 Hi you guys my name is Brittany and welcome back to my youtube channel. You guys in today's video I'm going to be sharing all of my biggest homeschooling mistakes. You guys this video was definitely inspired by another youtuber's channel. Her name is Michelle G I absolutely love watching Michelle's videos. I love her perspective and her thoughts and her ideas about homeschooling And I love her unique take on homeschooling her videos. They really really they get me thinking. I love Watching people that's challenging like my thoughts and my opinions and I really love hearing her thoughts and her opinions That she shares on her youtube channel I'm going to link her channel down below because She has some very thought provoking videos that she has made that I have thoroughly enjoyed so Uh in a response to Michelle's video where she shared her biggest homeschooling mistakes I am going to be sharing all of my biggest homeschooling mistakes Really in hopes to help any of you guys who are just starting off in your homeschooling journey And really just to share the more vulnerable side of me and my homeschool and my homeschooling journey I really hope that my channel doesn't make it seem like my homeschool is this like picture perfect homeschool Because it definitely isn't I really went through the drenches in my homeschool especially in my first Two years really trying to find my footing in this homeschooling community And I really hope today's video will just share with you guys Some of my lows and how I have I guess pivoted and changed throughout the seasons of my homeschooling journey So first things first my first homeschooling mistake that I've made was mimicking other homeschoolers that I've seen on youtube Now one of my absolute favorite homeschoolers that I first started off watching on youtube was Tori From the Oglesby on Hannah and I really found myself in my first year of homeschooling really mimicking her style of homeschool While Tori did a lot of things that really helped me in my first year of homeschool Some things that she did in her homeschool wasn't beneficial to me in my homeschool And it really took me some time to be able to break away from I guess Those people that we look up to to be able to find my own footing in my homeschool And find things and resources that was going to work out for me and for my kiddos I definitely found myself really mimicking other youtubers and other homeschoolers that I was seeing because I don't have anyone around me that I could actually see I guess that homeschooling journey being like shown out None of my family members have ever homeschooled. I really believe i'm the first one to start this homeschooling Adventure I am like the pioneer in my family So, um, I guess it was really scary for me Just to go ahead and start off with like no type of I guess Reproduction that you can kind of see a lot of times We either reproduce what we see in the school environment or we tend to mimic what we see other homeschoolers do Instead of really digging in deep and finding our own footing in our homeschooling journey And that was one of the mistakes that I made first off My second homeschooling mistake that I made was you guys I did not have Enough confidence in myself I lacked the confidence to be able to know that I had the ability to teach and educate my own children Regardless of my personal education background and I really feel like I allowed I limited myself a lot in my first few years of homeschooling Really doubting if I was truly capable to give them a well-rounded education And um, you guys like I definitely have proven My old self wrong because seeing the growth in my children throughout these years of homeschool I am in my fourth year of homeschool right now And it's just amazing to be able to see all the growth from my oldest daughter who is now in middle school We started off when she was in the third grade. She had public school experience for k in half of second We started homeschooling due to the pandemic So, uh, it was really from like second grade until sixth grade I was homeschooling her and really I guess laying those foundations with my oldest daughter And it's so crazy when I look back at some of her beginning work that she did in our homeschool Some of the record keeping that I saved to seeing what she's doing now And it just blows my mind that I was the one to facilitate Her education and to see all of that growth throughout these years and to really prove myself that you know I can do this and even when I feel like I'm lacking in certain areas I have the capability to outsource to research to educate myself in order for me to continue to Go along with my kiddos in their educational journey, especially as my oldest you guys. She's getting up here. So Um, I definitely will say not having confidence in myself was my biggest mistake that I've made in my early years of homeschooling My third mistake you guys that I made was trying to fit into mainstream Homeschooling trying the most trendy and popular curriculums and all of the homeschooling trends trying to keep up with that That was my third biggest mistakes. I have noticed throughout the homeschooling years It's always something new or trendy something popular a new curriculum that pops up And everybody wants to be on it like white on rice. Everybody wants to try out that new and shiny thing And um, I found myself on that bandwagon, especially within my first two years of homeschool I definitely will say when I started off my homeschooling journey you guys, um, It was two main homeschool curriculums that was out there Everyone was on them Which was the good and the beautiful and master books and I definitely will say they didn't you know, um, I guess For me personally It didn't match the hype that I was seeing on all of these variety of platforms those two particular curriculums But we're going to get into the curriculum mistakes that I've made A little bit further, but I definitely will say, uh, trendy, um, homeschooling trends I definitely was on those bandwagons But now I find myself creating and doing things in my own unique style that goes into my third Mistake that I feel like I made was my homeschool is unique I had to embrace the fact That you guys I love testing. I love grades I love a big old-fashioned big old teachers manual Um, I love those things in my homeschool and um in mainstream homeschooling You will see a lot of people steer away from you know the grades the traditional testing the traditional curriculum But I really enjoy those things being used In my homeschool. I don't know what it is I enjoy, uh, giving my daughter a grade after she finishes her math test and slapping a big old sticker on there And telling her that she did a good job I really enjoy seeing her growth when I do give my oldest daughter in particular Test and things like that because I really can't give like my kindergarten or my preschool or like tests or things like that Right now because they're still really really young But when my daughter hit like the fourth and the fifth grade my oldest that was really when I embraced the style of testing We do standardized testing in our homeschool And at first I really was nervous to have a state where I am required to do standardized testing Every third year, but now I have been doing standardized testing yearly In our homeschool and it's so beneficial to me and my homeschool for me to be able to see The particular areas of growth that she has the areas we need to hone in on and it's so useful for me because I'm able to see Okay, um, we can need to focus a little bit on vocabulary. We need to focus a little bit on reading comprehension I'm able to see those pinpoints of her academics where we can kind of hone in and if I didn't give her Any type of test or standardized test? I wouldn't be able to have that knowledge to be able to better serve my oldest daughter now my younger two When they get up here, I will begin testing them I probably will begin testing them in second grade because for the state of georgia We do have to start testing in the third grade So probably one year before the cutoff just to kind of get them into the mode of testing And for me to really see uh, where we are at in my homeschool. So That is one thing that I have totally embraced in my homeschool And I'm okay with that another thing that I have embraced or I guess a big mistake that I have made was trying to be This free and relaxed homeschooler. This like wild and free homeschooling mom You guys like I envy and I still sometimes envy a little bit these wild and free homeschool moms that really Just really embrace that like charlotte mason that nature study that you know, really free form of education And it's really beautiful to see those particular homeschools But to really be honest that is not me at all like And I had to embrace the fact that I am never going to be that homeschooler while it looks beautiful and Uh, it looks relaxed and it looks free flowing. That's just not me. That's just not my homeschool That's just not what my kiddos particularly crave in my homeschool And I had to be okay with that Um, another thing that I have made and my biggest mistakes that I've made and this goes into curriculum you guys Is curriculum hopping and switching Especially I did that too much in my earlier years not doing enough research when it came to my curriculum And some curriculum switches. I feel like I gave up on too soon. So A lot of that you guys really has come with experience I have so many videos on my channel and some of them right now They're cringy for me to watch uh of all the different curriculums that I have dabbled into and A lot of them I really regret I really feel like if I would have dug in deep and I would have did more research On the particular curriculums I probably wouldn't have purchased them in the first place because I would be really able to see Is this going to work for me in my homeschool or am I being influenced by What I'm seeing someone else using their homeschool and how it looks so beautiful and how it looks so fun in their homeschool But really being honest with myself and knowing Is this curriculum going to be a good fit for me for my homeschool and for my kiddos My number one biggest curriculum regret was really Falling into the cave of the height of the good and the beautiful when I first started off my homeschooling journey Um and also master books now There are some aspects of those particular curriculum companies that they do very well or they do okay But overall I really will say Compared to all of the great and excellent curricular resources out there I really feel like the good and beautiful and master books are really beginner level curriculums I feel like now we are seeing more and more people being open on this platform And really sharing their honest thoughts and opinions about the good and beautiful I felt like it was something wrong with me When the good and beautiful did not work in my homeschool because I was seeing it working In so many other people's homeschools I uh felt like it was something that I was doing wrong And I continuously tried to make this curriculum fit for us when it really was not I guess what I was looking for as far as laying that great Um foundation in my homeschool as far as my kiddos education Now the curricular choices that I have used Outside of that I have been thoroughly pleased with the results and with the foundation That it has laid for my kiddos and I definitely will say I am happy that more people are being open and more honest about their experiences with these particular curriculum companies and um I will always remain honest and open when it comes to my Personal experience with curricular companies and things that have worked out for us things that hasn't I really try my best in my curriculum reviews that I make now to really share the pros and the cons because you guys There is no perfect curriculum out there Even though I have settled in when it has come to my curricular choices in my homeschool I still can say they are not a hundred percent perfect I have made modifications and adjustments to make them fit us not me fit the curriculum And I think that took me a lot of time and experience to really be able to realize that Me hopping around from different curriculums is not going to help me I guess, uh, I guess reach those goals that I want to reach overall in my homeschool those educational goals that I want to reach I really need to remain consistent and uh continue to uh vet out quality Choices and you know, that's all I'm going to say when it comes to that. Um Another thing I will say is not being consistent in my homeschooling schedule and routines Really knocked me in my first two years of homeschool now when I started off my homeschooling journey you guys I did have a six month old and a two year old I was still breastfeeding and I was potty training It was a crazy season and me starting off my first year of homeschool I will say I did nail down a schedule pretty quickly But when I reached my second year of homeschool I was seeing people doing their schedules a little bit different and I tried to change it up And that was the worst mistake that I made was trying to change our schedule and routine Especially when we already had something that was flowing Just because I was seeing someone do something that was a little bit different and I wanted to try it You guys I learned my lesson the hard way having a consistent schedule and routine in our household Helps me be consistent when it comes to our homeschooling our times at week homeschool And I really found and learned that the hard way is when I found that schedule that worked for us I'm not changing it unless I absolutely have to of course, but for right now I have the same exact schedule that I have had in our first year of homeschool It just works for us and I'm going to keep it the same way it is is ideal for most No, but does it work for us in our household? Absolutely. Yes my next regret is Really neglecting myself and my personal needs in our homeschool you guys in our first few years of homeschool I was skipping out on mills. I was skipping breakfast. I was you know scrambling and scrounging up lunch Really not taking proper care of myself and I guess those mundane homeschooling days where I really was just trying to Dig in deep and get the work done But that was the wrong thing for me to do was to neglect like mills like simple mills like skipping breakfast Like why was I doing that? Now you guys I make it a priority to eat either eat breakfast before my kiddos Or I eat breakfast with them. I no longer neglect my I guess needs you guys I wasn't taking my vitamins. I was forgetting to take them and it was just simple Daily things that I was forgetting to do because I was putting I guess my kiddos needs way above myself And I know that really goes along with homeschooling, but it more so goes into motherhood I should say and now you guys I have been taking better care of myself. I've been prioritizing myself I've been stepping away From this home and really giving myself that time that I need Uh, I do everything here. You guys, you know, I am what I'm homemaker. I'm mom. I'm wife. I Am a cleaner. I am everything to everyone in this house And now I have learned to just break away Earlier in the early winter season. I began to take like weekly walks at local parks by myself It was so refreshing you guys especially in march when it was like that season changed The wind was still like brisk, but it was like the sun was warm Those walks in the morning was like rejuvenating to me and I only did it on the weekends but still Stepping away from our home in our homeschool and feeding myself and my soul Was a game changer and I'm never going back to neglecting myself I'm never going back to not allowing myself to take naps to rest to take breaks I am I'm never going back to that season because I don't know why I was doing that to myself and I'm getting like a little bit choked up and emotional because I don't know why I was not prioritizing myself. Everyone was so More important than me, but I am just important and I matter and my needs matter too. So definitely, um neglecting myself was A huge mistake that I made in beginning my homeschooling journey um Now my next mistake that I have made and I definitely see a difference in doing this is that I lacked Planning effective planning in my homeschool Now I know for some people my planning may be a little bit on the type A side However, I love making a plan even if we don't get to everything on that plan for that week Having a plan having a roadmap has been key to my success, especially in this homeschooling year Um, definitely am I erasing things we didn't get to with my erasable pens and my school next planner? Absolutely, but having that roadmap has been key Another thing too is that last year we adapted a six weeks on one week off homeschool schedule And you guys having that week off to really plan out the next six weeks has been gold I no longer plan out my whole year at a time I do schedule out my breaks and field trips yearly But outside of that I'm not planning my specific curriculum day by day to the t at the beginning of my homeschool year I really plan in chunks, which is six weeks at a time where I know, okay I want to cover these particular lessons and if we get to them we do if not, it's okay I just like having a roadmap printing off all the things that I need to print off Cutting out all the manipulatives and getting all the things that I need together for my kindergartners math with confidence Ensuring that I have all of those little titty beady pieces You know around has been making my homeschooling day smoother We have been getting through lessons more effectively and faster because I have been planning more And I know not a lot of people, you know, enjoy that planning process But now it's just become a part of my routine on my week off. I just you know have my big picture I do all my printing all of my library checkouts and things like that And I still come in weekly and go behind my six week plan and it's just been it's been so well And I'm I've been so happy with this. I don't think I'm ever going to go back to not planning my homeschooling weeks Because this has been great So just like michelle did in her video She asked her oldest daughter who she homeschooled what she felt like her biggest mistakes was as a homeschooling parent I asked my oldest daughter because she's really the only one that I have been homeschooling Primarily for these four years what she felt like my biggest homeschooling mistakes was and she told me And I'm reading it off right here She told me that she feels like my biggest homeschooling mistake that I made was not being consistent in our curriculum choices And giving up on curriculum choices too soon One of the curriculum choices she felt specifically that I gave up too soon was Singapore dimensions when we did it in her fourth grade year and she's absolutely right you guys I did give up on that curriculum too soon Singapore dimensions is actually one of my top favorite math curriculas that I have ever tried in my homeschool Um, and I definitely gave up on that curriculum too soon and she is absolutely right Another thing is that she felt like I was inconsistent when it came to our schedule and routine And I definitely was inconsistent when it came to our schedule and routine, especially with my littles I feel like when I was trying to incorporate like that preschool that taught schooling for my youngest I was all over the place some days. I was doing school, you know in the morning some days in the afternoon And it really we wasn't getting anywhere and I really felt like when I honed in on specific times I honed in on our I guess our overall daily flow Um, I was being able to see more progress when it came to my kids doing like the simple things, you know Learning their numbers shapes colors things like that Really when I established that particular routine and schedule and I wasn't all over the place I definitely felt um, I guess our homeschool day is running smoother and we had way more success So to really be honest, uh, my daughter's uh mistakes that she feels like I made is pretty much similar to the mistakes That I feel like I have made in our homeschooling journey overall So you guys I really hope you enjoy hearing all of my homeschooling mistakes I really hope that this gives and shares light to you guys that I'm definitely not perfect over here I definitely have pivoted. I definitely have learned from a lot of the mistakes that I have made and hopefully moving forward I will continue to learn and grow as a homeschooler You guys in the comment section down below Share all of your homeschooling mistakes that you have made in your homeschool Whether they be similar to mine or not I will love to chat with you guys in my comment section down below So you guys as always thank you guys so much for watching today's video And I will um love to see you guys all in my next one. Bye You