget the nurturing part of parenting. Teaching multiple ages can be challenging! But remember Philippians 1:6. "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Notice it says that He will "carry it on to completion." Raising children is ultimately a work that God has begun and He WILL complete it. We are not meant to walk this journey alone or to carry the burdens of parenting alone. We have one that is "closer than a brother."
Conclusion: So this concludes our Homeschooling Me? Series. Homeschooling myself was not even on my radar when starting my homeschooling journey. However, it has been such an important aspect of my journey along this path. To have the opportunity to learn principles, content, and subject matter right alongside my children has broadened my horizons and deepened my understanding. But it has gone so much deeper than that. Homeschooling has been a way of having hands-on learning experiences in the areas of time management, trust, faithfulness, teamwork, relationships, priorities, and the list goes on. It is a journey I will never regret embarking on and one I’m sad to see coming to an end.
