Simple Homeschooling 101: What to Teach and When to Teach It ~
Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool

More than once during my 15 years of homeschooling, I wished I could find a resource that would simply list the basic subjects we needed to cover as well as give me ideas for how and when to prioritize them.

I found plenty of conflicting and over-complicated descriptions, but here, in the name of “Simple” Homeschool and as a veteran/retired homeschooler, I have created for all of you what I once wanted and needed.

Prefer to listen instead? Look for episode 62 of the SH podcast!

To begin Simple Homeschooling 101, here is a list of the four basic subjects:

• Language Arts: Includes reading, writing (handwriting/spelling/grammar/composition), and literature
• Math
• Science
• History

Then depending on your child’s age/grade, you might add in things like:

• PE/Health, Foreign Language, and electives, centered around your kids’ interests, future goals, and your family’s priorities

Below, I’ll share how our family covered these subjects in an outside-the-box way through the years.

Remember: Personalization is the goal, and your homeschool doesn’t have to look like “school” to inspire real learning.

This is not at all a “Homeschooling 101” formula to follow, as you don’t need that! There are a million ways to run a “successful” homeschool, and zero ways to run a perfect one.

Don’t seek to follow my plan or anyone else’s – adapt everything (yes, even that official looking curriculum!) to suit your family’s needs.

I originally divided this article into the traditional categories of elementary, middle, and high school, only to realize that most of my recommendations for middle and high were the same, so I’ve switched to two categories instead: one covering ages 5-12, and one for teens.

Simple Homeschooling 101: What to Teach and When to Teach It (Updated!)

Early Schooling (ages 5-12)

Our family’s main goal during this time was to have our children make tiny, incremental progress in core subjects, while maintaining their love of learning. The traditional system tends to overemphasize a child’s progress while often doing away with the love.

A child’s brain is wired to learn best through play during this time, so keep that in mind as you think about the subjects that you hope to cover. This is especially true for ages 5-9, with slowly increasing maturity as they hit double digits.

Learning to Read – We only did this officially when we felt like each child was interested and ready, and not all children need formal reading instruction – some teach themselves!

If you do need or want to introduce this, I would recommend All About Reading, Reading Eggs, or simply a BrainQuest workbook (afflinks), and start out small – five minute lessons with lots of praise (and/or bribery) as needed.

Learning to Write – When you feel they’re ready, teach your child to form capital and lowercase letters (any basic workbook can help with this, or you may not even need one).

Once they have mastered them, begin doing copywork – copying a few words or a sentence each day. Use their name, inspiring quotes, or passages from their favorite book!

This sets the foundation for spelling and grammar later on.

If you want to add in formal spelling, I recommend All About Spelling – but remember those super-short, high-motivation lessons are key! 5-15 minutes is plenty, and only as a formal practice after your child has a beginner’s grasp on reading.

For grammar, we used Mad Libs, not diving into anything more formal until the tween/teen years.

Literature – We read, read, and read aloud some more during this range, enjoying the natural conversations that would arise through that time together, not trying to force “narration” or anything too schooly. Substitute audiobooks if reading aloud isn’t enjoyable for you.

What should you read? Use a guide to help you discover classics, like my own book (for a global lens) Give Your Child the World, Honey for A Child’s Heart, or The Read-Aloud Family, as well as adding in books that interest you and yours!

We also used audio stories from Sparkle Stories a lot at this age as a “slow media” alternative to excess screentime – they gave us a break and occupied many car rides, too!

Math – We read math books in the early years and enjoyed Bedtime Math, mixed with a little gameschooling for good measure. Later we introduced an online curriculum when it seemed like the kids were ready for more, allowing them to dip in and out as they wanted.

Science – We enjoyed informal nature study, read-alouds, and an outdoor wilderness program for science, not doing any formal curriculum until the teen years, but just what interested each child when it came to this subject. (Long-time readers will remember my son’s intense meteorology phase.)

History – Likewise we covered this mainly through read-alouds and videos during this age range, and it worked so well that my kids fell in love with history and wanted to study it more deeply as teens.

If you want to take it further, begin a history timeline. And if you feel memory work is important in this subject or any other, look for play-based resources (songs, etc) to help you accomplish that.

Interests – Everything Else! This is where we dove into my own interests, family priorities like Bible, and the interests of the children. This is what we emphasized the most during this age range.

Teen Schooling (ages 13+)

Don’t be afraid of homeschooling middle or high school! Generally speaking, 120 hours spent on a subject (including a student’s personal reading, documentaries, online courses, and formal work) or 75% of a textbook completed equals one credit.

Once you get familiar with the process, it’s not scary, and sites like FastTranscripts.com make it a breeze to quantify your teen’s learning in a way that colleges can understand.

Our family’s homeschooling goal during the teen years has always been to meet the minimum requirements for graduation, and then allow tons of extra time to pursue areas of interest and passion!

Language Arts – Here are some of the resources that worked well for us, which we adapted to each child’s interest level and ability:

• Sonlight (literature/history/Bible)
• TJEd High (online mentoring in literature and leadership)
• Wordsmith Craftsman (after searching for AGES, this thin guide contains everything your high schooler needs in order to write well!)
• All About Spelling – We only taught spelling after age 10+, when I could tell whether or not my children were natural spellers. At older ages they progressed quickly and were motivated, too.
• Grammar: Both Fix It Grammar and Life of Fred Language Arts worked well for us!

Math – Using online resources for math allowed me to outsource this subject, which I loved! We mainly used Teaching Textbooks as a key component in our homeschooling 101.

Science – We tried a variety of higher level science options, but the best fit for us ended up being the courses from All in One High School. (Bonus: They’re FREE!!!) We loved it because it was self-sufficient for my child to complete on his own, and was just right for a student who needs a solid overview of the subject but isn’t planning to go into a science-related field.

If your student might want to explore a STEM-related field in their future, the online classes from My Fun Science are highly reputable and recommended!

PE/Health – Our outdoor wilderness school, C25K and Calm apps, and a basic health textbook

Foreign Language – A combination of Duolingo, All in One Spanish, and private tutoring worked perfectly for us!

History – Sonlight, lots of reading (both fiction and non-fiction), Big Fat Notebooks, and the occasional workbook

Current Events – Watching and discussing CNN10 and The World from A to Z led to incredible discussions over the years (sometimes we still watch and discuss these together!)

Electives: This is where teens can focus on areas of interest – it’s where homeschoolers can thrive in ways that teens in traditional school just don’t have the hours for!

Also use electives to focus on your family priorities, like Bible Study, Life Skills, etc. Some of the specialized courses we created for my high schoolers included Drawing, Music Theory, Film Studies, Animation, Lighting Design Technology, and more.

We have seen this interest-led approach go on to serve the children well as they continue to slowly enter their post-homeschooling phase of life. When Jonathan applied to colleges for Lighting Design, he was told that his current level of skill was already similar to that of a college graduate in the field, so they weren’t sure he would “fit in.”

He appreciated their candor and opted out! (Though he did get in to both places he applied.)

Instead of college, he ended up getting hired by a variety of A-list celebrities within a year of high school graduation, and is currently touring worldwide with various artists.

This was never our intention, plan, or goal when we let him pursue his interest through high school, but it is remarkable to see that what one does for love and interest can go on to translate into a satisfying work life!

I hope this list has served as a helpful Simple Homeschooling 101 for you – simplifying your thinking about what to teach and when to teach it!

When we lean into the freedom and flexibility homeschooling has to offer, we can craft a beautiful and highly individualized education that suits each child best, and sets them up well for wherever life may take them.

* Read more of Jamie’s popular posts on Simple Homeschool here.

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

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Intentional Mediocrity: A Homeschool Not To Do List ~
Written by Kari Patterson

“Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” -GK Chesterton

Okay, this quote doesn’t top the charts of most-inspiring, but this idea has helped me immensely through the last 15 years of motherhood, homeschooling, and juggling the never-ending demands of ministry life.

Prefer to listen instead? Check out Episode 69 of the Simple Homeschool podcast!

Like you, I’ve been asked many times: “How do you do it all?”

And my answer is always: “I don’t.”

On those glass-is-half-empty days, when I’m discouraged and my perspective is skewed, I feel as though I don’t do anything well.

Dinner’s made, but it’s chicken and rice again. Laundry’s done, because I no longer fold. Kids finished school because I told Heidi to skip the Base 2 math problems (again). The house is tidied but the sliding glass door has so many smeared handprints I can barely see through it.

But eventually I remind myself of Chesterton’s wisdom and the power of intentional mediocrity.

Truth: We can’t be awesome everywhere.

I remember reading Michael Hyatt’s book Platform years ago, where he teaches the importance of exceeding customer’s expectations, of “baking in the Wow” to every aspect of your business. And I remember writing this realization in my journal that day:

“I can’t be awesome everywhere. I can’t ‘bake in the Wow’ in every area of life.”

Truth: Some things have to be neglected. 

Sadly, many people only “bake in the Wow” in the business world, or in the areas of life that are visible to others, but neglect the hidden places, the small people, or the health of their souls. We’re all in danger of mis-prioritizing which areas are worthy of Wow.

We’re wise to give it some consideration so we don’t drop the ball on what really matters.

Our task as parents and home-educators is to thoughtfully and intentionally choose where we will “bake in the Wow” (i.e. focus our attention) and where we will deliberately and confidently choose mediocrity.

If we don’t do this we’ll be enslaved to perfectionism, or convinced we must be failing since not everything is awesome.

One simple exercise that can help: A well-chosen Homeschool Not To Do list. 

Of course my priorities will likely be different from yours. There’s freedom, friends! But as a friend sharing with a friend, here’s a bit of what this looks like for me.

Creating a Homeschool Not To Do List

1. I don’t extra-clean before company comes over. I keep our house medium. Clean enough that you feel welcome (and aren’t grossed out!) but not so perfect that you’re impressed. My goal is to welcome, not impress.
2. I don’t fold laundry, except Jeff’s.
3. I don’t work out. Prayer walks alone, hikes with the kids, and house-cleaning have to suffice.
4. I don’t make elaborate meals. Simple and healthy, that’s it.
5. I don’t try to keep up with fashion, for myself or my house. I try to keep myself and home looking nice with tasteful choices, that’s it. (Side note: I switched to Stitch Fix for this very reason. No more shopping, ever!)
6. I don’t cook breakfast or lunch. I keep simple items on hand, and the kids can take care of this themselves.
7. I don’t worry a lot about school subjects outside the 3 R’s. Other subjects are electives.
8. I don’t watch TV or keep up on news and media much.

Hopefully, this Homeschool Not To Do list helps me focus more on what matters to me most:

1. I will listen to my children and others as much as I can, truly seeking to understand them as much as possible.
2. I will read, to myself and to my children, excellent books that draw my mind to beauty, courage, and truth.
3. I will sleep eight hours a night and observe a 24-hour restful day each week.
4. I will spend the extra time and money to create nutritious meals that strengthen our bodies and immune systems.
5. I will discipline and train my children to be a blessing to our family and others.
6. I will seek to love and serve the people in my immediate sphere — friends, neighbors, church family.
7. I will respond to immediate, pressing needs when I’m made aware of them.
8. I will follow the FlyLady and clean what she tells me to clean.

Every single one of the things on this latter list is really time-consuming. Listening and seeking to understand others is time-consuming. Taking time to sleep and rest is time-consuming. Cooking nutritious meals is time-consuming. But worth it. Why?

Because it’s also life-giving. 

Again, your list will look different from mine, but it can help to actually sit down and figure it out: Where do I want to be intentionally mediocre so I can give myself fully to “bake in the Wow” where it counts? 

Perhaps being present with others and listening to them doesn’t seem like a “Wow” thing to do, but you know what? In a world that’s hurting and divided and discouraged, isn’t that what most people, including our children, are longing for?

Let’s bake in the Wow where it matters most. 

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!

I Am: On Crying in the Shower/Ending My Homeschooling Journey ~
Written by Jamie C. Martin of Simple Homeschool and Introverted Moms

Ya’ll, I put my son on the school bus this morning…and then sobbed.

Not because it was the wrong thing to do; I know in my bones it couldn’t be more right. But because this whole summer has been a series of small endings, and this morning was the final one.

My homeschooling journey of 15 years is officially over.

I’m so proud of all three of my “no-longer-kid” kids:

• Trishna (age 20), learning so much about herself and the world as she works in her first job
• Jonathan (age 19), on tour with the Jonas Brothers as their Lighting Director through the end of 2023
• Elijah (age 18), beginning our town’s school program for special needs students ages 18-22

Each one of them has stepped out of their comfort zones in new ways this year and has continued developing their unique skills, gifts, and potential – does it get any better than that as a parent?!

At my homeschool retirement party back in June, I shared with our closest friends a reflection I’d written to give a snapshot of all of the highs and lows that come with the journey of home education.

Today I wanted to share it with you as well below! Note: I also recorded the poem for Episode 116 of my Simple Homeschool podcast and chatted more in-depth about the end of the journey if you care to listen in!

In Episode 116 my son Jonathan joined me (before he hit the road with Nick, Joe, and Kevin that is, LOL) and we also talked about the following:

• The different components of my retirement party: pop quiz, champagne toast, poetry, prayer
• The letter Jonathan wrote to me when he graduated in 2022
• Jamie reads aloud the poem she wrote and read at her homeschool retirement
• Find pics/video of my retirement party pinned on my Instagram profile

I Am: On Crying in the Shower/Ending the Homeschooling Journey

I cry in the shower.
There’s a certain spot where I lean my forehead, watch tears join the water stream, flow as one down the glass.
I want to quit. Instead I get a towel, prepare for another day.
I tell myself, “10 years from now, I’ll be glad I kept going,” And I am.

I rest my childhood copy of Farmer Boy on the counter, surrounded by flour, rolling pin and messes waiting for later.
The scent of apple turnovers, like Ma used to make, infiltrates the kitchen and seeps onto the porch.
Soon the still-hot treats burn small, impatient fingers as I pick up the book and read to captivated ears.
“10 years from now this will be nothing more than a memory,” I remind myself. And it is.

I sit next to a child at the table and wonder what’s wrong.
Sensing I should ask, I also just want to get this assignment done. I inhale impatience, exhale a question: “Is something bothering you?”
Out it comes: the fear, the worry, the burden. I can’t fix it, but I can half its weight.
“10 years from now I’ll be glad I stopped the lesson,” I tell myself. And I am.

I glance out the window to see childhood innocence in motion.
On the tree swing, a colorful dress-up cape flutters with each push, kite’s tail caught by the wind.
I stop the dishes, pick up my camera, head outside.
“10 years from now I will still treasure this moment.” And I do.

I passed Weary two miles ago and can’t check off another box.
Declaring it movie day, sofas and thick blankets become our desks and chairs as favorite stories take shape before us.
Chatter ceases for at least a minute, as I sip Earl Grey and rest my eyes.
“10 years from now, “ I convince myself, “I’ll be relieved I pressed pause on this day.” And I am.

I close the read aloud as an impromptu theatre production breaks out.
They grab props, costumes, and each other: one the villain, the others the heroes.
I fulfill my role as audience, then gently segue to a new activity before fighting erupts.
“10 years from now I’ll remember this performance, made for my eyes only.” And I do.

I pray downstairs as shouts descend one floor above, derailing my beautifully laid-out plans.
Surrounded by comfort objects: Bible, books, earplugs, I ask God for the millionth time: “Am I doing anything right for these children?”
Once again he whispers words I once again try to believe:
“10 years from now, you’ll clearly see the impact your work has made on their lives.” And I can.

A lifetime of daily memories thread together on a string, but not the glimmering garland of pearls you’d want decorating your tree.
Ours is rough and ragged, bitter and sweet forever fused together.
My moments of inadequacy match those of plenty, yet my loaves and fish multiply.
I’m there for every first word read, milestone reached, lesson learned.
By God’s grace I longed to give them the education I never received. And I have.

I go back in time, slide a note under the door to the discouraged mom stepping out of the shower.
“10 years from now,” it reads, “the thousands of snapshots of delight, sorrow, laughter, sacrifice, and growth will be worth it, but not just for your kids…
You will have evolved into a completely different, much stronger person.”
And I am.

*****

For those of you who have already or are just now ending the homeschooling journey too, I’d love to know what the transition has been like for you! Share your thoughts in the comments below! 

What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your type needs most!