Homeschooling Middle School

Description

Homeschooling middle school can be hard. Would I homeschool middle school all over again? You bet! It’s truly my favorite.

I haven’t always liked middle schoolers.

Long before homeschooling, and before I got my position as an elementary teacher in the public school system, I was a substitute teacher. I was called day in and day out to sub everything from kindergarten through 12th grade. After only a handful of times substituting in the middle school grades, I told the central office that they were welcome to call me for any grade level EXCEPT middle school. Looking back, I suppose it was the hormonal madness of that age group that made my experiences so terrible, but it’s important for you to know that I didn’t enter homeschooling with an excitement for teaching 6-8th graders.

How could I possibly love middle schoolers so much now? Lot’s of reasons, I think. 

First, homeschooling middle school is nothing like the middle school classroom.

Yes, there are still hormonal fluctuations to work through, but doing that alongside my children with a heart for their daily struggle to move into adulthood has been my privilege. All they really need, most of the time, is an understanding of what’s happening inside their bodies and reassurance that they will receive grace when the “monsterous hormones” take over their common sense for a little while.

With that in place, it’s pretty easy focus in on the other good stuff. 

I like to think of the middle school homeschool as a magical land between the hard work of skill building in the elementary years and the more serious, somewhat prescribed work necessary in the high school years. In these magical years, kiddos generally know how to read well and do basic math, and yet there isn’t anything urgently pressing that must be taught for the college transcript. That leaves time full of amazing freedom to make school awesome without a ton of pressure.

It’s during these years that our children can dig into learning with the sky as their limit. Now, hang on a minute. I fully realize not every middle schooler is ready or willing to dig into learning. That’s where YOU come in! With a little effort, flexibility, and creativity, you can coax almost any student into finding at least a little joy in homeschooling. And, if there are skills that still need to be sharpened, you have the beautiful gift of extra time.

During this masterclass, I’ll get your creative juices flowing with all sorts of possibilities! We won’t limit our discussion to only learning possibilities. We’ll talk about ways to handle those hormonal moments, the importance of friends, and other topics that will help you love the middle school years, too!

Approximately 1.5 hours of training and Q&A.

BONUS: You’ll have forever access to the video replay and can ask additional questions in a special Facebook group set up just for you!