This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: How to Get Your Homeschool Organized, Interview with Tatiana Adurias. This post is running concurrently on the Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
How to Get Your Homeschool Organized, Interview with Tatiana Adurias
Our friend, Tatiana Adurias from Purposeful Motherhood, joins us for a discussion about teaching homeschoolers organizational skills. Tatiana is the mother of six homeschoolers ages….through college graduation. She has learned by necessity the necessity of an organized homeschool. Here are some of her experiences.
Tatiana began homeschooling when her oldest son was in third grade. He asked to homeschool! Tatiana, at that time, was finishing her teaching credentials so was not excited about that! However, circumstances made homeschooling important in his third grade second semester. Tatiana gave in and started homeschooling him and his younger sister. She felt unprepared and did not enjoy the experience. So back to school he went next fall.
When Tatiana’s son was in sixth grade he came back to her and asked to homeschool again. He explained to her that he was more mature now and could manage himself better. He also researched homeschooling, created a powerpoint presentation with twenty-five reasons he should homeschool and gave a speech about it to his parents. Tatiana respected his request and began to get started.
Tatiana is very authentic.
She explained that the first three years were rough for several reasons, but they kept learning together. Before she knew it, she was homeschooling comfortably and had all her children learning at home!
Vicki really appreciates Tatiana’s honesty. Homeschooling is not all easy, not every day goes smoothly, but when we focus on determination to grow together, homeschooling is a beautiful thing!
What shifted for Tatiana so that she loved homeschooling? She began to actually see the benefits. She saw her son’s ability to:
- Excel in his academics
- Had time to explore his interests in filmmaking
- Develop his own personality
Tatiana’s most strenuous three years homeschooling were the years she was educating all six kids, with three in high school down to kindergarten. What helped?
Tatiana’s Organizing Tips:
Focus energy on the needs of the oldest.
- Adapt the curriculum to his/her needs and then teach the curriculum (adapted) to the whole family.
- Teach the same history to the entire family.
- If they are able, have the near-aged youngers go ahead and take the same high school maths and sciences and languages as the oldest homeschooler.
- (BTW- one of 7Sisters Literature Study Guides is especially designed to work with the whole family: Anne of Green Gables Literature Study Guide…and it is FREE!)
- Tatiana has found that working together creates close family bonds and good friendships between siblings. They also can do some group projects together.
Teach your homeschoolers independent learning skills.
- She sets expectations. She lets her kids know that she believes they can meet the expectations. However, she concentrates on warmth and grace. This is a balance.
- She teaches her middle schoolers that working rigorously is good preparation for life and for high school learning. She also teaches them that she believes they can do it.
- She teachers her high schoolers to do independent work.
- See 7Sisters post on developing independent learners for more specific skills.
- See this 7Sisters post on developing independent writing skills.
Tatiana’s gift to herself is learning how to relax.
- She relaxes her own soul (think: fruit of the spirit). Check out this post from Vicki’s coaching site on mindfulness for folks who are not naturally mindful.
- She does not micromanage.
- She believes in her kids and they believe in themselves.
Find family routines that work for you and your homeschoolers.
- She teaches her kids that being part of a family includes chores and academic responsibilities.
- Tatiana does not have a specific schedule.
- She simply gives her kids chore and school responsibilities and they set their own schedules.
- She finds that when her homeschoolers graduate, they find adulting in college and beyond an easy transition.
Tatiana gives this advice: Remember, you are homeschooling people, so be willing to adjust expectations when you need to so that each kids can learn and grow in their own individual way.
Check out Tatiana Adurias’ encouraging website Purposeful Motherhood.
You can find her on Facebook at Purposeful Motherhood!
Tatiana will soon be releasing a short course for homeschooling mothers and middle schoolers! It is a five-day questionnaire guide for preparing college-bound middle schoolers for high school. Sign up for her mailing list for release date!
For more excellent tips on organization, check out our friend Melanie Wilson of Homeschool Sanity Podcast’s episodes on organized homeschooling life.
- How to Get Your Homeschool High School Organized
- The Most Important Areas to Organize This Year
- First time homeschooling, here are tips to prepare your home
Join Vicki and Tatiana for this encouraging discussion on how to get your homeschool organized.
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