A New Year at the Kitchen Table: Homeschooling with Heart
The perks of homeschooling? For one you will never catch me waking up at 6AM to wait in a drop off line at our local elementary but hey whatever floats your boat. We chose this life for flexibility and most importantly to give our kids the opportunity to really know who they are without the background noise and the world molding them into something they are not. September always feels like a quiet beginning in our home with the start of our homeschool year and I also think that softness aligns well with my goal as the kids are also joining me in creative pursuits.
This year, our homeschool begins again with a new baby in the mix. And if I’ve learned anything over time, it’s this: the year never looks the way I imagine it will… and that’s not a failure. So what am I carrying into this school year?
pictured here is an old lesson but one of my absolute favorites. we completely changed course and i switched curriculum the night before so that we could have a whole day learning about solar eclipses, we had to opportunity to see one that day.
In the early years, I tried to replicate school. Schedules down to the minute and curriculum stacked high. My father is a fourth grade teacher and an exceptional one at that. I look up to him and at times feel a quiet pressure to do it right. But homeschooling has gently undone that thought process in me.
Over time, I’ve learned that the most meaningful learning rarely happens when everything goes according to plan. It happens in the pause. In conversations that wander from three very curious bigs (what we call our three oldest kids). In the mornings when we abandon the lesson to tend to a fussy baby or follow a child’s sudden wonder.
This year, my intentions are simple. I want to lead with connection before perfection. To let our days breathe while still maintaining our educational growth and duties of keeping a home and to remember that education is something we live, not something we rush through. Homeschooling with a baby has changed the rhythm of our days by softening them in some sort. Our lessons are shorter. Expectations are gentler. My kids finish independent work while I'm nursing Genevieve and …we pause often. This is particularly a hard one for me as I unlearn that my worth isn't tethered to how much I do. The older kids learn patience, flexibility, and care in ways no curriculum could teach and if I have done my job right then they will grow to be much better than me. I pray at the end of this journey, that I've created a solid foundation for them to fly high.
Some days, the baby naps peacefully and the work flows. Other days, nothing gets “done.” And yet those days still hold value. They teach my children that learning exists alongside real life, that tending to one another matters and that family is not something we fit around school, but something school can grow from… we are a team.
pictured here is my second, Romina, and her best friend who is also homeschooled… she’s my best friends daughter. we call them the twins. i love that we take days once in a while to school our babies alongside eachother.
So here is my plan for days with rhythms:
Morning connection before books open
Focused learning blocks instead of full days at the table
Afternoons for life skills, creativity, and rest
Evenings that close gently, not rushed or overstimulated
Living books that spark conversation
Hands-on math and storytelling approaches
Read-alouds that stretch across ages
Novelty weekends and real-world learning
Homeschooling has given us something I never want to lose: more time together. Time to notice one another. Time to move slowly. Time to build a family culture rooted in presence rather than productivity. Our children learn not just academics, but how to live in a home where questions are welcomed. Curiosity is honored and everyone belongs at the table. They know that even the littlest of voices should be heard.
If there’s one thing I hope to remember this school year, it’s this: We are not behind. We are not failing. We are building something lasting. Homeschooling, for us, is not about replicating a system, it’s about nurturing whole humans. So here we are again. A new year. A full table. A baby in my arms. And a quiet confidence that this… exactly as it is, is in fact enough.