Homeschool Coaching (now in a course)

I started blogging, very casually and informally, when my children were 5, 3 and 22 months.

In one of my very first blog posts I wrote this,

Our hike today was a great example of homeschooling at it's best. The kids explored science, geography and were physically active. Not to mention the enjoyable conversation we had while hiking & picnicking which including the above "subjects" but also just general life stuff. Sometime later I will expound more on our homeschool philosophy but very briefly it's not school-at-home. It's learning together through play, conversations, reading, exploring etc..

Needless to say I'm very excited about it and I'm looking forward to spending these growing years with my children.

I've been "expounding" on my homeschool ideas ever since that first homeschool post in September 2004. But more than that, much more, I've been living the "it's not school-at-home" philosophy, our homeschool practice, through all the ages and stages of our kids' growing up years.

Experience

My children are now young adults. We've homeschooled through preschool, elementary, middle years, high school and now everyone is in post-secondary studies while living at our home in Montreal.

My husband and I like to say that our current homeschool project is launching young adults.

With a Bachelors degree in Education I was trained in education theory, developmental psychology, and classroom teaching. When I became a mother and then homeschooler, I put those ideas to the test, learned new ones and practiced living into the freedom of choosing the "best fit" for our family, for my children. Now, as a graduate student in Educational Studies, I critique the school system and study alternatives, with those hopes of affecting change in a context outside of my own family and home.

Philosophy

My homeschool philosophy has evolved through the years. Here is the most recent iteration from our son's graduating portfolio.

We believe that learning's highest aim, and primary purpose, is to build relationship; with self, God, each other, and with knowledge itself.

We believe the most successful and satisfying learning experiences are those that are self-motivated, driven by learner-interest and engagement, and facilitated by trust.

Fundamentally, we believe this kind of education is a student-centered endeavour.

Education is to develop the independent thinking and autonomous action of the individual in the collective context of family, community, and society; and is to equip the individual with the skills, knowledge and perspective that enables one to fulfill a life purpose in service of that collective context.

In our homeschool, the curriculum and the methodology by which we teach are designed and delivered primarily around the needs of the child. As parent-educators, in intimate contact with our child since birth, we depend on that close connection, while accessing a myriad of resources and tools, to help us meet the academic, social, physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of our child.

We have been highly influenced by the philosophy of John Holt, who said, “Since we can’t know what knowledge will be the most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance. Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much, and learn so well, that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned.”

The main purpose of our homeschool curriculum and methodologies is to teach our children how to learn.

My course Freedom Education teaches you how to hone your own philosophy of education and build a homeschool practice in alignment with who you are and who your child is. (Relationship always comes before ideology.)

I'd like to help you in your homeschool journey.

I've created Freedom Education for parents who:

• want to create an "it's not school-at-home" learning environment that's the best fit for their family.
• want to feel confident in the work they do as homeschoolers.
• want to foster a "love of learning" home environment that develops not just academic knowledge and growth, but strong relationship with each other.
• need super practical tips and solutions for making their homeschool desires and dreams come to life.
• need help supporting, guiding and directing a kid that doesn't fit the mold; a child with a learning disability or obscure interests. You know, the quirky, cool kids.
• need help with hands-on solutions for managing their home and their kids' education.
• want to provide a rich home learning environment where everyone's needs, including the homeschool parent, are met.
• want to nurture and support their child's innate interests while making sure their child develops and grows academically and holistically.

If you know in your heart that you want to explore a freedom homeschool path, where everyone (including you) is free to develop, learn and grow according to interest and need, where relationships and knowledge flourish, Freedom Education is for you.

I'd love help you walk this journey of homeschooling with more confidence and courage. Because you can do this!