In some cases, traditional school environments may not be the best fit for your child. Having the opportunity to spend time with your kids in nature has been proven to be beneficial to their well-being and their ability to learn, which is one of the many reasons homeschooling is on the rise at Light Farms. We talked with Destiny Palmer, Heather Brumbaugh and Chrissy Smith, three Light Farms homeschooling moms to find out why they decided to home school their kids and how they go about teaching them. Here’s what they said.
How long have you been homeschooling your kids?
Destiny Palmer (DP) – We have always focused on learning at home, so it was a natural transition to continue that through a more formal homeschool program. We are currently in our third year of classical homeschooling.
Heather Brumbaugh (HB) – 2 years.
Chrissy Smith (CS) – All of our kiddos are adopted, and we honestly started homeschooling as soon as they were placed in our home as toddlers.
How many kids do you home school? Ages?
DP – We have two daughters that we homeschool. Our oldest is 8 and our youngest is 4.
HB – I have 3 children. Their ages are 3, 4, and 6. I started my almost 5-year-old with Kinder curriculum this year because I felt he was ready. And this is my second year schooling my 6-year-old.
CS – Right now I’m schooling all my kids, ages 7, 6 and 3.
Why did you decide to home school your kids?
DP –Our oldest daughter was diagnosed with severe food and environmental allergies as a toddler and as she approached school age, we realized that neither public nor private school was a good fit. We started to look at homeschool as a healthy and viable option, and realized that since Dennis (Destiny’s husband) works remotely, the flexibility of being able to school from any location actually fit our family really well. We love that homeschooling allows both my husband and I to be involved in our girls’ daily lives and what they are interested in learning.
HB – It was always in my heart. It became more apparent to me as my children got older that homeschooling was what I really wanted to do.
CS – Homeschooling is something I’ve always wanted to do, long before I had kids! Growing up I was in every kind of school scenario for a time, and I remember my homeschooled years as the most fun. I also have an incredibly close bond with my mom, part of which I think was fostered during our time homeschooling.
What are the pros and cons?
DP – The flexibility is the biggest “pro”! We have the flexibility to take homeschool on the road, go to the zoo or museum, or just have the simple freedom to take a break and go to the park when the weather is beautiful. We can also choose to study what the girls are interested in, which really helps with their attention level. For example, when there were beavers that decided to move into the lakes at Light Farms, the girls became fascinated with everything that had to do with beavers. We built on that and read about beaver habitats, found out what their footprints look like, etc… Then, we took a long exploration walk and a picnic to the lake to look for the beavers, the chewed trees and footprints. It was a really fun day and the girls still talk about it.
HB –Some of the biggest pros for us are that we get to travel anytime we want! We are able to travel for 7 weeks this year to different states and leave the country without having to worry about my kids missing school. I also love that I get to tailor their education to their individuals needs and include what is most important for us. Most of all I love that I get to spend every day with my kids, see them learn, thrive, and being their biggest role model and support system. I know when I am old that I will not regret having spent this time with my kids.
Not going to lie…the biggest con is never going to Target alone….
CS – Pros are the crazy amount of flexibility we have. So much of our days are based on whims and current interests. We can detour into long nature hikes or school in our pajamas. We take advantage of our ability to travel, especially on off-peak season. I would say the cons can sometimes also be the pros. Unless you make deliberate attempts to be organized, it can be easy to get too far off track, or just get lazy. One thing that keeps us in check is making sure that we are doing things we love, not just turning our education into a checklist. Also, being part of a community that can keep you accountable really helps, and we live in one of the best areas of the country for homeschool resources and connections.
What is your curriculum?
DP – We use Classical Conversations as our main curriculum. Our main subjects are math, English, history, geography, science, Latin and art. One of our favorite aspects of Classical Conversations is the weekly presentations. We love that our girls are learning the art of public speaking at a young age, so that it is natural for them to speak to a roomful of people without hesitation.
We supplement with journaling, coding projects like Hopscotch, cooking, art projects, (we love to paint anything that will sit still), and anything else the girls are interested in that we can help them expand on.
HB – The majority of our school is covered with Classical Conversations. It’s a classical approach to education that covers history, science, math (and eventually math and grammar). My kids love going to our Prosper CC campus once a week with their friends. At home, we finish off with Horizons for our math/language and we read A TON!
CS – We do a mix of Classical and Charlotte Mason style. We do a lot of learning through literature, nature study and hands on math. We are also part of a cooperative community called Classical Conversations, where all families meet once a week for community and to learn together what our next week’s areas of study will be.
Additional comments?
DP – Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart, but it is incredibly rewarding to see your children understand something for the first time or have an “aha” moment after struggling to grasp a new concept. From the moment we met and held our daughters, we became their teacher, so homeschooling our children is really a natural outpouring of our relationship with them.
Writer’s Note:
If you are considering homeschooling your child, be aware that all states have regulations that must be followed and these regulations vary from state to state. The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Home School Coalition Association provide essential information and resources on homeschooling.
