Meet Tisha Farley and learn how they transitioned from public school to homeschool!

From Public School to Homeschool

Tell us about you and your family.

My husband and I live in NE Ohio with our three kids.  Bella 12, Nate 10, and Nico 8. Bella and Nate both attended public school before we pulled them to homeschool. We own our own business and my husband works there Tuesday through Saturday.

How long have you been homeschooling?

We are finishing up our third year at home.

Tell us about your transition from public school to homeschool.

We are leaning towards a Charlotte Mason approach.  Having come from a traditional public school setting, this has been a complete change. It has been harder to figure out the older kids learning style and “de-school” their mindset.

Year-round homeschooling or traditional calendar homeschooling?

Our schooling takes place as a traditional calendar one.  Although, we do take off the whole month in December.

From Public School to Homeschool

Tell us about your homeschooling routine.

Our homeschooling routine is different to start with since we school Tuesday-Saturday.  My husband is off work on Sunday and Monday and we do a lot as a family.

Our morning routine starts with Bible at breakfast following individual subjects: math, language arts, spelling, copy work, and handwriting.

Then our afternoon is our group time.  This is typically when we school in the living room as a group and do: Science, History,  and Enrichment Studies.

Our homeschooling happens mostly at…

A traditional day would be the dining room table, and in the afternoon, we move to the living room and spread out.
We also do a bunch of things outdoors such as biking and hiking when we can seasonally around here.

I am also a huge fan of museums! Huge fan! A couple of years ago we were going to do the Civil War as part of our history curriculum, I found a Civil War Reenactment a couple of hours away. The kids still talk about how neat it was.

On a side note, get a local museum membership that is reciprocal to other great museums. We have saved a ton by getting a membership and visiting other museums for free.

What have you picked for your curriculum next year?

Individual lessons.

Nico 3rd grade:

  • All About Reading 3
  • All About Spelling 2
  • Queen Homeschool – Lessons in Manners Copywork
  • Queen Homeschool – Pictures in Cursive Primer
  • Queen Homeschool – Language Lessons for the Elementary Child
  • Saxon Math 3
  • Rosetta Stone Spanish
  • Nico also takes a tumbling class once a week.

Nate 5th grade:

  • Queen Homeschool – Language Lessons for the Secondary Child Vol 1
  • Queen Homeschool – Lessons From Leaders copywork
  • Queen Homeschool – Learn to Spell Through Copywork Book D
  • Queen Homeschool – Pictures in Cursive C
  • Queen Homeschool – Word of the Week Vol 1
  • Saxon Math 6/5
  • Rosetta Stone Spanish
  • Nate is really involved with his taekwondo, he is there at least three days a week.

Bella 7th grade:

  • Queen Homeschool – Language Lessons for the Secondary Child Vol 2
  • Queen Homeschool – Great Hymns for Copywork
  • Queen Homeschool – Word of the Week Vol 3
  • Queen Homeschool – The Writer Within
  • Saxon Math Algebra 1/2
  • Rosetta Stone Spanish
  • Bella takes piano one day a week.

* I also write out a reading book list for each child to complete during the school year.*

Group Lessons.

  • Bible-Devotional with Keys for Kids and I break up books in the bible to read together.
  • Simply Charlotte Mason History Genesis-Deuteronomy and Ancient Egypt
  • Queen Homeschool Science – Discovering Nature Series:Parables From Nature
  • Queen Homeschool – Question of the day
  • Queen Homeschool Geography North and South America
  • Simply Charlotte Masons Enrichment Studies includes art, music, literature, poetry, hymn study, nature study, hands craft, scripture memory, and habit training.
From Public School to Homeschool

List 3 books about homeschooling that really impacted you.

  1. IndoctriNation by Colin Gunn
    It gives a history and philosophy of public education. Plus a look behind the myths of an educational system that actively works to alter your child’s views.
    If you are considering homeschooling, read this book.
  2. Called Home: Finding Joy in Letting God Lead Your Homeschool by Karen DeBues
    (Karen has several books, it was hard to pick just one.)
    This book encourages you to focus on the One who called you to be home, He will lead you through each day.
  3. For the Children’s Sake by Susan Schaffer Macaulay
    “Shows parents and teachers how children’s learning experiences can be extended to every aspect of life, giving them a richness, stability, and joy for living.”

Your family is going on an unplanned trip, not much time to pack, you must homeschool the kids while traveling and you can only take 5 of your homeschooling resources/books with you. What would you take?

  • Bible
  • iPad
  • binoculars
  • sketch pads
  • colored pencils

The iPad holds so many tools, it feels like a cheat. But, it is a must in our homeschool.

If you had the chance to start homeschooling all over again today with the knowledge and experience you have now, what would you do differently?

Listen to what my heart was telling me in the first place, and not run from God telling me to school my children at home. We would have never sent the kids to public school. There are so many resources out there for help and guidance – don’t be scared to start. Plus, we can do this! These are our kids. We are the best people to be teaching them.

More Homeschool Inspiration

Related Posts

Shop Our Products & Courses

Let me help you homeschool with confidence and joy!