Our Orthodox Homeschool Year

Each family’s homeschool is as unique as each family. All of us have varying interests, strengths, experiences, needs, abilities, and resources. Just as you will not find another family with the exact same spiritual life as your own, you will not find another Orthodox homeschooling family with an exact replica of your homeschool day either. Even within our own families, our oldest children will not necessarily have the exact same homeschool experience as their younger siblings, but we all share a common goal – the salvation of our children and ourselves, theosis. How does this goal influence the way in which we structure our homeschool year?

I’ve spent the past twenty years researching an Orthodox Christian approach to education (and there is one!). Over those years, I have tweaked my teaching methods based on this research. The changes I’ve made have also largely been made in conjunction with my teaching experience and the needs of my children as well. It is a process that is ongoing and ever changing with the needs of our family – changes in job, moving to a new home, learning and medical needs, pregnancy, new babies…the list is infinite.

I have been homeschooling my children since my 22 year-old was in the third grade. I’ve always had a large age gap between my older kids and younger ones, forcing me to be a bit creative in teaching high school age and preschool at the same time. I’ve had my fair share of trial and error as I searched for our homeschool groove. Below, I’ve shared the rhythm we’ve found for our homeschool year and why I’ve structured it as such. I’ve also joined with another Orthodox homeschool mom, Mandy Sexton, to share her family’s homeschool rhythm as well. It is our hope that we can provide ideas for other Orthodox Christian families who are looking for guidance on how they can structure their homeschool year.