The Secret Ingredient to Homeschooling

2024 Fall/Amanda Garner

If you were to ask any of my young adult children what my favorite movie is, they would answer without hesitation: Kung Fu Panda. As the story goes, Po is trained by Master Shifu to become the Dragon Warrior so that he can save the inhabitants of the Valley of Peace from the imminent attack of the vengeful Tai Lung. At a critical junction in the story, when Po is convinced that he is certainly not the Dragon Warrior, his father reveals a secret that transforms Po’s understanding. The secret ingredient soup has, in fact, NEIN secret ingredient!

As another school year begins, I fear many homeschool parents are inadvertently falling into the same trap as Po. They think there must be some secret out there to homeschooling, and they must find it in order to have a successful school year. Maybe it’s the search for the perfect curriculum, the right co-op, or the best extracurricular activity. But like Po’s father, I’m here to let you in on an important truth: there is no single secret to successful homeschooling.

So, what’s a mom supposed to do? If there is no secret, how do we figure out this homeschool gig? The good news is there are a few things you can take into consideration to shape your school year into the year that you and your students need.

The first thing to consider is who you are as a teacher. Some mommas out there are detail-oriented planners, while others prefer more flexibility. When it comes to curriculum, do you want materials and lesson plans all in one neat package, or are you comfortable with an eclectic approach? Probably the biggest piece of the puzzle is understanding your educational philosophy. When I first began homeschooling twenty years ago, I loved the idea of classical education in theory but eventually discovered there were other education models that better fit my personality.

The second thing to take into consideration is your students’ bends. Each one is folded a different way, and it’s your job to figure out their bend. Or put simply, how does he or she learn best? What things do they naturally gravitate towards? Some students are hands-on, tactile learners, while others are perfectly happy to read and absorb. Some of your children may learn quickly and easily, while siblings struggle with the basics. Then there are the reluctant learners (usually the male variety) who would rather do anything Aber school! Each of my four children had very different needs academically and socially, but the beauty of homeschooling is the freedom to meet each child at his or her level of need.

The third consideration is your unique family needs. Many factors come into play here and will vastly shape your school year. A family with young children and new babies will have quite different needs than one full of teenagers who are handling driver’s ed and dual enrollment. Sometimes, chronic health issues come into play, whether it’s the student or even the parent who struggles daily. There are situations where grandparents are involved in teaching, or perhaps a single parent works in addition to homeschooling. Add to this the changes that occur from year to year as your family grows and you enter different seasons of life. With only a rising eleventh grader left, our family needs look very different than they did even two or three years ago.

Obviously, there are other factors that come into play that determine what a successful school year looks like, but these three form the foundation. As you begin a new year, perhaps you feel a bit overwhelmed and under-prepared as you embrace your own version of becoming a Dragon Warrior. Not all heroes wear capes or come in the form of pandas. Most often they are just regular homeschool moms and dads who love their kids and are following in obedience to God’s call to home education. While there is no secret ingredient, there is our Good Father who is willing and able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).