The First HomeSchool Years

The first few years of homeschooling, as recalled by our parents, started with them unsure how homeschooling would progress, but ended with a pleasant surprise: their students (we) were not just keeping up but years ahead of traditional school students, and it all seemed so rewarding to them.

At first, we attended Spanish-speaking preschools, as we lived in Spanish-speaking countries, and this was a great way to learn Spanish naturally. Our parents also spent time teaching us in English. Like most homeschool teachers, our parents were high school graduates, and they considered themselves capable of teaching the subjects required for homeschool. They began teaching homeschool with some doubts, but as we progressed, these doubts faded, and their teaching confidence grew.

Our parents wanted us to have the tools and skills to succeed. To them, the result of a good education was the ability to think logically, solve problems, explore alternatives, and communicate effectively. These basic skills were the first tools we learned. Other homeschools may have different priorities, such as a greater emphasis on science, nature, religion, art, music, or literature.

Our non-accredited homeschool initially focused on developing the basic skills of reading (letters, sounds, words, and sentences), writing (forming letters), and arithmetic (numbers, counting, addition, and subtraction). On our own, we studied what interested us. We enjoyed looking at maps and memorizing the names of countries and their capital cities, and we knew all 50 states and the names of all the American presidents. We liked solving puzzles. We spent every day with our parents, so we overheard what they talked about. We went shopping with them, so we became aware of products and food items. Being at home with our family and each other was, in itself, a learning experience. We received physical exercise on playgrounds, rode bikes, and started learning tennis.