When I was pregnant with my oldest, I was in college to become a teacher. I had dreams of staying home with my kids. With my husband also in college at the time, we needed me to work. So, I finished out my college years and became a public school teacher.

After two years in the public school system, I decided that wasn’t what I wanted for myself or my kids for the long term. After two years of teaching, and as my son wrapped up his second-grade year, I talked my husband into letting me try homeschooling.

Now, as we are wrapping up our 16th year of homeschooling, I find myself reflecting on how my homeschool has evolved through the years. We are sixteen years into our homeschool journey, and it looks nothing like I imagined it would.

My Homeschool Has Evolved

It’s easy to see rainbows and butterflies as you envision your future. I mean, who could ever predict the struggles and the battles and the times you just want to give up? Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t foresee them.

The Early Years

When we started homeschooling, way back when, my oldest was going into the third grade and my youngest (at the time) was four. Fresh out of the public school system, I set out to replicate my classroom in my basement. It was a disaster, and I had to change my strategy quickly!

We switched to a mixture of hands-on unit studies and a few textbooks for core subjects. I never thought about combining the boys when possible so I spent my days juggling two separate sets of lesson plans – 3rd grade and preschool.

Over the next few years, we’d add one more kiddo to the mix meaning my kids were all 4-5 years/grades apart. I struggled to find balance with three kids so far apart in age, but we managed to push through and actually have lots of fun as we went along. At this point, thanks to some of my favorite homeschool blogs,

At this point, thanks to some of my favorite homeschool blogs, I combined the kids whenever I could. If my oldest was working on a topic in science or history, I tried to find a comparable activity for the two youngers kids to do so we were all {basically} on the same page.

It was amazing to watch my kids grasp new concepts, but it was even more amazing to watch them become friends. My younger two, five years apart, were best friends for many years. Our family was close, and we thoroughly enjoyed being together. That made the tough days more manageable.

The Middle Years

Fast forward a few years, we moved cross-country and my husband wanted to let my oldest attend our local public high school. He thought it would be a great way for Logan to make friends and prepare for college. That year, I homeschooled the younger two who were in 5th grade and kindergarten.

There wasn’t a lot of combining that year. Isaac, my middle child, continued to do unit studies and a few textbooks while Em, my kinder, was mostly delight-directed. We studied lots and lots of animals over the next few years. I’m pretty sure we did every animal-themed lapbook at Homeschool Share.

Logan came back home mid-sophomore year, and he finished out the remainder of his high school years at home. He did a mixture of online classes and self-directed textbooks.

For a variety of reasons, it was never our intention to put our others in public school. However, as Isaac (my middle) neared his freshman year, he started pushing to go to school. Lucky for him, a charter school opened up in our town, and he won a spot in the lottery drawing. It was a perfect fit for him!

At this point, my oldest had graduated, my middle was at the charter school full time, and I was homeschooling just my youngest. As a competitive dancer, we spent our school year juggling schoolwork and a busy travel/rehearsal schedule. I was so thankful for the flexibility we had!

The End is Near

I truly can’t believe I’m nearing the end of our homeschool journey. Isaac finished out his high school years at the public high school, and he’s now wrapping up his freshman year at college.

Em and I are still homeschooling, and we’re wrapping up the 8th grade. It’s sad to think that I’m closing in on the end of my homeschool journey. And our homeschool is about to change course again.

Next year, Em’s freshman year of high school, she’ll be splitting her time between home and co-op. She’s going to take pottery, literature, math, and science at co-op. I’ll be teaching history, grammar, and Bible at home. She’s hoping to increase her hours at the ballet studio, as well, which I’ll count as her PE credit.

It already feels weird. It feels weird to only be planning for a couple of subjects. It feels weird to turn over control of her core subjects to someone else. Up to this point, she’s only taken electives at co-op.

It also feels weird to sit and wonder what I’ll do with myself on those days she’s at co-op. I’m sure the first few weeks will be nice as I tackle that chore list that never gets done or schedule appointments I’ve been putting off. But, after the new wears off… then what? It’s been so long since I’ve not been a full-time homeschool mom.

I guess the next chapter will be titled the evolution of ME.

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