Jackson Academy

I have homeschooled my children from the day my oldest entered “kindergarten.”  Because I have homeschooled for more than a couple years, I am frequently asked how we homeschool.

Chances are you have landed here either because you are considering homeschooling and wonder what it looks like from the inside, or you are currently homeschooling and are researching to see if there is something that you might want to change in your plan.

Regardless of your reason for being here, welcome!

What I’m hoping to do is use this page as a place to link to other blog posts I’ve written so you can find what you’re looking for in a really short time frame.  It’s very nice to have you here and welcome to Jackson Academy!

What is Jackson Academy?

• It’s the name of our homeschool.  We had no idea we’d do this for such a long time, and we picked a name that was relevant to our lives when we started.  We were stationed at Fort Jackson, and so Jackson Academy sounded great.  It sort of stuck.
• Does My Homeschool Need a Name?  Written August 2015

What is your philosophy on homeschooling/education/reading?

• My Philosophies

What curriculum do you use?

1. I will always keep my most current version of our homeschool right here.  I don’t know how often I’ll update, but I will keep the most current version that I’ve written just below:
   1. Homeschooling My Way #3.  Written in September 2015
2. Homeschooling My Way #2: Written in September 2010 it was intended to be an addendum to the original.
3. Homeschooling My Way #1: Written in September 2009 it details every single step of what I was using in grades Kindergarten through Third.

Why do you homeschool?

• Why we started.  Written May 2011 and it shares a few tidbits about my own educational experiences in homeschooling.  (Yes, I was homeschooled for a while!)

Will you homeschool through to graduation?

• You don’t have to have a degree in High School Education to homeschool through high school.   Written in August 2015

What preschool curriculum should I buy?

• Homeschooling Littles – Written August 2014

My child is starting Kindergarten.  How long each day should we be doing school?

• Please check with your state requirements before taking any of my advice:  Parker and I spend no more than an hour on “formal” school.  There are other things we do throughout the day that, when the time spent on those things are added to our formal schooling time, add up to match any state’s minimum.

What about socialization?

• Most homeschooling parents are tired of this question, to the point that when you Google the topic you will find very heated articles around this topic.  Basically, my children get out and do real life.  They have to order their own meals at restaurants.  The bigs have their own debit cards and are responsible for purchasing their own clothing… the entire transaction is up to them.  My kids have to sit under the authority of other adults in various settings:  church, youth centers, sports activities, friends’ houses, and around post.  Homeschoolers today actually have to guard against too much socialization as there are so many great activities available.  We have to carefully determine which ones to attend and which to say no to.  (Please don’t ever tell my kids that there are local Lego clubs for homeschoolers.  I can’t add that to our plate!)

Do you have your kids tested every year?

• To Test or Not to Test.

Should we homeschool on the normal school calendar or Jan-Oct?

• There’s no right answer for that!  Do take into consideration whether you’re going to participate in a co-op or a group of some sort, as they will likely follow a normal schedule.  We loosely follow the school schedule except for one change:  often at the end of a school year we’ll just keep on going.  Sometimes we school through the summer and take Oct-Dec as our “summer” break.  That makes it feel a lot like the Jan-Oct except for on paper:  I just haven’t figured out how to wrap my brain around the transition from one way to the other.
• 5 Ways to Rock Your Homeschool:  Homeschooling IRL:  This podcast has five great ideas, and one of them is when to start school.
• The Freedom of Homeschooling: The Mango Times – this is the blog post they were referring to in the Rock Your Homeschool podcast episode.

How do you spend so much time together and still like each other?

• homeschooling (Nap/rest time!)  Written May 2011
• more coffee, more chocolate. Some times we don’t like each other. Written June 2o11
• chores – I dole out chores at the beginning of each year and each child keeps those chores for the full year.  I learned so very much from Managers of their Chores
• schedules – Managers of their Homes – I don’t need this quiet as much as I did when my three bigs were littles, but it was a lifesaver for a few years, especially after our fourth was born.  I still highly recommend it and know that some of the principles are still in our daily lives even if I don’t use the actual scheduling materials anymore

Do you have a list of resources I should read through?

• PJ Jonas’ podcast series on homeschooling.
• Homeschooling IRL – Podcast by husband and wife team, Fletch and Kendra.
• Preschoolers and Peace – Homeschooling with Little Ones Underfoot.  Kendra Fletcher
• H-IRL #24 has a ton of resources!
• HSLDA – I firmly believe in every parent’s choice to do what’s best for their child.  For years I have been a member of HSLDA, in part because I like the umbrella of protection it affords me.
• Homeschooling for the Rest of Us, by Sonya Haskins

This list is by no means exhaustive, so please add your suggestions to the comments.  From time to time I hope to update the list.