Homeschooling in Canada – Lisa Lundeborg

My wonderful and rewarding Homeschool journey started late 2013.

My daughter attended a private Christian Elementary school from JK to Grade 2. When she was in grade 2, she asked to be Homeschooled. My husband and I were surprised! What does a child of this age know about Homeschooling? We had been considering other options for schooling at the time, because we had just had another child and knew we couldn’t afford to have two children in private school.

We started to research Homeschooling. My Sister in Law Homeschooled her children and had always encouraged us to Homeschool. I always thought it wasn’t for me. I loved school growing up. I wanted my kids to be part of a team, part of a classroom… but as I started to understand what Homeschooling was, I realized that you can still have those things with other Homsechoolers.

I was concerned about Post Secondary. If my children are Homeschooled, will they be accepted by a Post Secondary institution? I have learnt that yes! my children can enter University or College as Homeschoolers. Other Homeschooling parents have educated me on what is out there by way of learning. High schoolers can get their credits via E-Learning and other ways.

Currently my children are learning at about a grade 1 and grade 6 level. I use the term ‘‘about‘‘ because my children excel in certain subjects and are able to move ahead of their grade level no matter what time of year it is. This is an advantage of Homeschooling. I do tend to go along with graded books to make sure I am not missing anything, but at the same time, I do try to encourage the love of learning (I love to learn), not just passing grade levels.

Our day starts with reading stories together, usually on the couch. These few minutes are so special, even at my daughter’s age.

We then head to the part of the house where we do ‘‘school‘‘. My kids usually start with Bible. This subject can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes. My daughter works mostly on her own in Bible, Math, English, Typing, Reading, Grammar, and French, but if she needs help with any of them, I help her. Once a week I test her with a new list for Spelling and daily I quiz her on her French.

I work with my son with Bible, Math, English/Phonics, Reading, Printing, Spelling, Mapping, and French. Due to his age, He completes a page of work or finishes a concept on the whiteboard and then has 5-10 minutes of playtime. Then he goes back to his school work, completes a page/whiteboard and then has playtime and on his morning goes….

I do have to schedule morning as much as possible (but still be flexible) so that I can teach my son and still be available for my daughter. Generally, when my son has his playtime, I let my daughter know that we should work on a certain subject at that time.

Both Children learn Science, Geography, History and Art together in the afternoon. This is our time to explore the world and life!

Homeschooling can be busy, but so rewarding. Seeing your children learn and spending time with them is a blessing. I know I will look back on my life and know it was worth it all.

Lisa Lundeborg